Shadows of Destiny

~Leo~

We did not leave the underground lab until late in the night. The Kappa driving us had made friends

with some female scientists and was sad that we were living. I let him know there was time for

everything and this was the time to be focused.

Nelson wasn’t thrilled about Clay leaving, so he pleaded with Clay to visit when he could.

“We left the place, and our Van was intact where we kept it in the woods. Our visit was successful, and

our trip out of Hayland was peaceful.

Although we remained vigilant throughout the drive back, no one was chasing us.

“I can’t believe that was Erik,” Devin finally said. We were all amused that it was Erik. We expected a

brawny tall man with Stepanov features, but what we saw was a scruffy, short skinny man with

Stepanov features. I wondered why he had two eye colours.

“Why are his eyes like that?” Devin asked because Erik was the first Stepanov that would have two eye

colours.

“Leo, ask your father when we get home. He seems to be friends with Erik,” Theodore said, and I

nodded. I was equally curious.

“I guess it went well,” Clay said, bringing our attention to our achievement, and everyone agreed.

We arrived at Mountain at night and decided to go to bed.

Theodore promised to convey everything to Sylvester via the mind link while we all waited to discuss

the issue in the morning.

I hoped we wouldn’t have to cook again because I was tired and needed good food.

I entered my room quietly, and Amelia slept peacefully in bed.

I went to shower, snuggled beside her, and spooned her.

She adjusted to fit into my embrace, and sleep came for me too.

I woke up in the morning on an empty bed. The sounds coming from the bathroom indicated Amelia

was there. I heard retching sounds, so I got up quickly to see what was happening.

Amelia was sitting by the toilet seat. It was clear as he was vomiting.

She looked pale, but her eyes lit up when she saw me and smiled.

“I heard it is morning sickness. They said it goes away eventually,” She said, and I went to her.

“Good morning,” I said, squatting in front of her, and she smiled and patted my cheek.

“‘Good morning, Hope you are ready for kitchen duty?” she asked with a mischievous grin, and I

grumbled.

She giggled and soon started retching again.

I patted her back gently and rubbed it while she tried to vomit. Her stomach was empty, so she just spat

into the toilet.

We were there for ten minutes; then, I decided to run a hot bath for her to sit in and relax.

After spending forty minutes together in the tub, we exited the bath and prepared for the day.

Amelia headed to the dining room while I went to the kitchen. Surprisingly, the food was ready, and

they seemed to have done a fantastic job.

“There were croissants, bagels, bacon, sausages, baked beans, garlic bread and onion soup with

cheese.

“How?” I asked, and Sylvester looked at me and winked.

“How isn’t a greeting,” he said, and I greeted them laughing.

I went to the oven and touched it. It was warm then I saw the trash and widened my eyes.

There were boxes and empty food packs from a confectionery, a pastry shop and a restaurant. The

food was bought, and I was sure the soup was too. They were cheating.

“This is cheating,” I said, and David shook his head.

“Technically not,” he said.

“I remembered the rule. They said we were in charge of food for a week, and the Omegas weren’t

allowed to help us. That was all. They did not prohibit us from buying food and serving it.

Thanks to head Omega Macy, we purchased the finest food from the stores. We have three pregnant

women, and we cannot subject them to top crap,” David said, and I frowned, wondering who was the

third.

“Three? I thought it was just Avery and Amelia?” I asked, and David nodded.

“Katya is preganant too. She had been hiding it for a while because of the stress, but your mother

figured it out then Claudia confirmed it.” Marcel said, and I smiled and looked at Dominic, who seemed

over the moon about the news.

I went to congratulate him, and instead of a handshake, I hugged him. We were both going to be

fathers for the first time. It was thrilling.

The food was plated, and the women were surprised about the meals. Avery and Amelia were the first

to dig in. I figured Amelia would be hungry because she had emptied her stomach in the morning.

The Sullivans and my parents joined, and it was a very happy breakfast. Clay, Andrew, Max and Kyle

seemed most happy about the food. I guess they were tired of sandwiches too.

Tamia and Linda were suspicious about the food, but it seemed everyone was tired of eating food

cooked by amateurs that they ignored the oddities and just enjoyed the spread.

I just hoped they wouldn’t say anything. We were already three days into the bet and had four more to

go. It would be a breeze at this pace as long as Macy does not tell Amelia the truth.

We discussed our meeting with Erik and his odd behaviour. My father and Grey Sullivan laughed all

through. It was what they had expected, and Erik had acted accordingly.

I noticed Theodore had left out the talk of Yuri and Amelia. I knew he wanted me to discuss it on my

own time. I was grateful but knew it was time to tell her, especially now that I knew who the man in the

picture was, so I brought it up.

