The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

14 The Wolf Lord

~Sylvester~

"My darling Sylvester, by the time you read this, I would have moved far away from the north. I know we planned to spend the rest of our lives together, and I looked forward to it. Three months ago, my brother finally found his fated; she isn't his girlfriend. It left his girlfriend broken. I never want to feel that way. Your eighteenth birthday is coming soon; I am afraid she won't be me. Where will that leave us? I have decided to follow my uncle to the south; please do not come looking for me there. I hope you find your fated, and I wish you all the best. Love Susan"

I lay in bed, reading the letter my girlfriend left me eleven years ago.

We were in love, and everyone saw her as the next Luna of the north after I succeeded my father.

I had promised her that I would risk being weak and reject my fated if I ever found my fated, and it wasn't her.

Susan had no faith in my promise and panicked. She ran away a few months before my eighteenth birthday. I have never heard from her ever since.

I was heartbroken at first, then I became angry, and then I became numb.

Never wanting to feel that way again, I locked my heart away. I never found my fated, the reason why she left, and I never fell in love again.

No woman ever caught my attention again. When my father was murdered, and I had to take up the lordship, it became worse because I now didn't have time for romance anymore.

It remained that way until recently, when Tamia came into my life. Something that was supposed to be a trophy soon started giving me sleepless nights.

I was patient, but I didn't know how long it would last.

When the east decided to insult me by attacking my region, I had to put them in their place.

I had no intention of taking over their region, but I wanted to warn them, and I was glad they got my message.

When the trophies arrived, I thought it would be as usual, and I would draft them accordingly, but I was wrong.

Those green eyes burned into my soul; I had to compose myself when I looked into her eyes.

She was tough, courageous, a true luna, and she was mine.

She had given herself to save others, unsure of the fate ahead of her. Tamia got me, and her hold was tight and powerful.

After Susan, love stopped having meaning, and relationships lost their value.

I kept a harem of lovers for a while and sent them all away when I turned twenty-six. What I had now was just a collection of trophies I had never touched.

I kept a harem so no one would have ideas or hope, but Tamia was different.

I knew I would be breaking all my rules with her, and I hoped, for my sake, she would not be my downfall.

When she referred to herself as used goods, I was annoyed because she was like wine; the older, the better. Priceless and perfect.

Who would have thought I would find a woman to bring me to my knees? I wanted her for myself.

I needed to give her time to heal before I buried myself in her and claimed her as mine.

She needed time to mourn and accept her new reality before I made my move, but one thing I was sure to do was to make my intention towards her clear to everyone.

So I ensured she ate with me and all the rules that applied to my trophies did not apply to her.

She was free to do as she liked.

I spent time with her at night, and we talked about life.

I wanted to know the extent of her knowledge. I tried to understand her mind. She didn't disappoint me, either.

My wolf, Knight, was drawn to her like iron to a magnet, and he troubled me to make it official.

The mark gracing her neck annoyed me, but I kept my cool for her sake. If Leonardo Albert continues to defy me, I will have to end him to take what is mine.

Two weeks passed, and she was a bit more relaxed with me. I was tempted to sleep on her bed, but I would wait until she invited me.

Seeing her in the tunic provoked me, and I decided she wouldn't wear any of the sheer outfits given to her unless I was there.

I spent two days away from the estate. Marcel, Theodore and I had a small business to attend to in the neighbouring town. I wondered what Tamia would think and whether she would miss me.

Based on her temperament, I also knew she wouldn't tell me.

"Did you figure out who staged the attack?" I asked Theodore, my Gamma, and he shook his head.

Someone had attacked the border of a town in the north, and I needed to find out who.

I had been on high alert since my father was killed on his retirement trip.

My mother lived in the town whose borders were attacked, so I had to be extra careful. I also did not want to lose her; she was the only parent I had left.

"We are still investigating, Alpha," Theodore said and sighed.

I was very uncomfortable. I would only be comfortable if the culprit had a name, face and location. It always made me feel safer.

I let it rest and decided to speak to the town's Alpha.

He didn't know what caused the attack, but he told me the attackers seemed to be from the east.

The east was too far for someone to stage such an attack and not try to succeed.

I also knew I had just attacked the east and taken their loved ones from them. Could it be that they wanted to retaliate? Could it be that they wanted to take their trophies back?

If that was the case, they were stupid because if I had to send my men to attack them again, it would be to raze their territory and structure to the ground. I do not take likely to threats.

Noticing my mood change, Marcel, my Beta, called my attention.

