The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

153 To Greenville

~Max~

It was finally time for us to head South to Greenville. I would lie if I said I wasn't nervous. If what we encountered in Greenville would be worse than what we met in Brentwood, then we had serious cause for worry.

Although we won't be travelling heavily like last time, it was still a dangerous mission. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

I hadn't led a battle in a while, so I knew I would be rusty. The fact that Leo said the serum would impede our Alpha abilities and weaken our communication was scary, but we planned to make it work.

I repeatedly went through the formation and strategy with the warriors and alphas to ensure they knew what to do when we arrived at the venue.

Lukman had managed to find a way to communicate with us and told us where we would find them.

We did not want the enemy to be on alert, so attacking them when they least expected it was important. Lukman had told us that Ilya and Gaines would be our adversaries in Greenville. I wasn't surprised, knowing Yuri would be in Gad. Whoever would be standing in for Yuri in the South would fall; that much I could guarantee myself.

Casper had drilled Inkabod for information on Ilya and Gaines, and we had learned that Ilya was Yuri's, right-hand man.

He became important after Mikhail's death which meant should Yuri fall; the bastard will take over. Gaines was also a dangerous bastard, according to Inkabod, but they were the same to me.

Getting ready to head south, I thought of everything I would want for myself after this.

Leo had been uneasy about sending me because he believed I had nothing to live for, but he was wrong.

Everything I had seen and experienced in Mountain since Alexei took over my pack had been transformative, giving me a cathartic relief. Seeing Amelia and Leo gave me hope. He had done it twice, and Amelia was the third time.

I was hopeful that fate would smile on me, too, and I would have the things I have always wanted; a family.

I wasn't keen on a fated, but any would do. I was motivated to live and love again, which was motivation enough to survive because I wanted to do these things in a world of peace. Leo had nothing to worry about. I had made peace with my past and was hopeful about the future.

Casper linked me to inform me that the van was ready, and the troops and other alphas had gone ahead of us.

The plan was to go through Brighton, stop in Greeville's forest, and attack at night. It was okay for our men to leave now.

Leo had instructed us not to administer the serum until an hour before we engaged in battle. He claimed a horrible rash came with it. We decided to move with medical practitioners and an armoured ambulance that we would hide in the woods miles away from the scene to keep them safe.

The doctor had offered to come with meds to help with the side effects of the medication, and I had agreed.

Although Casper was Beta and should lead naturally in Leo's absence, Leo had put me in charge, so all had to pass through me.

To help communication flow easily, I grouped everyone.

I ensured an alpha or Beta led each group to help the impeded communication range that would occur on the battlefield due to the adverse effects of AgK32.

Ricardo and Grey wanted to tag along, but I dared not let them. Instead, I told him to remain and keep Mountain safe. Ricardo knew it was bullshit, but he had no choice but to accept.

We were off to take down an enemy; I wouldn't want to create another in the process.

If Leo's father should die, Leo will never forgive me for it. I had fucked too many things up. I couldn't mess this up.

"Shall we?" I heard Kyle in my head.

"Yes, The van is outside. I am on my way out," I said, gathering myself to head out.

Stepping out of the room in Leo's house, I knew things wouldn't be the same after this battle.

I promised myself to make an effort to turn my life around.

Being an Alpha had nothing to do with a settlement. It had everything to do with love and the need to protect and care for everyone regardless of the situation.

I had failed Avery woefully and then failed my pack. I won't fail Leo, Devin, Sylvester and my world. I promised to succeed this time around. With so much to prove, I held onto hope to succeed.

I headed out, and the armoured van that would take us to Greenville was waiting.

Casper stood outside with a smile. Along with him was my Beta, Christopher and Kyle's beta Allen. They were all ready for battle. Kyle Joined us outside, and we entered the van, ready to head to the South.

None of us was nervous. All I could feel from them was hope, resolve and the need to survive. We will need all the positive energy necessary to succeed.

"What will you do after this?" Kyle asked me, and I smiled at him.

"Take back my pack, meet someone, settle down and start a new life," I said all in a nutshell, and he smiled.

"I plan to do the same. Unlike me, Leo did not wallow in his regret and try to hurt the people around him. He is happy now. I plan to follow in his footsteps, and this time, I plan to be fateful regardless of the situation. If I settle with a chosen and a second chance mate shows up, I will reject her in a heartbeat. Never again will I hurt my mate. I really wronged Linda, and even though I am yet to forgive myself for it, I hope to fix my blunder one day," he said and sighed, knowing how he was feeling; I let him have some silence.

The three of us had messed up big time. Leo was remorseful immediately, but it took us losing everything to realise our blunder. I was grateful.

I looked at all the Beta's present and could see confidence radiate from them. It was time to talk to them as a leader should. I knew they were confident, but they needed the boost.

"This is not the time to die," I said, and Christopher smiled at me. He always had a smile for everything.

There were times I imagined he would die smiling, but I hoped it would happen when he was old and it was his time to go, not on the battlefield.

"This is not the time to fail. No matter what happens in Greenville, hold on to life. Hold on to the hope of a better future, the hope of growing old, and the hope of freedom.

Dying and failing isn't an option. We will watch each other's backs and liberate the South from the thieves that have tried to steal it.

Devin, Leo and the King will fight in Gad, and we know they will be victorious because they have everything to live for; let us do our best to mirror the victory in the South.

Let us show our worth and be part of the liberation," I said. Casper nodded with resolve; Allen agreed, and Christopher, as always, smiled.

"I do not plan to die in the South," Kyle said, and we all laughed because he said it as a fact.

The drive wasn't long. We had to go through the back road of Brighton to avoid detection since most of the southern Alphas were compromised. I knew it was a risk, and there was a possibility they might detect us, but that was the safest route we could take.

We arrived in the forest of Greenville close to evening time.

It was an hour from the settlement. Lukman had given us the coordinate, but he had also suspected that they knew we would be coming, so we braced ourselves to meet them ready.

We descended the vehicles, and I linked everyone to administer the Agk32, then formed groups with a leader each. If the serum weakens communication, communication should be less strenuous among small groups.

After the shots, we moved with our darts and loaders. Leo had warned that the contents of the darts were lethal, so we were careful not to let them touch us.

Our Betas led different groups, and Kyle and I led different groups but moved in the same direction. The goal was to surround the pack house where Luckman had informed us they were sitting.

As we approached the area of interest, I realised there wasn't much sound coming from the settlement, which was odd, but we pressed on.

"Something is wrong with this," I heard Kyle's faint voice in my head. I could also sense the difficulty he had linking me. I tried to link him to respond too. It took a while, but I got through.

"'They know we are coming, so let us brace ourselves," I managed to reply, and I moved. We came out of the woods into the clearing, and all the lights went out.

There was an army of people waiting for us in the clearing. They had situated where they knew we would likely emerge from, the forest leading to Brighton.