AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But he can’t hear me!” I roared. “He’s dead. He’s dead because he couldn’t listen to the changing winds. He never could.” I glanced down at the bracelet that fit snugly around my wrist. It was so tight that it bit into my skin, leaving red marks that had turned into scars long ago. I ran my hands along the ornamental carvings, bile rising in my throat. This was a shackle, a chain by any other name that my father had wrapped around me and choked me with.
“Your father knew how to take care of the pride.”
“He knew how to obey traditions. He knew how to listen to the past and let that guide his actions rather than forging a path for himself.”
Darrow barked a dry laugh. “You would dare declare that you know a better way? Ava, I lamented the day your father died because I knew you were not ready to take his position. You are still so young, so drawn to folly.”
“I may be young, but I am wiser than you Darrow. I have grown up in a dying world. I have seen the hunters running back, withered and gaunt. I have seen people starve because of what’s happening in this world, and I simply do not wish for it to continue. And because of this I am prevented from saving our pride. I could be our salvation, and instead I am locked here, in this place, because my father was too afraid to let me fly.”
“He had good reasons for what he did.”
“And he is not here to argue for them. But I know what is expected of me, and I suppose that while I am here, I must heed to the old ways. I assume you have chosen another for me?”
Darrow bowed his head. “I hope that this one is going to meet your approval, otherwise we may have to wait for another generation to rise to maturity,” he sneered. I ignored the insult. So far, the other men he had chosen to be my mate had all been dullards. Strong, yes, powerful, yes, a few of them even handsome, but they had all shared the same failing as my father; thick headed and unable to see past the obvious. I did not want those qualities to be passed onto any child of mine. If I failed to escape my world then the duty would be passed to them, and they would need every advantage I could give them to make it through this world.
My pride was dying, and they might well be the last ruler of these lions.
I had to face the possibility that the same could be true of me as well.
“Send him in,” I ordered. Darrow bowed his head and left the room. Moments later I heard shuffling footsteps. I turned to see a man with an athletic figure. He was taller than me, yet he stood with a stoop and his head was bent down. He barely met my gaze. Was this really the best Darrow could do, or was he trying to play a cruel joke on me? I suppose I would soon find out. If there were no suitable mates then this pride would die all on its own, and it would not be my fault. I only happened to inherit the mess that my father and my other ancestors had created.
Chapter Two
Lanas
I couldn’t believe my luck when the Elder came to my hut and told me that I had been chosen. I glanced to my mother to see if this was really true, and she nodded, clasping my hands with pride. The years had been hard on us, especially after father had died. It was hard for everyone though, so I didn’t feel as though I could complain too much. We were all struggling for food, the world turning against us for some reason that none of us could fathom. But there was still hope. As long as the sun still shone, as long as we were still alive there was hope, and the new Lioness was strong and determined. It was up to our generation now to find a new land where the lush trees grew and the herds were plentiful.
“Be well, and let her see the real you. This is a moment that you will never forget, my son. This is your chance to become someone great,” mother had told me before I left. I felt nerves swimming in the pit of my stomach as she spoke, for I had never imagined being anyone great. I only ever wanted to be someone who contributed to the world, who left it a better place than I found it.
But now I had been chosen to become her mate. The Elder brought me the ceremonial garb. I had to wear a high hat and a heavy vest that covered my chest, but left my arms exposed. The fabric was a deep shade of scarlet, like blood, and it scratched my flesh. I strode through our village as all eyes turned towards me, most of them accompanied by sneering smiles and disbelieving, shaking heads. I was not the first man to wear this in recent history. In fact, most of the other men of my generation had made the same walk, each one of them holding his head up with pride, arrogant in their gait as they believed they were the one she was going to pick.
And yet she had rebuffed and rebuked all of them, sending them back from whence they came, walking with shame back to their hut after a single night, none of them capable of living up to what Ava the Lioness wanted. I often wondered what she was like behind closed doors and what mistakes these men had made. It was clear she was a hard person to please, and while I didn’t have any great confidence in myself, I figured that since I was different to them I might have had a chance.
Not that any of them thought the same. I could see it in their eyes as they stared at me, muttering to each other and laughing, treating this as a joke. Perhaps she would become the Lioness who never mated, the one who ended the royal line. I couldn’t believe that she would want this though. Pride must have burned in her blood deeper than it did in any of us, but clearly, she wanted the right person to sire her heir, and just because I didn’t believe it could be me didn’t mean that it couldn’t. Mother had always said that I was special. Perhaps this was my way of proving it.
I left them behind and went into the great shadowed hut that was reserved for the royal family. Its roof stretched across the round building, and the rope stretched down to the valley below. As a boy I had watched with glee as the king flew down, beginning his journey as a man and ending it as a lion. It had been majestic, and I often wondered what it was like to make that trip. Elder Darrow had made me wait outside her room before I entered, saying that he needed to speak with her. I was in a chamber where incense burned. I sat on a low bench. Around me there were sculptures of the Kings and Lionesses of old. It was a tradition among our people to make carvings of our elders. Every prince and princess made a carving of the one who came before them. Some of these figures were intricate and detailed, while others were smooth and plain, bearing few features. The one of the previous king caught my eye the most though. It looked different from the others. I got a sense of respect from the other carvings, but this one had been hacked and slashed together, as though anger had been the driving force of emotion behind it rather than respect and love.
A lump appeared in my throat. I wondered what I was truly getting myself into. Ava was a distant Lioness, often caught brooding across the world, thinking of a better time. She was a strong warrior though, undefeated in combat, and she possessed a strong mind. Nobody knew the reasons for the schism between her and her father. She had never made a secret of her dislike for him, and as far as I knew she had never divulged that secret to anyone.
If I became her mate then perhaps, I would be different.
Darrow appeared and held the door open for me.
“You may enter,” he said, and then whispered a message of good luck to me. His words were laced with frustration. I took a moment to compose myself before I stepped inside. Ava was standing near the window, looking out upon the world. My lips parted in awe at her beauty. Her hair was the color of fire, and her eyes burned intensely, as green as the forests that used to stretched across the world. Her skin was supple, feminine, and strong. She wore hunting garb, leather that stretched across her breasts and her thighs, but left her shoulders and stomach exposed. I felt arousal bristling inside as she walked towards me, swaying her hips as she did so. I was in the presence of greatness and grandeur.
This was the moment that was going to define my life.
“So, this is what he sent me this time,” she said, circling around me with slow footsteps. I held myself rigidly, gazing in front of me, trying to remain disciplined and keep my mind clear. I did not wish to let anything slip from me now.
“Take that stupid thing off,” she ordered. I furrowed my brow. She stood there expectantly, one hand resting on her hip. She then took a menacing step forward. “Are you going to stand there and refuse to obey an order from your Lioness?” she growled.
I gulped and quickly took off the hat and shrugged off the long vest, letting them fall to the floor. Underneath I was wearing nothing but a thin layer of leather covering my manhood. I felt naked though, especially with the way she was looking at me. She paced around me and ran her fingers down my spine, murmuring to herself as she examined me, as though I was some beast being evaluated.
“Well, he wasn’t lying when he said he was running out of men. You must be the runt of the litter,” she said.
I remained silent.
“What is your name?”
