The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

138 Meet The Stepanovs

~Sylvester~

I arrived in the small conference room in the mansion, and true to Marcel's words, the visitors did not look like Stepanovs. They had extremely fair skin, but their dark hair and brown eyes made them look ordinary.

Alexei and Clay were there. They stood up when I entered the room, acknowledging my presence. They all bowed their heads, and the room was utterly silent.

"Please be at ease and sit down. Thank you for coming," I thanked them and went to sit at the head of the table.

Marcel and Theodore were there. I linked Leo and Devin to join us. I also linked Gezel to come. She was very much a part of this meeting.

Hearing that Erik had already seen them, I didn't bother to link him to join us.

"To what do I owe this visit?:" I said, and one of them sitting closest to me on my left cleared his throat to speak.

"I am Peter Zelenski," He said, introducing the nine people he was with. It was surprising that none of them used Stepanov as their last name. I had to ask.

"Why are you not using your last name? I know you all are pure Stepanov family members, direct descendants of Adrian Stepanov, not just part of the clan," I asked, and Peter sighed.

"With your pronouncement at the King's hall, we can now publicly bear our names and stop disguising ourselves in public," he said, and some of them smiled with relief.

"It is good to hear that. I am genuinely sorry for what my great-grandfather and grandfather did," I said, and he shook his head.

"It is not your cross to bear, your majesty. We are just happy we could find common grounds," He said, and it seemed he was the leader because no one else was speaking except for him.

"You have done right by Adrik and given him what he fought for," He said, looking at Alexei and Clay.

"His grandchildren have been given the honour that was rightfully theirs. We are grateful for this." He said, and I nodded.

"Thank you for showing your gratitude," I said.

Leo, Devin and David arrived and greeted the Stepanovs. Peter stood up to greet Leo. I could easily tell it was because of Amelia. Leo felt awkward and looked tired.

"Well, since we are all here, I would like to ask you what you all think of Yuri's behaviour," I said, pointing at Devin.

"Did the Corrigans wrong the Stepanovs, too?" I asked, and Peter shook his head with a very uncomfortable expression.

'Well, do you know what Yuri did to the Corrigans?" I asked, and Peter sighed.

"We heard, and that is why we are here." He said and looked at the others. They were communicating among themselves. It took a bit, and Peter sighed.

"We, too, have a bone to pick with Yuri. His ways are extreme. We have let him continue pursuing his madness as long as it does affect one of our own. Still, recently, we found out he had been behind significant Stepanov deaths. We even learned that he is after Erik. His own cousin. This has

made us conclude that Yuri is mad, and we must stop him before he ruins everything. Installing himself as King of the South is outrageous, and we want you to know that we do not share the same views with him. We are content with what has been given to us and hope to serve diligently." He said, and Leo cut in.

"By Diligently, you mean help us deal with Yuri?" Leo asked, seeming impatient. I couldn't blame him, really. We were all tired. Peter nodded, and I relaxed.

"Erik told us you will need our help. We have brought Twenty-five able-bodied pure Stepanov warriors each for you to command as you wish, after which we will leave them to serve Alex in the West," Peter said. Based on my calculations, the total number of warriors was Two hundred and fifty. That was a lot of silver-immune fast fighters to have on our team. Even the AgK32 wouldn't have given us this much advantage.

"I appreciate the kind gesture. This is indeed great news, but unfortunately, we do not know where Yuri is, and because of that, we do not know how to mobilise your group," I told him, and he was silent.

As much as I was willing to involve them, I did not want to leave room for Yuri to figure out our plan. Six days allowed him to make last-minute changes; I could not risk that.

"So what do you suggest, your majesty?" Peter asked, and I sighed.

"We all know the condition of the West. Most of the packs have been taken over by Yuri's men. I would like to start by taking back those packs and placing your people in charge. Even though Stepanovs do not have Alpha, Beta and Gamma breeds, a Delta Stepanov can rule just as well. We will place Stepanovs there once we have successfully taken over those packs.

I would prefer Stepanovs, that love peace and want the development of our world," I said, and he was attentive.

"That can be arranged. But if we start attacking the packs individually, innocent people will die. We have to note that most of the pack members are innocent people," Peter said, and I was glad he went there because it meant he had a good heart and his intentions were pure.

"In a time of desperate measures, there will be casualties," Devin said, helping me to push further.

