The Dark Side Of Fate

~Vino~

Andrew and I moved to the lower level where the dark cells were situated. I could not wait for all of this to be over. Claudia had been strong, but I could swear there was fear in her eyes sometimes.

I was glad she was supportive and hoped we would survive this. I missed my girls, and I wondered how they were doing. The only thing that kept them safe was everything that made being apart from them unbearable: zero contact.

We could not call or visit. We wanted to avoid being traced or trailed. It was tough, and they were too young for this.

"Who is leading this questioning?" Andrew asked, and I wondered why it was a question, seeing I was easily the one in charge.

"Me, of course," I said, and he laughed.

"You seem like you want a pound of flesh from the guy. Hope you can keep your temper in check? I hope you know for this to work, we have to butter him up and make him feel comfortable,” he said, and I nodded.

"Of course, I know that already, and I plan on putting my unknown skills to good use," I said, and we laughed. I wasn't good at pretending. I had tried, but most of the time, I came across as creepy. I hope to be convincing this time around.

"So what would you do when all this is over? The Stepanov movement has been your entire life?" I asked Andrew, and he shrugged.

"I plan to settle down and move on with my life. I am tired of everything, and what the King has done for my clan is a dream come true for most of us. Living in the shadows is not easy. At least now we can dare to dream big," he said, and it touched my heart.

I could only imagine what it must have been like for the very fair-haired and moon-coloured-eyed Stepanovs to survive. What my grandfather did was very cruel, and I hoped what Sylvester had done would redeem our bloodline.

We arrived at our destination. It was pitch black. There were lightbulbs, but we usually kept the place in darkness to help the prisoners reflect.

"Lights," I ordered the guards so we could see where we were going. There were only two people on this level, Melvin and Ighor. So it would be easy to know which cell to visit. The light was turned on, and even though it was dim, it still served its purpose.

Anything brighter might damage the eyes of the prisoners. Even though we knew they would be executed eventually, there was no point hurting their eyes before their execution.

A kappa led us to Ighor's cell, and I found him sitting on his bed, staring at nothing.

He was obviously in deep thought, and I could see he wasn't fully healed yet.

The silver Bryce used to bind him must have hindered his healing capability. It will take a while for him to heal if we leave him in chains, but that wasn't my concern. We were here to ensure Yuri sticks to his itinerary.

The cell was opened, and Ighor looked in our direction. He had snapped himself out of his deep thought. It was good to know we had his attention.

His eyes went from me to Andrew. He rested his gaze on Andrew with an expression that screamed betrayal.

We entered the cell, and I asked the Kappa to leave us.

"Ighor," I said, and he was silent.

"We are here to offer you a deal,” I said, and he chuckled.

"I am not a fool, Volkov; I am not like my ancestor, whom your great-grandfather duped. I know Sylvester will kill me. Why let me live after all I had done?" He said, and that was my opportunity to work on him.

"Well, we are that desperate, Ighor. We are desperate enough to let you live if you help us catch Yuri. Sylvester and the Stepanov heirs do not want bloodshed. We won't go after anyone if we can lay our hands on Yuri," I said, and he looked at me, then looked at Andrew.

"Did you not tell them of the people's loyalty?" he asked Andrew, and Andrew sighed and moved closer to him.

"As things are, everything I know and believe was a lie," He told the man, and his eyes widened. "Sylvester has indeed given us the West. Our people are settling there as we speak. Alexei and Clay are the rulers of that region, while Erik is the head Leader. Amelia is the head Luna and lady of the East. Her son will be Lord of the East, so we will have the East and West. We are free to settle anywhere we want and live normal lives. Our names and family history would be taught in schools. He has restored everything they took from us. What else do we want, Ighor? Gregory and Adrian fought for lordship, and Sylvester gave it to us. So what do we want?" He asked, and Ighor laughed. "You are stupid, Andrew. The lordship given to us now differs from the one Sylvester occupied before becoming King. When Sylvester was Lord, he was Lord of all regions. He had power, ultimate power, and now he has turned that office into that of a king. What he is giving everyone now is just a ceremonial title and nothing more," Ighor said, and I interrupted him.

"I disagree. As the former head of the council and a part of Larry's uprising, I disagree.” I said. Ighor looked at me with shock, and I nodded.

"Yes, Ighor. I was part of that uprising. My mother used a beautiful woman to lure me in. I fell in love and became very stupid. I also envied my brothers because my father never acknowledged me. My reasons aside, I was part of that government. The council was in charge, not the Lord. He needed the council's approval to do everything. He was called the Lord of the North, the dark alpha, the wolf Lord. His power and reach were limited, so they had to make him King. Our father had to conquer the West to get the West under him. Though not Lords, the head alpha of the South and East were in charge of their regions.

The lordship offered now differs from the one our great grandfathers fought for. It is better and stronger. Higher than the council and second in command to the King. Please, Ighor, do not miseducate people on the matter,” I corrected Ighor, and he sighed.

