The Dark Side Of Fate

~Tamia~

Morning came, and Sylvester and I got ready for breakfast.

It was going to be a busy day, but I was not feeling up to it.

I was a bit tired even though we didn't do anything and I had just woken up from sleep.

I did not think much of it and just got ready quietly.

Once we were done getting ready, we went to the dining room to have breakfast.

Everyone was there as always, and we ate in silence.

What happened with Dominic had brought gloom into our lives. I hoped the matter was solved quickly.

I prayed it did not linger because we all deserved better.

Our love was still young; we were still getting to know each other and trying to manoeuvre through our differences to accept them and make it work. This matter needed to be solved as soon as possible.

"Tamia will be accompanying us to question Dominic and Larry," Sylvester announced, and Marcel nodded.

"I want Avery to come with us too,” Marcel said, and Sylvester didn't seem okay with it, but he did not complain.

Theodore requested to bring Linda along, and I touched Sylvester's lap to stop him from making a scene.

I could not really eat, so I just pushed my food about the plate picking the bits and stalling for breakfast to be over.

We finished, and Sylvester decided to go to the cells on the property to question Dominic.

As we moved towards the place, I remembered when Dominic attacked my friends and me and locked us up because of councilwoman Jenny's death and the attack on his mother.

I was still baffled why the attackers spared Stephanie's life. It really didn't add up.

When we got there, we noticed Dominic outside his cell in chains standing with some officers. "What is going on here?" Sylvester growled. He was angry.

"What is the council task force doing here?" he asked, and the men saluted him and bowed their heads immediately.

"Your eminence, the council has ordered that we move him to the council prison,” One of them said. "Under whose orders and why?" Sylvester asked.

"It was a collective decision by all council members. The act of treason is judged and punished by the council,” The man said and handed Sylvester a paper.

Sylvester did not bother to read the piece of paper. He just tore it.

"Out of my house now!" he ordered them, and they shook; even I shook because there was an authority in his voice.

We let them leave, and Sylvester's Kappas ushered Dominic to a room.

We followed, and as soon as Dominic sat down, he looked at Sylvester.

"What would you gain in this? You already have it all. Why lock me up? First, your woman threatened mother to keep me at home, and now I am being tried for treason. What happened to you, Sylvester? We used to fight, but nothing like this,” He said with disbelief, and I could see he was genuinely hurt.

"It stopped being fair when you decided to forge my signature and seal and send Bryce to stir up shit in the east. You knew the development tax issue was false, yet you still chose to use that same method to cause trouble for me. Why?" Sylvester asked him, and he looked at me.

"Do not look at Tamia; focus on me, Dominic. I need to know why you would actively work against me," he said, and Dominic's eyes welled up with tears.

"If I tell you my truth, would you believe me?" Dominic asked, and Sylvester did not respond. "Answer me!" Sylvester growled at his brother. The pressure was overwhelming, making me nauseous, but I held it. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, and my vision was a bit blurry, but I tried to keep it together.

"I did not give anything to Bryce. He is lying against me, Sylvester. Mother asked me before she left to get help, and I told her the same thing. I did not do this. I have never given Bryce anything or sent him on an errand before. I was stunned when I was arrested, and his name came up as my accomplice." Dominic said to his brother.

"Why would Bryce lie against you?" Sylvester asked, and Dominic looked at me.

"She wants to be rid of me. Can't you see what she is doing? Mother told me how you treated her and insulted her because of this woman. Did it ever occur to you that she and her so-called ex might be trying to divide the strength of the north? Bryce might have collected money or something from Leo and Bane to do this. They need a reason to go to war. They might have done this to try to create the opportunity to attack. Do you not think it is weird she would just fall in love with you and want to spend the rest of her life with you? All three of you are blind. You destroyed their homes and took them away from their mates. No matter how fucked up their marriage situation was, you can't dispute that they loved their mates. Do not let them turn you against your people, Sylvester. I might be a douchebag, and you and I might not see eye to eye on many things, but I did not do this. I did not send Bryce anywhere. I do not know why he will speak my name,” Dominic said and bowed.

"Your explanation isn't good enough for me, Dominic. I will give you time to think about things, and then I will return. If you do not tell me the truth, I will hand you over to the council and wash my hands off the case,” Sylvester told him calmly.

"Mother was right when she said she needed to go get help because she doubted you would help me, since your woman controls you now," Dominic said, looking at me scornfully.

"Matter of fact, she is right. I am a fool for my mate, and it will always be that way. You are lucky she isn't evil or vindictive. You wouldn't have been here if that was the case,” Sylvester told Dominic, and tears streamed down Dominic's face.

