The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

41 Enforcer Bryce Golubev

~Leo~

I was sitting in my office when Casper came to me in a hurry. He seemed like he had rushed there from home.

I had asked him to take the week off because his mate had given birth, so I knew whatever might have brought him to my office was important.

"Envoys have been sent from the north and have just passed Hill Valley; they are heading here, Alpha. They say the Lord sent them," Casper said, sounding nervous, and I knew why.

We had waited for the Wolf Lord to bring his people since he conquered us and took most of our women as trophies. I thought he had changed his mind when time passed, and nothing happened, but I was wrong.

"Are they officers?" I asked Casper, and he nodded.

"Marlo said they were battle ready. It seems they believe we might revolt to whatever news they bring, and they are willing to use force if necessary." Casper said, sounding worried, and I wondered what more Volkov wanted from me. He had taken everything from me. What more did he want?

I sat in my office and told Casper to go home, just in case it turned into a fight, so he would not be caught up in it.

"I won't leave you to face those barbarians alone. What Kyle did to us is unforgivable because he was the one that made that man pick interest in the east," he said, complaining bitterly. We sat worried about what might befall us.

Finally, the men arrived, and I offered them seats in my office. They did not seem like they wanted to stay, so I did not bother to ask questions; I just let them get straight to the point.

"Alpha Albert, My name is Bryce Golubev, a lead enforcer for the northern council, appointed and sanctioned by lord Volkov himself," He said with pride. I nodded at him and greeted him.

I wondered why a head enforcer would be sent to me, and it bothered me.

"We are here, under the order of the council by lord Volkov, to collect on the eastern developmental tax," He said. I frowned at him, not knowing what the hell he was talking about.

"What taxes?" I asked the man, and he brought out a document with the Wolf Lord's seal.

"Why are we to pay these taxes?" I asked him.

"This tax is for the regions under the Wolf Lord. This region has been conquered by the north," he said and stood up.

"I am not here to chit-chat, alpha Albert. I will be back in a week to collect. Please make what is necessarily available." He said, and they excused themselves.

I felt insulted.

Sylvester was testing my patience. I might be passive and dislike war, but this is too much. First, he takes my wife from me and now this. There was just so much a man could take.

I wasn't over losing my Luna; now he was doing this. How far to the ground did he want to beat me? Devin was right about this man being a bully.

"What should we do?" Casper asked me, and I sighed.

"Call a meeting. I think it is time to have a serious talk with our people and know what we need to do. There is no way I am paying development taxes to the north." I said, and he sighed.

"I suggest you contact the Wolf Lord, Alpha, before making hasty decisions. I would not want us to make a mistake," he said, and I frowned at my beta,

"He did not attack us when Devin and Max attacked his home. This might be the council abusing its power. Let us not be hasty. I think you should place a call to him directly this time instead of sending a letter. We can then decide what to do based on his response." Casper said, and I realised he was right.

I smacked my head for being hasty. Because I wasn't over the fact that he was with my wife troubled me and made me quick to react.

"Very well, get me his office number. I will call him tomorrow and make my enquiries directly from him or anyone in charge," I told Casper, and he nodded.

One thing I was grateful for was that Enforcer Bryce Golubev did not decide to attack me. It would have been gory. The man looked like he ate silver for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wondered what they gave the northern warriors.

I returned home to find Amanda cleaning Tamia's room. I was livid.

"What the fuck are you doing in there?" I yelled at her. I was angry and rushed to the room, then entered the closet to be sure Tamia's scent lingered.

I left the room, and she was in tears, her hand shaking.

"I only wanted to clean the room and air the space" She explained, and I did not care.

"Didn't I warn you not to go in there? Why did you do it?" I said, closing the door and locking it with a key.

"That will always be Tamia's room, and you are not allowed in there," I said, and she began to weep.

"She isn't coming back, Leo. I am sure she has moved on with her life, so why can't we move on with ours?" She yelled back at me, and I shook my head.

"If she didn't give herself up, we wouldn't have a life to move on with," I said and sat on the room couch.

"I hate you, Leo! All you have done since they took Tamia away was mope about. You have been distant. It isn't my fault that they took her! It isn't my fault that we are fated!" She said, and I was angry.

"But you lied to your father so he could force you into my home. I hurt my wife in ways I can never forgive myself," I said, and she shook her head.

