Replacement Bride for the Alpha of the North
Chapter 83: THE FIRST MURDER

Chapter 83: THE FIRST MURDER

FIRST LIFE

(((ZENITH’S POV)))

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This was not the first time it happened to him. Zenith was tired. The world he was seeing was not the same as what other people saw.

He had been made aware of his ability since such a young age, but recently he felt this turmoil in his ability and he was having a hard time differentiating between spirits and living beings, normal people. Some of them looked the same in his eyes.

His mother usually helped him with his ability, since she had the same power, but it didn’t help much because it was very obvious that their constitutions were very different.

Zenith was having another burst of power and every time it happened, his world would be spinning. He would have this strong headache and his beast became more feral than usual.

People said it happened to him because his mother was exposed to dark magic when she was pregnant with him and his twin sibling, and unfortunately, he absorbed some of it.

His twin was fine, it only affected him and not many people knew about his unique condition.

Zenith would be more aggressive whenever he was having one of his episodes and his mother was the only one who could calm him down.

However, the queen was away for two days and Zenith couldn’t risk other people’s safety by wandering around them when he wasn’t fully in control.

Therefore, before he completely lost it, he shifted into his beast and rushed away from the capital city. He didn’t stop until he felt tired and his beast wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone, but of course, it wouldn’t last long. He would regain his strength in no time.

Zenith didn’t know where he was, but when he gained a little bit of clarity, he realized that he had headed toward the Moonlight pack.

Just in case, he decided to stay away from the pack and stay hidden in the forest, until his episode ended.

Zenith was only thirteen years old, very young, but mature enough. He knew what he had to do and also the gravity of his situation.

However, in the evening, his beast became even more unrestrained, he felt this sudden anger and rage he couldn’t explain. He tried to keep calm, but it was hard.

All kinds of intrusive thoughts flooded his mind. He wanted to kill, torture someone. In the past, he could satisfy this thirst for blood and violence by hunting.

Hunting down the monsters was the only way for him to release his murderous intention, but there were no monsters here, instead, he caught the smell of rogues. There were many of them.

Zenith tried to fight back his urge to approach those rogues, because he knew the result if he went, but he couldn’t. His instincts became very sharp and he couldn’t get control of his beast.

The next thing he knew, he had dashed toward this bunch of rogues and killed some of them, chased away the rest, but it was not enough.

The sound of their painful wails and breaking bones was music to his ears. He wanted more. His beast wanted more.

When he ripped their limbs from their bodies and his claws sunk into their flesh, he simply felt heavenly. Zenith found himself addicted in no time. His beast had not yet had enough.

Zenith was only thirteen, but his beast looked bigger than any young shifter’s around his age, and also stronger.

In no time, he managed to kill four of the rogues and scared the rest to leave the area.

Still, Zenith’s beast wanted more, but the only living creature around him was this little girl, who was crying, asking for her mother.

She was around Zaya’s age, his sister, or probably younger than her.

Her chubby cheeks turned red, as she cried so hard, calling for her mother who had obviously died during the rogue attack. The little girl was covered in blood, but from the looks of it, it was not hers, but Zenith couldn’t say for sure.

It took everything in him to calm his beast and get rid of his intrusive thoughts to kill this little girl. He could forgive himself if he killed the rogues, but not an innocent child around the age of his sister.

Zenith suppressed his beast’s murderous intention and shifted back to his human form. Beads of sweat covered his forehead, his body was trembling when he exerted so much control over himself.

That little girl was still crying, but this time, her eyes were glued to Zenith. She looked terrified, as if she was unsure whether Zenith would harm her or not. Her eyes turned red like a rabbit’s. She clutched her mother’s dress.

Zenith approached the little girl and looked at her mother’s condition. He took a cloak from the ground and covered her dead body. It was too late for him to hide this from this little girl, but at the very least, this was still something that he could do. Then he picked her up.

"Mama... mama..." The girl wrapped her arms around Zenith’s neck and cried. Her small body was trembling in fear and this, in a sickening way, helped Zenith stay focused.

He couldn’t let his intrusive thoughts win and kill her. Because it was very easy to snap her neck and rip her little body apart.

"Mama... Mama..." her cries were very pitiful and Zenith could only hold her, waiting for someone to come and save her.

He waited until night fell and the little girl got tired of crying and fell asleep on his shoulder, while Zenith sat under a tree, with his back against its huge trunk.

This was the first time he killed someone during an episode, no, in total he killed five rogues. Yet, Zenith didn’t feel anything. He was not sure if this was a good sign.

He patted the girl to sleep and thankfully, his beast had calmed down significantly by the time night fell.

But, the hair on his neck stood up again when he heard a few footsteps and there were many scents permeating the air. It seemed that people came in large numbers.

Zenith hugged the little girl and hid behind the tree. He needed to see whether it was this girl’s pack members or it was another attack of the rogues.

A big wolf appeared first and then shifted into his human form. Zenith recognized him, he was Alpha Tony from Moonlight pack. He fell to his knees when he saw the dead body of the woman that this little girl called as her mother.

Only then, Zenith was sure that this must be Dawn, Alpha Tony’s only daughter and the dead woman must be his mate.

Zenith happened to see Alpha Tony a few times, but he had never met his daughter, while the Luna was badly mauled in the attack of the rogues, until it was impossible for him to recognize her.

"Take care, little one," Zenith said. He put Dawn’s body under the tree and made a noise to attract their attention.

Alpha Tony immediately went to check the noise and approached the tree, he then found his daughter, but Zenith was gone by then.