The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

24 A Day Apart Makes The Heart Fonder

~Tamia~

After breakfast, I felt lost and bored.

Since they brought us to the estate, Sylvester had been around, and I had his attention, so the place felt new and lonely.

Avery and Marcel had things planned, and Linda and Theodore were getting to know each other; I could not inconvenience them.

I returned to our bedroom to think of all that Marcel had told me about Bane, the silent war, and the east.

I was worried for the east. The last thing I wanted was for the east to get caught up in a mess.

I didn't want to stress about it too much, so I decided I would hang out with Katya in the garden.

I knew some of the women in the harem liked to hang out in the garden, so I wore jeans from the new collection of clothes Sylvester got me, and his t-shirt to surround myself with his scent.

I held the t-shirt to my nose before wearing it.

I headed to the garden in high spirits.

When I got there, most of the women in the harem came to greet me. Katya approached, and we hugged.

"You look stunning in his t-shirt, Tamia," She said, and I smiled at her.

I found a place to sit, and some women came to sit around me.

I noticed Lilly from a distance, and she was looking at me with scorn, but I couldn't be bothered.

"Is it official? Are you the new woman in his life?" Katya asked me, and I frowned at her, wondering why she would ask me such a question.

"What do you mean by the new woman?" I asked her, accepting a cup of tea from one of the women.

I made sure I stylishly sniffed it before placing the cup against my tongue to pretend to take a sip, and then I put the cup down.

I wasn't stupid to drink something served by women in Sylvester's Harem whom he wasn't screwing.

"I mean, since he kicked Lilly to the curb and all," Katya said, explaining her question, and I laughed.

It was clear Lilly did not tell them the truth. I was about to speak when I saw her approaching us.

"See who decided to grace us," She said politely, and I smiled at her.

"I see you did not tell them the truth," I told her, and she shrugged.

"Alpha only said those things to make you happy, Tamia. Who am I to say he is lying? I am just a prisoner of war. If he said he wasn't screwing me so you would feel better, so be it," She said, trying to save face.

"Whatever makes you happy, Lilly," I said, and I noticed that the women had figured out what we were saying.

"So, you mean you have been lying to us all this while?" one woman asked, and Lilly shook her head.

"How can I be lying when we spent long hours in his office and his room?" She said, and I decided to change the topic.

Lilly was clearly ashamed and too embarrassed to own up to the truth. Since we had the same alpha, I could now link her.

"You need to be careful with your lies so he doesn't find out, Lilly," I said, and she frowned at me.

"Let us change the topic," I said to the women and stood up without drinking the tea.

It was my most innovative way of refusing to drink it.

I have read a book about back palace politics. I wouldn't want to be a victim.

"What do you ladies do for fun?" I asked, and Katya stood up.

"Painting, quilting, sewing, embroidery," She said, and I rolled my eyes.

"I want something that is fun and consumes energy. Don't get me wrong, those things are relaxing, but I do not want to relax." I said, and some of the women laughed.

"Croquet, Volleyball," Katya said, and I beamed at her.

"Now that will be fun. I say we play Volleyball and then wind down with Croquet." I said, and we headed to a field meant for Volleyball. We immediately formed our teams.

The women took off their tunics and gowns, leaving them wearing sexy lacey lingerie. I did the same, and the game was on. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Most of the guards came to watch.

It was my team against Lilly's team, and Katya was on my team.

Lilly seemed a bit relaxed because I did not embarrass her as she had thought I would.

I served the ball, and the rest was history.

We had a lot of fun, and the women were genuinely overjoyed.

Soon, makeshift courts were created so that others wouldn't have to wait too long for their turn.

It was so much fun that Avery joined us, and I looked and saw Marcel standing by.

It was supposed to be their day together since the Beta was always busy. I guess this was part of the fun they were having.

"Alpha won't be pleased seeing you playing in your underwear outside," Marcel warned, laughing, and I placed my index finger against my lips.

"Then this will be our secret," I said.

We had so much fun, and it turned into a party.

When we were tired of playing Volleyball, the guards came to set the place for Croquet.

It took time to set it up, allowing us time to catch our breaths.

While the guards set it up, we relaxed with wine and bite-size treats.

It somehow turned into a party, and I noticed some women were getting comfortable with the officers.

"Is that allowed?" I asked Katya, and she smiled.

"Of course. The Alpha, Beta and Gamma don't touch us, but we are allowed to date. There are some women who are currently married with children to top officers and ordinary people. I do not know why alpha calls it a harem," She said, and I hoped she was telling me the truth because I did not want anyone setting me up where Sylvester was concerned.

While they played Croquet, I went to meet Marcel where he was, to ask him if it was okay that the women flirt with the officers, and he nodded. Apparently, everyone was allowed to mingle except for my friends and me.

Soon it was evening, and we returned to freshen up and eat dinner.

I did not want to enter the room because I would miss Sylvester.

The moment I stepped into the room, I felt alone again.

Sylvester had spoiled me with attention and care. I did not know how much until now.

I went to the shower and showered in a hurry, then headed for dinner.

Everyone was waiting for me.

The moment I got there, we all started eating.

