(This chapter is Eir's father's pov. How he met her mother and the time they spent together)
It all seems so trivial now, but back then, it meant the world to me! I had turned 22 and was the only Alpha son that had not participated in the mate hunt before I turned 20. I spent year after year pushing myself through tournaments and contests. It had cost me blood, sweat, and what I will never admit in front of anyone else, tears.
I've crossed deserts and hunted wild boar in human form without weapons. I've crossed the wild sea in an open boat alone late in the fall, the one time of year the weather gods raged through the lands. The waves reached way above my boat, even the ships, but I still did it, and I survived. I excelled as a front warrior, footman, strategist, and even as a medical. I fought werebears, Lions and came out of the old Alpha games, something that is more like what used to be seen in old colosseums in Roma than anywhere else. Lived alone all winter without supply and help. Concurred mountains so steep not even Alaric claws were enough to keep it from falling, and every damned time, something "very special" happened somewhere else, giving out all the spots for the mate hunt. Or sold, traded, or just to show a potential alliance in good faith. I was always pushed back, always overlooked, and forgotten. After all, we were just barbarians, blood and descendants of wild men. Worthless savages that knew nothing but blood, blunt force, and fighting.
That one year, the fifty years I gave it my all, I realized I needed to change my game up. It had become clear that no matter how much skill, encouragement, and strength I showed, the Viking Alpha would not care, and the other Alphas or leaders would look the other way, just like him. I needed to grab them all by the balls and pose a real threat to their wealth and their lavish lifestyles.
Well, the details are not that important. So, long story short, I took back my land-all of it. The parts werebear clans had been using freely for transportation of their honey products, baked goods, and Soft leathers. They belonged to us, and I called back their free passé to use it. I reworked free passing up my two streams, and they were important for both the cat colonies, Vikings, and Fay.
I placed guards and soldiers around my border, closing off the cat shifter's sacred mountain that is also on my land. But most important, the road to the portal, half of it is on my land and I blocked it two weeks before it would open. Finally, I got my spot at the mate hunt, nobody could turn their back on me now, and nobody could afford to look the other way.
I had to risk friendships, allies, and old trading packs to do all this. Risk my warrior's and guards' safety, and I spent two weeks negotiating deals between the affected packs before my spot was secured, including tax prices from each pack to use or cross my land. Even then, when we all had agreed, that ass-hat Viking tried to swoop the spot away from right under my feet. Claiming only hours before the start, he had no other option than to give mine away if we wanted the portal to open again in five years. It caused a lot of ruckus, panic, and people again turned to me to back down and away. All deals we just made, all the new connections and understandings built between packs, vanished within seconds.
Why didn't he want me to attend? I still have no idea, but I called his bluff, and his reputation was dragged through the mud for a long while after. My eyes landed on your mother even before they headed to the forest. She was filled with rage and hatred, and despite it, she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I didn't even need her smell sample when we finally were let loose; it was like we both knew where she was-followed by an invisible string that pulled us along. I guess the goddess wanted us to meet because, suddenly, she was just standing there. Appearing out of nowhere, there between two threes in her white ceremonial dress staring at me while the cold moonlight played in her hair.
Remember the hatred and rage? It was like it was never there; she looked scared and alone. My heart ached for her; even Alaric whimpered at the sight of her. I never realized how skinny and little she looked; her lip started trembling as our eyes met. I still remember that day as it was yesterday; it felt like I tippy-toed, holding my breath like I tried to sneak up to a scared little kitten. Talking to her so carefully, with a low and almost childish tone, and you know what? Remember, all kittens have claws!
That little woman jumped me when I was just a couple of steps away, screaming and nails aimed at me like she was a wild animal. She reacted so quickly that I froze in shock! She managed to give me a couple of good scratches and even a well-placed kick between the feet, so I almost threw up. But when I finally managed to create some space between us, we ended up making a deal. She was scared, but somehow the rage and hatred she felt managed to keep it at bay. I promised to protect her for the rest of my life, give her whatever she needed and wanted. Heck, I would have kissed the ground she walked on if she asked me to.
The details are not important to others than us, but we walked out of the woods side by side. No force and no kicking and screaming. No. We walked out together, and I took her from that place as fast as I could. It took a couple of weeks for her to relax and find her place in the pack. But everyone loved her, and I always told myself she must have felt that, and that was what finally helped her open up. When her guard finally fell, she quickly got friends and always had people around her.
She was always the center of attention, smiling and laughing. Slowly the pack started to change, formed by her. She loved baking, and a special fireplace was built to make it easier. We started growing crops so she could make flour, and over time, we added more and more types. The hierarchy in our pack also changed, we had always valued our females, but this was the first time one of them demanded their place and to be heard. Seeing this, the rest followed, and you know what? It was a welcomed change! The chemistry in our pack began to work better, we grew stronger together, and our pack became better.
It also started a new trend somehow; it changed how we introduced our new females into the pack. We went from just letting them become parts of us to helping them create their own place with us. Sounds strange, maybe, but it, over time, was a considerable change that impacted us all. The pack became happier; we developed our skills and even some new machines and supplies to make everyday tasks easier.
Okay, so this is not the most important thing; I know this. But it feels important to me to let you know how good she was for us, how she was loved and cared for. Not only by me. I fell in love with her more each day I saw her, smelled her, and heard her voice. It took almost six months before she accepted me, but she did. She accepted me and let me mark her. We lived on purple and pink clouds for so long after that day, at least I did, and I always thought she did too. Now, looking back, I always end up questioning myself.
Tew was born a couple of years before you, and he was the light of our life. He was perfect, healthy, and I remember still catching her staring at him, smiling when he was sleeping or playing by himself. She adored him, and that made me love her even more. We found a new flow in our lives, lives as a family and as parents. I taught him what my father taught me, what was needed to be a strong Alpha. