The Alpha King's Nemesis-Chapter 241: When Next ()

The moment the cell was visible to Zariah, it was a struggle to suppress her wolf from lashing out and ripping the inmate apart.

There he sat, completely at peace after setting Zariah’s world ablaze. The man with the baby blue eyes and a heart blacker than the devil’s pit... Caedmon Grey.

The man who had singlehandedly destroyed Zariah’s life and everyone she cared about in the previous lifetime and was once again walking down the same path... once again, he had begun to show his true colours.

Caedmon leaned against the wall of the cell, eyes closed and he quietly hummed a tune...a tune that was familiar to Zariah.

It was a tune Caedmon would hum whenever he was thrilled by the result of something, or whenever he had done something he was extremely proud of, something that boosted his heaven-reaching ego.

It was a tune Zariah had heard many times before, more times than she had met Caedmon in this lifetime...in fact, it was a tune Zariah had only ever heard in the previous lifetime.

Even so, Zariah could clearly recall each occasion she heard that tune. The memories were still so vivid and fresh in her mind like they had only occurred yesterday. How could she dare forget?

She had heard it in the morning after she had first let Caedmon make love to her, surrendering her body to the devil in disguise.

She had heard it a few hours before she denied her birthright for him, passing on her title as Crimson Alpha to Darren, to the dismay of all the crimson wolves.

She had heard it echoing somewhere in the background as she put her belongings in order to leave the Crimson Moon territory with Caedmon, forsaking her own people...her own family.

And Zariah had heard it on the night before the attack on Crimson Moon, the night before everything she had ever known and love was put to ruin and death.

It was a tune that Zariah had come to understand meant just one thing:

’I win.’

To Caedmon, everything was just a game and winning was the determinant of his capabilities. He could never withstand losing, but when he did win...he did it with the utmost cruelty.

Zariah was not certain what one could expect of the mastermind behind all this evil, if even his subordinate was this depraved. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I thought you would come..." Caedmon’s voice drew Zariah out of her thoughts.

He had already sensed her presence. Zariah gritted her teeth against the rage surging within her veins and she stepped into the light.

Zariah glanced around the cell, finding it infuriating that it still appeared to be a comfortable accommodation as it was not the dungeons meant for criminals.

Just a holding cell for an Ethereal Alpha awaiting trial.

"Do not worry for me, Zari." Caedmon reassured Zariah, taking note of her inspection of his accommodations.

"I have faced worse. This is only a temporary arrangement... I am quite comfortable sitting still and waiting for everyone to realise what a huge favour I have done." Caedmon said to Zariah with a casual shrug.

"Though... I would not mind if you out of everyone, realized it sooner. You see... I did it for you..." Caedmon trailed off.

He chuckled quietly to himself, lifting a hesitant gaze to Zariah. His baby blue eyes were as enchanting as always, a look from him had once left Zariah weak in the knees, but in this moment, Zariah only felt the urge to rip out his eyeballs and nothing else.

"It is strange, you know... how much about ourselves we come to realise in that moment when the world finally stands still, and we get that much needed silence...an opportunity to look within." Caedmon sighed quietly.

Zariah was silent, her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides but she did not interrupt Caedmon as he spoke, she just listened in silence.

"My world has been full of so much noise, I did not even realise it...till I met you, and everything just got quieter... the shrieks became hushes and silent murmurs. Oh! It was noise all along... who would have thought?..."

"Sitting here, in this darkness and silence, I realise it... that I must truly have lost my heart to you entirely. Not for the bond we share...but simply because a woman that I love should be a woman such as you. It can only be a woman like you..." Caedmon trailed off.

Zariah felt a sense of disgust, in the end, Caedmon was still the same man he had been in the previous lifetime.

Though she had not gotten to know him as intimately as she had then, his words made it clear, that for whatever reason, Caedmon believed the world owed him the best it had to offer and if it wasn’t willingly given, it was within his rights to seize it.

"I understand, it must be difficult for you to see it now. Just what a favour I have done us, taking away the obstacle in our way...but you will come to realise it soon, Zari. You are the smartest woman I have ever known... the most beautiful too..." Caedmon muttered in a tone that was almost obsessive.

"When this is all over, I have prepared a gift for you. In our flower meadow... I will take you there to retrieve it, soon. In the meantime, tell me what you have come to me for... I will give you whatever you ask of me, if only for hearing your voice..." Caedmon assured Zariah.

"The shard... you took from Allen. I want it back." Zariah stated simply.

"Vivienne, that bitch!" Caedmon hissed, realising Vivienne had outed him.

"I should have known when the bond was not severed, that she had chickened out." Caedmon grunted beneath his breath.

"But you must understand me, don’t you? Askel has everything...he can afford to lose you, I cannot. I needed to create myself a second chance...a real chance for us..." Caedmon said, walking over to the cell bar.

"The shard." Zariah replied.

"What would you even do with it? You do not know what it is, Zariah. It was only entrusted to your protection by Lord Imain, it could be harmful for all you know..." Caedmon said to Zariah softly, like he was speaking to a child.

"The shard." Zariah repeated for the third time.

Caedmon’s brows twitched slightly and his eyes darkened but he provided the black shard and handed it to Zariah.

"When shall I see you next?" Caedmon asked earnestly.

Zariah took the shard and walked off without saying a word but she paused halfway.

"When next you see me... you will breathe your last, Caedmon Grey." Zariah left a solemn vow before exiting the holding cells.