~Chapter Eight~

Zeke grabbed Ivy’s hand and tugged her through the forest, ignoring her complaints in protest. For a small thing she sure had a loud voice. He was about ready to silence her, but part of him enjoyed the spitfire attitude she still hadn’t dropped.

“Seriously dude, this is no longer just annoying, I’m pissed off now. Return me home and we’ll just forget this ever happened, ok?” she seethed, glaring at Zeke’s big stupid head. Oh how she just wanted to kick him where the sun don’t shine. That’d teach him a lesson on why it’s stupid to kidnap the alpha’s daughter. “My dad will come for me and then you’ll be really sorry!” she threatened, knowing it would fall on empty ears.

Zeke smirked to himself and replied, “That’s nice sweetheart, but he can’t get to us. We’re already in the demon realm. No one can enter the demon realm unless they’re a demon. Or—” he continued quickly, knowing Ivy would protest, “if they are escorted by a demon.” He grinned and paused for effect. “Last I heard…your precious daddy doesn’t have any demon friends who would let him in. So for now, you’re stuck with me.”

Ivy let out a slew of curses against him, trying to do her best to insult him. When that didn’t work, she gave a disdainful sniff and said, “You must be a real hit with the ladies back home…which explains why you had to stoop so low as to kidnap a girl. Does no one like poor Zekey-poo at home? You poor, wittle—”

“Enough,” he said harshly, cutting off her nonsense words. They weren’t completely true, but they managed the drive the knife deep.

He took a deep breath and let his mind wander. He would never admit it, but he was worried about taking Ivy to his home. He wasn’t worried about how they’d react to her…but rather how she’d react to them. She had made it no secret that she despised demons; and with fair reason. Her father had declared demons their enemies, so naturally Ivy would believe the same thing. What Raine and the rest of the panthers didn’t know was that not all of the demons were against the shifters. In fact, a majority of the demons didn’t care—they had other, more pressing things, on their mind.

Ivy snapped her mouth shut after Zeke’s outburst and wondered what exactly she had said that pissed him off so easily. She didn’t think it was the fact that she had insulted his looks or personage. A person would have to be blind to not think that Zeke was attractive. Something else was bothering him; something bigger than looks and getting all the girls.

“Zeke?” she questioned softly.

He ignored her for a moment and then sighed. “We’re almost there, Ivy, I promise.”

“Oh, okay.” She bit her lip and looked down at their hands, sighing inwardly. “Zeke, I just…whatever I said that offended you, I’m sorry.” As soon as she apologized her mind rebelled asking her what the hell she was doing apologizing. She wasn’t the one at fault! Zeke should be apologizing for kidnapping her, the dirty bastard. However, part of her was feeling guilty for the low blow she had issued.

If Zeke was surprised by her apology, he didn’t show it. Instead he grunted softly and continued to lead her through the thick forest, helping her over logs and catching her when she tripped on the rocky ground.

Their walk was silent for another twenty minutes or so, until Zeke suddenly stopped walking and held up a hand. “Before we go any further,” he said softly, “I need to warn you. I live in a very typical demon…village. However, it may not be what you’re expecting. We do not have a castle or large mansions; in fact, we’re the opposite of that. Food and money are scarce, so you’ll have to bear with me. For many demons, this is the only way of life they’ve known, and despite having so little, many are happy with what they have. There are villages that are worse off than ours, and many that are the same. Whatever you’ve been hearing about demons is mostly lies. Basically, what I’m asking is that you keep an open mind and don’t judge us too harshly. Give us a chance to prove that we’re not the monsters you’ve painted us to be.”

Ivy’s mouth dropped open in an O of surprise and she nodded slowly. Her imagination wandered as she tried to imagine the situation Zeke had just described. There was no way it could be that bad…right? “I’ll do my best to keep an open mind,” she said softly.

Zeke smiled warmly at her, relief in his eyes, “That’s all I ask…for now.”

His grip on her hand tightened as he led her down a hill, towards an area where the trees were getting thinner. They broke through the forest and entered a small, enclosed valley where Zeke’s home lay. “Welcome to Taberna."

Shock coursed through Ivy’s body as she looked at the small village before her. There were maybe twenty…homes all together. Half of them were small tents and the other half were small, wooden, straw huts. “How many live here?” she whispered, scared to hear his answer.

“Roughly 200 demons occupy Taberna,” Zeke answered, watching Ivy’s face as she reacted to the sad sight before her.

“Two hundred people live here!?” she asked, horrified that so many were crammed into such a small space. How in the world did they manage to survive? And why were they so poor?

Zeke felt a swell of pride in his chest as Ivy called the demons ‘people’ without even knowing it. Maybe there was a chance after all. She didn’t know it yet, but he was hoping that she would be the answer to his people’s prayers.

He led her closer to the village, never letting go of her hand. “You said that there are many more villages just like this one? And villages that are even worse off?” Ivy asked. “Why? I thought demons had an immense amount of wealth…what happened?”

Frowning in anger, Zeke glanced at her, “Yes there are many villages like this. The majority of the demon people live in poverty. I’ll explain it in depth later, but for now, just know that only a select few demons, the one your father is warring against, have the power and the money, leaving the rest to suffer the consequences and fight to survive.”

Before Ivy could form a response, there was a high-pitched squeal and the soft sound of feet against the ground.