I felt it was odd that Marcel would wait for me to arrive before eating. Whenever Sylvester wasn't around, he was the one in command. I took it as a kind gesture, and I was grateful.

After dinner, Linda and Theodore left in a hurry, and I somehow figured they had gone all the way.

Linda didn't seem uptight with him anymore, and I was happy for her. Kyle was a bastard. I was glad she was moving on.

I hoped Marcel would let Avery hang out with me, but it seemed Avery wanted to be around Marcel instead. I understood, so I let it alone.

I walked back to the room slowly.

Lilly came to me on my way, and I rolled my eyes, bracing myself for her smart mouth. Instead, she hugged me.

"Thank you, Tamia, for not embarrassing me out there," She said and broke the hug.

"You and alpha look good together; I hope it lasts. Since he disposed of his Harem three years ago, he has been single. You are lucky," She said; I frowned at her.

"Were you here three years ago?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I came a few months before he sent the women he was screwing away. They were five altogether," she said smiling, and I felt a tinge of jealousy, but it was normal for me to feel that way with how I felt for Sylvester.

"Well, good for them; they are free," I said, and she shook her head.

"They didn't want to leave. It was horrible. He treated them as if they were nothing. It was heart- wrenching to see. Especially Arya, who was crazy about him. We all thought she would be luna with the way he showered her with attention, and the fact that she was from a small pack in the north, but he threw her out as if she was nothing," She said, and I didn't want to hear anymore.

"Well, it is none of my business," I said, and she nodded and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"I am not trying to antagonise you or hurt you. Please do not take this wrongly, but be guarded and be ready to say goodbye. I am only telling you this because you were kind to me today. When he

set those women free, he told them they were wasting their time because he does not plan on ever settling down with anyone," She said, and I smiled at her and thanked her.

"Well, as for the settling-down part, I have been there, done that, and there is nothing to it. Let us see where this leads. But I am grateful for the heads up." I said, and she smiled.

I couldn't tell if she told me those things to hurt or make me feel bad. I was grateful if she was genuinely looking out for me by warning and preparing me. Otherwise, she was wasting her time.

I returned to the room, showered and wore Sylvester's shirt to bed.

It was clear I was sharing his wardrobe.

Who would have thought I would be with the dreaded Wolf Lord? It was an unbelievable turn of events, and the fact that he ended up being sweet, loving and sensitive towards me was amazing. I didn't miss that he wasn't kind to others, and I liked it that way.

"What do you think he is doing?" Kaira asked me, missing Sylvester, and I sighed.

"I do not know, Kaira," I said, and I felt the loneliness down to my soul because Kaira was feeling it too.

"I think I am falling for him," Kaira said, and I smiled.

"We both are," I assured my wolf, and I felt warmth.

"Do you think we have a fated out there?" She asked, using the word I had come to hate.

"Honestly, at this point, I do not care. If Sylvester is true and we ever end up together before he comes, I will reject him," I told my wolf.

"Leo couldn't do it, and he loved us," She pointed out.

"Not enough, apparently. He did not want to be weak. He was being an asshole and selfish," I told her.

"Do you think Sylvester will be different?" She asked, and I could not answer the question. She knew it but asked anyway because it troubled both of us.

"Our emotions are one and the same," She said, and I laughed.

"Do you think he will fall in love with us?" I asked her, and she was silent.

"I wonder if he will ever tell us he loves us, or this is all we will get," I told her.

"It will be nice to hear the rumoured heartless Wolf Lord tell us he loves us. You know he is a complete contrast to the stories we heard," She said, and I adjusted in bed and laid on my side, hugging his pillow.

"Let us not be too hopeful, Kaira. We are still war prisoners, and he is the wolf lord. We should take what we get." I said, smiled and hugged the pillow with his scent tighter.

Thanks to our activities, sleep came.

Sweet pleasure erupted inside me, and I thought I was dreaming.

I opened my eyes and saw Sylvester between my legs.

I was a bit disoriented, and the pleasure he was giving me did not allow my mind to settle.

I began to moan. Losing control of my body and I came. Waking me up completely with a burning desire for him.

He moved up to look at my face, and my juices glistened on his lips. He kissed me, and I could taste myself.

"I couldn't stay away, Tamia," He said with a breathy voice, and I grabbed onto him and kissed him.

"Good morning, darling," He said to me, undressing me.

He buried himself in me, and I hoped I wasn't dreaming.

I flipped our positions and decided to show him how well I could ride.

He held my hips and guided me.

I was in my world, and soon we both came simultaneously.

I lay next to him, and he pulled me close and kissed my neck.

"I couldn't stay away, green eyes. You are becoming an addiction," He said, and I giggled.

I looked at the clock and saw it was two in the morning.

He must have snuck out of his mother's house. It made me feel important.

"Did you miss me much?" He asked, and I turned to look at him.

"No," I lied.

He kissed the tip of my nose, and I laughed. He stared at me seriously and intensely.

"Don't break my heart, Tamia," He said, and I stopped laughing.

Patting my hair gently, he continued to look at me.

"I am never letting you go," He said with a firm promise and pulled me close holding me in his arms, and we both fell asleep.