The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 44: The Right Way ()

Zariah felt his presence long before he arrived at the clearing where she stood, gazing out at the small lake stretching out before her.

The slightly distorted reflection of the moon on clear water had always been an enchanting sight to Zariah, yet at this moment, Zariah could not bring herself to appreciate it or the serene atmosphere she usually favoured.

Although it had only been a few moments, the pain from her fist had subsided to a dull ache, though she could still feel blood dripping down her fingers, she knew it would be completely healed soon.

The dull ache from her fist perfectly reflected the numb feeling that had overcome Zariah as after a thousand thoughts and considerations, she had finally come to a decision.

Zariah knew she could never move on from the events of the past lifetime, the blood feud of the past was one she could not forget, not even if she died a thousand more times.

The darkness in her heart, the darkness that had claimed her wolf, leaving her bare, empty and truly alone, that darkness was a constant reminder of the pain the Alpha King had dealt to the Crimson Moon.

Mates? Zariah would rather rip out her own heart and stomp on it.

Zariah had considered using this situation to her advantage, she had sworn to deal to the Alpha King pain that was a hundred times worse than what he had done to the Crimson Moon and to her.

She had sworn to repay him in the exact same coin with which she had been given and now the opportunity had presented itself right before her eyes.

The mate bond, the most significant weapon in the Alpha King’s plot against the Crimson Moon in the previous lifetime had been the mate bond and the leverage it would grant Caedmon over Zariah.

The mate bond through which Caedmon had infiltrated Zariah’s heart, breaking through the walls she had built around herself all because he had presented to her a love that she believed was fated, a love that she believed could be trusted.

The mate bond through which Caedmon manipulated Zariah’s heart, pulling her by the strings like a puppet and sowing discord between herself and everyone she knew and loved.

The mate bond through which Caedmon had triggered Zariah’s sympathy and her protectiveness, making her willing to do whatever it took to shield him from pain and scorn even at the detriment of her own pack.

The mate bond through which Caedmon had gained her trust, a trust which led her to reveal the most guarded secrets of the Crimson Moon to him, believing he was now one of them.

Believing that as her mate, he would love and protect her pack like she did, that he would be able to become someone the Crimson wolves could respect and trust, someone her pack members could deem worthy of being her mate.

The mate bond that had let Zariah open her heart to a ruthless monster, giving her love, her heart, her soul and even her body without reserve.

The mate bond through which Caedmon Grey had wormed his way into Zariah’s life, into her head, into her bed and had made himself someone Zariah trusted with her life.

The mate bond that had blinded Zariah to all the detestable things Caedmon had done even while in Crimson Moon that had earned him the hate of her pack members who had always seen him clearly for who and what he was.

The mate bond which had manipulated Zariah into choosing Caedmon over her only living blood, the one person who loved her the most in the world... Darren, her cousin brother.

When Zariah thought of all the hurt and pain she had caused Darren, all the tears he had shed when she had passed on the pack to him and severed ties,

All the times he had pleaded with her because she was all the family he had left and all the times she had turned her back on him.

And still yet, despite all the pain she had caused him, he had given his life to save her, to protect her...to give her a chance at living.

Zariah felt as though a dagger was being driven through her chest, over and over and over again and she knew she deserved every second of that excruciating pain.

Zariah accepted that perhaps she had deserved her end, it was her choice to have trusted and loved a monster, it was her punishment for falling to such a ruse.

Yet the Crimson Moon had never done anything to deserve what they had gotten, the mistake had been hers alone and so the punishment should have been hers alone to bear.

If anyone should have had to go through pain, then Zariah would have been willing to shoulder it all alone, but fate had played her terribly and the Creator had shut out her pleas.

A single mistake of hers, a single misjudgement and the punishment had been rained down on all of Crimson Moon, like fire and brimstone, destroying everything in it’s path and leaving nothing alive.

All of this had been owed to the single integral part of the Alpha King’s brutal plan... the mate bond.

The one bond which was held so sacred by the wolf shifters, the one bond to which even the greatest of shifters fell weak and vulnerable because the creator had made it so.

And now that bond was dangled right before her eyes, a chance to use the exact same strategy the Alpha King had used on Crimson Moon, to ruin him using the mate bond, yet the question remained...

Could Zariah bring herself to do something so despicable?

The answer was clear to Zariah, her hatred was great, it was all consuming, but within her heart, Zariah could never forget that she was Crimson Alpha.

She could not forget the morals and values she had been raised with, the path of righteousness her father had shown her,

The legacy of the Crimson bloodline as the first blood lycans and the protectors of the supernatural realm.

Zariah simply could not overlook the vows she had taken on the day she was crowned Crimson Alpha and took the Creator’s mark, a vow to never stray from the path of righteousness.

Zariah’s hands scrunched up into fists, her heart torn between what she knew was right and her thirst for vengeance.

Zariah simply could not let it go, it would be the greatest betrayal to her people if she let their death’s in the past lifetime go unpunished.

Yet at the same time, perhaps this chance...this new life had been given to her not to raise the sword of vengeance but to raise a different sword instead.

To do her duty as Crimson Alpha, as protector of the realm, to raise the sword of justice and prevent the disaster of the past lifetime from befalling not just the Crimson Moon but the supernatural domain.

Zariah did not believe the Alpha King’s greed and thirst of power had ended with the Crimson Moon, perhaps it did not even begin with the Crimson Moon at all.

In the past lifetime, the Crimson Moon chose to remain detached, neglecting their duty as protector of the realm, but this time... Zariah would change everything.

She would do whatever was in her power to protect the Crimson Moon and the supernatural realm, she would not turn a blind eye this time.

She had grown too used to the peace and serenity behind the Crimson barrier that she had forgotten that the very reason she had been given a sword was because there would always come a need to use it.

That need had come now, in the past lifetime, it came yet Zariah was too far hidden within the Crimson barrier to see the danger that had arisen in the supernatural realm.

And so that danger had taken them unawares and the Crimson Moon had fallen.

However Zariah swore this time would be different, this time she would change not just her fate and that of the Crimson Moon, but the fate of the supernatural realm.

And for as much as she could, she would do it in the right way,

Zariah knew it would be difficult, she knew because even now, her heart swelled with the urge to kill every last one of them and she would, but she would do it right.

Her fate was already settled, her soul was already damned but as Crimson Alpha, she would not leave a legacy of darkness to her pack, she would not shame the bloodline of the Crimson Alphas or the path her father had paved.

She would not let darkness and hate consume her and push her into despicable methods, she would not become a monster like the Alpha King was.

And so Zariah had decided, she would fight this battle on fair grounds, she would take her vengeance with her own strength.

She would never prey on the vulnerability of love and the mate bond.

"I have to reject him." Zariah decided in a solemn tone.