Chapter 34
Zayron stood unmoving, his gaze locked at Kayla as she approached.
Her steps were slow, hesitant, as though she wasn’t entirely sure of what she was seeing.
Zayron was surprised. He never knew Kayla would catch him.
He had planned to perform the task without her knowledge.
When Kayla finally stopped before Alpha Zayron, she let her eyes roam over the destruction, the lingering smoke curling into the night air, the charred remnants of what had once been.
Then, she turned to face him.
Before she could speak, Zayron did.
“I left without telling you because I couldn't control the urge for vengeance,” Zayron said, his voice firm yet laced with something deeper and raw. “I'm sorry.”
Kayla's breath hitched.
“Why did you set the pack cell ablaze?” she asked. “Did you burn the prisoners too?”
Zayron leaned down, pulled her closer and whispered into her ear.
“My true mate spent twelve years in that cell. I saw no reason why it should still stand. But what infuriated me the most was that her uncle, Cameron, who locked her away, and his lapdog, Hector, vanished from the Azure Moon pack cell. I followed their scent and caught only Hector when he was trying to steal Selene away.”
“Oh, my goddess! Where is Selene? Where are they?” Kayla demanded urgently.
Zayron’s jaw tensed.
“I pushed them back into the cell and set everything ablaze.” His gaze darkened. “Cameron and everyone who supported him do not deserve to live.”
Even though Selene, Cameron’s beloved daughter, was one of the most horrible people Kayla had ever met, she did not wish to see her end up like that.
She couldn't help but feel that Zayron had gone to extremes.
“Why didn’t you set Selene free? She’s innocent of everything her father did.”
Zayron’s lips curled in a sneer.
“She’s Kayla’s cousin. Did she ever, even once, tell her father that what he was doing was wrong? No. She remained silent. That silence was her choice, and choices have consequences. She deserves what she got.”
Kayla’s heart twisted.
A sickening feeling spread through her, making her feel unsteady.
“Zayron,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Then louder, “You can’t justify this. You let vengeance consume you. You’re making decisions in the heat of anger, and that’s dangerous.”
Zayron’s expression hardened.
“I don't care! I want justice!” Zayron roared, and the rest of the pack who were watching from a distance disappeared.
“This isn’t justice!” Kayla cried. “This is slaughter! And the Great Southern Council will see it for what it is. Do you understand what you’ve done?
War among the werewolves is permitted under strict conditions, but this, this is an atrocity!
Innocent blood has been spilled, Zayron! You need to stop now!”
“I won’t stop. Not until they all pay. Every single one of them.”
“You have to stop, Zayron. You’ve done enough, more than enough. If you keep going, you won’t just destroy them, you’ll destroy yourself.”
“I don’t care! They took everything from me! Now, I don't even understand myself anymore.”
Kayla’s eyes widened.
“You should care, Zayron! You’re not a goddess. You’re flesh and blood. You think vengeance will fix what happened? It won’t. It never does.”
“Then what do you want me to do? Forgive them? Forget it ever happened?”
“No,” Kayla replied. “I want you to live. I want you to stop before there’s nothing left of you to save.”
Zayron exhaled harshly and turned away.
“I can’t stop.”
His words shattered Kayla’s patience.
She saw the need to embark on the journey to the Alchemist of Lythos immediately.
“Fine! Destroy yourself if you want to. Stay here and chase your revenge. I'm going somewhere!”
Kayla turned sharply, stepping away from him.
Zayron’s breath hitched, and his voice came out hoarse, almost fragile.
“Does that mean I won’t see you again?”
“Maybe,” Kayla replied without looking at him.
She had only walked a few steps away when his voice came again, quieter this time.
“I’ll run everything by you next time. I'm sorry.”
Kayla stopped in her tracks.
She froze.
Her heart clenched at the rawness in his tone.
Slowly, she turned back to him.
The rage in his eyes had faded, leaving something broken in its place.
Before Kayla could think, she ran back to Zayron, throwing her arms around his waist.
Zayron exhaled sharply, his hands trembling before they settled on her head, holding her just as tightly.
She felt the tension in him waver, the storm inside him quieting.
“I’m sorry,” Zayron murmured again.
As Kayla’s head continued resting on Zayron’s chest, she watched the flames engulf the Silver Mountain pack cell.
The place she had called home for twelve years, torn down and wiped away.
A twisted mix of emotions tangled in her chest.
Relief. Pain. Joy at the destruction of her prison. Sorrow for the memories vanishing with it.
Slowly, she turned her gaze to Cross and saw he was holding her box.
The very one where she had kept the Lunar Insignia safe.
Zayron followed her gaze, then pulled away from her and strode toward Cross.
He took the box from him.
He turned it over in his hands before opening it for Kayla to see what was inside.
“This is Lunar Insignia,” he murmured. “It originally belonged to the Azure Moon pack, but Kayla's ex-mate stole it.”
Zayron exhaled sharply.
“Kayla and I had a serious fight when I asked her to return it to me. I only wanted to put everything where it truly belonged. Kayla belonged by my side as my Luna, and I belonged by hers as her consort. That was all I ever wanted. But now that she’s gone, all I can do is restore this to its rightful place. ”
“Someone is in charge of this pack,” Kayla said. “Did you take it by force, or did he hand it over willingly?”
“Leo knows the truth, so he gave me the symbol of power himself. This is what Kayla should have done, but she was so stubborn.”
“And you hated her for that, didn’t you?” Kayla asked.
Zayron’s gaze softened as he shook his head.
“I loved everything about her. Even her stubbornness excited me.”
He paused, then added with a quiet smirk, “But don’t be stubborn like her.”
Zayron’s words were followed by a long silence before he muttered under his breath.
“I can’t help but wish this was all a nightmare.”
Alpha Zayron's voice wavered, thick with sorrow.
His head dropped, as though the weight of his emotions had finally become unbearable.
Kayla hesitated only a moment before taking his free hand in hers.
“Come, let's go home,” she murmured.
Zayron took a deep breath and shook his head, his grip tightening on the box.
“Not yet. I need to rebuild the part of the Regent castle that my pack destroyed. I need to make it good again, the way she would have loved it.”
Kayla’s throat tightened.
She squeezed his hand.
“Then let me help you.”
Zayron didn’t respond, only stared at the flames, his mind trapped somewhere Kayla couldn’t yet reach.
Just then, Kayla spotted Seraphina heading towards them.
She pulled away from Zayron and walked to meet her.
Seraphina’s face was troubled, as if she had received some very bad news.
“Why waste your time on a difficult journey? The bond is still strong! I, I mean, half-strong. Why not embrace that?” Seraphina said, her gaze fixed on Zayron, who was staring at the flames burning a few feet away, though his mind seemed distant.
Kayla glanced at Zayron before turning back to Seraphina.
“He doesn’t recognize me, but he likes me. I can’t settle for half bond.”
“Why not?” Seraphina asked.
“He won’t mate with me. He won’t even kiss me, no matter how much he wants to. He wants to remain faithful to his mate, even in death.”
Seraphina’s expression softened.
“Well, I have some good news,” she said.
Kayla’s lips curled into a small, hopeful smile.