Page 106 of Bind Me

I surface, scanning the horizon for any sign of her. My heart thrums inside me with urgency.

I’ve been searching for hours, the sun’s golden light slowly dimming as it dips toward the horizon. The longer I search, the more my frustration builds, and a storm gathers strength inside me. I’m a creature of the sea, yet here I am, lost and powerless. I surface once more, the water rippling out around me as I let out a guttural bellow of rage and despair.

The noise is thunderous. I’m a monster, a beast, but I can’t find my true love. I can’t contain the emotions tearing through me.

In the distance, I stare at the outline of the shore, the lights of the city twinkling against the darkening sky. My heart is a lead weight in my chest as I begin the long journey back, my strokes heavy, each movement a reminder of my failure. I promised I’d protect her, and I’ve failed. The thought hammers at me.

As I near the wharf, something inside me snaps. A raw fury explodes from deep within, and I rise from the depths, the full magnitude of my kraken form towering over the land. The sea heaves beneath me, waves crashing against the pier with the force of my storm.

The people on the shore scream and run away. I doubt they’ve ever seen a kraken before, never witnessed the monstrous power that lies beneath the surface. I’m enormous, a dark silhouette against the horizon, and their panic only feeds the fire raging inside me.

I unleash a furious screech, the sound reverberating through the air, a primal roar that shakes the very foundations of the city. My tentacles thrash against the water, striking with the force of a hurricane, and I watch as the waves surge forward, crashing into the piers with a deafening roar.

Boats are torn from their moorings, the wooden structures shattering under the onslaught of my rage. The sky darkens, clouds gathering as if in response to the chaos below, the world echoing my tumultuous grief.

I’m losing control, the anger consuming me, and I embrace it, letting it wash over me in a tidal wave of emotion. I don’t care about the destruction, about the people fleeing in terror. All I can think about is Sasha, about the gaping void where she should be. She’s my world, my everything, and now she’s gone.

I dive back under, the water rushing over me as I twist and turn, the fury propelling me forward. I lash out, my tentacles striking the remnants of the boats, tearing them apart, but it brings no relief, no comfort.

I rise again, breaching the surface, and for a moment, I pause, staring out at the destruction I’ve wrought. The world seems to hold its breath, but the emptiness remains, an aching chasm that no amount of destruction can fill.

Slowly, the anger ebbs, leaving in its wake a hollow void. I let the water carry me back to shore, the weight of my failure pressing down on me, a suffocating presence that refuses to relent. I am a kraken, a creature of myth and legend, yet I am powerless.

As I wash up on the water’s bank, already in my human form, the world around me is a blur of confusion. The wharf is a disaster—people running everywhere, the air filled with the sound of screams and the crash of waves. I’ve done this, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters without her.

I drag myself up. My body feels heavy, my limbs trembling with the effort, but I push forward. No one notices me, their fear too consuming to pay attention to the man who rises from the waves. They’ve seen a monster, a beast from the depths, and it terrifies them. It might be funny if I wasn’t dying inside, if my world wasn’t falling apart around me.

I reach the car, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I collapse against the door. The weight of my grief is suffocating, the knowledge that I’ve lost her a constant, unrelenting ache. I cling to the metal, my vision blurring as tears fill my eyes.

Then, just as I go to open the door, darkness edges in, creeping at the corners of my vision. The world tilts, spinning, and I’m ripped away from the present, the weight of the ocean pressing down, dragging me under into a vision.

Chapter 30

Kaden

I’m standing in the living room of the mansion, watching my grandfather with his red-haired mermaid lover, Nixi. The room is filled with a warm glow, casting a golden hue over everything.

Nixi is laughing, tears of happiness glistening in her eyes, as she smiles at my grandfather and rubs her small belly. I can see it in the way my grandfather tenderly caresses her, the way his eyes light up with a brightness I’ve never seen before, that he must have just discovered she’s pregnant.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am,” my grandfather coos, his voice a gentle murmur that carries all the love he feels for her. He lifts Nixi into his arms, spinning her around with a joy that’s infectious, her giggles filling the room like a melody.

“So you’re not upset?” she asks, her voice a sweet, lilting sound that seems to dance in the air.

“Why would I be? Having a family is everything I’ve wanted. You are my stars in the sky, Nixi, my reason for being. That’s why I’m going to change things and start my own business, something with less travel, so I can be at home with you more.”

I wonder why he never spoke of her to me, why this part of his life was hidden away like a precious secret.

The vision blurs, a whirl of colors and emotions that leaves me reeling, and suddenly, I’m standing on a quiet shore with my grandfather and Lilia. Her face is a mask of fury, her eyes bright with unshed tears as she glares at my grandfather.

“You fucking asshole,” she spits, her words a venomous hiss that cuts through the silence.

My grandfather stands there, looking truly bewildered, a frown creasing his brow.

“Lilia, I thought you would be happy for me, for Nixi and me.”

“You really are clueless, aren’t you?” Her response is sharp, coated with bitterness. “I actually thought we were building something together, and this whole time, you’ve been with someone else? And now she’s pregnant, and you want to leave the business we built from the ground up?” Her hands are fists at her sides, trembling with rage.

My grandfather reaches out, his face a mask of confusion.

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