Read Forward thorugh Chapter 2 first.
Broken Promises
Chapter 3
Caspian shook his head as he watched his mate, the woman that his tiger had chosen for them, sitting in front of him. Julia’s hair was damp from her resent bath and hanging loosely across her shoulders. She carefully brushed through every strand until she was certain there were no tangles in sight.
“What?” Julia asked.
Her voice snapped him out of his trance that he seemed to be under bringing him back to reality. His eyes snapped to her with such quickness that it made his head spin. Her wide blue eyes stared at him like two open pools drawing him in.
“Would you stop that?” Julia asked at bit sheepishly.
He blinked a few times as at least ten seconds went by before he understood her question.
“What?” he asked.
His mate looked away from him a bright blush sliding across her cheeks. He wanted so desperately to jump across the table that separated them and claim her right then. He did not care that they where in his kitchen, all he cared about was making sure Julia never left him.
“Mate,” his tiger purred.
He could feel his control slipping, but he knew that his tiger would not harm Julia. It would most likely curl up at her feet and wish to be stroked like a common house cat, but even though he could not bring himself to hate that scenario, he repressed it.
“You are looking at me like I’m a Christmas ham and you are a starving man,” his mate muttered.
He did not understand the metaphor, but he did not let her know that. He allowed a devilish grin to snake across his lips as she watched on. He saw his mate draw in a deep breath and wet her lips with the tip of her tongue.
He knew that she had not meant to tempt him, but every move she seemed to make called out to him.
“You had no idea what I meant, did you?” his mate asked.
“Not a clue, but you were referring to me so I knew I must have been doing something naughty,” he answered with a grin still painted on his face.
A giggle spilled from his mate’s lips, but she quickly stifled it. His heart felt light as he watched Julia. The way she did not hide her emotions, the way she smiled at the smallest of things, the way she got so angry when he teased her a little, and the way she blushed every time he got to close.
His mate was perfect and he was not even close to being good enough for her.
His tiger rumbled beneath his skin. It wanted to be let out and let out now.
“Easy boy,” he whispered to his tiger.
“Mate!” snapped his tiger. “Must claim now!”
He knew that he would have to let his tiger free soon, but he could hold it off for a few more hours.
“Sorry. I did not mean to laugh, it was very rude,” Julia explained.
“Don’t worry about it,” he sighed. “You can laugh at me anytime you want. To tell you the truth it is quite refreshing.”
“Why do you say that?” his mate asked.
He looked down at his hands before looking back up at Julia. He knew that his mate must have been older than himself and seen more than he could even imagine, but she was still so innocent.
“As you can tell the villagers aren’t really keen on demons,” he explained. “My mother was the first demon to come around these parts. At first they did not know what to do with her and many wanted to throw her out, but a few of the villagers would not allow it because my mother was maybe ten years old.”
He looked up at his mate to see her leaning onto the table engrossed in the tale he was weaving.
“A few of those villagers were the wives of very important shop owners,” he continued.
“They pretty much raised my mother like one of their own. At least until other demons started showing up,” he stated. “I do not know why they all came upon the village all at once, but soon there were more demons than humans. The villagers were outraged and tried to send my mother away once more as if she was the cause of their invasion, but once again the shop owners’ wives stopped them.”
“What happened?” Julia asked.
“Well, the demons kept coming and coming. But they were not evil demons as the villagers portrayed them as. Most were farmers or mill workers just like them, but the villagers could not look past their differences,” he explained.
“When my mother was nineteen a group of demons came upon the village,” he began. “They burned it to the ground just because they could. They killed and maimed not only the villagers, but the demons as well. They were led by one man. He was the strongest of the group and the cruelest.”
He could feel his voice getting rougher, but he knew that he would not scare his mate away so he continued.
“His name was Seth,” he told taking a deep breath. “He was evil in demon form. He did not care if you where a trained solider or a small child he would kill you the same way. Nice and slow. And this demon caught sight of my mother one day.”
“He wanted her for himself so he pursued her. My mother was a very smart woman and made a plan to use Seth’s lust against him,” he continued. “She slowly got Seth to push the other demons away from the village, but Seth quickly got tired of my mother’s teasing. But my mother had one more trick up her sleeve.”
“What was it?” his mate asked almost jumping out of her seat.
“She made a deal with Seth,” he told. “He would get what he wanted from her if he would leave the village and never return. Seth agreed to her demand and nine months later I was born into the world.”
“Oh my God!” Julia whispered.
“I was the reason my mother was shunned by all, but one person in the village,” he continued. “I was a reminder of what had happened, and they told me how much they despised me every day of my life.
The one person that did not hate my mother or myself was an older woman named
Reina.
She was the only person other than my mother that I allowed myself to get close to.
She was the person that helped my mother give birth to me.
