The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

30 Analysis (Book 2)

~Sylvester~

After the discussion on the phone, Lucas Sidorov had promised to come by the following day so he could examine the coin. The news baffled Marcel so much that he wasn't enthusiastic about returning to his wing to spend time with his family.

"We need to tell Theo, Dominic and David," I told him, and he agreed with me.

I was about to link them when Tamia linked me.

"Where are you? Is it over an hour past family time? Is everything alright?" She linked me, and I did not know if I should tell her or wait to confirm certain things before divulging the issue.

We promised to be open to each other no matter what, so I opted to tell her when we were together.

"I will tell you later. Something came up. Leo brought something from the east, and we are trying to figure out its origin." I told her, and she was silent.

"Is it something serious?" She linked.

"Maybe and maybe not. I am not sure at the moment, so I plan on keeping it quiet until we know," I replied as honestly as I could.

"I hope it is an adventure. Those council meetings are beginning to bore me, " She teased, and it made me chuckle a bit.

I could understand her take on that.

Honestly, I was bored with the monthly and sometimes weekly routine. Things were less tedious when I was lord.

Tamia and I had decided to delegate some of our duties to the council and increase their power, but we had yet to decide what to give them. After our last experience, it was only wise we are careful.

"I will join you later, green-eyes," I linked my wife, and that was the end of the conversation.

I linked Leo, Theo, David and Dominic to join Marcel and me in my lounge.

Leo requested that Max could join us, and I obliged.

I did not know his relevance in the discussion, but I obliged because Leo was a loyal friend.

I couldn't deny a simple request because I couldn't be mean to someone who fought for me to take the throne.

I could not forget that day in the council hall.

Leo was annoyed, and he scared a lot of people.

I had thought he was weak, but our adventure together made me realise otherwise.

My only advantage over the guy was that I was a Volkov, and now that I knew he had begun training with silver, I could not be sure of his limits.

Overall, Leo wasn't a good enemy to have, so I was grateful he was my friend and a loyal one at that.

As for Max, I was indifferent, but unfortunately, I had to be sceptical because of how he behaved with his wife. He seemed remorseful compared to Kyle.

Marcel and I head to the lounge.

Leo and Max were the first to arrive before the rest.From NôvelDrama.Org.

I noticed Leo looked more relaxed than he was when he arrived.

I did not need to guess why; he reeked of Amelia.

As much as Leo might want to lie to himself, he cared for the woman.

I could tell from his body language and how he looked at her, but people like Leo are best left to admit their truth.

"Sylvester, what is up?" Dominic asked, not pleased I had called him to the lounge. I might have interrupted something, but what I had to discuss with them could not wait.

"Leo brought a coin from his forest with an ancient northern language and a weird-looking insignia," I said and tabled the coin.

They all took their time to look at it. All but Leo because he had already seen it.

When I knew they were satisfied with it and decided to continue.

"All I could figure out was the writing which says ' The strength of evolution is stronger than death'," I said, and David touched the coin using a handkerchief so it wouldn't burn his hand.

"Wanting to be sure what it was, Marcel sent pictures of the coin to uncle Lucas, and he was able to figure out something from the image," I said, and they were attentive.

"According to him, the wolf and Leaf on the coin is a Stepanov family Insignia," I said, and David was shocked.

He spent most of his time reading, so he must know about Stepanov's history.

"I thought our grandfather, Dimitiri, killed Adrik and his family? The council even went as far as burying the name and history of the Stepanovs to wipe them from existence. What will a coin with

their Insignia be doing in the east?" David asked, and I understood his confusion.

"Uncle Lucas is coming here tomorrow to examine the coin physically. The physical examination is to decide when the coin was produced. It does not look old enough to date back to the last Stepanov, but then again, it must have been kept well by whoever dropped it in Leo's woods," I said and sighed, then brought up my genuine concern.

"I would have brushed this off as a lost treasure if it weren't for the reports Leo and Devin have tabled from the east and south about the new alphas that have been challenging pack alphas and taking their packs from them by cheating with silver in these challenges.

Although the claims are yet to be confirmed and there are investigations ongoing, it is only a wolf immune to silver that will use it to cheat," I said and looked at Leo.

"I hate to say this, Leo, but your girlfriend is another reason I am determined to look into this. She is a delta breed with Stepanov features. Those eyes cannot be missed. The only difference is her platinum blonde roots which I believe is the colour of her hair. I also cannot ignore the fact that she is a delta. The stars on that coin are meant for a delta," I said, and he frowned, confused. I did not want him to get defensive, so I spoke immediately.

"I am not saying she is involved or she has an idea of what is going on, Leo; I am saying she might be a Stepanov, an improved version," I said and sighed, ready to elaborate on my statement.

"Stepanovs were masters at Alchemy, and they used themselves for the experiment. They were so good at it that they could evolve over several trials. It came at a cost, of course. They lost their alpha genes, But there had been rumours that they could produce Alpha-like deltas, strong, fast and authoritative, but those Delta can never be a match to a true Alpha. Adrik found that out the hard way. Could it be that one or some of them survived and went into hiding?" I said, and Dominic shook his head.

"Amelia's DNA test will be out tomorrow; let's not conclude until we are sure," Dominic said, and I nodded.

"I understand what you are saying, but she looks like us, Dominic. There is no doubt she has Stepanov genes. Waiting until tomorrow will be a waste of time when we can test it now," I said, and Leo looked at me worried, but I had to request what I was about to ask of him. It was essential to know, at least.

"Only one thing would make us remove her from the equation and make her appearance a coincidence," I said.

"Please, Leo, bring Amelia here. All she has to do is pick up the coin. Whatever the outcome, we won't divulge the reason to her, but I need to see her pick up the coin with her bare hands," I said, and I could see the reluctance in his eyes.

He could only be reluctant if he knew something he did not want the rest of the world to know because, under normal circumstances, he should like to know too.

"Is there something you aren't telling us, Leo?" I asked him, and he sighed.

"Amelia is very innocent and has had a rough life growing up without her parents. It will be cruel if she is put to death because she has Stepanov abilities," he sputtered, and I shook my head. I could feel his protective approach, and I did not want to upset him or make him think her life was in danger where we were concerned.

"I will never hurt what is yours, Leo; even if she is a Stepanov, we will keep it to ourselves and protect her. It also means she is our family, and we must protect her. It also means she is the one they are after, and the events happening in the east and south aren't mere coincidence anymore," I said, and he looked at me with trust in his eyes and nodded.

"I will bring her here, but before I do, I want to tell you all something," He said, and I was attentive.

"When Amelia came to my pack, I gave her a job as my chef," he said, and his smile made me know he was fond of the memory.

"She lived in my Omega service quarters then, and you all know how Omegas can be. To cut the story short, She was framed for theft, and instead of bringing her to me, they bound her with silver to beat her. It was a mob action in there; I went there to see why she had not resumed work only to see what the Omegas were doing, but that wasn't what caught my attention," he said and sighed.

"Amelia's wolf Aurora was in charge. The stupid Omegas did not even figure it out, but I did. I wondered why she would have wolf eyes with silver on her wrists. The eyes were blue. I had to take her out of there. This was the reason I believed Max when he told me about Alexie because if Amelia had an ability that gave her access to her wolf after being bound with silver, someone with that ability could cheat with it." Leo said, and I was in shock.

Leo knew withholding that information from us was wrong, so he walked out quickly to go and get Amelia. I wasn't mad at him either; I understood his need to keep and protect her secret, and I am sure he might have carried it to his grave if it weren't for the fact that he knew her life might be in danger.

Leo might not want to admit it, but his heart was beating for this woman.