"I didn't do this, little brother. I swear on my wolf and everything I hold dear that I did not do this. Someone or some people are trying to set me up. Please do not let them win," he pleaded with Sylvestre in tears, and somehow I suspected the man was telling the truth.

It broke my heart to see them like this.

I decided I would come and speak to him alone.

"Let us go," Sylvester said and turned his back.

"Please, Sylvester, I am begging you,” Dominic said in tears.

"The punishment of treason is death. I didn't do this," he pleaded, and I placed a hand over Sylvester's shoulder.

"You can't leave him here unprotected. He could be telling the truth. If he is, the culprits might try to finish the job,” I linked him, and Sylvester looked at me. His eyes lingered on me, and he looked at Dominic and then at Marcel.

"Lock him in a protection cell," He ordered Marcel and led me out.

I noticed we were heading for the exit, and Marcel and Theodore were not behind us.

"where are we going?" I asked Sylvester.

"To see Larry," he said, and I shook my head.

"I doubt it will yield anything," I said, and he frowned

"We are at a dead end. I need to know who is who in this, Tamia. My reputation and the peace of our world are at stake here,” He said, and I pulled him close to me. I could feel his panic.

"Let us speak in private, please,” I pleaded with him

He agreed, and we returned inside and headed to our bedroom.

The moment we entered, I went to sit on the couch because I was tired.

"Like I said, Sylvester, this might be a wild goose chase. Either to throw us off or keep us occupied. I do not think Dominic did it. I do not like your brother, but I doubt he is lying. If he is telling the truth, it means Bryce is compromised. Focus more on Bryce to get real information. At the same time, Avery, Linda, and I will visit Brighton," I said, and his eyes widened.

He shook his head immediately.

"I can't let you go to Brighton. That journey is for Theodore and Vino to make," he said, and I shook my head.

"You need to be tactful with these things. Brighton hates the north, and they see you as a menace; the last thing you need is to send northern elites there. They won't cooperate, and they won't be receptive. But people like Avery, Linda and me will be well received because they might feel we have something in common. We had both suffered the northern brutality even though we are to be married soon; it wouldn't matter,” I said, and he shook his head.

"I can't let you or your friends go there," he said, and I got angry.

"Can't or won't, Sylvester?” I asked, and he refused to answer.

"I thought you said we weren't prisoners here anymore,” I said, and he was slightly annoyed. "Don't put it like that, Tamia," he said.

"I won't let you go to a part of the west close to the south. You will be close to Bane's region and Leonardo,” he said, sounding possessive, and I realised his fear, so I stood up and went to him.

"If it weren't for your tradition and the necessity of the blue moon for the claim to be complete, Sylvester, I would have asked you to claim me right now," I said and placed my head against his chest.

"I can never go back to Leo, and there isn't anything between Bane and me. Please, Sylvester. I promise I will return. I just want you to succeed. That is why I am doing this," I said, pleading with him, and he lifted my chin and searched my eyes.

"I love you, Sylvester. I can't run away from you," I said, and I could see the difficulty in his eyes. He was trying to figure out what to do

"You know I am telling the truth. We are the only ones that the people of Brighton would receive and open up to. We need to solve this matter before it gets out of hand. We can't wait until the culprit does something that will be unstoppable,” I told him, and he held me to his chest and squeezed me.

"I will let you do this," he said with difficulty, "but please come back home to me, Tamia. I do not know why Bane is after you, but Brighton shares a border with Bane. You have to promise you will return no matter what. You have to promise that you won't run away. You have to promise you won't decide to let me go out of fear that we are not fated. You have to promise to come back to me. If you don't, I will go crazy and burn the world, Tamia. If you do not come home, I will become the monster people believe me to be because you would have left with my soul. Promise me you will return to me.” He said; I wrapped my arms around him and held on tightly, tears streaming down my face.

I had no intention of running away, but with what he said, I had to ensure that I returned.

"I cannot imagine a life without you, Sylvester. I promise I won't run away. I chose to love you, I chose to be with you, and I hope to spend the rest of my life with you. Nothing will change that. I won't get to where Bane is, and once we get the information we need, we will return. To be safe, I promise not to spend more than three days in Brighton because we would question the pack members too. Whether we get answers or not, we will return on the third day,” I assured him, and he kissed my forehead.

"Secret guards will accompany you to protect you," he said, and I thanked him.

It was necessary to know what happened with Brighton to solve this case, and we were the only ones we could trust to do a thorough job.