The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

77 The Man Once A Child

~Tamia~

Sylvester held me into the morning. I felt a strong connection between us, something that wasn't there before.

He was mine, and it was confirmed this time. There was no fear or uncertainty between us. He was mine.

I still could not believe that he kept his promise and made me proud.

I thought I would walk out of the ballroom alone and humiliated, but instead, I left with Sylvester after he had publicly rejected Susan.

I honestly felt bad for her, but she did not seem nice.

How could she expect me to get up and walk away from my man simply because she showed up and they were fated? I guess she knows now.

I woke up in the morning feeling light. The void I felt when I rejected Devin was gone. I was filled with love and hope.

I looked to my side, and there he was, handsome as always, with his messy hair on the pillow, and I thanked the goddess for giving him to me. I would have never imagined that I would be this blessed or there was hope for me after what Leo did. I was grateful, and I knew I would always be.

I woke him up gently because we needed to be present for the opening ceremony in Lucland. It also meant we would be staying in the house in Lucland.

I knew the staff had helped pack our things, so all we had to do was get dressed, get some food in our systems and head to Lucland to attend the opening ceremony.

I could not wait to be a part of the celebration.

There would be parades and performances from different packs from all over. I was excited.

I nibbled Sylvester's ear, and he groaned, waking up gradually.

He opened his eyes and looked at me with a frown which I returned, and then he grabbed me and turned me on my back and leaned over me. Sylvester was that alert, and I liked it.

He tickled me, making me laugh until my lungs began to hurt. Then he stopped and stared at me.

"Good morning, darling," He said, kissing my neck, making a moan escape my lips.

He did not stop but continued.

As much as I wanted to tell him we had something to attend to, I wanted him to touch me, So I held my tongue.

"I wanted to peel that beautiful dress off your body the last night," He said, working his way down to my breast.

"I guess I will have to imagine I did and make do with what is in front of me," He said and sucked one of my nipples while he played with the other. My body anticipated it. Soon he was inside me pumping.

I wanted to stay in the room and not go anywhere, but soon we both came and had to shower.

Sylvester washed my body, and I washed his. It felt great. Nothing was burdening our hearts. I could not speak for him, but his eyes showed he was light, and I was light too.

"Thank you for remaining by my side through it, Tamia," He said in the shower while I traced his tattoos with my hand.

"My love," He said and lifted my chin. I was battling tears, but we were under the shower, so he could not see it.

"I can never leave you. Always know that." He said, and I hugged him and placed my head against his chest.

"I can never leave you, darling. I can never leave you," I said, and he held me.

We did not need to say anything. Our actions had said it all. I had rejected Devin for him, and he had rejected Susan for me. Love did not get better than this. Making our choice and sticking to it. Not driven by some forces that compel us to love, but falling naturally and nurturing the feeling as it blossoms into something beautiful.

We finished and went for breakfast.

The moment we stepped into the dining room, everyone started clapping. Marcel, Theo, Avery and Linda clapped. Sylvester and I had crossed a fire they had not experienced and might never see. I smiled, and Avery winked at me. She knew I had crossed that fire with Devin long ago.

"Yours finally," She linked me, and I smiled at her because she understood my relief. We went to sit down, and they took turns congratulating us.

I was very hungry, so I ate a lot of food, and Sylvester kept adding things to my plate. He always reminded me I was eating for two, and he did not want his child to be malnourished. It was cute, really.

"We are expected to cut the ribbon for the opening," Marcel said, and Sylvester smiled at him.

"I think Dominic should cut the ribbon this year. He had always wanted to do it badly," Sylvester said, and his friends laughed.

"He is a serious handicap on our team," Theo said, grumbling and everyone laughed.

"Tamia," Avery said, and I turned to look at her.

"Guess who is playing polo?" She asked with a mischievous grin, and I frowned at her.

"Leo, Max and Kyle with some other douchebags from the east," She said, and I was in shock because I knew Leo did not play polo.

"When did they start playing polo?" I asked and looked at Linda, who shrugged.

"I don't know, but I think it is a bit suspicious," Avery said, and I remembered how the men were looking at them at the ball.

"Was that why they were looking at Marcel and Theodore scornfully?" I asked, and Linda smiled.

"I saw that. I looked right past him," She said, laughing with satisfaction in her voice. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"I can't wait to see them fool themselves on the field." She said and looked at Theo.

"If your team happen to meet theirs, please do me the honours by beating the crap out of Kyle. After all, accidents happen on the field," She said and kissed Theo, who seemed to be on board with what she was saying.

I wanted to say they should exclude Leo from their plan, but I did not know how Sylvester would feel about it.

I could not laugh at their plan. As great as it sounded, I couldn't.

Above all, I remember that Leo made a fool of himself at the ball to try to save me from embarrassment. He was the leader of the east; I knew many people would talk about his drunken

stunt, and it might make headlines, and he did it for me. I also knew Leo knew nothing about polo and wouldn't be safe playing against our men on the field.

