27. Morbid Dreams
Silas
I usually enjoy the sun—napping alone in its warmth or cuddling with Kitten.
What I don’t appreciate is nearly burning to ash.
Skin raw and bloody from sunburn, I lift my forearm as a futile shield against the fresh sandstorm.
I won’t survive another. This one might bury me for good.
Breathing through my mouth, collar pulled over my face, I force myself forward.
With the last of my mortal strength, I stagger toward an oasis—just as the storm abruptly dies.
Disoriented and dehydrated, I drop to my knees and gulp water with trembling hands. Then a voice cuts through the unnatural silence—’Don’t we fuck you enough, wife?’
I inhale shakily, dreading the sound of my own voice.
The night of the Veilmoon appears right before my eyes, on the crystalline surface.
What witchcraft is this?
Scrambling to my feet, I stumble away but quicksand traps my legs. I'm forced to watch the events unfold one after another, mercilessly.
“Don’t make me watch! NO!” I yell at the powers that be to stop when the quicksand starts pulling me in.
I see myself withdrawing into a corner of the room, eyes vacant. As the moonlight grows stronger, I shift into my panther form. Others continue to debase my Kitten. Thoughtlessly. And she looks so helpless that I struggle to free myself from this quicksand harder. Wanting to comfort her.
Nothing happens to me for a while in the byplay, but the panther has taken control of my body with brute force.
My panther curls up for a while but his head snaps up as Zien bites her.
I remember the smell of fresh blood stirring the hunting instincts in the panther.
He steps forward like a predator that's scented its prey.
I scream myself hoarse yelling no, both within the cruel replay and at present, but the panther doesn't stop.
Being trapped within my own mind while he ravaged Aleiraah was one thing. But being a helpless witness like this hurts beyond belief.
Tears spill uncontrollably and I sob for Aleiraah. Her pain lacerates my heart.
“Please make this stop! Please!”
I cover my ears and squeeze my eyes shut, unable to watch any longer.
The air fills with the delicate chime of bells—the song of the snow-fairy birds that flit across the frost-kissed edges of my pack lands.
My eyes snap open and I find myself sitting near a panther cub as he tries to catch a butterfly perched on a blade of grass.
The cub with a golden coat and familiar golden eyes––my panther’s eyes, shifts into a little boy and comes running at me. "Look Dada! I catch it!" He shows the yellow butterfly caught within his tiny palms.
Speechless with shock, my heart thunders below my ribs. He tilts his little head and looks at me with a serious expression, "Dada?"
"Why're you running around naked again, Jeremy?" A shrill voice pierces the quiet of the forest. Whipping my head in that direction I notice Sierra moving toward us at a fast clip.
What in hell's teeth is going on?
"Silas, I told you not to indulge Jeremy's wild behavior. Why the hell is he prancing around naked in the field?" She cocks her hip with an irritated stare.
I finally find my voice. "He is a shifter, Sierra. Since when is nudity an issue for shifters?"
"Oh please! We discussed this. I don't want our kids to grow up like this. He is the future alpha of our line, heir to the Nightgleam pack. He should be studying pack laws and our history, and learn how to rule instead of prancing around the forest." Her voice turns louder with each word.
He’s a shifter cub having fun. Is she even hearing herself?
I’ve never seen this side of hers. Every time we have interacted, Sierra’s always been amiable, maybe a bit eager at times. But I chalked it up to pack dynamics. Now I feel like a blind fool.
And our kids? What the fuck is this reality?
I glance at the little boy who's trembling, his mouth turned down, on the verge of tears.
"Enough, Sierra! Stop shouting. You are scaring the boy." I insist in a stern voice, resting my hand on the cub's head. He looks up at me with huge misty eyes and my heart breaks a little.
"You're always like this! Undermining my authority. I'm the mother to the heir! Don't forget, because I mated you, your precious panthera legacy continues! That succubus bitch couldn't give you a child you wanted so badly!" She spits with an ugly sneer.
"Don't take her name from your filthy mouth!" I yell, the words bursting out of me. How dare she insult Aleiraah? And mate her? What the actual fuck?
"Oh now my mouth is filthy? You were happy to fuck it the other night for hours! You didn't find it filthy then. I couldn’t swallow fast enough!" She taunts in a nasty voice, a grotesque smile twisting her lips.
"Shut up! What are you even saying in front of the child?" I bark at her, feeling like my whole world has been upended.
She snaps her vitriolic gaze to the boy who's started shaking by now, looking scared. "Come here you ungrateful midget!" She yanks at him, grabbing his tiny arm hard enough to make him cry out in pain and I see red. "Back the fuck off, Sierra!"
The cub clings to my legs sobbing openly now. Instead of letting go, she yanks his arm harder and he gives a pitiful cry. Furious, I grab her wrist and twist it, making her yelp, then shove her away using my full strength. "Don’t touch him."
Sierra stumbles back but the little boy lets out a wail and scampers away, shifting midrun. I give chase, running much slower, unable to shift. I see his tiny body hurtling into the woods beyond the pack borders and speed up.
"Wait! Hold-up, Jeremy!" I shout but the cub just keeps running and disappears into a thicket of bushes up ahead.
I dart frantically between trees, scanning the surroundings but there's no sign of the golden cub.
Where did he go? Fuck! Poor kid’s probably scared out of his mind with that crazy bitch shouting like a banshee.
My steps falter at the sound of hushed voices. I carefully circle the tall bushes up ahead and end up on the other side, my knees going weak. Right there sitting on a sun warmed rock is Aleiraah, with the little cub in her arms. I found her!
