The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 170: The Face Of Nightmares ()

Zariah did know when and how it had all become complicated, it was right when she took that one blind leap that had sent both her and her pack to their deaths.

Was it even a surprise that her heart no longer cared to take a leap of faith or to indulge in it’s own desires?

"You do want King Askel as your mate, don’t you? Unless you plan to reject him then..." Kristen trailed off, it was obvious he found it hard to even contemplate the option.

’Did she want Askel as mate?’ Zariah thought to herself.

It was a question she had always known the answer to, even though the darkness of her past kept her from recognizing it.

The reality was that Zariah did want Askel as her mate, she could not imagine herself with anyone else and now, she could not even imagine a life without him.

How it had gone so far so quickly, Zariah also did not know, but if she could deceive everyone else, at least it was time Zariah stopped lying to herself.

The past was the past and while the darkness would always hover over Zariah, Zariah had begun to see this lifetime for what it was.

A second chance, not for vengeance or to rage at the world, but a chance to find her own peace...to live the life that she deserved and right the wrongs of the past.

"You know Zariah, you think too much about everything. Why not just let things happen as they should?" Kristen suggested as though he could read Zariah’s thoughts.

"No Kristen, you’re right. I have thought so much of it that I ended up not really thinking anything through." Zariah admitted with a shake of her head.

"I do care for him, I do." Zariah admitted it out loud, solidifying the reality within her heart.

Askel was in her heart, there was no denying it and nothing else truly mattered but that.

"I’ll have to start thinking over my bonding ceremony." Zariah murmured, a small smile on her lips as she made peace with it.

"That means you’ll let King Askel mark you?" Kristen asked and Zariah nodded.

"I should, given how you and Nile jumped right into it, he has held out long enough." Zariah confirmed.

Kristen scoffed beneath his breath but there was a smile on his lips.

"Nile and I are only together because of you, Zari. And I cannot thank you enough for taking the risk and coming down to the Sea Kingdom." Kristen expressed his gratitude.

"Even those who are lost are bound to find home one day... and I was no different. All that is meant to be, will be, Kristen. You and Nile are what is meant to be." Zariah assured and they continued on in comfortable silence.

"It seems there is a lot going on, the palace is quite busy today." Kristen pointed out, they watched from the courtyard as the royal lycan guards trooped in and out of the main palace entrance.

The courtyard itself was out of the way and so there was hardly anyone around but they could see all the movements from where they stood.

"What do you two think you’re doing?" Nile called from behind.

Zariah winced guiltily knowing there was no manner of explanation that could spare her from Nile’s lecture.

"Here you are, encouraging her when you should have stopped her." Nike went after his mate first.

"Nile, I insisted...you know how I can be when I want something. I just wanted some fresh air, it’s not Kristen’s fault." Zariah defended.

Nile glared daggers at Zariah for a moment before he walked over to her and checked her pulse.

"You need rest, Zariah. Your body has been through far more strain than it can handle." Nile reasoned.

"I know, I know but I’ve been in bed for over a month, I don’t think I want to be in bed any longer. I’m not doing anything strenuous, just walking." Zariah assured.

"Well, you have had enough of walking for the day. Come now, you need to eat and I have brewed your medicine." Nile said,

He lead the way to the main entrance of the Ethereal Palace which was closer to them than the side entrance they had come from.

"Darren and Allen should be in the main hall, I had to send for them believing we’d be organizing a search party." Nile explained.

The very moment they stepped into the main hall, Zariah knew that something was wrong and she did not realize exactly what it was till her eyes settled on Askel.

He also stood in the main hall, but he was not who Zariah was looking at, no... Zariah’s eyes were fixed on the man who stood beside Askel.

A face so familiar that it still haunted Zariah in her dreams, the face of her worst nightmares, the entire reason Zariah’s life had been ruined.

The cause of every trauma and darkness Zariah still battled, the devil in human skin... the man with baby blue eyes.

Caedmon Grey... for the crimson moon, he had been the beginning of the end.

And here he was again, a face Zariah had pictured over and over again since she awakened in this lifetime,

Only that each time she envisioned him, it was the scene where her sword pierced right through his heart and ended his miserable life for the good of all.

But this scene of their first meeting in this lifetime was far different from what Zariah had pictured,

This time, he stood there, exchanging a friendly embrace with the man Zariah had just begun to call hers, a bright smile on his traitorous lips.

An embrace that told Zariah that those two had known each other for a long, long time.

And just like that, Zariah’s entire world crashed right before her eyes, all the castles she had built crumbled and all those ice walls surrounding her heart went right back up.