The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

17 In The Woods ( Book 2)

~Leo~

I haven't been welcomed home warmly in a long time. Holding Amelia on the couch and the playful way she related with me gave me warmth.

I lifted her from the couch and carried her to the room. I wouldn't call us rabbits, but we were moving faster than anticipated.

We later returned to the kitchen to cook. I wanted to help out, and she obliged.

She looked pretty and innocent with her messy hair. Looking at her made me remember I had a question about the roots of her hair being different from the body. I hoped it didn't get to her when I asked.

"Amelia," I said, and she looked at me, holding a wooden spatula coated with tomato sauce. She looked breathtakingly beautiful, and I smiled at her.

"Why are your roots platinum blonde?" I asked, and she touched her head with her free hand and giggled.

"Oh, that," she said as if I had asked her a funny question. I was curious.

"Well, the short story is they dyed my hair often at the orphanage so someone would adopt me, but my eyes were always in the way," she said, laughing and turning the sauce in the pan.

"I let the hair grow out once when I started my food truck business, but people were so creeped out they wouldn't buy, so I just realised I should continue dying the hair. The habit has stuck with me ever since. I have been carried away lately that I forgot to attend to the hair. It makes me stand out too much," she said, and I held her from behind while she stirred the sauce and kissed her neck.

" Let it grow out, Moonlight. It's beautiful," I said to her, and she giggled.

"Well, do not act funny when you see it," she said, and I kissed her neck more.

"I doubt there is anything about you that I would not find attractive," I confessed, and that was the truth. She was a gorgeous woman. Even when she was skinny and looked sickly, I could see it.

"Will Max be eating with us?" She asked, dumping the meatballs into the sauce.

"I guess so," I said.

"So why didn't you come with your food truck," I asked her, realising she was earning a living in Gad.

Now I knew why she was good at cooking.

"Well, it wasn't new, and it wouldn't have been able to make the trip. We were also displaced, so I had no time to sell it. The funny thing was I wanted to start that business here, hence why I was stealing. That was the only decent way I could come up with the capital. I never took what people would miss," she said, and I did not know how to feel about that because Tamia's jewellery was dear to me.

Each had a memory and a reason behind it. I did not tell her that, so I didn't spoil her mood. As thick-skinned as Amelia was, I got to her. This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.

"Well, I am glad you do not have to anymore," I said, ending the discussion, and she nodded and turned off the stove.

Max came out shirtless, holding his shirt in hand.

"The smell of the food tingled my senses," he said, looking at the kitchen, and I sighed.

Amelia looked at him, and I felt a tinge of jealousy in how her eyes grazed through his body. She did not have disgust which meant he looked good. She should have faked some disgust, though.

"The dragon on your tattoo is a bit ugly," She said, and I started laughing. Here I was, thinking she was admiring Max's body while only analysing his tattoo. I felt silly.

"I agree. The artist never finished it. He got killed," Max said, wearing the white t-shirt he held. She had made him a bit uncomfortable, and it made me laugh.

I helped arrange the food on the table, and Max joined us.

We ate and talked about many things. The most prominent of our discussions was going to the north.

Both Max and I were eager to visit. I knew Max was happy he would be heard and Alexie would be exposed. While I was keen to learn more about the Volkovs, I believed they were Amelia's family.

"What are you doing this evening?" Max asked me, and I shrugged.

"We are going hunting," Amelia said happily, and Max raised an eyebrow. I wished she did not tell him. It was meant to be our evening together.

"May I come?" He asked, which was precisely why I did not answer when he asked.

"It's a special evening for two," I said, and Max nodded. He did not take it personal.

"Maybe next time," Amelia said, and he nodded.

We talked about other things and soon cleared the table.

The three of us cleaned up.

Max retired to his room, and we sat on the couch in the living room to watch some television.

"Leo," Amelia said, and I knew she had something important to say from the sound of her voice.

"Do you have specific Omegas come to clean your house?" She asked me, and I wondered why she would ask that question.

"Yes, Macy and two other girls," I replied, and she nodded.

"Well, I do not appreciate them talking about what we are doing in this house to pack members," She said, and I looked at her, wondering what had happened.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"Well, I ran into Delta Gabriel, and he had a lot of advice for me, Leo, because the Omegas couldn't keep their mouth shut. They tell people stuff.

They talked about what you had in your room. They talked about where I sleep and whatnot. I just think it is wrong for them to clean their Alphas house and tell people what they saw," She said. She did not sound angry, and I was grateful for it.

