The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 43: Self Loathing ()

"Your wolf is raging and so are you, I understand..." Zariah sucked in a deep breath before she continued.

"You are scaring me Askel, hold me... I want you to hold me." Zariah murmured quietly but she knew he had heard, for in the next moment, he obeyed.

His taut muscles eased beneath Zariah’s touch and his grip loosened, the merman dropping from his hand and landing to the ground with a thud.

"Nile...end it." Zariah thought to the spirit guide knowing he was more than capable of vanquishing a malevolent demon spirit without harming the host.

Just as Zariah conveyed the thought, she was pulled into a warm embrace and Zariah’s heart rate accelerated as she felt his muscular arms circle her waist, electrifying jolts rushing through her, spreading from every single point his skin met hers.

King Askel dipped his head down to Zariah’s hair and breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent to calm his wolf and then he nudged Zariah’s head gently.

Zariah knew what he wanted and forced herself to comply, at this moment, it was either he calmed or he would completely loose control to his wolf.

And if the human was a ruthless monster himself, Zariah did not want to imagine just what the wolf was.

Zariah tilted her head to the side, allowing him bury his nose into the crook of her neck, he inhaled and exhaled deeply, his breath fanning Zariah’s bare skin.

Zariah shivered against her will and she gritted her teeth, her eyes fluttering closed as she suffered through this humiliation.

The humiliation of being held in the hands of her sworn enemy and despite how wrong it was, loving every second of it.

It took a longer time than Zariah had anticipated but soon, Zariah heard the shriek of the demon wraith as it was vanquished from the supernatural realm.

After another moment, King Askel finally pulled away, his eyes having reverted back to their original golden color.

"Your scent drives me mad, Mhíjani..." King Askel murmured, his lips stretched in a smirk which widened when Zariah gulped audibly.

Zariah hurriedly took a step back, putting distance between them and much to her relief, King Askel did not stop her, merely watching her jittery actions with a smirk.

Just at that moment, the second and third in command of the Royal Lycans rushed into the courtyard, each leading a unit of Royal Lycan warriors.

"My King!" They both exclaimed in unison, dropping to their knees, heads bowed in shame.

It was now clear that the first two attacks had only been diversions and although it was not truly the fault of the Royal Lycan warriors for having fallen to such an elaborately planned diversion,

According to pack rules, they would still be punished for having left their Alpha unprotected.

"Report." Alpha King Askel ordered as he finally diverted his gaze which had been fixed on Zariah and spared his subordinates a glance.

"My King, we noticed minor disturbances at the Eastern border, we did not dare disturb you and reported to Lord Dechlan! He led a party to the border and quelled the attack... "

"My King! Forgive our inability,! We did not realize it was a diversion!" A fierce looking man with a muscular build who knelt behind the Third in command spoke first.

Zariah recognized his scent to be that of an enforcer wolf, just like Darren and so Zariah could tell he was the Head Warrior of the Royal Lycans.

"Do not make excuses for me." Lord Dechlan reprimanded before he spoke for himself.

"I was to oversee the border and allowed such a minor situation divert the Royal Lycan warriors from My King’s side...I have let My King and My Queen down," Lord Dechlan said, passing a shameful glance to Zariah before he lowered his head again.

It took Zariah much effort to ignore the fact that the third in command had just referred to her as queen, the one thing she would never be.

"We will accept whatever punishment My King deems fit to give us." The second in command who Zariah recalled was called Luther spoke.

"Since you know your fault, that is good then. We will discuss this later, for now, see to it that my Ethereal palace is restored to order and the guests are all taken safely to their quarters." King Askel instructed.

"As My King commands." The Royal Lycan warriors replied in unison.

At the Alpha King’s words, the overly eventful moon banquet had finally come to an end.

"King Askel, a word?" The leading representative of the vampires called to King Askel who had just turned to make his way back to Zariah.

"I...The Crimson Wolves will take our leave for now, the banquet has been eventful and I should like a rest." Zariah interjected before King Askel could speak, she then spun around and headed back to the castle.

"Is it okay to just leave like this? You just found your mate, Alpha. His wolf will need you in close proximity." Nile thought to Zariah as the Crimson Wolves hurried after her. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Zariah ignored Nile’s words, she could feel King Askel’s eyes trail her till she turned a corner and the moment she was certain she was out of sight, she froze.

"Zari? Are you okay?" Darren asked as the Crimson Wolves watched Zariah in concern.

"Go on ahead, I...I need some air." Zariah said in a low tone as she took a different path, heading away from the Ethereal Palace.

_________________

Once again, Zariah found herself running through the woods in a bid to clear her head.

Her mind was overwhelmed with various thoughts and her head ached terribly as she pushed herself to run as fast as her legs could carry her even when her mind screamed at her to run back to him.

Zariah kept her breathing quiet and her feet barely touched the ground as she dashed through the woods.

She had already masked her scent and was careful to avoid the Royal Lycan warriors on patrol, she was in no mood to explain her presence in the woods.

As Zariah ran, various thoughts ran through her mind in a panicked rush.

King Askel was her mate? The very same Alpha King who had orchestrated the massacre of Crimson Moon?

The very same Alpha King who had been behind Caedmon Grey and every evil, despicable thing Caedmon had done to her?

The very same Alpha King who had accused the Crimson Moon of colluding with the forsaken, dragging their centuries worth of honor through the mud.

The very same Alpha King that had watched in satisfaction as she was executed for a crime she did not commit.

The very same Alpha King that had given the order to turn Zariah into a creature of the darkness, into a bloodthirsty monster, desecrating the purity of the Crimson bloodline.

Zariah had endured so much pain and torture, she remembered it clearly like it was just yesterday.

The metal whip with spikes that tore through her skin, the verbal, physical, emotional and sexual torture she had suffered,

The excruciating pain of the pack bond severed as she felt the death of each and every Crimson Wolf, relieving it thousands of times for each Crimson wolf that had fallen.

The blood of her Crimson Wolves that dyed the green fields red, soaking into her fur and squelching beneath her paw.

The pain and confusion in the eyes of her Crimson Wolves as they died for reasons they could not understand.

The guilt and self loathing that overwhelmed her, plaguing her every waking moment, overwhelming the pain of even the physical torture she suffered.

She had gone through all that, suffered pain that no one should have had to go through, all under the Creator’s gaze.

He had watched it all and he had done nothing, he had forsaken her, left her to such a horrible fate and yet Zariah did not cast blames on anyone but herself.

So what exactly was this? What was this insane twist of fate?

Zariah could not understand just how things had ended up like this?

She could not understand just what game the creator was playing at, she could not understand it at all.

Zariah was drawn out of her thoughts by a possessive growl that resonated through the forest and only then did she realize that she had ran so far and so deep that she did not even know where she was anymore.

Zariah’s heart skipped a beat, she did not need to see him to know the growl had come from him.

Although the growl had sounded from far away, Zariah knew he would track her down easily and would catch up soon.

Knowing he had come for her, for a brief moment that only lasted a split second, Zariah felt a painful tug urging her to turn around and return to him.

Zariah slammed a fist into the nearest tree, the sharp pain that shot up her fist did nothing to distract her from the urges of the mate bond and Zariah cursed her weakness.

"Is this how weak your resolve was Zari?! How laughable, you should not have come at all, you should have hidden behind the safety of the Crimson barrier like the coward you are!" Zariah roared in her mind, slamming her fist into the tree again.