The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 92: Would You Be Willing? ()

King Askel did not answer immediately and Zariah watched him in silence, at some point, she was unsure if he would still respond to her question.

King Askel still leaned against the wall, now staring ahead whilst Zariah was now the one who stared at him.

Zariah’s eyes trailed over his face, how his lashes fluttered ever so slightly as he blinked, his eyes going shut for only a brief moment before opening to reveal his golden orbs again.

As Zariah gazed at him, her heart was filled with conflicting thoughts.

’Had King Askel had a hand in Kristen’s poisoning? Or the changes in the Northern Sea?’

’ Had he orchestrated the accusations to be laid on the Crimson Moon and then acted as though he worried for her and was willing to place everything on the line?’

No matter how Zariah thought of it, her heart simply could not reconcile to the fact that he had done all these, that he had any involvement in her present situation... that he was capable of intentionally hurting her.

His deep concern for her, Zariah could feel it as clearly as she felt her own thoughts, she could see the truth and honesty in his eyes and Zariah did not understand... she just could not understand it.

’What was this?’ Zariah wondered, she could not understand since when she had begun to believe him, to trust in this side of him she knew fully well could only be a facade.

But try as Zariah might, she could doubt everything else but she simply could not find a doubt in her heart of the fact that King Askel would never do anything to harm her.

This was a truth she had somehow come to believe, because it was all she saw when she looked at him.

Yet what was Zariah to say on the events of her past lifetime? That King Askel had not known she was his mate then? And so he had harmed her and her people without a second thought?

And if that was it, did that make it okay? Did that justify his blood thirst and brutality? Did that compensate for the injustice the Crimson Moon had suffered? All the lives that had been sacrificed?

"I trust you Mhíjani, I believe you...I will not ask and I will not wish to know till you are willing to tell it to me, and if you never are willing then I do not ever wish to know..." King Askel began, his golden orbs turning to settle on Zariah’s Crimson orbs.

"If the whole world stands against you, I will be at your side. If the whole world doubts you, I will always believe in you. If they seek your life, I will never give in..."

"And should you truly walk a wrong path, I choose to stand by you and love you notwithstanding, and for this sin of selfishness, I shall compensate to the world with my life." King Askel vowed, his gaze earnest.

Zariah felt her heart tremble at the words of King Askel and try as she might, Zariah knew within herself that she believed him, she believed every word he said and every tender feeling he showed.

And Zariah loathed herself for her weakness, she prayed within herself for strength to stay strong, strength not to make the same mistakes she had made in the past life.

Because Zariah realized at this moment that with King Askel, it was too easy to fall to her heart desires, it was too easy to forget her pain and hatred.

Yet this was precisely how she had found herself spiralling down that bottomless abyss that she had in her previous lifetime, unable to find a foothold till everything fell apart.

’It shouldn’t be so hard...he took everything from me, it shouldn’t be so hard to hate him...’ Zariah thought, her eyes fluttering closed in pain.

"What do you want from me, Askel?" Zariah murmured in a low, pained tone, her heart constricting painfully as she tried to fight the warmth encasing it.

This tender warmth that drove away the chilling cold of the dungeons and worst still the chilling cold that encased Zariah’s heart ever since that silver sword had pierced through it.

"All I want is for you to let me stand by your side...to let me protect you, to let me love you Mhíjani..." King Askel pleaded in a tone that bared every emotion that tore his heart.

Zariah lifted her gaze up to him, memories of her past lifetime flashing through her mind, of the excruciating pain and every torture she had endured,

Every strike of the whip that tore her skin off her bones leaving her in unimaginable pain, yet nothing compared to the pain of watching her kin massacred right before her eyes.

’Who was this man? Who truly was this Alpha King? What was she to believe? What was she to trust?’ Zariah wondered, her mind conflicted as she desperately wanted to believe him, yet how could she?

Could one repeat the same mistakes and expect a different outcome? Could one waste two lifetimes giving her heart only to have it shattered and ripped apart?

How could she love a man who had ruined her life, who had dealt her every pain and misery of the world, who had taken away everything and everyone she loved in the most brutal, despicable manner possible?

How was she to love a man who had ruined her, to cherish her sworn enemy... How was she to let herself be played again? To be the fool a second time over?

Yet as she stared into those enchanting golden orbs, she could not help the reccuring thought,

’Was it too late for him already? Could he still be saved?’ Zariah found herself wondering against her will

As much as Zariah wished she could deny it, she had found herself wondering more often than not lately,

If one could be punished for a crime yet to be committed? For sins yet to happen? For havoc yet to be caused?

Was a second chance not meant to be a shot at rewriting her tale? To correct the end? Perhaps the answer to this did not lie in her but in King Askel all along?

If King Askel could be stopped from going down the wrong path, then was it not worth a shot?

She had sworn to save the supernatural realm, then was it also possible to save him? Every villain had a back story...a motive, could she rewrite his tale as well?

Zariah could not understand what it was about this Alpha King that mystified her so much that it had grown difficult to tell right from wrong.

But then, not everything could be judged based on the two distincts of right and wrong, Zariah knew this better than anyone.

Zariah wondered how her will had grown so weak that she had completely disassociated King Askel from everything happening and unconsciously chosen to believe him instead.

Yet if she could...if she could right his wrongs this time and in the same way save her people and the supernatural realm,

If she could change that horrible fate without harming anyone, then Zariah was willing to try.

He had said he would choose to stand by her and love her notwithstanding the path she took, did that apply to his path as well?

Would he walk the path of good hand in hand with her? Could she trust he was willing to give up everything for her including his ambition greed?

Could he be satisfied to have her love and let the supernatural realm be at peace in exchange? Was this even a bargain Zariah was willing to risk?

A thousand questions ran through Zariah’s mind, yet she had no way of knowing and then Zariah recalled the words Nile had said to her under the influence of the Creator.

’If you want answers, first...you must know your question.’ Nile had said.

And Zariah did know her question now and this time, it was not a question she needed the Creator to provide an answer to...it was not a question the Creator could answer.

The only one who could answer her question was the man standing right before her eyes...King Askel Vance Niolen.

"How much are you willing to sacrifice for me, Askel? If I ask you to make a difficult decision for me, would you be willing? " Zariah asked quietly,

Zariah watched King Askel’s gaze, expecting to see hesitation or a moment of pondering, but he hesitated not even for a moment.

"I will give you everything I have Mhíjani, everything I am... and if that isn’t enough, then just say the word... whatever it is, I am willing to give... without question." King Askel vowed in a solemn tone.

Zariah bit her lip slightly, clenching her trembling hands into fists.

"And if I require your life? Would you still be willing? With no regrets?" Zariah asked again.

This time, King Askel did not respond immediately yet there was no hesitation in his eyes, but something else entirely...