Don’t kill her
ZADOK’S POV
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I roared as soon as Azriel shut the doors of my office. “Why on earth would you keep something so important from me?!”
“Nothing,” Azriel answered, his tone calm.
“What do you mean nothing? You mean to tell me that this entire time, Athaliah, who is YOUR mate has been pining to be Luna and you didn’t deem it fit to tell me? Are you kidding me?!”
“It wasn’t necessary.” He answered and that only increased my anger.
“It wasn’t necessary?” I laughed and threw over my table the next second – causing a loud crash in my office. “It wasn’t necessary?!” I roared. “Tell me, how many more things have you hidden from me? How many more things did you deem unnecessary to tell me?”
Azriel bowed his head, biting his lips. Did he think I was joking?
I approached Azriel with a crazed look and the next moment, my hands latched to his clothes. “How do I know you haven’t betrayed me? How many more lies have you told to cover her Atrocities?” I shook my head.
“The entire time, you must have hated me. It must have been a pleasure to watch me get broken beyond repair. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you?!”
Azriel pulled my hands away from his clothes with a maddened expression. “How dare you?” He growled. “How dare you accuse me of such sin?!” He shook his head and spoke animately, “You want to know why? Do you want to know why I kept things from you?! I’ll tell you.”
Placing a hand on the bridge of his nose, Azriel continued. “Tell me, how could I have told you? When? During your sudden trip to the dark forest or after you returned a shadow of yourself? Tell me! How could I have told you? How could I have told you when you were too busy, obsessed with Ithra?!”
I gripped him by the throat with rage in my eyes. “Don’t you dare..” I said in a grave tone, “Don’t you dare bring her into this.”
Azriel must be seeking his death – he didn’t back down. Instead, he did worse.
“She is already in it! The moment she came, everything changed around here. She changed everyone! Look around, Zadok. You don’t even care about the pack. You just murdered a member of your pack because he lied to you in an attempt to save his life. Could you still call yourself an Alpha that keeps the interest of his people before his own?” He said, and I couldn’t speak.
“You were asking me why I didn’t tell you, huh?” He pulled my hands from him, “Because if I told you, it might as well be a waste of time! You care about no one, and if there’s one thing I know that has changed about you since you met Ithra, it’s that you have become a selfish good-for-nothing prick!”
I stared Azriel dead in the face, and I could see he believed every word from his mouth. “Selfish good for nothing prick?” I scoffed, “It’s not my fault that you got rejected by your attention-seeking whore.”
“And it’s not our fault you lost Ithra in the dark forest.”
I threw a punch in his face within a millisecond. “Get out of my office.”
Azriel smirked with bloodied teeth. “Get over yourself, Zadok. If you have even the tiniest bit of responsibility, then spare Athaliah’s life. She does not deserve death.”
“The gut you have to tell me she doesn’t deserve death after all she did.” I walked towards him with purposeful steps, “I killed Aaron. Athaliah is a dead woman walking.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right. Do anything else, but please.” Azriel dropped to his knees, shocking me with his words. “Don’t kill her.”
I turned around, refusing to see him in such a pitiful state. “That’s a call I must make. Get out of my office.”
***************
My relationship with Azriel only grew worse as the days passed without any message from me regarding Athaliah.
I couldn’t talk to him after he clearly stated how poorly he viewed me. I couldn’t shake off the in-depth feeling that told me he wasn’t wrong in his assessments of me.
Ithra had wrecked my life from the moment she stepped foot in my pack – but in the most beautiful way. If I had an opportunity to redo life, I would make the same decisions knowing I would get to meet her again.
Today was the D-day.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
Azriel stepped into my office bearing news. “The people have been assembled.” He said in a taut tone.
“And Athaliah?”
“The guards are on their way to bring her.”
“Good.” I replied, “You can go ahead. I will meet you there.” I said, dismissing him as usual.
I could sense him hesitant to go, no doubt, he was wondering what I planned to do with Athaliah.
After the time at the dungeons, Athaliah was taken in for emergency care, and unfortunately, survived the lethal dose of poison she ingested – courtesy – me.
The drug did more harm than I could hope for as she was paralysed, bedridden and always in pain. This I got from the feedback of the people I placed in charge of her while I decided her fate.
A few days back, I got the news that she was responding well to treatments and decided it was time for her to pay for her crimes. Today was the day I meted out judgment to her. And ever since the announcement, Azriel had been a shadow of himself.
Despite the strong urge to reach out to him, I couldn’t do it knowing this might be the reason for his sullen and moody aura. As soon as I dressed, I headed for the field, ready to settle things.