103 - Little Devil (3k words)

                                    

                                          
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Part 1/2
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3rd person POV
Somewhere in the past...
Howls filled with anger and pain echoed through the trees.
"Would she rather see our cubs harmed than see us happy?" Bart let out a deep growl, shifting into his human form, "How far will she go just to see everyone miserable?"
He didn't need an answer. The moment he overheard Rosa persuading their cubs to kill other cubs, his heart sank.
The cubs recognized Rosa as their birth mother and usually listened to her. They were old enough to roam the forest on their own, and Mama Yaya had entrusted them with protecting the younger ones. So when Mama Rosa told them to betray that very duty, they hesitated.
"No, Mama. We won't do it. The other cubs didn't do anything wrong."
"No, Mama. We don't want to do that."
The cubs howled and cried when Rosa kicked them away, "You're not my cubs anymore! Get off me! I will throw you into the river and let you drown to your death!"
Their faces were covered in tears when he appeared, drawn by their whimpers.
Bart glanced down at his claws, his chest heavy and his eyes wet. They cut deeper than her tongue, and his tears were thicker than her blood.
The cubs adored their mother, no matter how she treated them. Why? To them, it was normal to be treated like that by Rosa. Bart used to be just like them. It was how things were until one day, he realized this was not how things should be.
"Why? Why did you save her?" Bart asked as he turned his head toward the woman who stood behind him.
"Why not? It's interesting seeing everyone lose their shit when she is around," she leaned against the tree, her arms crossed, "Will her death satisfy you, or will it haunt you for the rest of your days? Regrets are a waste of life."
"A dead person can't feel anything," Bart closed his eyes and exhaled, trying not to let his ex-female affect him, "I need her to feel my pain. I need her to know how much she's hurting others. I need her to see how ugly she's become..." Then, he began clawing at his chest, but a hand stopped him, "I'm a horrible person. What am I doing? This is insane."
"Nothing of this would have happened if I just banned her from entering our territory, so it's not entirely Rosa's fault," Yaya chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his chest, guiding his hands to rest on hers. "Her males are probably still counting their blessings that they didn't end up as rootless."
Bart's actions made Rosa's males aware that it was not only her who had their lives in her grasp. His spousal imprint was still on Rosa's body, which meant she didn't turn him into a rootless (they didn't know it was fake), so it might give them some confidence to go against her wishes and not end up like him.
Bart lowered his head, his bangs falling over his eyes. His voice cracked as he whispered, "I'm sorry. The Ape King is dragging you into his mess because of me, too."
She laughed, "It's not the first time someone wants me dead. What makes you think it will be the last? I'm leaving him to you to deal with."
Bart's body froze, "Me?"
"Yeah, you. It's your problem. Solve it."
"But─"
"Solve. It."