Sylvester touched my hand and kissed it gently.

"I won't let them hurt Leo, Tamia. Just Kyle and Max, not Leo," he linked me, and I searched his eyes expectantly.

"It is okay for you to feel protective of him. Before he broke his promise, he was your first best friend and confidant. I could see that even at the ball, I could see the connection. It was still there. I am not jealous, Tamia, because I know I own your heart. He is a friend and a loyal one at that." He linked me and kissed my hand, and I was relieved.

"But I can't promise the same where Devin is concerned," He said, and I laughed because I honestly did not care about that.

I wished him well, but if he made a nuisance of himself, then it was okay that Sylvester messed him up. He deserved it for bringing Susan and her uncle.

"I am excited about the blue moon," Linda said, rubbing her tiny bump.

Theo kissed her neck where his mark would rest, and she moaned.

"I think we should start leaving," Avery said, and I knew she was a bit unhappy because she wanted a baby too.

"Should we go in the same car or separate cars?" Linda asked innocently, but I knew Avery would say no, so before Avery spoke, I quickly spoke.

"It will be a great idea, Ave," I told Avery, and she knew I suspected her mood was a bit foul.

"Okay, Lady Tamia," she said, and we all giggled. We left the dining room and went to prepare to leave.

I wore a simple black dress with a fascinator on my head. While Sylvester was decked up in his official outfit. Just like the ball night, he looked dashing.

"My prince charming," I said, and he smiled at me.

I was nervous about our Croquet team, but I kept it to myself. I knew we would have lots of fun.

There was a knock at the door, and Sylvester asked the person to enter. To my surprise, it was Dominic, and he was wearing the same outfit as Sylvester, but where Sylvester's outfit was decorated in gold threads, his was decorated with regular cream-coloured thread, and he looked handsome.

He had on his official suit what I had come to know as the Volkov's crest. A profile of a wolf bearing its teeth. It was beautiful.

"I hear I am cutting the ribbon this year," He said, and Sylvester smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes, big brother. You will also be welcoming the guests in my stead. You are a Volkov, too," Sylvester said and pulled me close to him.

It was obvious that we were genuinely happy.

A heavy load had been lifted, and the dark clouds of fate had been chased away. It was just us and the brilliant love sun.

Dominic beamed at Silvester, and he looked like a child. His eyes wandered to me.

"She is good for you, I see," he said, looking at me, and I did not know what to say.

He walked up to Sylvester and shook his hand.

"Glenda shouldn't know I did this, but I am proud of you. I thought you would do what father did," He said, and my heart skipped because, contrary to what Stephanie thought, Dominic was aware of what was happening when he was little. I wondered what secrets he kept in his mysterious mind.

Sylvester frowned at him pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"What do you mean by that?" Sylvester asked, and I commended him for his quick thinking.

Dominic looked at me and smiled.

"After what my brother did for you and seeing how you were indifferent towards your ex, I believe I can officially call you a member of my family now, Tamia, so I will speak in front of you."

"Father had a fate. Her name was Alissa, and she was one wicked bitch. He did not reject her for mother. Instead, he made her share. I wouldn't call it sharing, really, because we were sent to the west wing," he said, and his eyes became misty.

"That was why I did not want to go there when you sent me there, Sylvester. It just brought back memories," He said with a sad tone.

"That woman was the reason father hated me so much. She set me up all the time, and my father disciplined me. He did things that I could never tell mother. She did not know, which was why I was quiet for most of my childhood. When we left, I was happy, but father asked us to return, and mother was turned into that bitch's slave. Giving massages, washing her feet, name it. There was nothing that mother wasn't made to do. Some I had to do because it degraded my mother. I dared not speak then," He said and pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

"Father used to hit her, you know. I do not know if she told you, but he will beat her because she did not get the taste of Alissa's food right, or she messed up with the menu. Mother did not know that I

knew. I knew he would lock her in the dungeon for days and lie to me that she went to visit her nonexistent family, whom he had slaughtered because they refused to allow him to remain Lord if he divorced her. You see, Uncle Arnold Balyaev, mother's brother, you did not know him because father killed him, would have ascended and become Lord, but father married his sister and kept the lordship in his bloodline while he controlled the council. There was a balance of power then. He killed our uncle so he could divorce our mother and wed that bitch. I prayed that she would die a painful death, and she did. Talking about answered prayers," he said and chuckled a bit.

" Father seemed to have repented, and he became nicer to mother. When she had you, and he realised you would succeed him because you, unlike me, were an Alpha, he began to dote on her and did everything to make her forget what he did. I doubt she ever did." He said and wiped away his tears. I could only imagine the trauma he went through as a child. Seeing everything that was happening but not being able to speak of it.