Mated By The Demon Collections: Paranormal Romance Page 24

  Rose didn’t care about the other clans or the wars. All she wanted was to sit in the middle of nature and look and listen to the birds and other beautiful animals.

  Now here she was in the process of finding the right part of the woods that looked peaceful. Looking around she saw a lovely little section that was closed off from the rest of the area. She smiled and turned her horse to that area and went off to it.

  The green was magnificent and she knew that it would help her clear her mind. Alick had come to her last night and told her that she would soon be ready to marry. He had lined up her marriage with another clan.

  “How can you decide who I marry? I don’t even know this guy who you suggested to me, how can I be happy?” Rose had asked Alick.

  “Your happiness doesn’t matter, what matters are that it could help us out. Provide us with more power to fight off the attacks of other clans.” Alick had stated.

  “Who is this man though? Do you know him?” Rose had questioned.

  “Well not really I just know that he was offered by his father to marry you.” Alick had said.

  Rose had rolled her eyes. Alick hadn’t even told her who the man was or anything about the marriage. Just that she was going to be married in a few months. She had been mad and tried to reason with her mother for support. But her mother had simply looked down at the ground and told her that Alick was in charge now.

  “I wish dad was still alive, he would never do anything like this to me!” She had shouted and ran out of the room. Tears streaming down her eyes as she went to her room. The night had passed slowly with little sleep and a ton of tears.

  Nature always made her relax though, so she hoped this time it would help her clear her mind. Getting off of Buttercup she tied him up to the tree. She had brought along a few treats so she could eat and spend a while out here.

  The air smelled so fresh and the green of the grass and trees made her happy. She sat down by the tree and pulled out the bit of bread and meat she had confiscated quietly from the kitchen. Smiling she thought about her father. What she wouldn’t give to have him back.

  “Dad I miss you so much.” She said aloud.

  Eating she thought about her conversation with Alick again. She really didn’t want to be married off. She had always dreamed of a love that would transcend all other things in her life. Rose wanted what her mom and dad had before he died. They had always smiled when they saw each other and there had never been a lack of laughter in their home.

  “That’s what I want, how can I have it with someone I don’t even know? How can Alick do this to me? We used to be so close; he knows what I want from a marriage?” She cried to herself.

  It was true Alick had once been her confidante and knew exactly what Rose had desired in her life. But when her father had died so much had changed. She had watched her brother go from the fun loving man she knew to someone who resembled a stranger.

  Rose fell asleep and woke up much later. The sky was dark and she felt disoriented. Looking up at the sky she saw storm clouds as well. “Could this be any worse?”

  She was positive her brother would have realized she was gone by now. Unless he thought she was in her room pouting. He had accused her of doing that in the past. Her biggest worry right now was the fact it was getting dark and she hadn’t really paid much attention to the way she had gone from their home.

  Rose shook her head, there was no need getting nervous or worried. If she did that she would only create a bigger problem of fear. Fear she had learned in the past was not a good thing to deal with, it would make you think less clearly. Looking around she tried to think of where she had come from and which way to go back home. There was enough light to make out what she thought had been the bluff she had spotted this area from before coming down to the forest.

  Getting Buttercup she figured it was the way to go. The worst that would happen when she got home was that Alick would not let her out of his or one of the other men sight for a few months. Rose shook her head, “Oh well it was nice to get out for a little while.”

  She looked up at the sky and wondered if the storm would wait to come until she got home. It would be nice. Buttercup wasn’t the best horse to have in the middle of a wicked thunderstorm. Actually she didn’t know any horse that she would want to ride in the middle of one of the nasty storms that hit the highland area!

  Rose led Buttercup the way she thought she needed to go, and hoped she could get back home quickly. Her hope of the storm waiting didn’t last long as she heard the first hints of thunder in the air. It was far enough away that if she picked the right way home, she might be able to get there in time to not get soaked.

  However, soon she realized that she wasn’t going the right way. Stopping Buttercup she looked around again, the sky was getting much darker and she really had done a poor job of paying attention to any landmarks. When she had been riding to the area she had seen from the bluff, she should have really paid more attention.

  Now she was paying for it, as she heard the thunder as it got closer and louder. Buttercup began to fidget around more as he got nervous.

  “Come on Buttercup, you’ll be fine.” Rose leaned over and petted him on the head and whispered into his ear. “Alick is going to kill me when I get home.” Rose stated and turned Buttercup around to look to see if she could recognize anything. “I don’t know what way to go.” The fear was quickly rising up inside of her. Rose was cursing herself right now, wondering why she had gone out in such a rush and not paid enough attention.

  “Relax Rose, don’t panic.” She said to herself, hoping it had the desired effect on her heart that was now beating entirely too fast. But as the first drops of rain hit her brow, she felt her heart speed up and her first thought was “please don’t let the thunder come too soon.”

  As if it had heard her thoughts there was a loud crack above her and the thunder sounded off. Buttercup jumped and almost tossed her off his back. Rose barely hung on and decided she needed to move somewhere, try to find the way home as quickly as she could. Turning to the right she kicked her heels into the sides of Buttercup urging him to gallop and go quickly.

