The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

90 Know Your Place

~Linda~

I had to have a sandwich.

There was no way I would sit in the booth until noon before I ate.

A woman was selling delicious turkey sandwiches, and I went to her stall. Besides my cravings, I did not want to sit alone in the booth with Avery. Even though I chose to be oblivious of it, I noticed she had been acting strangely towards me since my bump started showing.

It had become so bad that I dared not make certain gestures around her. I knew how she felt, but I believed it was unfair for her to act that way around me.

I hoped she got pregnant soon so I could have my friend back.

While I waited for the woman to put my sandwich together, I rubbed my bump and thought of the joy in my life.

Theodore took all my pain away. Bit by bit, he broke down my defences and fixed them with his love.

He loved me through my fears and uncertainties.

After seeing what Sylvester did for Tamia, I knew I had nothing to worry about where Theo was concerned, and I was grateful for him.

Thanks to his love, I was a different person altogether.

I remember walking around drunk and sleeping with anyone who told me they found me attractive.

It wasn't like I cared for them; I was just looking for a way out, anyone that would challenge that prick Kyle so he could set me free.

Then I met Eric, a delta breed and a warrior. He said he loved me. I could still remember it like yesterday.

***

I was depressed, and I wanted to visit someone. I wanted to go somewhere, have fun and forget my troubles.

I had a bad headache from the alcohol I had consumed the night before, so I needed to take care of it before figuring out who I would visit.

I wanted to visit Avery that day, but I thought of what she was facing at home and decided against it.

I did not see her at the meeting, so I knew Max had locked her up again. Tamia was the lukiest of us. Leo was making an effort, and he still loved her. She was still in charge, and no one dared her.

I wished I were in her shoes.

As much as I wanted to visit Tamia, I wasn't as close to her as I was to Avery. So I opted to go to a pharmacy to get painkillers and return to my home, which was also my prison and torture chamber.

I met Eric at the counter, and he was handsome.

One thing led to the other, and I found myself dating him.

It was supposed to be a fling, but we could not stop seeing each other. He made me happy and helped me forget my troubles. I was at peace around him, and he respected my body. He was what I thought I needed in a man, and I became infatuated with him.

Eric began to plan how he would request to challenge Kyle, and I encouraged it. But then I got pregnant and decided to run away with Eric and deal with the mark later.

I wasn't thinking. I was desperate.

Kyle once told me I could do whatever I liked, but he would kill me if I got caught.

Kyle also believed I was barren and good for nothing. He believed it strongly because he had just touched Rebbecca once, and she got pregnant.

When I think of it. Rebbecca's pregnancy was the reason he accepted and claimed her.

He said he had slept with her to figure out if he was the one with the issue, and when she returned to him pregnant, he realised I was the barren piece of shit. What an arsehole.

He accused me of many things and said I was only suitable for entertainment. That was why he treated me the way he did because he thought I was barren.

The painful part was that I believed him until Eric got me pregnant. That was why I chose to elope on impulse.

I knew the pregnancy would make Kyle mad, so I had no choice but to elope with Eric, but Eric was a coward.

He ran away and left me to deal with the mess. Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

I was arrested on the day I planned to run away. Rebecca claimed I had tried to poison her and her children, and Kyle believed her; my plans of running with Eric did not help too, coupled with the fact that I was pregnant.

Kyle beat the shit out of me and locked me up.

He told me I would rot in the cell, and he was right.

I lost my baby and almost lost my mind entirely before I was taken out of the cell and handed to the northern soldiers.

The irony of my suffering was I was made to shower and change my clothes every day in that cell, so I looked like someone that had care. It was Kyles's sick joke. I told him I did not try to kill his mate and children, but he did not believe me.

I rubbed my bump, glad that all was in my past now.

I was determined to love Theo without reserve.

I refused to be damaged goods or act like one.

I refused to be a broken woman. I will love him as if he was my first, and Kyle never existed. I owed myself that much.

***

The woman finished making my sandwich and handed it to me. I offered to pay for the sandwich, and she refused.

"I can't collect money from you, Luna; I am from the Orlov pack." She said, smiling at me and looking at my bump.

"For our future Alpha," she said, and I smiled at her and thanked her.

She also gave me Iced Tea to go with it, and I decided to sit by her stall and help myself.

