Mated By The Demon Collections: Paranormal Romance Page 20

  Shortly after that, the rest of the hunting party caught up with them. Donal jumped off his horse and came to inspect the kill. He was an old man, an honorable man, and Allison had known him all her life as he was her father's best friend, and had been like an uncle to her.

  “This isn't bad,” he said in his gruff voice, peering at the deer through his one good eye. Over the other rested a black eye patch, the result of a battle with the tribe's fiercest rivals, although there had been peace between them for the past decade. The last war between them seemed to be so far away because it was back in Allison's childhood, but for many of the people she knew, the scars were still fresh, and the rivalry was still simmering, certain to bubble over at some point. Donal turned to Allison.

  “This was a good shot, but next time try aiming a little more towards its heart. Try to get a kill instantly, that way it won't run off. And don't forgot the same holds true for men, if you kill them quickly that's less chance for them to fight back,” he said with a twinkle in his good eye.

  “Do you really think I'll need to remember that?” Allison asked.

  “It can never hurt, there are always bandits around, and you never know what's going to happen with those bastards across the river.” When he mentioned the other tribe his face darkened and Allison knew that he was reliving that fated battle when he had lost his eye. A dim memory echoed in her mind, of Donal and her father returning, all bloodied, Donal screamed loudly and held his eye. Blood seeped through his fingers. Allison was small and looked through an open door until her father had noticed, and sent her back to her room. She lay awake though, and heard Donal's screams. He was the toughest man she had ever known, his skin was like leather, so to hear him cry out in such pain was confusing to her young mind.

  “Get home young one, I think your father will want to speak to you. We'll stay here and see if we can catch anything else,” Donal said, as he waved his hand to direct a few of the other men to hoist the deer onto the wagon, along with the other animals they had caught that day. As she passed the wagon, Allison saw hogs, rabbits, pheasants, and a few other animals. It was going to be a feast to remember, she mused.

  She climbed up her horse and straddled it. Monty went to follow her, but he was stopped by Donal.

  “Where do you think you're going lad?” he asked. Monty pointed at Allison, but Donal kept him back, saying that he had to remain there. Sometimes, Allison thought, there were perks to being the chieftain's daughter.

  2

  Allison's horse galloped through the forest at a swift pace. The air rushed past her face and the trees became a blur. Allison grinned, enjoying the force of the speed. Her dark hair flowed behind her and she felt such a sense of freedom that was impossible to replicate anywhere else. Whenever she rode she could forget all her troubles and stress, and could melt into a world where it was just her and her horse. Often she imagined running away, riding to some place where she was unknown. There was such a big world out there and her mind whirled with all the possibilities, and yet she was tethered to the tribe. Whenever she let herself entertain the thought of running way it always ended with a wistful smile, for she knew that she could never leave. Her father was the chief and she was his daughter. Someday it would be her responsibility to take over. It was her solemn duty as her father's successor, her burden, but she would bear that weight because she had to.

  But she was still young and had the excitement and energy of youth. She put aside Monty and focused on the world rushing by, on all the sweet scents and colorful flowers. It was a short ride back to the tribe, but she took the long way around so that she could enjoy being on her own for as long as possible. Often she enjoyed her solitude and was surprised when she heard other people complain of being lonely, for there were many times when she craved some space, especially since Monty rarely left her alone. It was fine when they were children but recently it had been suffocating, and she wished she knew some way of making him see that what he was doing wasn't romantic or endearing at all.

  When she cleared the edge of the forest she stopped atop a hill and took a moment to enjoy the beauty of the horizon. The green hills rolled up and down. Lush green trees stretched out for miles, and in the distance she could see the rocky mountains. Beyond them lay a world of mystery and excitement, a world where anything was possible. She had heard stories when she was younger of sorcery and unbelievable creatures. She was never sure which parts were made up by her father and which really existed, but secretly hoped that they were all real because she liked thinking of a world where the impossible could be a reality. The tall peaks of the mountains reached up into the heavens. It was said that a race of dwarfs used to live there and mined precious stones, but there were other creatures in the mountains, ones that lived in the deepest parts of the rocks, and eventually proved to be the downfall of the dwarfs. There was also said to be an ancient sorcerer that lived beyond the mountains, and made all sorts of potions.

  The world used to be a world of heroes, with epic battles and creatures crawling over the world. Allison wanted to be a part of that, to experience what it was like to make history. She glanced over the sun-bathed world again and turned, whipping the reins of the horse to get back to her home.

  Plumes of smoke spiraled out of the huts and houses. The small village was made up of a few stone houses, wooden huts, and tents. The middle of the encampment was given to a large fire, around which everyone gathered at night to share stories and enjoy each others' company. Allison rode her steed to the stable and greeted the stable boy as she handed over the reins, patting her trusty horse on the side as she left it. She walked through the camp and engaged in brief conversation with everyone who was around. It was such a small, tight-knit community, and Allison was a darling to them all, she had been ever since she was born.

