The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 17: Beyond The Barrier ()
Zariah felt a rush of spiritual energy brush over her as she stepped through the crimson barrier and as she emerged from the other side, she exhaled a deep breath.
"Wait for us!!! Wait for us!!!"
Zariah thought she heard a familiar voice right before crossing and she frowned slightly as she turned to Allen, Darren and Nile who had crossed right behind her.
"Did you hear something?" Zariah asked with a quirked brow, however she did not need a reply as the very next moment, two females emerged from the barrier.
"Of course... Kaileen and Dionne." Zariah groaned beneath her breath as she realized she had completely forgotten about her honor guard Dionne and Dionne’s hyperactive mate Kaileen.
Dionne strode up to Zariah and lowered herself to a knee, her head bowed low while Kaileen remained frozen in place as though too stunned at the realization that she had crossed the crimson barrier.
"Alpha..." Dionne began.
"Dionne...I can explain..." Zariah cut in, knowing she was about to be chided for neglecting her honor guard.
"You sent me off on a mission to the Earth Fortress for an entire month and then I have to hear from Lord Myron that you intend to cross the crimson barrier!" Dionne exclaimed, her green orbs flashing fiercely as they always did when she was raging.
"Dionne..." Zariah tried again.
"I am your honor guard Alpha! Your warden! I am charged with your protection! Your life is my sole purpose for existing! Do you not understand this?!" Dionne raged.
"Would you at least let me speak?" Zariah asked, her lips stretched into a fond smile as she gazed down at the overprotective female warrior who was had been her honor guard right from her birth.
Dionne Belven, a warrior amongst warriors, one of the finest warrior wolves of the Crimson Moon... and one of the last to have fallen during the massacre of Crimson Moon.
Zariah recalled clearly how Dionne had fought fearlessly, every bit the fierce she wolf she had always been, her canines piercing into her enemies and her claws ripping them to shreds...
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flashback
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The sounds of battle surrounded Zariah all about as the Crimson wolves fell one after the other,
All Zariah could see was red, her heart pulsed with pain and the thirst for vengeance as she felt bond after bond severed from the pack link with each fallen wolf but Zariah knew this was not the time to count losses.
"Kill! Kill them all!" Torin growled violently in Zariah’s mind as wolf and man had both lost themselves to bloodthirsty madness.
Zariah’s hind limbs shot off the ground as she lunged at the nearest rogue wolf, her massive, muscular crimson red wolf slamming into the much smaller rogue wolf.
The rogue wolf howled in pain, struggling violently beneath Zariah as Zariah’s claws dug into it’s upper limbs, pinning it down firmly to the ground.
Zariah felt the blood pool beneath her claws as she dug them in even deeper and with one fast motion, she ripped out her claws, tossing aside the gullet of the rogue wolf.
Zariah did not have the time to watch the wolf bleed out to it’s death as the next moment, an enemy wolf barrelled into her from the side, knocking her down to the ground.
Zariah and the enemy wolf wrestled fiercely, rolling over in the blood soaked ground, Zariah released a howl of pain as it’s claws dug into her upper arm before she violently shook it off her back, sending the wolf flying through the air and crashing against a tree.
Zariah lunged forwards, dragging her claws across the tender underbelly of the rogue wolf, she ripped it open, the wolf twitching twice before falling still.
Zariah lunged at the next enemy wolf, her canines biting down into it’s neck, she chomped down hard till she felt the cracking of bones and tossed the wolf aside without care.
"Capture Alpha Moonstone! Stop her!"
Zariah heard Caedmon’s order from somewhere in the midst of the battle as dozens of rogue wolves lunged for her.
Zariah’s eyes glinted furiously, her powerful muscles pulsed with adrenaline as she tilted her head back and released an earth shaking growl.
Zariah leaped into the air and dove right into the fray, ripping, clawing and biting ferociously at anyone and anything that came her way.
Zariah howled, shaking off the wolves diving atop her back, attempting to bring down her massive bulk.
Zariah could feel her fur soak up her own blood as claws ripped into her flesh all around her and canines dug into her but Zariah fought back fearlessly, meeting claw for claw, and bite for bite, she ripped through the dozens of wolves all around her.
Zariah was not sure how long she had been fighting, it could have been hours or days, exhaustion tugged at her muscles as she ripped through wolf after wolf and her vision dimmed from loss of blood as she bled out from various fatal wounds she had received.
Zariah felt her heart sink when more and more rancid, rogue wolves lunged at her, no matter how many she had killed, they just kept on coming.
