Shadows of Destiny

33 The Meeting With Bane

-Leo-

Devin’s revelation did not sit well with me.

I thought he wasn’t good enough for Tamia, and I suspected the Wolf Lord was

possessive of her. This was a difficult

situation.

“You should let her go,” I finally said, and he shook his head and pinched his nose.

“You, of all people, know that won’t happen, Leo,” he said, and I bowed my head.

“I just want peace,” I said.

“It is easy to say. You didn’t fight for her because you already had someone. You had already replaced

her,” He said to me. He had

struck a nerve with those words.

“Do not speak of things you don’t

understand or know nothing about. The

mate bond drives you, but I love Tamia. Tamia is my best friend, my confidant, my soul. I did not give

her up. I would have died

for her. I fought them with everything I had,

but she wanted to leave. She had asked me to

release her so many times. She gave herself

to them, so don’t tell me about my feelings.

for my wife. You know nothing about it.

Where was the fucking mate bond when we were young? Where was it when we fell in love and

planned our lives? Everything was going well until that fucking party,” I said, fighting back my tears.

As much as I told myself that I was okay with Tamia being in the north, I wasn’t, but I was glad she was

happy. Although it hurt, I was glad. I was pleased that she was alright.

“I am not telling you to let it go because I am a coward. I am telling you to let it go because

I sense she has something serious with the wolf Lord. I doubt she will pick you, Devin, and I know it will

break your heart. Unlike

me, Tamia is strong and determined. If she

had met you before I met Amanda, I know she would have rejected you and risked

being weak,” I told him my truth based on

my suspicions.

He was stunned and looked at me as if I had

said something wrong.

“The Volkovs took everything from me; I can’t let them take my fated too. I will try my best to get her

back from the north,” he said

and sat down.

“We need to team up, Leonardo. I do not want to force your region under me,” He

said, and I smiled.

“You already divided my region into two. I am not mad. They chose to follow you, but

trying to force the rest of us to help with your cause is completely wrong. My refusal to fight does not

necessarily mean I am

weak, Devin; I just like peace. I strive hard to keep it, so I live by it.” I said, and he nodded.

“I am a desperate man, Leo. I have everything to gain and everything to lose. It will be nice to have you

join my cause. We

will all benefit from it. Being free of the

Volkovs is important.

Three days ago, a village in the west that

shared a border with the south was attacked

because they wanted to be free of the high taxes the wolf lord placed on them through

the council.

This village survives by farming. There is no form of development in this village. There are no social

infrastructures there, yet they are taxed every month. I had to make my hospitals available for their

injured.

That is just one of the many people that beast is oppressing.

As for Tamia, it is easy to fall in love with your captor. It is normal.

He is all she sees. Showing her some

affection might give her the notion that she

is safe and loved.

Coming from a broken relationship and

heartbreak, he might seem like the best option for her.

She doesn’t know that I am her mate, so maybe she does not think there is anyone out there for her,”

He said, then sighed and looked at me with misty eyes.

“I moved too slow, please I need your help, Leo. I want my mate. My wolf, Rex, has not rested since we

laid eyes on her. Please. You

are mated, so you know how it is. As for the

north, I can share it with you when we conquer it, please,” he said, pleading with me, and I did not

know what to say.

I could understand his desperation and his

angle, but Tamia seemed to have something good going in the north. It will be wrong to pull her back

into this.

“I know you are looking out for Tamia, but I

will never hurt her. I will love and cherish

her until I die,” He said, pleading with me.

“Have you told Sylvester Volkov that she is your fated? I think that would be wiser than attacking him,” I

said, and he laughed.

“The man is greedy. I learned he has a

harem of lovers. Over a hundred of them. He

is a collector, Leo. He won’t give her back,”

he told me, and I knew that part. I doubt Tamia had issues with it. I guess making her

share with Amanda gave her a thick skin.

I was ashamed of how badly my weakness damaged her.

She never liked sharing. She was jealous and

possessive. Knowing what was happening in

the north broke my heart.

“I do not want to fight you for support, Leo. There is nothing better than us willingly

joining forces.” He said and stood up.

“I came here to discuss with you as a

civilized man and an honest Alpha. If you disagree with my cause, I will respect your decision. I know

you have heard that I plan on attacking the rest of the east. I am not

Sylvester, and I won’t do it. But I will keep you abreast of our moves just in case you

decide to join. Know that the offer remains,” he told me and stood up.

From the way he behaved, I knew he was

serious about not fighting me for the rest of

the east.

“Then why did you surround the place?” I

asked him.

“Have you seen how Max and Kyle look at me? I had to take precautions,” he said, and

I smiled at him.

To think those two once spoke highly of him.

“I guess they haven’t forgiven me for losing

their Lunas. Women who, by the way, were

better off without them. As much as I would

like to take responsibility for that stunt, I did

not do it. I attacked the Volkov Estate to get

Tamia but did not send eastern soldiers to

attack the western borders.

I do not know why Kyle insists it was me. He

needs to check his ranks for traitors. The

north is that good. They know how to

infiltrate packs and turn them against each

other.

If you study what happened in the Western

province close to the north, you will know

that was Maurice’s tactics. I can’t say the

same for Sylvester, but the apple never falls

far from the tree. I am just fighting for

liberation, Leo.

I want to live in a world where there is no

fear and injustice. Where we do not have a bully as our Lord, and where we are free. That is what I am

fighting for. And yes, I

know I will do better than Sylvester as the

wolf lord. I do not care if he has blue blood;

he bleeds like the rest of us,” he said, and I

laughed.

We shook hands, and he excused himself.

Fifteen minutes after he left, Max and Kyle

came in, eager to learn what had transpired.

I could not tell them about Devin and Tamia,

so I told them the only thing that concerned

them.

“He said he won’t force us to join him to fight the north,” I said, and Kyle shook his

head.

“That man is a sly bastard. I do not trust him

one bit,” Kyle said, and Max agreed.

“Probably wants us to let our guards down

so we can be vulnerable when he finally

attacks. The man wants to be wolf lord,” He

said, and I nodded.

“He admitted that too. He said he would do a

better job than Sylvester Volkov,” I said, and Max laughed.

“The Dark Alpha is from the royal bloodline.

There is a difference. For Devin to take over

the north, he has to wipe out the Volkov family and the council of elders. We all know

that is impossible. The northern army is

made of steel. I once heard they trained with.

silver; there is no beating them.

Even though we cheated when we attacked

the estate, none of our warriors returned

alive,” Max said, and I frowned at him.

“How did you cheat?” I asked, and Max

bowed his head.

“Chlorine and silver gas,” he said, and I exclaimed. It explained the rage in Sylvester’s letter.

“You are fortunate he has a thing for Tamia, or we would have all been dead by now,” I

said. Max frowned at me, and I nodded.

“He sent me a letter with a warrior’s head

and let me know why he would not attack yet, but promised to attack the next time we

push him. He also promised he wouldn’t be taking prisoners,” I said, and Kyle sighed.

“More reason we need to watch our back,”

Kyle said, and I nodded.

“We also need to comb through our ranks

and be sure we have no traitors in our midst,

“I said, and they were silent.

I left Max’s pack and returned home.

Amanda was worried. I knew she was afraid I

might not return.

People feared Bane because he killed the wolf lord and defeated Sylvester’s army, but

somehow, I suspected he was just lucky.

I did not know how to prove it. I just felt that way, but that was my opinion, and it wasn’t popular.

Amanda hugged me tightly and pleaded with me to sleep in her room. I decided to oblige

her.

I had punished both of us long enough, but I wasn’t ready to move her to the room I

shared with my wife.