139 A Meeting Of Caution


    ~Leo~


    The meeting with the Stepnaovs went pretty well. Gezel knowing and trusting them was a good


    sign, but we could not be rxed and let them in on our ns. We had to be extra careful because


    we would only get one shot at this. Yuri was a slippery bastard, and we could not afford to let him


    slip. Everything mattered.


    We did not mislead the Stepanovs. We just did not tell them why we would be in the West. The fact


    that they believed only Alexei and y would be there to fight would throw Yuri off.


    I needed to tell Sylvester something before I departed the next day. Knowing we only had one shot


    at this, we had to somehow find a way to direct the matter carefully.


    The Stepanovs were led to the delta wings, and the unmated men were allowed to get acquainted


    with the women in the Harem. I still did not understand why Sylvester called that gathering a harem


    since he had never touched them. I knew they were hopeful some women would find love, and this


    was a great opportunity. Only two of the Stepanovs opted out, and I could tell it was because they


    felt too old to mingle. The two were Peter and another guy. I did not bother to catch his name.


    "Sylvester, I would like us to have a meeting in your office before we retire," I linked him, and he


    looked at me before he stood up. Speaking out loud when in the open wasn''t a great idea,


    especially while we had strangers in our midst.


    I figured he linked everyone on the issue because they all moved to the Royal wing of the mansion.


    We went to Sylvester''s office and shut the door for the first time.


    Everyone was there, just as I had hoped.


    Sylvester sat on the couch with the rest of us instead of sitting behind his desk.


    "Guess the lounge is out of bounds," David joked, and weughed.


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    He always had a way of enlivening the situation, no matter how serious it seemed. Dominic nudged


    him, and they bothughed.


    I couldn''t help but notice how close the brothers had be. Four of them behaved like they came


    from the same woman and grew up together.


    I kind of envied what they had. It sucked being an only child. Even Alexei and y had a bond I


    envied.


    I wondered why my parent had only me and rested. I nned to have many children with Amelia.


    Thinking about everything, I was pretty stupid when I told Tamia I wasn''t ready for a child. It wasn''t


    meant to be, really, because, with Amelia, I was very prepared for everything. There were no rules


    or limits.


    Although it seemed like it initially, Amelia was too stubborn and unaffected to let me have my way. I


    thanked her for it. Thanks to her, I have a family now, and her brothers are like mine.


    I also had an unlikely bond with Sylvester and his brothers and cousins. They were my family too. It


    was amazing to find out that we were literally family.


    Knowing we had developed a bond before we found out we were rted was also pleasing. I smiled


    and watched them.


    They served Sylvester''s whiskey, and they all seemed more rxed than we were in the morning.


    Having two hundred and fifty true Stepanovs on our side was a massive shift and a definite win if


    everything went as nned.


    "So why do you want to see us, Leo?" Marcel asked me, taking a sip of his drink.


    "Now that we have sent the Stepanovs to head West and settle in Gad of all ces, I think Yuri


    might get suspicious," I said, and Dominic chuckled dismissively.


    "How can he be suspicious of Alexei and y? Had we said we were going, then he would have


    been suspicious regardless of Alexei''s story," Dominic said. Some of them agreed, but they didn''t


    see my angle. I needed them to see my angle.


    "Yuri is a mastermind. He is intelligent and thinks thoroughly; that is why we have been unable to


    catch him. Even the information we have isn''t certain.


    He might already know that we have You-know-who in custody and might be feeding us with the


    information he wants. Has it ever urred to you that the person in question might have someone


    he was supposed to meet on Cains Ind? With Yuri, we really do not know what to expect. So I


    am imploring us to be wise and be on our guard,"


    I pleaded with them, and Marcel got a bit short.


    "What else do you want us to do, Leo? We have been cautious. We even let you run this thing for a


    while in the East. Now that we have some action, you are doubting our break?" He asked, and I


    shook my head.


    "I do not doubt our break. And for the record, you did not allow me to run things in the East. I had no


    choice because it was my territory. I have done nothing but maintain my ce in the North. I do not


    appreciate your tone, Marcel," I said because his words were condescending. Saying they allowed


    me as if it wasn''t my ce, but they just humoured me. I was a bit mad.


    "Calm down, Leo," Sylvester said, realising I was getting angry.


    "Apologise to him, Marcel. You did cross the line there by saying we allowed him. It is his region, so


    he had to be in charge, and he did a damn good job at it. What you said was unfair," Sylvester


    reprimanded him taking my side. Marcel ran his fingers through his hair and apologised to me.


    "I am sorry, Leo. I am just tired of this Yuri''s bullshit. I miss my son, and I miss my quality time with


    my wife. I miss my life in general. I shouldn''t take it out on you. We are all in this." He said, and I


    nodded.


    "Hey, we were bound to crack at a point. The only thing keeping me is this Whiskey", David added,


    and we allughed and clinked out sses.


    "So what are you suggesting, Leo?" Theodore asked me, and I nodded.


    "I say we mislead Yuri so he does not see using. We cannot be obvious about either of our


    movements. We have to confuse him," I said, and they were all attentive.