So many crimson wolves had already fallen, Darren, Allen, Nile...they were all gone and yet the attacks were unending,
For every one crimson wolf, there were twenty enemy wolves to match. Caedmon had come prepared and in a deep, dark portion of her mind, Zariah knew Crimson Moon did not stand a chance...
Caedmon had rid them of their elements, he had taken away the upper hand because Zariah had told him how and so Zariah knew Crimson Moon would fall today, they would all die today and it would be her own fault.
And then Zariah heard a heartwrenching howl of pain and devastation, a howl filled with such pain and loss that Zariah felt her heart shatter as she recognized that howl and the large dark brown wolf from which it had come.
Dionne Belven... Zariah’s honor guard and warden and Zariah needed no one to tell her just what had happened for as she turned her gaze, she saw Caedmon’s claws rip open a lighter brown wolf.
Zariah’s eyes fluttered closed in pain as she watched Kaileen twitch, shifting back into her human form, blood gurgled out of her mouth as her innards spilled out of her torn open stomach.
Kaileen...the other half of Dionne’s soul, Dionne’s fated mate Kaileen.
Caedmon had known as well as Zariah did that Dionne was of the fiercest of Zariah’s warrior wolves, he had known that although Dionne would die along with everyone else, she would take as many of his wolves as she could along with her.
And with Dionne’s skill, Caedmon knew he would loose many good wolves to her swift and brutal claws,
And because he knew so much about Zariah, about the Crimson Moon and about everyone Zariah cared for, he knew that the easiest way to take down the fierce warrior Dionne was her beloved mate, Kaileen.
At that moment, Zariah turned to Dionne, she saw the fierce warrior Dionne Belven break right before eyes, the loss of her mate completely shattered her,
Kaileen’s death had taken a part of Dionne’s soul along with and as unyieldingly loyal as Dionne was,
Zariah knew Dionne did not have the will to fight any longer.
Zariah watched, her heart clenching in pain as Dionne shifted into her human form, all will to live lost with the death of her mate, she bowed her last in Zariah’s direction before she gazed up soullessly as her head was ripped clean off her shoulders.
Zariah threw her head back and howled in pain, claws dug into her from all around but Zariah could barely feel it, she could barely feel the ripping of her own flesh as the pain in her heart was greater...all consuming.
Zariah howled till she could howl no more, all the strength left her muscles as she shifted back into her human form and collapsed to the ground unconscious,
The last thing her mind registered was that image of the previously green fields of Crimson Moon now dyed red with blood... the blood of the crimson wolves, the blood of Zariah’s people.
And as Zariah drifted off into unconsciousness, she prayed to the creator that she would never awaken again, that her soul would be vanquished at this very moment so she did not have to awaken to this reality.
But of course, her prayers were left unheeded, Zariah did awaken again, she awoke chained up in a deep, dark dungeon where she would live the rest of her days in a reality worse than death itself all at the hands of a certain blue eyed Caedmon Grey.
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Zariah heart pulsed with pain and rage as dark memories clouded her mind, she quickly shook herself back to reality, stretching a hand down to a kneeling Dionne.
"I admit to my fault, forgive me... and please rise." Zariah said with a small smile.
Dionne grasped Zariah’s hand and Zariah pulled her up to her feet before Zariah turned her attention to a still frozen Kaileen.
"Are you going to open your eyes anytime soon? Or should we wait some more?" Zariah asked in amusement as the bubbly female snapped one eye open first and then the other. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
"Nothing happened... I can’t believe it!" Kaileen exclaimed, heaving a sigh of relief as she hurried over to Zariah.
"Of course nothing happened, it’s a barrier Kai, not the gate of hell." Darren said with a roll of his eyes.
"Greetings Alpha." Kaileen greeted with a wide smile, ignoring Darren’s remark.
Zariah hummed in response as she turned away from the crimson barrier, staring out into the thick forest ahead of them.
Zariah heard the cracking and reforming of bones as Dionne took her wolf form, in the blink of an eye, a lithe muscular wolf with dark brown fur the exact color of Dionne’s hair took Dionne’s place.
"So...where to?"
Zariah heard Dionne’s voice in her mind, through the pack mind link.
"The Ethereal domain, territory of the Royal Lycan Pack." Zariah replied.
Zariah waited as the rest of the company took their wolf forms before Darren’s large muscular gray wolf bounded up to her, crouching down so Zariah could get on.
Zariah placed a hand on Darren’s back and hoisted herself up to his back, when her position was comfortable, Darren rose up to his full height.
Zariah passed one last glance at the Crimson Moon before she hardened her resolved and turned her gaze ahead.
"Let’s go." Zariah permitted as Darren leaped forwards, dashing into the woods.