It was essential to see Peter's take on the matter. Coming from me would make me seem like a heartless bastard, and it might make them change their minds about helping me if they were interested in supporting me.

Having Devin says it would mean he was hurt by what Yuri did to him and want to pay him back by all means. It would be excusable.

Peter looked at me after hearing what Devin said and shook his head.

"We can't pay evil back with evil," he started, and his peers agreed.

"We remained silent and did not get involved in Yuri's matter because we did not want bloodshed. Too many people have died for nothing. We would prefer a safer way to end this. Although we are willing to fight if necessary, we will feel better if our men fight stubborn, heartless Stepanovs who refuse to embrace forgiveness and peace. I would not send my family warriors to kill innocent pack members," He said and looked at Devin. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"I know you have been wronged, Alpha Corrigan, but you should try to be the bigger man in this. If you avenge what happened in Pridewood, when will it stop?" He said, and Devin growled at him.

"Women and children…" he said, and Peter stood up. He raised his hands to plead with him to calm down. One fact remained certain: Stepanovs were still mainly Deltas, and Devin was an alpha; his mood was bound to disturb the Stepanovs present.

"Please calm down, Alpha Corrigan. We know you aren't called Bane for nothing. You have been very considerate, but I will plead with you to have mercy. What happened in Pridewood is unforgivable. Wiping out an entire settlement just to gain grounds was cruel. What the others did in the West to the pack's sharing borders with the South, too, was wrong. Those alphas did not deserve to die like that. But all I am saying is that we can't continue avenging people.

Look at the Ivanovs. They have been wronged mostly by Yuri. He sent Mikhail, his cousin, to murder Luis, his first cousin, so he could be the heir. He robbed the three of them of their parents," He said, and just then, Gezel walked in.

Everyone was quiet. It was weird that she would walk in when he talked about her mate.

"Gezel?" Peter said, and Gezel wiped away her tears. She was surprised to see Peter.

"Peter," she said in a low tone, and he left his seat and went to her.

"You are indeed alive," he said and hugged her tightly.

The others began to murmur, and it seemed they all knew her.

"You are alive," Peter said, breaking the hug, and she bowed her head, fighting her tears.

"You survived," he said, and one of the Stepanovs, I think they said his name was Greg spoke up.

"Then Erik was telling the truth when he said Yuri sent Mikhail to murder Luis," he said, and Peter looked at her for confirmation. She nodded, and He balled his fist in anger.

Even though he was saying it a few minutes ago, he did not believe it until now.

"He wanted Mikhail to bring me to him. He said Yuri would like a child like Amelia. She was just like Adrik, and he wanted a child-like Adrik. Luis beat Mikhail and spared him because he did not want

to kill his cousin, but Mikhail used the opportunity and killed him. I had to run with Amelia. I handed Amelia to my maid, who left her at an orphanage. I tried to get to her, but Yuri would not let me rest. I had to go into hiding because I did not know who to trust," she said, and Peter hugged her.

"You shouldn't have had to be alone, my little one. You should have brought her to me. Yuri wouldn't dare…" he said, and Alexei laughed.

"Yuri has no bounds. If he could murder my mother and father, he can also come for you. She did what was best for her and everyone she loved," Alexei finally said in anger, and Peter sighed.

"Still, I cannot attack an innocent pack for this. Those people did nothing wrong." He maintained, and I somehow knew he had strong values.

"Very well. I will advise you to take your troops to Gad. So we can help secure Gad for Alexei and Clay. Do you think it is something you can do?" I asked, and he looked at me.

"When do you want to move on, Gad?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"It is Alexei's territory. He will be the one to decide. I won't be going to Gad. It is a Stepanov problem, and since you do not want to do it our way, I will leave the Lords of the West to deal with the matter," I said, and he looked at Alexei.

"When do you want us in the West, my lord?" He asked, and Alexei nodded.

"In four days. I will call for your assistance between then and the eighth. Be ready and on alert with your men," Alexei said clearly, not mentioning the sixth day when the battle would occur.

With the way it played out, Yuri would not know we were on to him should anyone snitch. He would believe that we were after the Stepanov Deltas that took over packs. I hoped he would still hold his meeting. Everything was banking on that meeting holding place. I planned to have Vino and Andrew press Ighor for information so we will know we are still on course.

The meeting went quietly, and we strategised on their silent secret movement to the West. They had the notion they were doing this so Alexei and Clay could take possession of the West, but we knew our true motives and kept it to ourselves.