  People were working at their various trades as she walked through the encampment, and in the large school she saw the children being taught by Mary-Margaret. The old lady nodded as she saw Allison go by, and Allison waved. After her mother died, Mary-Margaret took on the responsibility of teaching Allison, and she was the only mother figure that Allison had. The young woman walked all the way to the back of the camp where she came to her home, the stout building where she had her father lived. The door opened into a large chamber, which held within it a large table with many chairs, the official meeting place whenever anything important had to be discussed. In the middle of it stood a large wooden chair with a serpent carved into it, and this was her father's chair. Next to it was a smaller chair, although it was bigger than the rest of the chairs in the room. This had been her mother's, and now it was Allison's.

  Her footsteps echoed around the chamber as she walked through the halls to find her father, knowing that he would be in his study. Recently he had been spending more and more time with his books, which was surprising as she always thought him to be a man of action, but as she grew older she began to understand that he was a master tactician, and tried to instill in her a love of knowledge, for he believe that to be the true way to leading a successful and rewarding life. When she stepped through the door she folded her arms and leaned against the doorway. Her father was hunched over a book, his dark hair hanging over his shoulders. He wore his usual purple cloak, and candles were placed all around the room, for barely any light entered through the narrow slits.

  “You wanted to see me?” she said after clearing her throat. Her father jumped, startled, and turned to face her. As he did a strange expression passed across his face, but it was only there for a moment, flickered across like a passing flash of light. “Are you okay?” she asked, her brow furrowing with concern.

  “Yes...yes I'm fine, it's just that you look so much like your mother. She used to stand there like that and wait for me to finish work.” A sad look came over his eyes. He never spoke about her mother often, and whenever he did the same look was always present on his face, the look that showed he had not only lost her when he died, but had lost part of himself too. All
ison stepped into the room and wished that she had more memories of her mother, for at times like these it felt like her father was suffering alone.

  “How was the hunt?” he asked, his tone returning to normal.

  “It went well, it's going to be a glorious feast tonight. Everyone is going to be well-fed.”

  “I'm glad...” he said, although there was still a sadness to his voice and his demeanor. It had been with him for as long as she could remember, and Allison wished that she could have seen him in his heyday, when he had his wife beside him and his daughter giggling on his shoulders.

  “So what did you want to see me about?” she asked, trying to get him back on track because she hated it when he wallowed in the past.

  “I wanted to talk to you about tonight. I know the celebrations are for my birthday but we're entering a very important stage of your life as well. You're a woman now, and soon you will have to be wed to a husband.”

  “I don't want to talk about this,” Allison said, wanting to turn away, but her father glared at her.

  “You may not want to talk about it but we have to. You are my child, and as such you have more on your shoulders than most. So far you have been the best daughter I could have asked for and I wouldn't change a thing about you, but now you are becoming a woman, and that means that the world is changing. Becoming an adult isn't just about growing older, it's about finding your place in the world and deciding what kind of person you're going to become. A part of that is doing your duty for your tribe, to put others' needs before yours. It's not always easy being a leader because sometimes you have to do things that are unpopular, and things that you don't want to do. Part of that is marrying, for it shows that you are willing to commit to something for the rest of your life.”

  “I'm sure there are other ways for me to show that than by marrying. I know that it's tradition father but I can't see myself marrying anyone in the tribe. I do not want to have a husband chosen for me. If I'm to marry someone I want it to be for love, and I want to choose them myself.”

  “Unfortunately sometimes we do not always get to make that choice...” he said with a heavy heart, “I know that it is not what you want, but that is precisely why you must allow it to happen.”

  “I can't father. I don't want to get married. I don't care about tradition. I'm sure the tribe will understand my decision. Perhaps it is time to invent new traditions. After all, it was a tradition that only a man shall be a chief of the tribe but you changed that because of me.”

  “You are still my blood. The tribe is rightfully yours, but some things go beyond the chiefs, and have been part of the community since the beginning. It was the same with me, and with my father.”

  “But that was different, you had mother. The two of you were already in love.”

  Her father smiled weakly.

  “There are many things you do not know Allison. The two of us...we were arranged to be married just as you will be. She was the same as you. You two are so alike. It's such a shame that she could not see you grow up...she would have been so proud as well,” he said, and that same sad look came on his face again. “But the truth is that she resisted at first, but over time we came together and fell in love. It took a while and it wasn't easy, not by any means, but we knew that we were going to be together for life and we had to make the best of it, so we did, and you came along. I want the same for you Allison. I know you think I'm being too bull-headed in this matter but I love you and I only want the best for you.”