Sunlight filters through the leafy canopy above, dappling her in warmth and shade, as the cub curls closer into her with a quiet whimper. She's cooing to him, running soothing circles on his back. "There...there...you’re alright now. You’re safe, little one. Come on, show me those pretty eyes."
Agony slices through me as the pup burrows into her arms with a soft, trembling sniff.
"Shh...it’s ok. Did you get lost in the forest?
Was something chasing you?” Jeremy shakes his head, whimpering and Aleiraah frowns, patting his back gently.
“Don't worry, I'm here. Where are your parents, cub?
I can take you to them if you tell me." Aleiraah smiles softly, but suddenly lifts her gaze, as if sensing my presence.
Our eyes connect and my breath catches, relief pouring through me.
But her smile fades, turning her eyes into chips of ice.
My chest feels hollow yet full at the same time. This is the first time I'm seeing Aleiraah after that cursed night. She looks healthy, and so beautiful. Not the battered, lifeless version.
"Aleiraah." I whisper, her name sounding like a plea.
"You home-wrecking slut!" Sierra spits from behind, and I whip around dread pooling in my gut. She stands buck naked, a crazed look on her face. She must have shifted and started chasing us within moments.
"Stay back, Sierra!" I warn her.
"Oh? I’m supposed to overlook that you’re having a secret rendezvous in the woods?"
Aleiraah studies her like a rabid animal that needs to be put down. I can't agree with her more.
She glances at the pup clinging to her, sniffling into her warmth, then looks at me, finally at Sierra. Realization dawns in her eyes, swiftly followed by disgust.
Fuck! No Aleiraah, no!
"So this child is in distress because of you?"
"Who the fuck do you think you are? Jeremy! Come here, right now!" Sierra screeches, and the cub lets out a distressed mewl.
Aleiraah's arms tighten around him and her eyes pin me with an accusatory glance. "You mated this monster?"
"I-I didn't Aleiraah. I don't know what's happening but this is not true. None of this is true!" I lace my hands behind my head, tugging at the short strands.
"What do you mean this is not true? We mated under the Veilmoon! That's when Jeremy was conceived. You fucked me until the sun came up. And since then you haven't been able to get it up for long enough to fuck me, you impotent asshole!" Sierra shrieks, looking deranged.
"Tsk..tsk.." Aleiraah stares down her nose at us in disdain. Waving her hand over the cub she continues. "The impotent cheater and the conniving whore with an overdose of madness. Perfectly matched."
With a guttural snarl, Sierra charges—feral and wild—but I throw my weight against her, knocking her flat on her back.
"Aleiraah, the cub, please, don't say such things." I plead while scrambling off and putting distance between Sierra and me.
"Oh? So it's okay that your raging cunt of a mate says whatever she wants but I cannot?"
"No, it's—" I begin but she interrupts. "I have already woven a light sleeping spell on the cub so he is not traumatized by your domestic drama." She adjusts his weight, holding him in the cradle of her arms.
"You did what?" Sierra springs up and with a roar leaps at Aleiraah with claws drawn out.
Her arms are wrapped around the cub protectively, leaving her with no time to react. The claws rake across her throat, and blood spurts in a sharp arc.
"Nooooo!" I bellow—a sound no longer human—and hurl myself at Sierra, pinning her to the forest floor.
"You fucking cunt! You'd harm your own child?" Aleiraah chokes out, horrified.
Rage blinds me. I press my thumbs into Sierra's eye sockets and manage to gouge one as he cries out. I repeatedly bash her skull on the ground, wanting to kill her then and there.
But with her shifter strength she overthrows me and digs her claws into my chest, ripping out flesh and blood.
Too late I realize my mortal body is no match for a half-shifted pantheress. Red hot pain spreads through my torso and I spew blood.
Suddenly Sierra is pulled off of me, and I hear a snap followed by a wet ripping sound. Lying on the ground, I look up at the blue sky, choking on my own blood. Aleiraah's face comes into view, her aquamarine eyes looking panicked. I'm relieved to see that her throat has stopped bleeding.
"Oh Silas! Look what she did to you." She whispers, lips trembling, gaze full of pain.
"I..I..m so..rry Kit..ten." I manage to gasp out.
"Shh...shh. Hold on, let me heal you." A tear spills down her cheek.
"No." I shake my head, intensifying the pain. "L..lo..ve you."
I feel a wet lick against my right cheek and turn my head. The golden cub is watching me, eyes full of sorrow, sniffling.
"Re..my."
"I'll make sure he's okay." Aleiraah reassures me, hovering her hands over my chest, perhaps trying to heal me. But I feel cold, and my body starts shaking. I've lost too much blood.
I look into her beautiful eyes one last time, wishing I could've done things differently. I failed my Kitten, my one true love. In reality and in this manufactured hell. And now, all I have is regrets.
"Al..ei..raa.." A tortured breath escapes, then everything turns dark.
Suddenly I’m being yanked toward a dark spiral in the oasis's center that’s sucking everything in its path—hungry.
Shit!
Panicking, I look for something to hold onto but there’s nothing within reach. A huge palm falls on my back and I yell in pain.
My last thought as I try to fight the debris is I hope I get to see Aleiraah again, to beg her for forgiveness.
Anubis
Oof! That was brutal!
The faux whirlpool Duat constructed for the 'face-your-sins' trials was no fun.
"Duat, since when have you been so heartless?" I inquire testily, wiping a stray tear from the corner of my eye.
Punishments are certainly a nasty business!
Perhaps Duat did not appreciate my tone, or it could be that she had had enough for now. But what happens next has me throwing my hookah pipe with a muttered curse.
The whirlpool is routing them to the 'Hall of Truth' where a judgement session is currently in progress!
I must immediately get to Aleiraah. Osiris is going to have my head!