~MAYA~
Austin's face is entirely red with rage; he can't stop looking at the mark on my neck. James and Lucas don't look any different than he does. It's safe to say that I've angered my brothers more than before. I've done the opposite of what I was trying to do, but I couldn't think of anything else to say to make them stop hurting him. Even though they are angrier now, I'm relieved they are no longer trying to kill him. Kane can barely move, and it pains me to see him like this.
"This monster is your mate?" Austin asks me.
My bottom lip is trembling, but I still manage to nod my head, confirming it once more. I know that he already knows I'm speaking the truth; he's just refusing to believe it.
His hands tighten to fists at his sides, and the look he gives Kane frightens me. I'm fearful of what he will do next. I can't stand to see him or any of my brothers continue with what they were doing; I won't let them.
"How the fuck can you watch your mate and hurt her so much? Do you have no heart?" He demands from him.
"I can ask you the same thing." Kane spits.
I close my eyes; he isn't helping the matter. Why can't he stay quiet? It's like he wants my brother to kill him. Maybe he thought that this was what he deserved. I will not let him get the easy way out. He will hurt just like I did and even more.
"There is no way Maya," Lucas says. "He can't be your mate. You're too nice for someone like him. Life can't be that unfair to you."
My lips are trembling even more now as I stare at my most understanding brother, "please, Lucas. Look at me. Why would I be this way if he wasn't my mate? He is; every time you hurt him, you hurt me. My heart feels like it's bleeding, just like the blood on his body."
"I refuse to fucking believe that this ass could be your mate!" James adds angrily. "He's a fucking embarrassment to all males. How can you look yourself in the face after everything you've done to my sister? And you're so brave to sing it out to us like you're so proud of what you've done. You should feel ashamed!"
Kane can barely open his eyes; his body is already changing color with the number of bruises he has now. It's hard to look at him like this. I did want to see him suffer, but I never wanted it to be physically; I wanted to hurt him emotionally just like he'd done to me. If only my brothers could understand that emotional pain is a lot more effective than this.
Austin grabs the back of his head and picks him up from the ground. "Apologize to my sister."
"Austin." I try to stop him, but he doesn't listen to me.
"Apologize." He insists once more.
Kane ignores him, and I gasp when Austin punches him in the back. "I said to fucking apologize. She didn't deserve what you did to her! Give her the proper apology that she deserves. My sister has done nothing to you, she's an angel, and you ruined her. You must pay."
He grips his neck and I watch in horror as his hands tighten around it, making it hard for Kane to breathe.
"Austin!" I scream as I try to pull his hand away from him. "Stop it. I don't want a forced apology; it will mean absolutely nothing. If you want to keep your relationship with me, as your sister, I'm begging you, please, please just let him go. You have me, that's all that matters, I'll be back home, and I'm okay. Please, I'm begging you, do this for me, don't hurt him. You've done enough already."
Austin doesn't look happy with my tone, and we both give each other an intense stare-down. He's accustomed to giving me everything that I want, except when it jeopardizes my safety. To him, Kane does precisely that.
I know that my brothers are only doing what they think is right; I don't give them wrong. They have a lot of feelings bottled up, and they're finally getting the chance to let everything out. But now I understand how Kane feels; he feels exactly like they do. His sister is now dead, and this was his way of getting revenge. Even though his family was evil and power-hungry, even though they did horrible things and got what they deserved, they were still his family, and he loved them.
To him, we are his enemies; we are responsible for what happened to them. He was only acting how my family would if someone messed with one of us. They would also want revenge just like they do now.
I'm still a bit shocked to know now that Ariana and Eric were the sister and father he was referring to. Kane looks absolutely nothing like Alpha Eric and nothing like Ariana. I've never known that Eric had a son named Kane; he's never spoken about him once, nor did he ever introduce us to him; it's almost like he had him hidden all this time. But why would he?
Hunter and his men have Kane's surviving men on the ground with chains tied around their hands, the same kind of chains Kane had used on me once before.
"Tell me what you want me to do with them," Hunter tells Austin.
At the mention of his men, Kane finally shows some emotion. I can tell that he doesn't want to see them die.
"They did nothing to me." I plead with my brother. "Do not kill them."
A muscle ticks in his jaw; I know my brother; he's trying hard to keep control of his emotions. The only person that could have helped right now would be Lucy, but she's not here. It's up to me to convince him to stop this right now.
"Burn this fucking place to the ground." Austin orders everyone. "And let's get the hell out of here before I lose my mind and get rid of them all."
He drops to the ground next to Kane, the same area he had dropped him from earlier, "If you know what's good for you, never show your face in front of my sister again."
I'm fighting the need to run to Kane and tend to his wounds. I desperately want to make it all disappear. However, I know that by doing this, I would anger my brothers even more than they already were.
I've managed to convince them to leave them all alive and not kill anymore; I don't want to change their minds by showing just how much Kane means to me. They're only leaving now because I'm going with them.
My eyes are on him; I can't hide the pain in my eyes; I can't pretend that it isn't breaking my heart.
Kane's nails dug into the dirt beneath him, and he never once took his eyes off me. Even when I turn my back to him and begin to walk off with fire blazing all around us, I can still feel his gaze digging a hole into my back.
I don't know if my family will ever allow me to see him again after today, but for now, Kane and I will be separated.
This was what I wanted all along. To leave him pining for me, to make him miss me and regret everything he's done to me.
I've been planning this since the day he broke my heart into a million pieces.
I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it's hurting even more to leave him like this. To leave him with nothing but his life. To leave him while my heart belonged to him.
I can't stop the tears this time.
Why did this have to happen to us?