The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

71 The Trickery of Envy

~Sylvester~

I woke up in the morning, and Tamia was still sleeping.

I knew she was exhausted and overworked.

Not wanting her to fall ill, I ordered the staff to serve her breakfast in the bedroom.

I showered, got ready for the day, and headed to the dining room.

To my surprise, only Marcel and Theodore were in the dining room for breakfast.

"Tamia too?" That was the first thing Theodore said, and I nodded.

"They must have overworked themselves yesterday," Marcel said, and I agreed and sat on my seat.

I knew it would be a boring breakfast without our soon-to-be wives.

"Linda returned to the room and passed out last night. She said she just wanted to put up her feet and fell asleep immediately." Theodore said, and I smiled.

"Avery passed out immediately. She entered the room and pleaded with me not to wake her before passing out. I wondered if Lacy left all the work for them?" Marcel said, sounding slightly annoyed, thinking the event planner didn't do her work.

"I do not think Lacy is the problem; you know how the women like to handle everything. That might have been it. I have asked the staff to serve Tamia in the room. Honestly, they need to rest." I said, and they agreed with me.

We ate breakfast in a rush, and then I broke the good news to them.

"So finally, I traced a money receiver in Gad yesterday. He slipped up and collected money using his ID instead of a secret word or number," I said, and Marcel was surprised.

"That was a bit too easy, don't you think? What if they are trying to divert our attention," He said, and I shook my head. This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

"I thought as much until I called Noel in Gad to have her trace the guy. His name is Bricks Liam. He exists, and he is, indeed, a bit shady. I wanted her to arrest him, but Tamia came up with a nice idea that we should trace him and investigate him and his associates before we move in to arrest him. That way, he will lead us to other people," I said, and Marcel agreed.

"So what has Noel found out?" He asked, and I laughed.

"She saw him yesterday evening. We need to give it time, but I think it will lead us to a mole or part of Lily's so-called organisation members here." I said, and they agreed.

"I think Lily was why we did not catch anyone all this while. She might have been alerting them to cover their tracks," Theodore said, thinking the same way I thought.

"I believe so too. It was smart to keep her and Sofia's arrest a secret." Marcel said, and I nodded.

"As for Lily, Tamia thinks we can use her to our advantage," I said, and Marcel frowned.

"Lily has committed treason, and the punishment is death. For a lesser punishment, she will have to cooperate and help us catch some of the people. If she agrees, we will make Sofia's arrest public and prosecute her; it will force the organisation to reach out to Lily directly. Tamia said she heard Lily telling them that security would be low during the games. We could use the games to trap some of the members," I said, and they were silent, thinking about what I had said.

"That is an excellent Idea. The girl is too selfish not to agree. Besides, I doubt she believes in their cause. I think she was just mad you refused to fuck her," Marcel said, and we all laughed. It was a

pity because I saw her as my younger sister and treated her well.

"Speaking of the games, there is a slight issue. It isn't an issue, but it was created to be so," I said, and they frowned.

"The council is at it again, and Pamela decided to invite the eastern alphas," I said. Theodore banged his hand on his table angrily.

"When will those bastards stop? What is her fucking problem? She sent her daughter here once, and neither of us accepted her, and now she is trying to ruin our lives because of it?" Theodore said, livid.

"Linda loves you, Theodore, and she hates her ex; you shouldn't be worked up," Marcel said, trying to calm Theodore down, and he shook his head.

"I just don't say it, but Linda has nightmares. She doesn't know, but most of the time, I have to wake her in her sleep and hold her. She is traumatised to her soul. I hear many things she mumbles in her sleep, and I could not imagine anyone could be subject to that kind of treatment. Imagine what I had to deal with when she got here. She was broken. I am not worried about where her heart lies. She is pregnant. I do not want anything that would trigger her memory and cause her stress. She might think she is over the guy, but she still dreams of revenge. I do not want her to be stressed. How dare Pamela do this?" He said, very angry.

I did not know he was dealing with all that until he voiced it out. I now understood their slow progress and the woman's reluctance.

Kyle was a bastard, and I wondered what Leo was doing as leader of the east.

He was supposed to strip Kyle of his rank and take his pack from him. The bastard was unfit to rule.

"They should strip that man of his rank and take his pack from him," I said, and Theodore nodded.

"I would have moved to do that, but I do not want to cause a war with the east. Most of the land he uses and the money he spends belongs to Linda. She is an heiress. The guy is a bastard. He caused a problem with us, and when we came, he gave her to us and decided to keep her things so he and his bitch could share. Once I am married to Linda, I will retrieve her property. He has no right to hold on to her things since they are no longer together. I will see how powerful his pack will be without her land and money. The man needs to suffer." Theodore said, and we were silent because of the new tension in the atmosphere.

Now that Theodore put it that way, I was a bit worried. What if Leo showed up and stressed Tamia out? She did not need any form of stress at the moment. Her pregnancy was still in the early stages. Pamela was a bitch.

"I swear, Sylvester," Marcel said, and I could see the pure rage in his eyes.

"That bastard Maxwell tried to take Avery from the north." He said, pointing out his own situation.

"How could the council invite an Alpha that had attacked the north with an Army? We need to query them and water down their power," Marcel said through gritted teeth, angry and disgusted by their conduct.