“ZEEEEEKKKKEEEEEE! ZEKE IS BACK!” a small girl yelled out excitedly. Ivy tensed and waited for the owner to catch up with her voice. Moments later a small girl who looked no older than five or six, came tearing around the corner of a tent. Her feet were bare and the clothes she was wearing were tattered, but her face was split into a wide grin. “ZekeZekeZekeZekeZekeZeke!” she chanted as she charged him. He crouched down and picked her up in his arms as her small body collided with his.

“How is my little princess?” Zeke grinned at the girl.

She wrapped her small arms around his neck and kissed his cheek noisly. “I missed you terribly Zekey. Rancor still won’t play with me and the other girls think I’m silly,” she pouted.

Zeke chuckled and adjusted her in his arms. “Well they’re the silly ones. You’re the smartest girl I know, the prettiest too.” She giggled and buried her head in his neck, hugging him tighter. “Hey Maura,” Zeke grinned. “I brought you a new friend to play with. You’ll have to be really nice to her though, she’s never been in the demon realm before.”

Maura gasped and lifted her head up, trying to see around Zeke to find her new friend. Ivy blushed and waved her hand with a sheepish grin when the girl’s eyes landed on her.

“Oh Zeke!” Maura breathed happily. “She’s pretty. You always bring me the best presents.” Zeke bit back a laugh as Maura wiggled out of his arms and walked over to Ivy. She looked up at Ivy and smiled warmly. “Hello, my name is Maura and you’re going to be my new best friend.”

Ivy grinned and crouched down to Maura’s level. “Hi Maura, my name is Ivy and I would love to be your friend. I don’t have very many.”

Maura smiled excitedly, “Me either! Oh we’re going to have the best fun ever. I’ll be sure to show you the best spots to pick flowers! Oh oh! We can watch Nala as she teaches her baby, Bambi how the forest works! Oh and—”

“Maura,” Zeke said sternly. “You can talk Ivy’s ear off later, but right now I bet she’s exhausted. How about tomorrow morning you give her a tour of the village?”

“Well,” she sighed, “I suppose that’s okay.” She gave Ivy a quick hug and then looked at Zeke expectantly. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you around scamp.” Giggling with happiness, Maura scurried off with promises to visit Ivy in the morning.

Ivy glanced over at Zeke and returned his smile. “That was interesting,” she commented.

Zeke chuckled, “Yes, Maura can be a little overwhelming, but she really is an angel. Her mom spends all her time taking care of Rancor, her younger brother, and many of the other girls here don’t like hanging out with Maura. She’s too mature for them. So, in a way, she’s become like a little sister to me.”

“Well she’s adorable.”

“I’m glad you approve,” Zeke said warmly. He took Ivy’s hand again and led her down the main ‘street’ of the village. Women and children came out of their tents and huts to greet Zeke, and to Ivy’s surprise, to greet her. They didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t one of them.”

She looked up at Zeke and whispered, “Why don’t they care that I’m not a demon?”

He gave her a sympathetic look, “They just don’t care. I told you, we have other things that are more pressing than hating someone because they’re a certain race. You aren’t the ones that did this to us, so we have no reason to hate you.”

The fact that these demons, creatures she had been warned about all her life, didn’t care that she was a shifter, didn’t care that her race had declared war on their’s, just astounded her. It made her feel like the lowest of scum that she had so quickly judged them based on the actions of a few.

Zeke led her to the largest tent in the village, stopping outside of the entrance. He turned around and wished the village goodnight before ushering Ivy into the tent. “I know this isn’t the best of accommodations, but I have the best house in the village.” He looked disgusted for a minute and commented bitterly. “I’ve tried to put others in here but they refuse to let me live anywhere else. I don’t need this whole tent to myself.” He shook his head and sighed, pulling a blanket out of the corner.

“It’s really okay, I’m not going to complain about having somewhere to sleep,” Ivy said softly, helping him lay down the blanket.

He smiled gratefully at her and motioned to the floor. “It doesn’t look soft, but it’s actually pretty comfortable to sleep on. There are pine needles under the tent that provide a cushion. I’ll be right outside the tent if you need me for any reason.”

Ivy started to sit down on the floor, but turned and frowned at him. “Won’t it be cold outside?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said stubbornly.

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “No you won’t. I don’t mind if you sleep in here. The tent is big enough for the both of us, and it’ll be warmer.” Before he could protest, she said quickly. “I won’t sleep if you’re not in here with me.”

Zeke glared at her, trying to find a way out of the situation. “I don’t want people to judge you,” he said. “They will if we sleep together.”

“Oh for goodness sakes,” Ivy huffed. “I don’t care that much. I’d rather have you warm with a couple of rumors than freezing cold and dead.”

When Zeke really thought about it, he was arguing over something stupid. Ivy was offering him a chance to stay in the warm tent with her. It was an opportunity he wouldn’t pass up. “Fine, if it’ll make you stop whining, I’ll sleep in here tonight. But, tomorrow we’re going to find another tent for one of us to sleep in, no arguments.”

“Fine,” Ivy sighed, “as long as you’re not out in the cold.”

She settled down on the floor, wrapping the blanket around her and stared at the tent walls. She heard Zeke settle down on the other side of the tent, and smiled to herself. “Hey Zeke,” she whispered, “Can I ask you a question?”

He moved around to adjust the blanket and replied, “Sure.”

“How come only the women and children came out to greet us?”

There was a beat of silence before Zeke replied in a bleak tone, “Because all the men and boys older than thirteen were taken away.”