    "The stepanovs would be moving west to aid Alexei and y in theing days. When I go to the


    East, we will send some men to the South to make it seem like we are nning on attacking the


    South. We will circte news about Yuri''s coronation and how it''s treasonous and speak about


    taking back the South.


    Other than the stolen packs and the freaks that took them," I said and paused to apologise to The


    Stepanovs in the room for calling their n members freaks. Alexei and yughed and told me


    to continue.


    "We will also circte a story about us taking the South. But we will make it seems like we are


    heading south, and when I mean we, I mean most of us. This will give Yuri the confidence to move


    with the lesser danger. Christain is holding the North well, so he won''te here, and Max and the


    Alphas in the East have proven to be formidable. He is bound to take the safest option, which is


    moving west, and would decide to have his meeting.


    We have a scope to work with if the meeting doesn''t take ce. The properties Larry obtained for


    him wille in handy. As we noticed, most of those properties are in the area of the national


    theatre, so he is bound to be in that vicinity," I said. They could see my angle because they nodded.


    ''You know he is a master of disguise. What if he disguised himself and settled within the city?"


    Alexei asked, and I smiled.


    "You will make it mandatory for every public structure to send information about new or strange


    people, preferably hotels and restaurants. We will have to run it with the Identification database. It is


    not like we will actually do it, but knowing he is careful and won''t take foolish risks, he is bound to


    stick to his known circle and use his things to stay off the radar.


    We will also continue to use Ighor tomunicate with him so we will know he is still on course.


    Although we cannot trust his words to Ighorpletely, we can trace the calls to try to pinpoint his


    location. But I have a gut feeling that he is already in the West," I said, and everyone was silent.


    They could see my point, and Sylvester soon ordered everyone on what to do, and we sprang into


    action.


    We decided to try to ensure that Yuri believed we were heading to the South to stop his coronation


    and take back the region.


    Morning came, and it was time for us to leave for the East. I needed to gather my people and lead


    them to the West. I wasn''t happy that Gezel would fight with us, and I wished I could talk her out of


    it. Still, I hadn''t gotten the chance, nor had I been able to tell Amelia about her mother''s decision.


    While they carried our luggage out of our room, Amelia and I decided to check on Erik and Jake.


    I wanted to see how Jake was before I left.


    We got to theb, and I saw Jake''s skin tone improve. udia was there, and it looked like she


    needed to rest. I doubt the woman would. She had been working none stop with Erik. I hoped


    Sylvester would award her for her effort because she has blessed our group.


    Stephanie was sleeping on the couch, and I did not want to wake the woman. I noticed she had lost


    some weight and hoped to receive good news soon.


    Erik walked up to me. He already knew why I hade to see him. He looked at Amelia beside me


    and hugged her.


    "See you in a couple of days," He said, hugging Amelia, and then he broke the hug and shook my


    hand.


    "I hate to say this, but please do not let her fight. Gezel too. We do not know what we will meet


    there. She is carrying your child and the future of our n; she has to survive no matter what


    happens," He linked me, smiling at me, and I could see the worry in his eyes behind his fa?ade.


    "She isn''t going to fight. When the timees, I will send her back to the North to be with Tamia. I


    just do not want to miss any moment with her. That is why we are heading East. I want to spend


    some time with my mate," I confessed to Erik through the mind link, and he appreciated my words.


    As weird as the man seemed, he cared deeply for everyone.


    "How is Jake?" Amelia finally asked, breaking the silence, and Erik nodded.


    "Well, he is looking better than he did yesterday. I hope he wakes up soon because I doubt we can


    continue to watch his arse," Erik joked, and we both chuckled at his words. It was okay to make light


    of a dire situation.


    We had all done our best where Jake was concerned. The rest was left to Fate and his desire to


    live.


    I was given boxes of AgK32 to administer to my warriors before I left.


    I left theb, and we headed out. Sylvester and Tamia were there to bid us farewell. Although we


    knew we would see each other soon, we knew we would miss each other.


    Amelia and Linda''s hug lingered, and I heard Linda tell Amelia she is returning to join them. It also


    meant the women knew we won''t be taking them to the West. I was grateful because this would


    make my work easier. We got into the van and headed to the airport. On my way to the airport, I


    decided to call Max.


    "Hello," Max answered on the first ring.


    "How are things going there?" I asked him.


    "All the alphas are in Mountain with their troops, and we are waiting for you," He replied, and I was


    happy about his efficiency.


    "Thank you, we are on our way," I told Max.


    "That is great; I want to ask you about something," Max said, and I was attentive.


    "What is this we hear that we will attack the south?" He asked, and I was d that Sylvester had


    done his part. By stylishly preparing to attack the South, Yuri was bound to head West.


    "I will exin when I get there. Just make sure the troops are divided into two. One should consist


    of one-quarter of the total numbers we have. A few alphas will be leading them. We are on our way,"


    I told Max.


    "What about Alexei? He has to bring his contribution." Max said, and I sighed.


    "We will discuss this when I get home. There are things we can''t discuss on the phone, Max," I said,


    and he was silent.


    "Very well, Leo. I await your arrival,'' He said and hung up.