"I planned on doing that after the games. I do not want them to think we harbour anything against them. If we move now, the mutiny culprits will be careful, and it will be hard to catch them. We need them to be relaxed so we will be successful when we move. We cannot lose our eyes on the goal. Someone or some people are working against us. We must deal with the situation quickly before it gets out of hand.

" I can't wait for the blue moon to come so we can rest," Theodore said, and I laughed.

"Too bad the games will occur before the blue moon," I pointed out, and there was silence.

They were processing the situation, and soon we resolved it individually without sharing our resolutions.

"No matter what happens, I won't doubt my mate. I will let her do what she wants. Our women have shown us complete loyalty, and we have to respect that aspect," I said, and Marcel smiled at me.

"You can say that since Devin is not coming. You know that dude is obsessed with Tamia, right? I did a little digging and found that she wasn't lying. They met only once. My sources in the east said he danced with her and was enthralled.." he stated, and I interrupted him.

"Devin is a closed chapter in Tamia's life. She loves me, and I know it. He had his chance, and he blew it." I said, and everyone began to laugh. It was great to see everyone lifted.

I finished breakfast and headed to my office to call and ask Noel about Bricks Liam.

It wasn't long after I sat down when Dominic barged into my office.

"Why are you sending me to the western wing? It is meant for workers," he said, and I bowed my head.

I hated dealing with his drama, and now that he was over his imprisonment, he was back to his old self. I could understand why our father did not want him heading the council.

"There is a luxury apartment in the wing meant for my Delta. If Vino had joined the service, that would have been his wing. I am giving it to you because I can no longer take your activities with Glenda in this wing. My mate is pregnant, and she needs to rest, yet you guys fight and ravage yourselves in the halls. And you always seem to do it close to my door. I am tired. At least you will own that wing and can do what you like," I said as calmly as I could manage, and he grumbled. I knew he wanted something.

"Please, Dominic, I do not have time for all this," I said, wanting him to get to the point and leave.

"Sign me up for the Polo team. I want to play," He said, and I studied him. I knew he would not take no for an answer, and the truth was the games were to connect and have fun. He would be a severe handicap on our team, but I just nodded so he could leave my office. He thanked me immediately.

"Glenda has great ideas for our uniform," he said, and I shook my head.

"Tamia has already handled that; she should have spoken up earlier," I said, and he grumbled.

"The black and white combination is tasteless. Also, the monochromatic design for the ball is too plain," He said, and I sighed.

"Tasteless or not, my woman wants me in a black and white uniform, and I am lord, so I will wear what she wants. If she wants to paint the entire estate in whatever colour she likes, I will allow it. Anything to make my Lady happy. Hope you know my wedding is fast approaching. You need to start respecting Tamia as your sister Inlaw, Dominic. She was the one that got you out of that bind." I told him, and his face dropped.

"I do not disrespect her. Did she report me? I have been nice to her. I am forever grateful for what she did, but you know I am the older brother, and Glenda is my woman; she should have something to do. She does not feel like I am not taking her seriously, Sylvester, and I love her," He said, and I looked at him. I could not believe my brother would ever use that word with anyone. He was like our father, and he was incapable of being faithful which was why they fought all the time, but for him to say he loves her means it is serious.

"She can meet Tamia. I am sure there will be something for her to do. Trust me, my mate needs the help. She was tired yesterday." I said, and he nodded.

"She shouldn't be overworking herself; she is carrying your baby," He said with concern. I could see that Dominic had changed, so I pushed my luck a bit.

"Word of advice, Dominic, try to be faithful to Glenda. I know what you have been doing with the girls in the harem; you have to respect her. So you do not hurt her like father hurt mother. I am just saying," I said, and he looked away because he knew that was precisely what he was doing. He excused himself, and my mother walked in. I wondered if she was waiting for Dominic to finish talking before she interfered.

She was angry and worried, and she looked unsettled.

"Sylvester, we need to do something about Pamela and Joan," She said, looking angry and very worried.

"Please have a seat," I said, and she looked towards the bathroom door of my office. I shook my head to let her know no one was there.

"I went through the guest list. They invited Devin and Devin requested to place his pack in the Polo tournament," She said.

As much as that did not sit well with me because I doubted his intention was pure, knowing what transpired between Tamia and him, I trusted my woman not to betray me. She had rejected him, and he had accepted that. He was stupid if he was still hoping to try his luck.

I was angry at the council, and I knew I would have to suspend them and review their authority because this was just too much. They know the bad blood between Alpha Corrigan and my family, yet they chose to do this. I just hoped they did not plan to start a war.

I looked at my mother, who seemed a bit nervous and worried.

"What is it, mother?" I asked, wanting her to get to it because I wanted to call Noel and find out if there had been any other leads other than the one I gave her.

"It is not Devin I am worried about, my son. Nikolay Sullivan is the registered captain of his team, and he is coming with Susan," She said, and my heart was caught in my mouth. I felt a pound in my chest, one I had not felt in a long time, and fear engulfed me.

Why would the council do this to me? I had picked up the pieces of my life and moved on; why would they bring my past to hunt me? If Tamia finds out Susan is coming, she will be perplexed, and I do not want anything to happen to our baby. I bowed my head, trying to figure out what to do.

"Pamela and Joan are smart, son. They brought in the list at the time closest to the event when we could not cancel the guests," My mother said, repeating what was playing on my mind.

"Tamia," Knight said, livid at what the council had done.

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