Shadows of Destiny

144 A Little Hope Goes A Long Way

~Leo~

The day was fast approaching, and it made me restless. The fact that we did not know what we would

expect in Gad made it worse. The men and I trained, and we practised our formation. Sylvester and I

were in touch, and he told us we were still on course.

Ighor willingly continued communicating with Yuri, and according to their conversations, the meeting

was going to hold.

Max and Kyle had involved their beta's respectfully, and even though they wanted to join us in Gad,

where the real battle would happen, I still decided

I would send them to the South.

We had somehow decided they won’t be a decoy. That they would actually fight and take Greenville

from the Stepanovs. They were more than eager to oblige when they knew they had a real mission.

It would be logical to have Devin go with them, but we had a formation that worked best with Devin, so

he would have to come with us.

It was evening time, and Alexei had gone to the VIP bunker to get Alia so he could spend time with her.

He had been doing that since we arrived, and she was brought to Mountain.

I felt bad that he missed the birth of his twins, but he was already making it up to his mate. I decided to

retire to my room to spend time with Amelia.

She would be going to the North the following day, and I won't see her until after the battle. It was

important that I spend quality time with her.

One of the things that troubled me was that Gezel was yet to get back to me on what we had

discussed. I dreaded having to tell Amelia that her mother would be coming with us, but as things were,

it seemed I might have to tell her tonight.

Dropping the bomb on her in the morning when she and Susan are leaving would be wrong. I thought

to discuss the matter with Gezel before heading to my bedroom, so I linked her to ask her.

"Where are you?" I managed, and it took a bit before she answered.

"I am with your parents, Alpha Leo,” She replied calmly.

The woman’s grace made it clear that she came from a high-standing family. It was sad what Yuri did to

her, and I could understand her desire to get even with the bastard. Still, there was no way she could

go about it without risking her life and hurting Amelia in the process. I hoped she would allow us to

handle the matter.

"Do you have a response to what we discussed?" I linked Gezel.

"I will get back to you in the morning. I have all the cards now, and I am contemplating. Please give me

time, Alpha Leo. I know it is too much to ask, but I will plead with you not to tell Amelia now. I will make

up my mind tonight," She pleaded with me.

Her request did not sit well with me because I believed Amelia deserved to know her mother was

planning a suicide mission. Still, I also knew I had to respect her decision and allow her to figure it out

independently without pressure.

"Time isn’t on your side, Gezel," I told her and closed the link; I hoped she would get the message and

decide soon.

I hurried toward my bedroom to spend some time with my Luna. Devin had been indoors with Susan all

day, so I knew they weren’t lacking in the time department.

The thought of the two of them couped up in the room, away from all that was happening, made me

envious, and I moved quickly."Where are you," I linked Amelia.

"Having a bath," She said, and I smirked, closing the link. She was right where I wanted her, and I was

happy.

I entered the room quietly. Hoping she would not hear me. Then I stripped down my clothes and

entered the bathroom.

Amelia was in a bubble bath, looking beautiful and extremely seductive.

She looked in my direction and was a bit surprised. It was as if she wasn't expecting me to be there,

but here I was.

"Closed early?" Amelia asked with a broad grin.

I got into the bathtub, and I nodded.

"Needed to spend time with my Luna before she heads north tomorrow," I replied and pulled her close.

She positioned herself between my legs with her back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around

her. Holding her.

Peace surrounded us, and a calm came over us that I wanted to hold on to forever.

"Amelia," I said, kissing my mark on her neck, and she giggled.

"Yes, Leo," She replied in a low, seductive tone, blowing the foam towards our feet. She was in a

playful mood.

I had to respect Amelia for having the ability to live in the moment.

Although there was a huge hurdle to jump, she was light about it. It was as if our days were normal,

and I appreciated her for it. She took my worry away and gave me the confidence to face my problems.

"Hope you are gearing up to kick some arse?" She said to me, and I laughed.

"We are more than ready; Yuri won't know what hit him," I said, and she giggled, then stopped

laughing.

"Leo," she said, and I was attentive.

"Do not doubt the Stepanovs on our side. They are our family too. You might be a Volkov, but I am your

mate, and Stepanovs are my family. Do not use Yuri as a yardstick. I would not tell you all not to go

there prepared for a betrayal but be optimistic too. Help comes from mysterious places. Do not judge

my clan and family by Yuri's standards," She pleaded, and I squeezed tight. Holding her and breathing

her in.

