Zariah shook her head fiercely, her skin crawling with disgust at the memories that invaded her mind... memories of those hands trailing all over her body while she succumbed to his desire.
Those very same hands that had massacred the Crimson Moon Pack.
Zariah's heart ached at the thought, each memory only served to remind her of what a fool she had been, of all the things she had done wrong...
All the times she could have opened her eyes to see the truth, to save her pack from the disaster she had brought upon them,
Zariah heaved a sigh as she reminded herself that it was too late to lament the events of her previous lifetime, now...all she had to do was make sure they did not repeat themselves.
Regardless of what sacrifices she had to make, regardless of what she had to give up even up to her own life...
For the safety of crimson moon, to make up for the mistakes of the past, Zariah would do whatever was needed of her, she was willing to give everything... without question.
Zariah headed towards her desk where countless files and reports were piled up, awaiting Zariah's approval.
Although Zariah no longer counted herself worthy of the title of crimson alpha, in the end, she was still the Alpha of Crimson Moon Pack... and her duties had to be attended to.
Zariah took a seat at her desk and began reading through the files one after the other, approving reports and writing down orders to be dispatched.
There were renovations to be approved, patrol routines to be readjusted, rifts amongst pack members to sort out, allocation of rations and resources... the list went on and on.
Zariah had taken over the position of alpha at the young age of fourteen and had already ruled crimson moon for three years,
However long before then, Zariah's father had begun teaching her the duties of an Alpha and how to handle pack affairs.
Zariah had long grown accustomed to handling pack affairs efficiently.
Zariah was not sure how long passed by as she got engrossed in the familiarity of her Alpha duties and she did not lift her head, not even when there was a knock on the door and someone stepped in.
Zariah did not have to look up, she had long picked up Allen's scent approaching her office.
"Good, you are here just in time...I have approved the name list for the crimson wolves who have come of age,"
"Convey my orders to the element lords, they are to run last minute confirmations before proceeding. The ceremony will be held as scheduled." Zariah instructed, Allen nodded and accepted the file from Zariah.
"Also the budget for the renovation of the Waterfall Hill bridge is reasonable enough, summon the water element lord... I will need to discuss the details with him in person." Zariah added.
"You could just mind link him you know." Another voice said and Zariah glanced up to fix Darren with a glare.
"First, it is common sense to knock when you see a closed door Darren, secondly...Allen is not complaining." Zariah countered, Darren chuckled in response as he took a seat before Zariah's desk.
"I came to discuss the security detail for the coming of age ceremony." Darren said, Zariah nodded.
"I have seen your report Darren, you do not need to discuss further with me... I trust your judgement." Zariah said dismissively.
"Well... that is not all Zari." Darren added hesitantly.
"What else?" Zariah asked curiously, setting aside the file she was working on.
"I submitted another report." Darren said, pulling out the report from beneath the pile Zariah was yet to arrive at.
Zariah quirked a brow suspiciously before she picked up the report and glanced through it, her lips stretching into a small smile.
"Oh Darren, this is good news!" Zariah said with a smile.
The coming of age was a tri-annual ceremony held on the night of the crimson moon to celebrate the crimson wolves who had come of age to accept the creator's mark, undertake park duty, experience their first shift as well as find their fated mates.
The ceremony was held for crimson wolves who had reached the ages of 17-20 summers as this was considered the age of accountability amongst the crimson wolves.
At this age, the wolves are expected to have concluded their element training under their respective masters, they then took the oath of fealty to the Crimson Moon Pack and we're bestowed the creator's mark.
Some of the wolves would also experience their first shift on this night, while others may have already shifted prior to the coming of age ceremony.
The coming of age was a ceremony that gathered all the crimson wolves from the five citadels together, regardless of their individuals element and on this night, many wolves would also meet their fated mates.
As for those who did not meet their fated mates on this night, it could only mean their mates were not within the Crimson Moon Pack,
These wolves would then be granted three years to depart the crimson moon territory into the supernatural world in search of their mates while swearing to protect the secrets of the crimson moon for the rest of their lives.
Although this event was rare as the crimson moon pack was extremely large and as the creator had designed it, to protect the secret of the crimson moon pack, crimson wolves were usually mated to each other.
However there was always the select few at every coming of age who would find that their mates were most likely on the other side of the crimson barrier... out in the outside world.
After these wolves left the crimson barrier, it was up to them to return to the crimson moon with their mates or choose to start a new life in the outside world, taking the secret of the crimson moon pack to their graves.
The coming of age was the most anticipated event in the crimson moon pack as the young wolves would finally be accepted amongst the ranks of the pack warriors and were eligible for pack duty.
When the time of the coming of age arrived, the five citadels would send in a list of those eligible to participate in the coming of age to receive the approval of the crimson alpha.
Zariah herself had never participated in the coming of age, she had only turned seventeen recently and so she was only now qualified to participate,
However Zariah did not necessarily have to participate, Zariah had experience her first shift into her Alpha wolf at the tender age of six,
And after Zariah's father had passed on, her coming of age ceremony had been held in a haste and Zariah had been granted the creator's mark so she could take over her father's legacy as the new crimson alpha.
The report Darren submitted contained his request to participate in the coming of age, for crimson wolves who had already taken on pack duty,
They were no longer under an element lord as they had moved into the Alpha's domain, in order to participate in the coming of age, they would need to get a personal approval from the Alpha.
Darren had just clocked twenty and this would also be his first time to participate in the coming of age,
However just as it was with Zariah, Darren had shifted much earlier at the age of fifteen, he had been granted the creator's mark and had taken on pack duty at the same age and had become the head warrior of Crimson Moon Pack at the age of seventeen.
However Darren was yet to find his fated mate and Zariah understood this was his sole reason to request to participate in the coming of age ceremony.