The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

96 Cards and Candy

~Tamia~

I left the room and headed downstairs. Linda and Avery were busy congratulating Katya, who was blushing. Katya was the first to see me since she was facing my direction.

"Luna Tamia," She said, and I smiled at her. We were going to be sisters.

"Welcome to the family, darling," I hugged her. She returned the hug, and I broke it and squeezed Avery's hands, who squeezed in return.

"Katya was just telling us what made her give it up, finally," Avery said, teasing Katya, and I raised an eyebrow at her. All content is © N0velDrama.Org.

"It just felt right. He... he... he was.." she was trying to find the right words.

I squeezed her shoulder gently.

"We all know the feeling. There is no need to elaborate. I am sure you two will be happy together," I said, and she smiled.

"Oh my, there you all are," I heard Stephanie's cheerful voice as she approached us. I looked in her direction, and she was beaming.

"I am such a lucky woman. My sons found themselves two amazing women," She said and turned to Katya.

"I have known you were perfect for my baby," she said, embracing Katya, and we all laughed.

"Did you see Glenda?" she said, and we all giggled. Glenda did not look good at all when she left last night.

"Serves the bitch right. She has been trying to get her cousin in here. Putting her on Sylvester's itinerary, busy trying to get her cousin back together with Sylvester when she should have been worried about her relationship.

Glenda thought her relationship with Dominic was certain. I was so happy to see Dominic propose to Katya in her presence. I could not help but laugh." Stephanie said, and I could not believe what Glenda had been up to.

Not that I had an issue with Susan. Now that Sylvester and I were fated, there was nothing to worry about. Still, she would have been a serious inconvenience, and I did not want to deal with the nonsense. Good riddance.

"I am so happy, dear Avery; Marcel is over the moon. I heard him calling his family to inform them. The four of you are blessed, and I am happy to be a part of it." She said and touched my hand. I knew she wanted to speak to me privately, so we excused ourselves.

"Tamia," Stephanie said, looking at me and touching my hand.

"I am glad to see that you are capable. My son has found a true luna. One to accompany him through the difficult journey for the rest of his life.

I know you will raise a strong heir and help continue the Volkov bloodline. I am very proud of you. What you did for Sylvester cannot be quantified. You have saved our family from shame and disgrace.

My son is very kind, and those bastards have taken advantage of him repeatedly; I am glad they have met their match. I know you will deal with them.

Seeing how you played politics with those two bitches made me realise how strong you are. Whatever you need to do subsequently, please do it. Do it in my name until you are married to

Sylvester.

I know you are working on many things, and William called me for consent a few minutes ago. I have instructed him to carry out your order as the lady of the north.

Please, Tamia, I know you are wise beyond your years; help my son bring peace into our lives. My son swallowed his pride and tried to maintain stability in our world, but there is war and turmoil in his life with all these hidden threats; please do all you can to expose them; I know you will succeed.

You achieved the impossible yesterday, which made me know you can," she said and sighed, looking at me seriously. It was the look of respect and adoration.

"I know what you did for him, Tamia. What you and your friends did to make those Alphas bend. Sylvester needs someone like you to balance him out. Those men are too kind. They need the three of you to balance their power. Thank you so much," she said and hugged me.

I wrapped my arms around her warmly and smiled. It was good to be welcomed, especially by a woman who doubted me and my intentions. I guess she was no longer in doubt.

"How is my grandbaby?" she asked, breaking the hug, and I giggled and touched my tiny bump.

"Growing," I said, and we laughed.

We ate breakfast, and the four of us headed to the Arena.

Everywhere was buzzing with life. People were going about their activities and watching games; it was amazing.

We went to our booth in the croquet section to watch the game.

Avery and I were playing in the evening. Linda was out, and she did not seem to care. It was funny. Linda just dumped the mallet and said she was done. She complained that it was making her sleepy. People laughed and clapped for her as she walked away.

While we watched, one of the Kappas working for Sylvester came to see me.

"Luna Volkov, you have some guests on your itinerary," he said, and I frowned at him and then looked at Stephanie, who smiled.

"You are the lord's mate; of course, you will have an itinerary. As long as the person's name is on that list, it is safe to see the person, and you must see the person. As a lady of the north, you must make yourself available to Lunas from all over. Next year will be a blast for you since you will officially be the lady of the north," she teased, and I smiled at her. I knew I was expecting Alpha Jake in the evening, but I did not know of any Luna.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Luna Amanda Richford," he said, naming the woman that almost ruined my life, and my stomach churned.

"What? How did that bitch get on the list?" Avery asked, fuming with anger.

"It was a humble request, and we vetted her before allowing it," The kappa said.

"Do you know who that bitch is?" Avery said, and the kappa became worried, afraid that he had made a mistake.

Indeed he had made a mistake because Amanda shouldn't have been allowed on the list. I knew he would lose his job and be punished severely if I made an issue of the matter, so I let it be.

"I will see her," I said, standing and Avery exclaimed.

"Tamia!" Linda said, surprised at my words, and I smiled and nodded.

"I have to see her; besides, she can't do anything to me," I told them, and they relaxed.

"Link us if there is an issue," Avery said, ready to do damage to Amanda. Both she and Linda hated the woman for what she did to me. It was no news that Leo didn't want her, and she had lied and forced her way into my home. I honestly wondered what she wanted to tell me.