Reina was the first person to hold me in her arms.
The first person that I laid eyes on.”
“She sounds very important to you,” Julia whispered.
“She was like my grandmother, but human…. She died two years ago,” he huffed.
He felt a tear skimming around his eyes screaming to be let out, but he repressed it. He would not show his mate that he was weak.
“I’m so sorry,” Julia stuttered.
“They would not even let me say good bye,” he stated.
“Why!?” his mate asked.
He looked over at her to see blatant rage flowing from her eyes. His heart beat fast as he saw that she was willing to charge the village for the pain that they had caused him.
“Because they blamed me,” he explained.
“You were not even born!” Julia exclaimed. “They can not hold you accountable for things that were totally out of your control!”
“They do not blame me for what happened before I was born, though they still hated me for it, but of what happened when I was fifteen,” he muttered quietly.
“What happened?” his mate asked.
He looked at her then back at his hands.
“Seth came back,” he explained. “My mother must have known because that day she sent me to town which she never did. I was supposed to buy some flour because we had run out, but now I know that she was just trying to get me out of the house. She knew that Seth was coming.”
“What do you mean she knew?” Julia asked as she sat back down in her chair.
“My mother just knew things,” he continued. “Stuff that no one else should know. I remember when I was younger, I caught her crying for a woman she had never met. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that the woman had died. She knew before the woman even knew she was dieing. My mother was a very special woman.”
“Yes, she was,” agreed Julia.
“Well, as I was gone Seth found my mother. I don’t know what happened, but my mother was killed that day. Seth did not leave unharmed though, mother was pretty strong for a female demon. But not strong enough,” he reported. “She died in my arms and that is why the villagers continue to hate me. Not only because of who my father is, but because I was unable to protect my mother.”
Julia was silent for a moment before her fury erupted.
“Caspian I am so sorry, but none of that is your fault,” his mate fumed. “You did not ask this man to be your father and you did not ask for your mother to die. If those villagers can’t see that with their own two eyes they are worthless and not worth the time it took to make them.”
His heart flip flopped in his chest as her words sunk in. No one had ever cared enough about him to get angry for him. The feeling of being cared about was new and some what scary, but he liked it.
“Thank you,” he said.
He watched as Julia’s eyes quickly turned back to normal when he spoke. It was as if a switch had been turned off in her head because the change was so fast.
“For what?” his mate asked.
“For caring enough about me to get mad,” he sighed.
Julia blinked at him. He could tell that she had not expected him to say that.
“You’re welcome,” his mate whispered under her breath.
Julia stared up at the dark ceiling as she lay awake in bed. Her mind was racing a million miles per minute and would not slow down. She took a deep breath trying to calm her stubborn mind, but it did not seem to help.
Groaning she pushed herself up so she was leaning against the head board. She rubbed her eyes a few times before she turned to look around the silent room.
It had been two hours since Caspian had showed her to this room, but for some unknown reason she could not bring herself to relax and sleep, and then she saw why.
Two huge Chinkeys, monkey-like darklings, stared at her through the only window that was in the room. Their purple eyes shown in the unforgiving darkness giving them an eerie sort of feel as their breath steamed the window panes.
One of the Chinkeys lifted up its large hand and tapped three times on the glass with its razor like nail. She watched as it repeated the taping five times before dropping its hand out of view.
She did not know what the darkling was trying to tell her, but she knew in the back of her mind that it wanted her to come towards the glass.
Slowly she stepped off the bed almost crying out once when her bare feet touched the ice cold floor. Taking a deep breath she carefully walked towards the window. Her muscles tensed as she got closer, preparing for any attack the Chinkeys might be planning.
When neither of them moved she relaxed a bit, but still watched for any sign of trouble. The Chinkeys grunted at her as they swayed their heads back and forth.
One of the Chinkeys bumped its head against the glass clinking one of its two huge tusks which protruded from its bottom lip.
The darklings grunted one last time before jumping from the window ledge to the hard ground below. They took off across the yard at such a speed she could hardly see them in the moon light. Soon they had disappeared into the darkness of the forest, only their grunts filled the haunting silence.
She stepped closer to the window and stared out into the night. Darklings quietly moved before the house minding their own business. She stood like that for about ten minutes before something moved out of the corner of her eye.
She turned to see Caspian walking from the house with only a pair of pants, which hung dangerously low on his hips, covering him. His mane of hair glowed in the moonlight as he walked into the open.
Darklings moved out of his way as he walked. Caspian stopped not even twenty feet from her window. She knew that he could not see her, so she did not try to hide herself.
She watched as Caspian scented the air drawing it deep into his lungs before releasing it. His muscles twitch as he scanned his surrounds. He reminded her of a wild animal searching for prey.