  “How can marrying me off to someone I don't love be the best for me? I bet you're thinking of Monty as well, aren't you. I know that we've been friends forever and that you think you're doing me a favor by making me marry him, but I can't marry him.”

  “I wasn't going to suggest Monty, actually,” he said.

  “Then who?” she asked, racking her brains, trying to think of what other candidates there were to be married. Her father closed the heavy tome that he had been reading and sighed as he walked across the room. He blew out the candles and told Allison to follow him. The two of them returned to the chamber and his low voice echoed around.

  “Do you understand what this room means?” he asked. Allison wasn't sure what he meant, so she remained quiet. “This house is not our house, and our lives are not our lives. We are here to serve the people we have been chosen to lead. Our history is contained within these walls, and the most important thing we can do is to make sure the community survives through the future. So many important discussions and arguments have taken place in this chamber, and so many ceremonies as well. I don't want to see us lose that, but I fear that the future is bleak for us. We need to do everything we can to make sure that we can survive. I wanted to tell you this before tonight so that you have a chance to process it. You see, a couple of months ago I received a message from Liam, and we've been meeting in secret ever since then.”

  “Liam!” Allison shrieked, incensed. Shock was plain on her face and a look of betrayal came over her. After all the years of fighting she wondered how her father could ever dare to meet the leader of the rival tribe, and she started to back away, afraid that her father had lost his mind.

  3

  Allison's father held up his hands and in a quiet voice he asked her to hush.

  “How can I be quiet when you've been secretly meeting with the enemy?” she asked, her eyes wide with fear. Her father slumped his shoulders and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “I'm getting old Allison. All this fighting is a game for the young, but I don't want you to have to go through the same pain as I did, having to watch all your friends go out there, all the people you love give up their lives in battle. There has to be a better way if we're going to build for the future.”

  “And what better way do you have in mind?”

  “I want you to marry Liam.”

  “No.”

  “Allison, it's not what you think-”

  “What I think is that you've lost your mind. Can you hear yourself? How can you expect me to go along with this? On the one hand you say that traditions are important, and then you tell me that you want me to marry the leader of a tribe that has caused us pain for centuries? I can't go along with this. I won't,” she said, a steely, defiant look in her eyes.

  “I knew that you would react like this, which is why I wanted to talk to you about it now. Please, be calm and here what I have to say.” He spoke in an even tone and held out his open palms, and there was a plaintive look on his face. He seemed troubled, and now that he had revealed that he had been meeting with Liam recently she noticed that he had been distracted. At the time she had put it down to the fact that his birthday was approaching, as it marked another year that he had been without his wife, and was another year closer to the inexorable end that waited every man.

  “I'll hear what you have to say, but I can't promise that I'll understand,” she said through gritted teeth, folding her arms.

  “When he came to me I was just as skeptical as you are now, believe me, this is not a matter I have taken lightly. Liam is different than his father, but his people are still the same, and share the bloodlust of their former leader. Liam told me that many people have been making rumblings that they want another war. There has been peace for too long and they are growing weary of living a humble life. But Liam recognizes that the wars between us cause nothing but strife, and will only end in our mutual destruction. He came to me asking to discuss a treaty, but knowing that there is much work to be done to combat the hatred between our two peoples. Much has happened in the past and there have been rivers of blood that have flowed. It is going to be hard for many people to move on from that.”

  “So I suppose he proposed to marry me. Are you blind father? This is probably all just a ploy to steal me away from you, to weaken our tribe. If he takes me then the bloodline is ended and there is nobody to take my place after you. If you were to die the tribe would fall.”

  “It wasn't his idea. It was mine,” he said, looking
directly at her. She was silenced. “The marriage will be a bridge between the tribes. You shall keep your tribe name and he shall keep his, but the tribes will come together, and whatever children you have will have both blood flowing through their veins. You will bring the communities together, make them stronger. It is the only way for us to survive. The world is getting bigger all the time and if we are not careful we are going to get swallowed up by it. But together we can be stronger, and we can create a new legacy We can bring the traditions together and make sure they continue, and we can create new ones of our own. If we stand alone we will stagnate and die, but if we unite and stand together we can survive. All I'm asking is what he asked of me, to listen and to think with an open mind. Can you try and do that?”

  He spoke with such passion that it was difficult for her to process what she was hearing. The words went against everything she believed, everything that was at the core of her, and yet the man that was speaking them was her father, the man who had raised, the man who loved her above all else. Her heart was conflicted, and she pitied him for he was desperate.

  “I can't...I don't think I can give you an answer now, I need to think about it,” she said. Her father stiffened and he clenched his jaw.