The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

Chapter 259: 97 What They Know

~Devin~

I knew it would be hard for Susan to unite with her parents, so I supported her. I had sentiments and did not trust them, but I could not show them.

Susan was already beating herself up about everything her family members had done; the least I could do was ease her mind.

It wasn't great to have relatives that were villains, and we did not know where her parents stood. We were unsure if we could trust them, but I would hold Susan's hand through it all.

I would have loved to continue the chat with them and maybe get to know them and decide whether they could be trusted, but time wasn't on our side. The Nitric plant was gone, and Leo was sourcing Nitric acid from everywhere. I learned people were already delivering the quantities they had, but I doubted it would be enough. We also had a meeting with Erik. We weren't sure how that would go, but we needed information to be clear on what to do.

I had no choice but the cut the entire reunion short and head straight to the point. Yuri could be planning an attack, and it would be messed up if we were caught up in a reunion dealing with personal feelings when he descended on us.

The kappa at the door had helped me link Leo, and I knew everyone was coming to the living room.

I held Susan's hands and stroked them gently to help her relax.

I knew she had mixed feelings, and I hoped she could deal with it later.

I hated seeing her suffer emotionally especially knowing what I now know about her mental health. It was my duty to ensure she was protected and happy always.

Sylvester was the first to walk in, and everyone stood up to greet him. Followed by Marce,l Theodore, Leo, Dominic, David, Vino, Clay, Andrew, Max, Kyle and the ladies, all except Amelia, Katya, and Avery.

I could see the shock on the face of the Sullivans when they saw all of us. They were not expecting this much. It also meant that the Alberts did not tell them much. I wondered why Richardo would withhold information from them. I planned to ask him.

Richardo and Martha walked in, and Grey and Rebecca stood up to greet them.

"Martha," Rebecca said and hugged Martha. Grey and Richardo shook hands and hugged.

It was clear they had both come a long way. It was apparent they had been through a lot together.

"I am glad you made it here safely, Ricky," Grey told Ricardo, and Richardo laughed.

"You too," he said, and they both laughed.

Sylvester was patient enough for the friends to exchange pleasantries before he cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"So what are Yuri's plans," Sylvester asked immediately. He wasn't playing, and he wasn't wasting time. He was serious, and he meant what he was saying.

Grey looked at Richardo, and Richardo nodded that it was okay.

"First of all, my wife and I pledge our allegiance to you. To serve you until the day we die. We also ask that when all this is over, you release us to live in the South under our true Alpha, Devin Corrigan," He said, and I was shocked.

"Yes, Devin, The Sullivans are Stepanovs of the south, and we serve your family and not the north," He said, and I knew his anger towards Maurice was still there.

I couldn't blame him.

Maurice got to raise his children while they had to run away from theirs. I am sure they knew Nicolas had to bring Susan to the South to protect her from Maurice. It was normal that they would not want to serve Sylvester. I wondered why they were helping.

"If you have this much anger against the Volkovs, why are you here to help?" I asked, not wanting to ignore the elephant in the room. It was clear that the man did not like the Volkovs.

"I admire Sylvester. He is the redemption the Volkov lineage needed. Yuri is scum, and we cannot let someone like him take over our world. It would be worse than Dimitri and Maurice. Those two would be great rulers compared to the scum. He is driven by greed and a thirst for power. His appetite keeps growing bigger, and his thirst can never be quenched. He needs to be put down for the sake of peace." Grey said confidently, and I was partially comfortable with him.

"So what are his plans," Leo asked, sounding a bit impatient.

I did not blame him. He and Theodore had a trip to make, and he and his mate just found out they were expecting. Under normal circumstances, Leo shouldn't make that trip, but I knew he was the one Richardo arranged the meeting for, so it would be pointless that someone else goes in his stead.

"That bastard is sick. He plans to take it all, and Sean is helping him," Grey said, and Leo slammed his fist into his palm.

"I knew it. I knew that bastard could not be trusted. All the takeovers in the west, all the displaced people. That bastard. What is his gain in all this?" Leo asked.

"Lordship. Sylvester elevated you and Devin's status, but he got nothing besides being head Alpha of the West. He seems to believe he deserves more," Grey answered.

"Yuri has promised a lot of people power." He said and sighed.

"Yuri has help from Joan Clayman, Alpah Gordon of the East, and all the alphas of the South. Three alphas of the west, " Grey said and looked at Sylvester.

"Alpha Christian Zakharov of the north is next on his list. We do not know if there is a way to warn them. Yuri plans to pull down Sylvester's support. That is, take out Leo, Devin, Christain, and The rest of the council and buy off some of his Kappas.

So far, Bryce Golubev has been complicated, and the head Kappas in the king's guard has been loyal to a fault, so we do not know what Yuri wants to do. Bryce and the Kappa are impenetrable.

Yuri planned to make it seem like it was Erik so Sylvester would go after Erik, and he could swoop in for the kill.

Erik has better warriors than Yuri, so Yuri plans to make Sylvester go for Erik. He would assist Erik in pushing back, swooping in for the kill since his men have been unable to infiltrate your security and get close enough to do damage.

It was a brilliant idea, but what he did not expect was that the true Stepanov heirs would be on your side.

He is afraid of Alexei and Clay. He is also trying to frame a western Alpha named Jake Brighton if he cannot buy him over.

Jake is important to Yuri because he is close to Lady Stephanie. I do not know his plans for Jake, but I know he was planning to reach out to him.

One thing I know about Yuri is that he does not play fair. He would always find a way to force your hand, so Jake evacuating his land and going under is the best option for now," He said, and his explanation of Jake wasn't clear. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"So, what do you suggest?" I asked him, and he exhaled as if he held his breath while he spoke. He looked at Sylvester.

"There are Stepanovs that will willingly fight on your side, Sylvester. They know Yuri is sick in the head, and they are tired of his bullshit. But they want their family names restored and Stepanovs to have lordship and head a region. That is all they want." He said, and Sylvester looked at him.

"How do I know I can trust them?" Sylvester asked, and Grey sighed.

"Because Yuri is also after their lives. All hundred and sixty of them. They are pure Stepanovs descendants. He is after them because they disagree with his agenda. Like Erik, he is after their lives, and they will willingly help put him down." Grey said, and Ricardo nodded.

"So why haven't they gone after him? They have a good number," Tamia asked.

"They do not have the numbers to go head-on with Yuri, and they have been unable to infiltrate his circle. Moreover, they are unwilling to come out of hiding because of Dimitri's decree. There are Stepanovs that still live in fear of that decree and are hiding from it. Yuri and his group have been the only bold ones. There is no way they would fight without drawing attention to themselves. If a war has to happen, they will need more than their numbers to succeed," Grey explained, making some sense there, but I wasnt comfortable still. Call me suspicious, but I have been through too much to be trusting.

"Let us investigate this first before we jump to conclusions," David said, finally speaking, and I agreed with him.

The best way to know if we are on the right track was after Leo's meeting with Erik.

Whatever happens, we would decide whether we can trust the Sullivans, if their information is accurate and their plan is viable.

Although it was clear from the silence that all of us were thinking that way, we were not going to tell them or discuss it with them; it was something we would discuss in private when the Sullivans and Alberts were busy catching up, far away from where they could eavesdrop.

We were still talking when Richardo received a call. Once it ended, I knew what had happened. Erik had reached out, and the meeting had been set. I wanted to follow Leo to this meeting, and I planned to insist.