  The rain fell harder and faster and Rose heard another crack of thunder, the lightning lit up the sky in front of her, she heard the sound of the strike against a tree. “Why did I have to go out today?” Rose questioned her decision, even though it had helped her relax a bit, now she was more worried and fearful of anything that had happened in her life.

  The worst part of it was she was scared of thunderstorms. Ever since she had been a little girl, the thunder and lightning would shake her to the core of her body. Rose remembered the numerous times she had run to her mother and father’s room or even her brother’s room on nights like this. Many times she would run to their rooms crying, the tears of fear rolling down her face.

  Rose thought of those nights now. How nice it had been to be able to find the comfort she had needed. But now here she was out on Buttercup and no one to comfort her. Rose felt the first sob hit her and the tears ran fully down her face.

  “Dad, Mom, Alick? Where are you now I need you so badly? I’m such an idiot. I swear I’ll never run out on my own again. I don’t care if I have to marry some guy to help the family. Please just let me get home safely!” Rose shouted out hoping that someone would hear her. If there was a person up there looking down on her, she wanted him to help her right now. She needed it, the tears were making it harder to see, and the rain wasn’t helping her to see clearly either.

  “I don’t know if there is anyone out there, but please hear me now. I need you to help me. I’m a foolish girl in this world that I know nothing about. Please I don’t ask you for much, if you are real though, please help me out.” Rose pleaded.

  There was a loud crack and the lightning hit almost beside her and Buttercup. It was too much of a fright for them both. Rose jumped almost the same time as Buttercup lurched to the side and she was off in an instant. Her head hit the tree limb on the way do
wn and she passed out.

  Rose didn’t know how long she was out when she came too. Looking around she saw that Buttercup was nowhere in sight. Rose was sure Buttercup was most likely galloping back to the house as quickly as his legs would take him.

  The tears began to fall down her face and the sobs shook her whole body. The thunderstorm had swallowed her up. There was no way she would find her way home. She could only hope that Alick had gone to look for her by now. If not he may not know until a few days that I’m not home. He’ll think I’m just locked up in my room and ignoring him.

  “I’m so sorry. I just want to get home.” She cried as she shivered. The rain had soaked her clothes completely at this point.

  Finally she tried to suck up the tears and stop the sobs, but it was hard to do. Rose simply wanted to shrink into the ground and die at this point. Her body was shaking not just from the cold, but from her fear of the storm.

  Rose didn’t know what she was going to do. But she knew she had to get up and move if she was going to survive. Standing up weakly she sighed heavily and squared her shoulders back. Rising up she stood to her full height. Sure she was only 5’ 4” but she had to have her full body in this or she would give up. Her red hair was plastered to her skull from being wet by this time, so it stays it up and out of her face. Even with the wind that seemed to be freezing and blowing like nothing she could ever remember.

  She could barely keep her eyes at a slit and keep the water from hurting them. Steeling herself with determination Rose looked around and tried to look for a clue at the way Buttercup had gone. The storm had blown so many branches down and the wind was driving the rain into the ground.

  Finally she just picked a way and starting walking as quickly as she could. She was also hoping that she didn't run into any wildcats that might be out in the storm. “I hope their scared of the storm too.” She whimpered as she continued to walk towards what she hoped was the right way.

  Her teeth began to chatter, again she didn’t know if it was from fear or just being so cold. “Please I don’t want to die so young.” But then she thought about her father and that she would see him again if she died. “I would love to see you daddy.” She cried out in her smallest girl voice.

  Rose had been close to her father, she was his princess after all! All she had to do when she wanted something was to smile up at her dad with these eyes she knew he always feel for! “I miss you daddy, I want to see you so bad.” She cried.

  Again the tears were streaming down her face as she thought of her father. Her heart ached at the loss of him. For the longest time she had stayed in her room after her father had died. Any time someone had tried to come and get her out, she had lashed out at them. “Leave me alone.” She would shout out at whoever it was. Finally, they had stopped trying to get her out of her room. For days she didn’t hear anything from outside, not even talking.

  After several days she had finally peeked her head out, she silence was wrong. Rose had to wonder if everyone was dead in the castle. Had another clan snuck and killed everyone else, missing her room? She didn’t know, and as she put her head out of her door for the first time in weeks. Fear was almost as strong in her body as it was in a thunderstorm.

  But as she went to the hall she had found one of the guards walking by the room. “Oh, you scared me.” Rose jumped at the man as he had passed her by.

  “I’m sorry my lady.” He had said to her.

  That’s one of the reasons she wasn’t sure if Alick would even check her room. After that week, both her mother and Alick had looked at her differently. It was like they were seeing someone new in her. Rose wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. Sometimes she felt that Alick avoided her more than he had in the past.

  Rose had begun to feel lonely in the castle. But last night she couldn’t help but have the reaction she had. “How did he think I’d feel? Telling me I’m marrying someone who he doesn’t even know? What am I a toy to be sold?” She had remembered saying to him.