"If you put it that way, the kingship should be divided, don't you think? The Stepanovs and..." he said, and I cut him immediately.

"We are not here to negotiate with you. When the four head alphas decided to install a king, your clan was not in consideration and wouldn't have been even if they were allowed freedom. This is because Sylvester earned it. So do not speak of the things you do not know.

As for Yuri, he has done nothing but destroy lives. We are not here to banter with you but to offer you a future. One that will be trouble-free. Whether you give up Yuri or not, we will still catch him. The walls are closing in on him. He has only been able to take the South. We can hunt him down and finish him off. But Sylvester does not want innocent Stepanovs to die in the process. He does not want any bloodshed. Once we catch Yuri, that will be it. Everything will be over, and everyone will be free to live their lives. We are here to implore you to work with us and end the feud and deaths,” I said, and he looked at Andrew.

"They will betray you like Erik did your father.” He said, and Andrew sighed.

“My father tried to kill Erik. My father was the traitor. Yuri used him as a personal assassin, and when my father got caught, Yuri distanced himself from the entire ordeal just like he would do to you and anyone helping him. You are only useful while free; once caught, he would not lift a finger to help you," Andrew said, leaning forward toward the man.

"He did not lift a finger to avenge my father. He did not seek justice. He was silent as if nothing had happened. I want to ask you this, Uncle Ighor,” He said, and the man was attentive.

"Should we make demands on your behalf? Would Yuri be willing to sacrifice for your sake?" he asked; the man was silent.

"You are in chains, uncle. You might be executed like my father because you tried to do Yuri's bidding. You tried to help him achieve his goal. Do you think he will honour your loyalty ad fight for you?" Andrew asked, and the man knew the answer clearly but was too proud to say it.

Ighor's eyes were misty, and he had a sad expression. Andrew's words resonated and forced him to think of the situation. It wasn't a fair one.

"Yuri murdered Louis Ivanov in cold blood. Our family leader, the son of Adrik Stepanov, the man that tried to fight for our rights,” Andrew said, and Ighor shook his head, disagreeing.

"His widow is with us, Gezel Westwood. She was there when my father murdered Luis. It wasn't because he wanted him to join like we had been told; it was because he wanted him out of the way so he could be the head of our bloodline. He didn't only do that; he hunted Luis's children, killed his exes, and wanted to grab Gezel to mate with her and maybe birth strong pups like Gezel's daughter, Amelia. Did you know that Yuri murdered Luis because he wanted to mate with Gezel and be the head of our family? Did you?" He asked, and Ighor was in shock.

"It was Erik that..." he said, and Andrew yelled at him.

"Lies. Gezel was there, and my father Mikhail was the culprit," he said, and Ighor was dumbfounded He had learned of this detail for the first time.

"I honestly thought Erik killed Luis. Luis was a gentleman. He just wanted to be left alone," Ighor said, and Andrew nodded.

"Just like Erik, I and all the Steapnovs currently moving to the West. We just want to be left alone to live normal lives, but Yuri is too greedy and selfish to let us. He wants to be King. I see the amount of chaos and mistrust he has cost us as the head of our family. Imagine what he would do as King. We claim the Volkov rule was evil and ruthless. It will be nothing compared to what Yuri would do," Andrew said, and tears fell from Ighor's eyes.

"I thought, I thought we wanted revenge and freedom," he whispered, almost as if he doubted himself.

His mind was in an imbroglio.

It was clear his head had been messed up. He might have known everything Andrew was telling him, but he knew it from Yuri's perspective, which must have made everyone seem evil. Too bad Sylvester wouldn't let him live neither would 1? I still remember the gunshot.

"What would you have me do?" He said in tears, and Andrew nodded.

"Nothing. We want you to stay in touch with Yuri and pretend all is well. We need that meeting to hold so we can arrest him." Andrew said, and he shook his head

"They will be plenty, and the people with him will not be easily swayed. You won't be able to arrest Yuri easily.” Ighor warned, and I sighed.

"At least we will have a chance to try," I said, and he nodded.

We gave Ighor a phone with Cains's code, and he willingly placed the call.

Yuri sounded relaxed talking to Ighor.

They discussed Joan and Sean, and Yuri saw them as another loose end Sylvester was helping him tie by silencing them. He spoke of his coronation in the South.

He talked about his difficulty with the East. He feared he would meet the same resistance in the West because it was now Erik's territory. He discussed how angry he was with Erik, and the truth was if I did not know better, I would see his point. The man was good with words and manipulating people.

Ighor asked him if the meeting would be held in Gad, and he said it would; Ighor promised to call him the next day, and Yuri told him to have fun in Cains.

There were no secret talks or codes. Once the call was over, Ighor broke down. He felt like a traitor, but Andrew told him he would save countless Stepanovs by helping us. Somehow I could see Ighor knew it was true, but he was also fond of Yuri, and his sentiments towards his cousin held his conscience.