Call me selfish, but I knew Avery might want to have a bite, and I wasn't in the mood to share.

I did tell Avery to walk me down to the stall, and she refused, so I would eat it alone.

I was eating when a familiar scent caught my nostrils.

I looked in the direction it came from, and the bastard Kyle was approaching me. Usually, my heart would start racing, but I was calm. He was on my turf.

I composed myself to hear what he had to say. I had heard of their request, and I wondered what he wanted with me after they told him no.

I rubbed my bump gently and sipped my iced tea with the straw. I wanted him to see it.

He walked to where I was sitting and cleared his throat.

"Linda.." he said, and I looked away from him.

"Linda, please, I want to talk to you," he said, and I could not imagine his nerve.

"Please, Linda, look at me," he said, and I felt movement, so I looked at him and saw he was on his knees.

"Please tell Orlov to send you home. I will take care of the baby as if it were mine. I will love you with all my heart. I will send Rebecca and her children away. I want you to come home. I was a fool and did not know what I had until I lost you," he said, and I shook my head.

"I am happy where I am, Kyle; why should I follow you? Can't you see that I have upgraded? You once called me a whore, and you know whores always go for the best," I said, and he shook his head.

"I am sorry. I am sorry. You are not a whore. I am the whore. For doing what I did to you. I need you to come back to me, Linda.

Since you left, my life has been in shambles. I did not know how I felt about you until I lost you.

Please, Linda. I promise to be a better version of myself," he said, and I remained calm.

Not because I wanted to but because of my baby. I did not want to get upset and cause complications for myself.

"Let us not drag this, Kyle. Get off your knees and leave. I am not coming back to you. I am happy. I have a man that loves me, a real man, Kyle. One that adores me. You said I was a whore and worthless, but Theo treats me as his prized possession. His gem. I have liberty and freedom. I can do and say whatever I like, and I don't even want to get into the love-making part.

I did not know I was a virgin until Theo happened to me. I can't leave all that for a known hell," I said, seeing that my words affected him, especially the virgin part. I was just telling him the truth.

"Look, you better leave this place because Theodore won't treat you nicely if he catches you here with me. Go patch things up with Rebbeca and her three bastards and move on with your life. At least no one is there to try to poison them again." I said, reminding him of the wicked accusation laid against me.

"I am sorry I let her set you up. I am sorry," Kyle said, and before I could reply, Theo arrived and grabbed him.

I wonder how he got there so fast, and the woman in the stall came out and was nodding.

"He was troubling Luna, Alpha," she said, and Theodore had rage in his eyes.

How did he get here so quickly?

I heard Sylvester calling, and I realised they might have been nearby.

Theodore knelt over Kyle and beat the shit out of him. He did not talk. He just kept punching him against the ground.

I did not know what to do. I knew it would be best to stop Theo, but I didn't want to. Kyle deserved it. He deserved every punch and every blow. He was lucky I was pregnant, or I could have joined in.

The audacity he had to come and ask me to come back. What the fuck was he thinking? Only a fool would go back to a psycho like him.

People were gathered, and Theodore did not stop until Sylvester pulled him off him.

"Stay away from my wife!" he told him, and Kyle managed to get up and wipe his bloody nose.

"I do not see a mark on her neck," he said, and that was it for me.

I walked to where Kyle was and punched him with all my might with the help of Arya, my wolf.

He fell to the ground. The crack sound that accompanied the punch was satisfying.

"I am not your property, Kyle, so fuck off, you sick fuck. And do not think I will let you get away with all you did. I won't," I said and spat on him.

I went to meet Theo, and he held me.

I felt so much satisfaction, and I believed Kyle needed more punishment.

"I want you to go for his pack and his title," I linked Theodore, and he held me.

"All you had to do was say the word, darling," he linked me back and began to kiss me with his hand on my baby bump. I felt my anger dissipate as Theo filled me with love and joy. His kiss was possessive, and I welcomed it.

"Stay the fuck away from her," Sylvester warned Kyle with his command.

"The next time you overstep, I will sanction your arrest. Remember your place, Kyle. I will take this up with Leo for not putting you in check," Sylvester said, and I hoped Sylvester talked to Leo to tell Kyle to stay away from me. I was done with the clown, and I hoped he got the message now.