"Do not blame me for hurting Tamia, Leo. You should have rejected me instead of making out with me on the balcony. You should have shown her how much you loved her and rejected me. Instead, you held out. I had to force my way in because your lack of rejection gave me hope. It made me believe you wanted me, and she was the reason you were reluctant. Call it what you want. Your actions gave me hope to fight for what is mine. So don't blame me for her sadness or what you did to her. That was you, Leo. That was all you, and I refuse to pay for your crimes." She said and wiped away her tears.

"And whether I was here or not, the north would have taken her away. You stood no chance against those soldiers," She pointed out.

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face at the depth of truth she had spoken about me not having the courage to reject her. She was right. I caused it all.

My reluctance gave her hope and ruined my marriage. Fate didn't force me to accept Amanda; I did it of my own volition.

"We would have stood a chance if she fought beside me, but she gave up on us the moment she found out you were pregnant," I said; she began to laugh, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"I did not climb on top of myself to get me pregnant. You did. So stop making me out to be the bad guy. Other than the lie I told against her, which you did not believe, I did absolutely nothing wrong. Tamia had left you before she left physically, and you know it, so don't blame me for it. I did not ever plan to live in another woman's shadow, but that was what fate mapped out for me. I am sorry for trying to make something beautiful out of the misery fate brought upon us," She said and wiped away her tears.

"I wasn't supposed to stay in the east. I was supposed to visit my father and return to where I came from, on Kanes Island in the north. I had a job and a good life there. Everything went away the moment I set my eyes on you, Leo, so stop making it seem like I was the one that did something bad here," She said in tears and took the mop stick away.

I sat down on the couch and bowed my head in shame. I was ashamed of myself.

Everything that Amanda said was true. I was selfish and weak. I only thought of myself and believed I could eat my cake and have it.

I wanted to keep my wife and my fated. I thought I was smart. I broke my promises to Tamia and expected her to be okay with it. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

All that Amanda said was right, and my eyes welled up in tears. It was a joke.

No matter how hard I tried to be happy, I couldn't be.

Amanda wasn't a bad Luna. She was doing a good job, but to me, it would never be enough because even with the mate bond, I just didn't love her the way I loved Tamia.

Tamia was remarkable, and I was worried about what was happening to her. She wasn't harem material; would Sylvester Volkov see that and give her the honour she deserved? I thought of my Tamia, and all I could do was shed tears.

I decided I would sleep in the living room on the couch, and for the first time, Amanda did not come to trouble me. I knew it was for the best. We both needed the space.

Morning came, and I went to the office without checking on my mate. I knew it was wrong and planned to make it up to her, but I needed to deal with the tax situation quickly before Enforcer Bryce changed his mind and returned to collect sooner than he had announced.

I got to the office and dialled the number Casper had sent me.

A deep voice answered.

"Who is this?" The man asked, and I swallowed before speaking.

"This is Alpha Leonardo Albert from the east. I would like to speak to The Lord or beta on an important matter, please," I said politely, and the man waited before answering.

"They went to a dinner party last night and are yet to return. I will try to patch you through to the beta," he said, and I sighed, glad that I would be speaking to someone up there. The beta was the second most powerful man in our world, so it was okay.

I waited almost two minutes before I heard another deep voice on the phone.

"To what do we owe this call, Alpha Leo?" The beta sounded a bit jovial, giving me the guts to tell him what I wanted to say.

"An Enforcer by the name Bryce Golubev arrived with a council order signed by the Lord to collect on development tax; he promised he would be back to collect in a week. He wasn't friendly about it, either. I want to know why we have been asked to pay this tax?" I asked, and I heard the man curse angrily in the background. Had I stirred the hornet's nest.

"Sorry about the mix-up, Alpha. The Lord did not sanction any tax; I will see to the matter," he said, and I exhaled. I was so glad I did not spring into action and listened to my beta.

"Will that be all? I am actually at a breakfast party and shouldn't be receiving calls," he said, and I thanked him.

"That will be all, sir. Thank you for your time," I said and heard people fighting.

It made me wonder why people would fight at a breakfast party. Before he hung up, I heard a voice that sounded like Tamia's, but it was too faint for me to believe she was the one.

I sat on my couch and relaxed mind. There was really no need for panic.

I began to wonder what was really going on in the north.

I also remembered the village Devin told me of.

Could it be that someone high up there was trying to stir up shit against the Wolf Lord? I knew I needed to be careful henceforth. Things weren't as they seemed.