I planned on calling Macy to order.

I knew it wasn't Macy and might be the extra hands she brought with her. I decided Macy would do the cleaning alone henceforth.

"Did he say anything that bothered you?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

I sighed with relief and left it alone.

I knew she didn't tell me everything and only had to tell me about the Omegas because she believed something needed to be done about their conduct, and she was right. I can't have gossip

in my house.

It was finally time to go hunting. I had told Casper to make sure the woods were clear, and he had told me it was clear and that no one used it.

It had been a long time since I went hunting in the woods, but Amelia made me want to go there to meet her wolf.

Her blue-eyed wolf had stayed with me since that day I saw her in the service quarters.

We went to the clearing by the woods, and it was time to shift. Amelia was giddy.

The fact that tiny gestures made her smile let me know that loving her would be easy, but my heart wasn't ready to cross that line yet. If I crossed it now, there would be no turning back, so I planned to take my time.

I shifted to Black, and he howled at her to pay his respect to our would-have-been mate had I not rejected her.

She stripped, and goddess, she was gorgeous. I felt my heart racing and knew Black was anxious to meet her wolf.

Amelia shifted into a beautiful platinum-furred blue-eyed wolf.

Her fur shined, and she looked like a goddess.

I began to ask where she came from.

I had never seen anything like that. Her fur looked soft even though I hadn't touched it. I had never seen anything like it before. She looked regal. Why would the world hate such beauty? We always

believe life is easy for the beautiful ones, but that is not entirely true because if that were the case, Amelia should be a queen.

"What's her name?" I linked her.

"Aurora," She said, and Black howled to pay his respect.

Though smaller than me, she walked to us and squatted with her head bowed.

She was acknowledging me as her alpha and not her mate.

I guess the rejection got to Aurora because she knew Black could not feel their bond anymore.

Black howled for her to get up. He rubbed his fur against her to encourage her. She did as he said.

"He is Black," I linked her.

"Alpha Black," Amelia said, paying her respect and just then, I believed Amelia was also being careful with me.

Unlike our human selves, our wolves were bad pretenders, and I could see now that she was thinking more than she was letting out. Hopefully, she would open up one day. I dashed into the woods, and she followed behind.

I felt free at that moment, rushing through the woods. It was as if something had been lifted. I felt Aurora behind me, and she reminded me of Kaira. The memory was pleasant.

We spent a while in the woods, and I noticed Aurora hadn't seen much of the wild.

I also realised that Amelia rarely shifted, which would explain her wolf's naivety to the forest. It must have been hard for both of them.

"They are with us now. We will take care of them," Black said confidently, and I did not respond; I let him own his promise.

It wasn't long before we were in the forest when an arrow pierced my side.

It was silver because I shifted back to my human form immediately. What the fuck was happening in my woods?

Aurora moved close to me, and I tried to shoo her away with my hand to protect her. I wanted her to get away so she did not get hit, but she grabbed the arrow with her jaws and pulled it out.

Then, she took a protective stance in front of me and growled in the direction the arrow came from.

I touched the wound that hadn't healed yet and saw my blood was black. It meant the arrow was dipped in silver dust.

I needed medical care, and there was no way I could get it. With silver in my system, I could not link anyone.

Two men approached us, and one held a silver chain with gloves. They were there to capture one of us.

Aurora lunged at the one with the chain like a wild beast.

She wounded the guy by biting off a chunk of the flesh of his thigh. He immediately let go of the silver chain, but Aurora had plans for the guy. The other one got scared and ran away.

Aurora did not give the guy that was down a chance. She focused on him. Aurora held the chain in her mouth and wound it around the man's neck.

I was amazed that the silver did not affect or force her to shift.

I began to doubt it was silver until I heard the sizzling sound of searing flesh coming from the man's neck.

She was going to burn his neck and kill him. Aurora stepped away from the man who was screaming for dear life before he passed out. I could tell he was still alive.

Wolves came running towards us. I guess Aurora must have linked my men. Gabriel was in front, then Casper and the other men.

Aurora had left the silver by then, so they did not see her hold it in her mouth. I guess she wouldn't have let me see her handle silver had it not been life-threatening.

Gabriel shifted and removed the silver from the attacker's neck, and Aurora wasn't pleased because she was growling.

As much as I wanted her to shift back to Amelia, I let her remain in wolf form. I knew my men were in awe of her wolf. I could see it from how they stared at her, but she was mine.

They carried me to the infirmary.