She sucked in a startled breath when he turned to look at her. She watched as he scented the air once more, but more deeply this time. Caspian’s eyes seemed to roll back in his head before they locked back with the window.
A smile formed on his perfect lips as he stepped towards her. Her heart almost stopped when his body blocked the moonlight making her visible to him.
Caspian’s eyes flashed making them slightly glow. He purred and placed his hand on the glass. She looked at it for a moment before placing her hand on top of his.
His hand dwarfed her’s. She felt so small compared to him, it was funny. She had never felt so insecure about herself in any way before this demon had come into her life.
Know he stood in front of her and she could not form a coherent sentence to save her life. It was embarrassing.
“Julia?” Caspian purred.
His hot breath fogged the window as he spoke. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched his eyes glow brighter.
She did not answer him and could not even if she wanted to. Caspian though did not seem to notice. His eyes were locked on her’s and refused to look away.
She was thankful for the glass that separated them because she could not even imagine what might have happened if they had not been apart.
“Julia?” Caspian breathed again.
She felt her knees losing strength as she watched him. Her entire body was turning to Jell-O and he was only saying her name.
Trying to calm her over active body she closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath. She did this at least three times before she was brave enough to open them again, but Caspian was not the first thing she saw.
A huge bangle tiger stared at her through the window. Its bright green eyes watched her with such intensity that it made her heart jump up into her throat.
It had to be over eight hundred pounds and twice as big as a normal one on Earth. Its paws were the size of her head and its huge fangs shined in the moonlight.
Its hot breath steamed the window as it watched her, but she did not fear this monstrous beast. Her heart did flutter, but it was not because she was afraid. It was because Caspian’s eyes stared out at her from that huge striped face.
“Caspian?” she whispered.
The tiger purred and rubbed its cheeks against the window before it pushed away from her. It landed with a groan before it stalked out into the open.
Darklings squeaked and dashed into the forest as if hell itself was licking at their heels. She watched as the tiger took in what was around him before releasing a loud roar.
The forest came to life with sounds as the roar echoed through the air. Darklings and catsumys alike dashed from their hiding places for safer quarters.
She could not believe her eyes. She had known that demons could change their forms into the animal that shared their soul, but she had never seen it done.
It was beautiful and frightening all at the same time. She could see why many would shun away from such people, but she could not bring herself to mind the transformation.
Maybe it was because demons were so much like her. Feared for being different, cast out by the people which they had once protected, and taken for grated. She knew how Caspian could hate the villagers, but she also knew why they feared him.
The tiger’s roar pierced through her thoughts. She watched as it turned towards her one last time and grunted before charging into the forest behind it.
She stood there unmoving for a minute or two before her body would even think about moving. Her knees gave out, bringing her to the floor with a thump. She grunted on impact, but other than that said nothing.
Her mind was working a thousand miles per second and with no hope of slowing down.
“What have I gotten myself into?” she thought.
She laid down on the cold floor and looked back up at the ceiling.
“Well there goes the neighborhood,” she whispered out loud.
Caspian’s lungs burned as his tiger jumped over a fallen tree. For some reason he had let his tiger take over the moment he saw Julia. He had been thankful when instead of busting through the window his tiger stepped away from their mate.
So he let his tiger run. Darklings ran beside them as they flew across the ground. Their paws carried them farther and farther.
His tiger roared out again. His heart was pounding when his tiger finally came to a stop. The village was lit with hundreds of torches to keep away the darklings, but it did little to scare him off.
His tiger growled as they watched as
Delaney locked up his diner.
It took a great deal of effort to keep his tiger rooted in place and not take after his old human friend.
They watched as he huddled in his large coat and jogged through the abandoned street.
The screams of darklings whipped his tiger’s head back towards the forest.
“Hunter,” he told his tiger.
His tiger growled low in its throat as it slowly stalked back into the forest. The scent of fresh blood blew in the wind causing his tiger to snarl under its breath.
He pushed his tiger towards the scent and it went gladly. Using its powerful back legs it jumped into one of the stronger trees and took off.
They jumped from branch to branch leaving no tracks for the hunters to follow. The trees did not even quiver as they jumped, just stood strong, as if knowing they had to be silent. Then before they knew it, they were hovering ten feet above the hunters.
They stank of death and blood as they skinned a young Lumpia, a small cat-like darkling that is the color of freshly fallen snow.
His tiger let out a low growl making the hunters stiffen. One by one they looked up to see them glaring down at them.
“Caspian!” snarled one of the hunters.
His tiger focused harder on the one that spoke. The smell of death clung harder to this hunter. A long angry looking scar ran down from his strong brow to his stubborn chin. It was Jaeger, a hunter that he had almost killed twice for hunting his darklings.
“What do I owe the pleasure of your company tonight?” Jaeger asked.