"I want you to be at ease, Amelia. We are more than grateful for the help from the Stepanovs, your

brothers and Uncle Erik. We wouldn't have hope if it weren't for them, especially Erik and your

brothers," I said, and she relaxed.

"What are we doing tonight?" She asked, and I pretended to think about it.

"Well, Let’s see...." I said, and she was already laughing before I could speak.

"We will eat, make love, eat, make love and repeat until we sleep," I said and sighed.

"Wouldn't that be too boring? We have the rest of our lives for that,” she said, laughing.

"Well, let’s see, my love?' I said to her, xo and she laughed.

We left the bathroom, and the Omegas knocked on our door to bring our food. I was famished, so the

food came at the right time.

Amelia ate heartily, and I could not see a trace of worry on her face. Her heart was hopeful, and she

was solid as a rock. She was indeed a great support for me.

"Have you thought of names for our children?" She finally asked, snuggling in my arms on the couch

while I put on the television to watch a movie with her.

I brushed her hair aside and kissed her shoulder gently, breathing her in simultaneously.

"I haven’t actually thought of it," I replied because even though I was excited about the prospect of

being a father, I had not had the time to think of their sex and names. 1

"What would you do if they come out looking like me?" she asked, assuming she was carrying more

than one child, and I smiled.

"Then they will be the most beautiful babies in their time. Even more beautiful than Alexei's twins, and

those twins look like you," I said, and she giggled.

"I hope they fit in well and won't go through what I went through, Leo," she said, voicing concern for the

first time.

"They will grow up in a time when being a Stepanov is a thing of honour. They will have it too good,

Amelia. Trust me," I said, and she relaxed a bit. I touched her tummy gently and tried to feel them.

"Amelia," I managed, finally addressing the elephant in the room that I believe she dreaded speaking

of. I looked at her, and her eyes looked curious and hopeful.

I touched her chin gently and caressed it.

"I do not plan to die in Gad," I said, her eyes welled up with tears. It was a concern that weighed

heavily on her mind, and she avoided speaking of it.

I respected her restraint, but I had to give her words of encouragement and let her know my true

intentions.

"I plan to survive no matter what and come home to you. You won't raise our children alone, Amelia.

You won’t face the world alone. You have lent me strength by making me happy and giving me hope. I

have a reason to live. You and our unborn children have given me a formidable reason, and I will hold

on to it until I come home. I promise," I said, and she crashed her lips against mine and kissed me

passionately. Although not relieved because she knew I had no power over the outcome, I could feel

her hope increase, and that was good enough for me.

We held each other until sleep finally came. As much as I tried to spend more time and linger, sleep

won the battle, and we did not wake until morning.

Amelia cried a bit while packing and preparing to leave. It wasn't like she meant to, but the tears won't

stay away. I watched her literally fight them. Wiping them away and laughing in between. I could feel

her nervousness and her fears. I wished I could do more to assure her.

While trying to console her, we ended up making love, and we took our time. With what we had coming,

there was no point rushing the moment.

We showered together after, and I followed her to the van. I planned to escort her to the airport and

wait until their plane departed. To my surprise, I saw Gezel at the entrance of the packhouse dressed to

go. I looked at her, surprised.

"You are going north?" I asked. I was surprised, and she nodded with tears in her eyes.

"I would not want to miss a moment with my child," She said, and I was grateful I did not tell Amelia of

her plans to go to Gad with us and maybe die there. My mate would have been devastated.

Alexei and Clay hugged their sister, and then they hugged their stepmother.

Gezel did not want to let go of them. She panicked a bit.

"I want you two to come home in one piece, alright?" She said, and Alexei smiled and nodded.

"Please. I do not want to lose either of you. Alexei, remember Alia and the twins. They are waiting for

you and counting on you and Clay; remember us. None of us are ready to say goodbye. You might be

strong and almost invincible, but I need you all to be careful. Watch your back and try to stay alive no

matter what. Promise me I will see you in four days," she said, and Clay wrapped his arms around her.

"We will meet you in Lucland, Gezel. We promise." He said I could tell the emotions were getting to

them. But they held it together and maintained a calm exterior.

We all got into van, Devin too and headed to the airport. Susan clung to Devin like glue, and she was

pale. Amelia remained stoic. She might seem unaffected, but I knew deep down she was worried.

Knowing Amelia and Susan were going north because there was a possibility Tamia and the others

would need help also made me afraid, but

I knew they would be fine. Sylvester had already instructed Tamia and the others on what to do should

we fall. I prayed to the goddess that we would see each other again and that all this would be a thing of

the past.