*WARNING, THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EXTREME VIOLENCE, AND DEATH OF A CHILD AND ADULTS!!!*
"NANIH!" I scream, reaching out for my kit as my mate grabs her roughly, a malicious grin on his lips as claws and hands bring me down to the ground, holding my tail and limbs in place.
Aruka seems to be struggling against his captors as well, I confirm there are only two on him after sensing their life forces through the ground. I reach out with my palms on the ground, feeling how many are holding me down as well. Counting fifteen, I push forward, reaching for my small kit. "Ah, ah, do not come any closer, mate, or I will kill her. You see, I have been back and forth, trying to think of how I was going to do this. Do I want my mate to care for a child I did not give her, that another male gave her instead? Do I want my mate to belong to anyone but me? Do I want my mate to bear any pup other than my own?
The answer to all of these, I have discovered, is no. I do not. You are mine, mate, and only mine. You have told me over and over, she is first, above all others and all else, including myself, your mate. That is just, not okay, with me. Now I must decide how I am to fix this problem. I think, because you have insulted me and our mate bond, that you should be forced to watch what I have decided to do with your kit. Watch closely, mate, and remember what happens when others take what belongs to me." The male siren growls out to me.
I hiss lowly, a growl rumbling out of my chest in warning. "Makheel, let my kit go. If you harm her, I will kill you and everyone in this grove. Let go of Nanih, Makheel." Makheel shakes his head, hissing in disapproval as his nails glide across the skin on Nanih's collarbones, her shoulders rising and falling quickly in confusion and fear as she breathes. "Mother, what do I do?" I inhale deeply, puffing up my tail to allow the barbed ends to stick into my captors' arms and legs as they grip it tight. "Breathe my kit, I am here, look into my eyes little one." I purr to her soothingly, noticing that there are now eighteen males holding me down instead of the initial fifteen. "Oh, my precious mate, do not bother soothing her, she will not be a problem for much longer, believe me. Once she is gone, we will be able to live happily ever after. Just you and me, for all eternity. Hold her eyelids open, do not let her even blink, use the poison in your claws if you must." Makheel breathes out, jerking Nanih to the side.
My ears lie back against my head as I hiss, struggling against my captors as I try to reach for my kit. Everything seems to move in slow motion as I watch Makheel reach towards Nanih's chest, a sickening grin on his lips, his beautiful face twisting into a malicious, possessive look that states he would do anything to secure what he wants. My arms twist in odd angles as I half shift into my cheshire feline form, trying to break free from my captors as their claws sink deeply into my eyelids and tear ducts, forcing me to watch the horror that is about to be done to my small kit. "Nanih, run my sweet kit, run" I plead, shaking off three of my captors as I reach out towards her. Why am I not moving fast enough? Where is my speed? Why does it seem like they are further away than they are? What is happening? My thoughts run wild as true fear sets deep in my core as I watch my mate, for the second time in my life, slaughter my precious kit.
Makheel's hand dives deep into Nanih's chest, her eyes going wide with fright before settling down into acceptance, her face full of love as she looks upon me. "It will be okay Mother. I will finally get to be with my twin brother and our father. I will take care of them until you come to us. It will all be okay." Nanih whispers out, a small smile gracing her precious lips as tears slide down her cheeks. "NO!" I scream, wrenching myself free as vines encase my mate and stab through his minions' chests. Lurching forward, finally moving quickly, I catch Nanih in my arms before she falls. I hear screams all around me, not registering my own voice as I rock back and forth, trying to put Nanih's heart back in place in her chest as I cling to her small body. "My Nanih, no, what have I done? My Nanih!" I sob, touching my forehead to hers before resting it upon her chest where her heart had been beating strongly moments before.
At some point, Aruka appeared by my side, not touching as is appropriate with our kind, watching us as I cling to my kit. I glance over at my mate, using the vines holding him captive to lower him to my level before ripping his own heart out of his chest. I toss it into the sea, not bothering to give it proper burial as I lay my kit down on a bed of lilies, right next to her twin's burial place.
This grove is sacred, it is where I laid my other kit's body to rest after his skull was crushed by his father.
My first mate had found his final mate after rejecting me while I was pregnant with his twin kits. She had twisted in his mind to get rid of them, so he ripped them from my wound, crushing his son's skull in the process. Nanih was the only one to survive and survive she did. That was the first time I did not feel an ounce of remorse for slaughtering anyone, much less as many as were in that grove that day. My family has stated numerous times that my assassin abilities and skills have increased greatly since I left that grove behind, and I am in agreeance with that. This, though, this has shattered me. I fall to my knees, curling my tail gently around my kit as I surround her body with shells, willow branches and beautiful lilies, my heart feeling as though it will explode into a million tiny pieces with each passing second.
Time seems frozen, as if the world has stopped moving and the land has stopped breathing. I know Aruka is discarding the bodies of my mate and his minions, but my entire world is lying still on the ground, her heart not beating, and her smile no longer gracing her precious lips. My heart that used to beat outside of my body, has stopped beating. My second kit, killed at the hands of my second mate. I have killed two mates now; I only get one more. I do not think I want my final mate, not after the last two killed both of my kits.
I use the sea to call upon my brothers, mother, father and Opal Lee. We are able to use the elements we are born from to communicate, instead of telephones like Aruka uses in his realm. When my family arrives, they assist me with laying Nanih's body to rest, covering her with the salt and sand of the sea, burying her deep within the roots of her favorite willow tree. I will miss her immensely, and I can only hope she is happy and safe with her twin brother. Looking towards the sky that has now turned dark due to the loss of the day, I let out a soundless scream, a burst of sea water exploding from my body as I do. I will not allow another to take advantage of my heart again. I have no kits, and I now have no mates.Â