Ariyan could only hear his own breath, and the pounding of his racing heart. Erik, they had called him, didn't look at all moved by his words. He just stared at him as though he were determining the worth of livestock for sale. Finally, Ariyan heard one of Erik's men speak. A man almost as tall as him with dark red hair.

"My lord." He bowed before he spoke lowly into the demon's ear. "Any man or woman back home would be honored to have you lay claim to them. Why waste your time and seed on a breedless whore?"

“Do you think the son of a Lord would take up whoring as an occupation?" Ariyan questioned him. Breedless was a matter of opinion, but virginity was the same in every region. Ariyan had never laid with another man in his life. To call him a whore was not only insulting, it was an egregious lie.

"Regardless," the man shrugged off the trueness of Ariyan's words. "You are the son of a weak hearted blackguard. Why would Erik of the Black Water take the treacherous likes of you for a mate when he can have his pick of worthier men and women?"

"I was smart enough to outwit you... and your ‘worthy’ men," Ariyan sneered.

"More reason to refuse him, My Lord. He would warm your bed and conspire against you, just as his conniving father plotted against us in our own lands."

"I am not my father," Ariyan hissed. "I gave my word to your Lord, and I will abide by it!"

“Lies...” The word was whispered among Erik’s men, but when the Alpha lifted his hand, the crowd fell silent once more.

Ariyan just stared at his maker, hoping beyond reason that Erik would agree to his terms. Even if his father had committed some crime against them, to blame his mother and siblings for his father's sins was unjust. Ariyan couldn't control his father's actions more than he could control the weather, and yet, he was deemed unworthy…traitorous...weak...They judged him for his sins, but didn't hesitate to commit their own.

At length, the alpha blew out a long breath and uttered the words "release him", in a hard, commanding tone. Ariyan turned toward his bedraggled looking father. He couldn't help the tears in his eyes as he caught his father's weary gaze. Aaron wasn't young, but Ariyan couldn't remember his father looking as old and tired as he did now.

The demon removed his furs, revealing his muscular back and arms. He was a beast of a man, and most certainly the leader of the deplorables who’d captured his family and killed his brother. He was tall like a pillar, with hair black as the onyx stone; wild and unruly. Ariyan had never laid eyes on a more daunting man. Even Aaron, at 6’3, barely compared to this imposing figure before him. And yet, even that towering frame of musculature wasn’t what frightened Ariyan.

No… it was undoubtedly those eyes that petrified him. They rooted Ariyan to the spot, drilled into his cognizance and rendered him, for the briefest of moments, utterly useless. That fear festered until it brewed, and boiled over in the very pit of his stomach. This beast had malice in his ice blue eyes, and death etched over his cruel features.

‘A demon?’

No…even the deities weren’t so callous…to make a man so tempting so equally terrifying. Ariyan just stared at the alpha, simply unable to move. Stilled in his fear. He had never seen a formal duel, but he knew it was customary to arm oneself. It was strange that the lord didn't even move to draw his sword, and he wasn't surprised when his father inquired about his defenseless stance.

“Will you not arm yourself,” Aaron spat, before he stood ready for Erik's attack.

“It would not be a fair fight,” the red headed beast at Lord Erik’s side shouted. “Should my lord Alpha take up his sword against you, he would cleave you in half on the first swing.”

Ariyan's jaw clenched as the men echoed his amusement and jeers. They were mocking his father's last moments alive. Treating him as nothing more than a foolhardy buffoon.

'Savages...' Ariyan thought bitterly. He hated them. All of them. He hated them all.

The next series of actions happened so fast Ariyan didn't have time to prepare for them. Erik charged his father, dodging the first and second swing of Aaron’s sword with ease. Ariyan held his breath watching the match, practically swaying on the balls of his knees with each strike of his father's sword.

“Where is your anger?” Erick roared. "Where is your rage?! I killed your son! Your heir!"

Spurred by Erik’s words, Aaron gave a guttural battle cry, lunging at the dark Alpha with his sword raised above his head. There was pain in the man’s eyes, exhaustion etched across his weathered face. Erik caught the blade mid-swing, snatching it from Aaron’s hand and throwing it to the ground. In the same movement, he head-butted the smaller Alpha, sending the male staggering backwards. Erik grabbed the man’s head, tilting it back so their gazes could remain locked in those final moments. Aaron struggled to free himself, screaming through clenched teeth as Erik’s grip tightened. There was a sickening crunch as Aaron’s skull caved in on itself.

Erik’s men broke into cheers that reverberated through Ariyan's ears. He covered his face and wept, but his sobs were drowned out by the clanging of metal swords and shields. 

"Savages," Ariyan wept, and the words felt raw as they left his throat.

Eventually their enthusiasm ebbed, but Ariyan remained unmoved, bowed on his now grimy knees. He couldn't bear to stare at his father's dead body so he kept his head lowered and his eyes shut.

“And what of his family?” Ariyan heard red head say. Most likely he was the Alpha's second in command. He was the only one who spoke aloud, to Erik or Ariyan. He blinked in confusion, exchanging a few questioning looks with the surrounding men. “But Erik…”

“Do you question me?” The look Erik gave the other was enough to make Ariyan lower his head once more, but his ears seemed to burn as he heard the second object to the alpha's decision to release them.

“Of course not,” Utgar said quickly, “it’s just… I don’t see the point of letting them live. We came here for revenge.”

“And we have it,” Erik answered simply.

“But it’s as you said before, it’s not enough.”

“It will have to be,” Erik replied, taking his sword from Utgar.

“But why? Help me understand…”

“It’s not your place to understand,” Erik said calmly. “But if you wish to challenge my decision, do it with a sword in your hand.”

The exchange was ended with that blatant dismissal, and the man bowed his head before he turned toward Ariyan’s mother and sisters.

“I’ll see to their release personally,” he replied, “and I’ll put them under guard until we leave this place. What shall I do with the boy?” Ariyan’s heart was racing so hard he had to breathe deep to calm down. It didn’t matter whether Erik let /him/ go. He was letting his mother and sisters free. He’d agreed to release them, and even protect them. It no longer mattered what the demon did to him.

“Have him washed and dressed. He and I will sleep in the main house tonight. Tell him to bring pen and paper when he comes,” Erik ordered as though Ariyan were not in his presence. Ariyan felt someone dragging him up from the dirt before shoving him forward.

“Ariyan!” his mother called to him as he was dragged away from them.

“I’m fine, Mama!” Ariyan yelled back to her. He turned away to hide his face and fear. He promised he wouldn’t resist. And if the alpha kept his word, Ariyan would keep his.