"Let us not be hasty, Alpha. The east suffered dearly because of one Alpha's mistake. I doubt they will do this. Let us investigate further so we can know what to do, besides we have their wives, sisters and daughters; we can get information out of them if the need arises," He pointed out and smiled at me.

"And what would we do if they refuse to give us information?" I asked him because I knew he was getting attached to the Luna he was fucking.

"Then we will torture it out of them," he said, and I laughed.

"And you will willingly torture Avery?" I asked him, and he smiled.

"She will give up her husband's secrets in a heartbeat, Alpha. The man was a douchebag. He used to beat Mia, her wolf," he told me, and I was shocked at the kind of savagery they practised in the east.

"I do not even want to tell you what that bastard, Kyle, did to his luna because he found his fated," Theodore said, and whatever it might have been must have been terrible.

"I doubt Tamia would give up her husband's secrets, though. You need to be careful with that one, Alpha," Marcel warned me, and I smiled.

"I can never lose my head or neglect my duty because of a woman. She fascinates me quite alright, but if she ends up protecting my enemies, she will become an enemy," I said, and I meant it. She might have enthralled me, but I wasn't stupid.

We did some research and finally headed back to the estate. I wasn't eager to see Tamia after what I had discussed with my men. I realised I had to slow down just in case I needed information from her. Especially information she might not be willing to give. I want to be able to deal with the matter unclouded.

Evening came, and Marcel, my beta, brought a letter addressed to Tamia and me. I knew her husband sent it, and I was curious to see what he had to say.

I opened it and read both letters. It was the tone of a grieving, broken man.

The fact that her last months with him weren't great made me relax. If not, I might have sent her back.

The humility and pain the letter represented touched, my soul. It was a letter of true love.

He was giving her to me. He might not have said it clearly for me to see, but he was giving his consent for me to care for her and love her.

I did not need it, but I appreciated it.

Tamia must have been important to him; too bad he was too weak to keep her.

Based on the letters, he had lost her long before I took her from him. I now realised why she gave herself up. She did not want to be his luna anymore.

The situation must have been heart-wrenching for her to choose the unknown over him. It made me remember Susan and why she left me.

It was late in the evening, so I took Tamia's letter to her. I was glad for all the tips Leo gave me, but I had no plan of wooing her.

I knocked on the door, and no one answered, so I let myself in. Tamia was on the floor in tears. I did not need to know why; the mark on her neck was gone.

I went to her and held her.

The two must have loved each other dearly, and everything that went wrong must have been hard on both of them, but judging by their situation, this was for the best.

I held her on the floor, and she cried in my arms. I could hear the pain in her wails. Fate messed up their love story, and his weakness wrecked them.

"He sent you a letter," I said and handed her the letter with a broken seal.

"I had to read it for security purposes," I said, stroking her back gently.

"He sent me a letter too. That I should take care of you," I said, and her tears fell freely.

I decided to leave her so she could read the letter privately. I stood up, and she grabbed my hand to stop me.

"Stay with me," She said, and I nodded.

She read his letter and then placed it against her chest and cried. I let her cry.

It was clear that even though they knew the marriage was over, neither was ready to let go. They were too attached.

She calmed down after a while and had to swear allegiance to me to join my pack. It was necessary so she didn't go rogue.

I felt the connection snap into place, which meant I could now mind-link her. She calmed down, and I studied her.

"So you were sharing your husband with his fated?" I asked her, and she nodded.

"Wow, that was a messed up situation. I see why you came here," I said, and she looked at me.

"They would have killed him," She said, defiant tone returning, and I nodded because I knew I was right.

"I hope you will be in the mood for horse riding tomorrow," I said and got up.

"Where are you going?" She asked me, standing up too.

"To sleep," I told her, and her eyes looked like she was contemplating something.

"Okay," she said, but I knew those weren't the words she wanted to speak. So I moved close to her until her back was against the wall.

"Okay?" I said, and she swallowed and nodded.

Her eyes were swollen from tears. She searched my eyes with them, trying to figure me out, and before she could speak, I kissed her neck where her husband's mark once was and sucked gently. She moaned, unable to control herself, and Knight growled. Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

"If I stay, I will take you, and you aren't ready for that," I told her and walked out of her room.

It was hard as hell, but I knew it would be wrong to take advantage of a grieving woman. She needed time and space to accept her reality.

I returned to my room, hard as hell, and went to the bathroom to work on myself.

As I lay on my bed, I thought of Tamia and Leo's story and realised she was the type to love deeply. Would she fall for me and love me the same if anything happened between us?

Remembering what Susan did snapped me out of my fantasies. Women could not be trusted. I learned that the hard way, and I have been on my guard ever since