I left the booth with the kappa and went to a booth prepared for me to receive my guests.

According to my itinerary, I had three lunas waiting to see me. It was a bit weird, but I said it was okay.

Amanda arrived looking heavily pregnant with swollen eyes. I did not care if she had been crying. She wanted Leo to herself, and I let her have him. She rubbed her tummy gently and sat down. I did not know if it was an insult or just out of habit.

"Good morning, Lady Tamia," she said, greeting me with respect, and I smiled at her in response.

"I want to thank you for what you did for Leo and me that day. I owe you my life. I wasn't expecting that level of kindness. Thank you," she said, and I smiled at her.

"As you can see, it all served us well. You have your fated now, and I am out of your lives," I said, and she bowed her head in shame.

"I am sorry. I did a lot of things that I am not proud of. I did not know it would end up like this. I lied against Leo to get into your home, but I swear it wasn't deliberate. My father put me up to it; it was either that, or he would have found another way; knowing how ruthless he was, I had to back the story he told to the alphas. Leo and I only made out, and he wanted to reject me. He tried to reject me so many times.." she said, and I did not want to hear the rest.

Leo was a weak man. That was why it was difficult. There was no way she could stop him if he really wanted to.

"Can we not talk about Leo's supposed rejection? You aren't the only luna on my list, you know," I cut her abruptly, and she chuckled.

"Luna..." she said, "I am not his luna. He refused to marry me. I just put it there, so they will let me see you. Leo has vowed never to replace you. Your room has been empty. He sleeps there sometimes," she said. It touched me, but he made his bed.

"What do you want from me, Amanda?" I asked her, and she wiped away her tears.

"Please, I need Leo to move on. He doesn't love me. Black is doing all he can, but Leo keeps holding back. He is riddled with guilt. Maybe you can talk to him and give him closure," she said in tears.

"Please, Luna Tamia. I am begging you. He needs your permission to move on. He rarely eats and rarely sleeps. He is an empty shell of the man he used to be. Please, I need your help. You have been his friend for a long time; you have known him for a while. I know he will listen to you. I am not asking him to love me, but I want him to live. I want him to eat, sleep and find a new reason to press on. Please, he is driving himself to an early grave, and only you can help him. I am begging you," she said and was about to kneel when I stopped her. Amanda was desperate; I could see it in her eyes. She wanted Leo to move on with her. I did not want her working herself up and going into labour in my booth, so I decided to pacify her.

"I will speak to my mate to allow me to speak to Leo. I will try my best," I told her, and she burst into tears.

"Thank you, Luna Tamia. Thank you so much. Words cannot express my gratitude," she said and got up.

Her time was up because she requested only ten minutes. She was supposed to be a VIP because she was mated to the leader of the east, but Leo had refused to give her my former office.

I will talk to him; maybe when he knows certain things, he will move on. The woman is desperate and helpless. One thing that caught my attention is that Ramsey made her lie and threatened to do worse if she did not support his lie. Meaning he wanted Amanda in our home for a reason.

I did not know whether Amanda was a pawn or an unwilling accomplice.

I saw the other two Lunas who only wanted to invite my friends and me to their homes.

Remembering what happened to me in Brighton, I told them I would think about it. I could forgive Iris for bringing me poison when I did not know I was pregnant; now, I had to be careful.

I returned to our booth at the croquet pitch, but the morning game was over by then, so we had to move to our main booth to while away time.

Avery and Linda wanted to know how the meeting with Amanda went, so I told them everything on our way to the booth. Avery laughed while Linda was irritated.

"Boohoo, she would lay on her bed of thorns; Tamia, she made it," Linda said, and we all laughed; even Stephanie joined this time. Other than Katya, all four of us had been burned by our husbands' fated at one point, so they all understood.

We got to our booth, which was filled with gifts and cards. To my surprise, they were all addressed to me.

"Kind-hearted Lady of the north," One read, and I picked up the other, but Stephanie stopped me.

"Don't just open things because they are addressed to you. You will be a lady soon; believe me or not, you have enemies. There is the staff that will open it to be sure it is not harmful before you

touch it," she said, and I saw her signal some people to take the things away.

One of the cards caught my eye; it was a simple card with a white tulip taped to it.

"This one looks harmless, Stephanie. May I," I said, reaching for it.

I had picked it up before she spoke, and I opened it.

The content was appalling. The words were cut out from magazines and papers.

"You were not meant to be involved, Luna. But it seems to move him, you have to be moved; watch your back because we are coming for you," it read, and I was in shock.

Stephanie saw it and collected the card from me. There was another with a red rose, and I picked it up.

"A traitor like you deserves to die. How can you fall for the very man that laid waste to the lives of your people? Have you no shame? Or did you plan it all along? Watch you back, Luna, because we are coming for you," it read, and I began to search through the cards.

I found six altogether, and none had anything pleasant.

I tried to pick a scent, but the flower taped to it covered the scent it might have had. It was sent meticulously.

Someone or some people were not happy about what happened at the hearing, and they knew I helped out, but how?

"Calm down, Tamia, you are sweating. I need you to be calm for the baby's sake," Stephanie said, and I did not know what to do. How could I be calm when I had somehow become a target in a game I did not know who the players were?