  Alick hadn’t backed down either and it had only made their confrontation worse. “I don’t care what you feel Rose or even think. You will marry him; he’s a good ally to have in the family.” He had hit his fist on the table.

  Her mouth had fallen open and she couldn’t remember half of what had come out of her mouth. Not now looking back at the night. The words had flown out of her mouth at a speed faster than she knew they could. Rose sighed heavily; it is hard to know what she might have said now.

  But she tried, because at least this was keeping her up and moving. If she stopped thinking about the past and focused on the now, she would break down and fall to the forest floor. She would let the storm win and would gladly go to see her father.

  “What did I say to him? I hope I didn’t make him think to leave me alone. But I’m sure I did, I had been so mad.” Rose cried to herself.

  “You don’t care what I think or feel? Really brother well isn’t that being such a man. Your nothing like father was and you never will be either.” She had remembered spitting out the venom. Hitting him where she knew it would hurt.

  Alick and her father had been so close too. But even though she knew Alick was hurting when they had lost their father, she hadn’t cared at that time. She knew he was the main person who would come to her door. “Rose hey are you okay? Please talk to me, please let me in?” She cried as she remembered him saying to her then.

  “Go away, I don’t want to talk. Daddy would never have let this happen to me.” She had sobbed and shouted out the door.

  Thankfully she didn’t remember if she had spit anymore venom his way or not. Rose really hoped she hadn’t, Alick was usually like her father. Maybe that was why it was so hard for her to believe he would be doing this to her.

  She had known that her father’s death had changed him too. “Maybe I pushed him away too much at that time?” Rose questioned herself. “I must have said so much more to him that I can’t remember right now.”

  The ache in her heart was horrible at that point. She had lashed out at her brother who had loved her so much when they were little. She laughed through her tears as she had thought of the many times that Alick had held her close on nights like this.

  “You’ll be fine Rose; I won’t let anything hurt you ever.” Alick had whispered to her many times on those nights. She smiled thinking about those nights, Alick had loved her so much and she had turned on him when their father had died.

  Rose knew she had said so many things that she hadn’t meant, or maybe she did, she wasn’t even sure right now. Her mind was feeling the effects of the cold more and more and her body was moving more slowly now.

  Her eyes were getting heavy with sleep, she just wanted to lie down and sleep for a bit. “It will be okay; I’ll wake up in a bit and go on.” She said as she looked for a semi-dry spot on the forest floor. Not finding any, she finally picked a spot by a tree.

  Rose put her head on her arms as she curled up as tightly as she could to try and stay warm. Her eyes shut and she was floating on a cloud. Smiling she knew that she would soon be with her father. “I’m coming to see you daddy!” Rose said softly as she let her body slip into sleep.

  Chapter 2

  Rose opened her eyes and looked around, she had no clue where she was, but there was a fire in the fireplace and she was warm and dry. Looking under the blankets she saw that she had on someone else’s clothes. Noticing that they were quite large on her the sleeves hanging about a full three inches below her fingertips.

  “Oh hey, you’re awake!” She looked up at a tall man who she didn’t know at all. “I found you lying in the forest. You’ve been out for almost a week now. I honestly wasn’t sure if you were going to make it.” He explained.

  Thinking back she remembered laying on the forest floor in the storm. “I’ve been sleeping for almost a week?” She asked.

  “I wouldn’t honestly call that sleeping in the same sense. I really thought you would die.” He shook his head and looked at her.
”

  Rose wasn’t sure if she was happy or not at this point. I could be up with my father right now had he not saved me, she thought.

  “You’re welcome by the way, for saving your life and all.” He said and turned back to stoke the fire.

  “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. Really I don’t, well it is just that I miss my father so much.” Rose cried.

  “As soon as you are able to travel we’ll get you back to him.” The man stated.

  “No he died last year.” Rose said.

  The man looked at her and she saw a flash of pain go through his eyes. Rose knew he knew how it felt to lose someone close to you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He apologized.

  “I’m not upset at you. I’m just upset at not being able to see him again.” Rose stated.

  “I can understand that feeling.” He said. “You need to try and eat something now that you’re awake though.”

  “I don’t know if I can or not.” Rose admitted.

  “You’ll be hungry once you start eating, trust me on this one.” The man brought over a plate filled with food. It smelled delicious.

  She sat up and took the plate from him. It felt heavy when he let go of it. Rose almost dropped the plate, but caught it just in time. Bringing it close she sniffed the food and her stomach let out a growl of hunger. Rose blushed at the nose. “I’m sorry, I guess you were right.” She laughed.

  The man laughed at Rose. “It’s fine really!”

  Rose looked at him; he was a very attractive man. He had brown hair that was cute very short. His eyes were grey and had little flecks of what looked like green in them as well.

  She took a huge bite of the meat that was on the plate and it tasted so wonderful. “Oh man that’s good.” She said through bites.

  The man laughed as he sat by the fire.

  “Well you certainly have an appetite like someone who’s been sleeping for a month!” He said as he brought her a third plate of food.