His tiger snarled at the human. The hair on the back of their neck rose as they hissed at Jaeger one last time.
“Well, I have to say it has been fun,” laughed Jaeger.
They watched as he dived for his sword. They were about to leap on him when arrows flew through the air. They jumped just as they smacked into the tree’s trunk.
One of the arrows grazes his tiger’s side, but they ignored it. Letting out a roar they leaped. The ground vibrated when their paws hit the forest floor.
They charged taking down one of the hunter. The hunter screamed as their fangs punctured his neck. With one quick jerk they snapped his neck killing him in an instant.
The taste of fresh blood fueled his tiger’s blood lust. The blood was thick and heavy on their tongue as they licked it off their jaws.
His tiger screamed out when Jaeger’s sword pierced through its hide. Snarling they reared back knocking Jaeger off balance, but as they went in for the kill the other five hunters were on them.
They cried out when an arrow jammed itself between one of their ribs. Their cry seemed to break the hold that appeared to be on the darklings.
All at once, darklings poured from the darkness. Their fangs and claws shone in the moonlight as they attacked. Blood covered the ground, but they kept on fighting.
His tiger watched as Jaeger ran from the battle leaving his comrades behind. They could not case after him, so two other darklings gave case. He knew they would not get Jaeger, but they would at least scare him.
Taking a deep breath his tiger roared into the darkness warning anyone that they were watching.
Julia jumped as one of Caspian’s roars filled the night.
“Father what can I do?” she asked.
“Do what your heart tells you to do,” God spoke.
Another roar split through the night causing a shiver to run up her spine.
“Caspian?” she whispered.
Caspian’s body throbbed as he made his way towards the house. Dry blood encrusted his body flaking with every step he made.
The arrow still protruded from his side leaving a ghostly reminder of what might have happened. His tiger groaned, but other than that made no signal that it was still with him.
He heard the front door open and looked up. Julia stood before him in one of his mother’s old dresses. The sky blue of the dress made his mate’s eyes pop.
Her hair was down and handing loosing around her shoulders. It had a slight natural curl to it, but noting like his own.
“Oh my God!” Julia gasped. “What happened?”
Before he could answer her she was at his side. Now he was glad that he had been injured because his mate touched his naked chest. Julia’s slender fingers ran over his skin as she checked for more wounds.
“There were hunters,” he answered. “They had already killed a Lumpia before I got there.”
“Why did you go up against hunters? They are low lives.” his mate grunted.
“If I don’t stop them, who will?” he asked.
Julia looked up at him worry apparent in her eyes, but he could see that she understood his logic. Without answering him his mate tucked herself against his good side and helped him into the house.
“Why are there hunters here?” Julia asked.
“Not many people care, but darklings are beginning to die off. Many people hunt them because they are supposed to be more dangerous then catsumys, but that is not true. Yes they will attack you, but that is because every time a darkling sees a person, human or demon, that person will try to kill them.”
“Why?” she asked.
She stopped in front of the table, but with the grip Julia had on his arm he could not sit down.
“Because due to some twist of fate, some darklings are the most beautiful creatures on Ventra,” he continued. “Many very powerful people believe that if they have the coat of such a deadly beast people will believe that they are dangerous as well.”
Carefully Julia lowered him into one of the kitchen chairs. After gathering some supplies his mate hunkered down beside him so her face was level with the arrow.
“This might hurt a bit,” Julia warned.
“I’m used to pain,” he grunted.
His mate’s eyes locked with his for a split second before she looked back down at the wound, but it was long enough for him to the see the sadness that filled her eyes.
“You shouldn’t have to be,” his mate whispered.
Her words touched him, but before he could tell her how much she jerked the arrow for his body. A string of curses a mile long flew from is mouth before he could stop them.
A steady stream of blood flowed from his body. He watched as his mate carefully doctored and bandaged his wound. She then turned her attention to a few burses and scrapes that covered his body.
“I’m sorry that I can’t heal you, but it is beyond my knowledge,” Julia explained.
“It’s fine,” he said. “I’m still better off with you.”
The smile that he received from her was almost worth all the pain he had endured. His tiger purred in agreement before it settled back down.
“Where are these hunters now?” Julia asked all of a sudden.
He looked at her to see she was not looking at him, but at her hands.
“All are dead except for one, Jaeger,” he answered. “He is the nastiest of the group and the only one that has escaped me three times.”
“Good,” was all his mate said.
He watched as she picked up and started to rinse the blood out of the cloth she had used. As he watched his mate he could not believe that she was an immortal. At that moment she looked like any woman.
“Julia?” he asked.
His mate stopped what she was doing and looked back at him.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Will you stay here?” he asked.
He held his breath for her answer. He knew what he was asking her and was terrified that she would refuse him.
Thank you for reading. :)
Chapter 4 in next post.