Amelia was shocked that she had given Yuri food. I showed her my phone so she would see the image.

“I honestly thought he was a displaced man from the West. He had a lot of great advice. Telling me to

hang in there, that I was lucky to find a home after being displaced. He seemed harmless,” she said

and sighed.

“I also knew it was strange that he kept asking me questions about the pack and Leo’s plans. He said

he was considering joining Mountain but wasn’t sure if it were the right place for him or if Leo would

allow him to join.” She said and bowed her head at the table.

“Had I known what was happening back then, I would have figured it out—the bastard. I fed him for

over a month,” she said, and Linda consoled her.

“You should be grateful he didn’t grab you and run,” she said, and we all laughed, making light of the

situation, but there was no doubt it was a close one.

“So, Erik wants me to fulfil all his requests before he springs into action,” Sylvester said, and I nodded.

“He isn’t asking for half,” Theodore said, looking at the bright side, and Sylvester nodded.

“He would get us the Stepanov army we need, this magic concoction that could help us gain some of

their abilities temporarily and also help us find Yuri?” Sylvester said, and Theodore nodded.

“Okay, but then it means we must return to the North. All of us, including the head of the council, set

things in motion.

The Claymans and Sean will be arrested at the same time. We would be reinstating the Stepanov line

and granting Alexei and Clay lordship. Amelia is a woman, so her title will go to you then, Leo.

But your lordship will have no office but only be a title by name. Your children with Amelia would be the

ones to have an office like Alexei and Clay,” he explained to me, and I honestly did not care. I had too

many responsibilities already; having a lordship with an office would break me.

“How do we carry these things out simultaneously?” Devin asked an important question because it all

had to happen simultaneously to avoid surprises, and Tamia smiled.

“Simple,” She said, and we were attentive.

“We go to the North and call an emergency council meeting to discuss the threats. That would bring

Joan to the King’s hall. All the head alpha will be invited to discuss the region’s safety.

Alexei and Clay will also be on the itinerary list. They will have to explain their dubious methods of

winning challenges; with that, everyone will be around, and no one will be suspicious.

We will have to surround the place with trusted warriors while we discuss all the matters at hand. After

the discussions, Sylvester will reinstate the Stepanov line and grant Alexei, Clay and Amelia, through

Leo, their birthright.

Then we will move to arrest Joan and Sean for treason, and the West will be given to Erik to head. With

Erick heading the West, the Stepanovs can start relocating and coexist with the people already living

there,” She said, which made much sense, but I knew it wouldn’t be as easy as Tamia had stated.

“We must also request Erik lend us warriors to surround the King’s hall. The people guarding the place

must have Stepanov abilities because of Sean and Calyman,” Avery said quickly.

“You are right, Ave,” Linda added, “Those two bastards will let them know of the meeting. It will be an

easy way to wipe us out. Yuri would be interested in the gathering and might choose to act on that day

to kill us off,” She said, making a point.

“To be secure, You will need trusted kappas to watch the hall along with some Stepanovs, just in case

they do not rig the place with explosives and decide to blow us to bits instead of fighting,” Amelia

added, making much sense.

“I rarely contribute, but I would say that the time should not lapse. Set the meeting and hold it on the

same day, with just enough time for all parties involved to take a flight and travel to the North to attend.

That way, Yuri would not have ample time to plan,” Katyya said, and it was indeed a brilliant plan.

It was amazing to see us brainstorming like this. We were indeed a formidable team.

“As simple as the plan is, I hope you all know it might not go exactly as planned, so I would advise you

all to plan for surprises because the traitors might be more in number,” My father said, and Sylvester

nodded.

“Richard and I will ensure Gordon is arrested a few hours before the meeting. That way, Yuri would not

be suspicious. Based on all that has been said, Erik needs to work freely in Hayland to get the AgK32

ready. And to do so, Gordon must be out of the way,” Grey said, lending his help.

I did not know if I could trust him, but we honestly had no choice if all of us were in the North, but I

would instead send Max and Kyle than my father and Grey.

“A brilliant idea, but I would advise both of you to sit this one out. Max and Kyle do not need to be in the

North, so they can arrest Gordon. I know sending both of them will be overkill, but we want it to be an

easy task. They will make the arrest in my name so no one would fight, not even Gordon’s men.” I said,

and Grey agreed.

“What will be the reason for the arrest?” Kyle asked.

“Suspicion for arson,” Max said, hitting the back of Kyle’s head because it was an obvious reason since

we have a Kappa that could testify to telling Gordon about the Nitric Acid plant.

Things were always easier and moved faster with a plan. This was indeed a good plan.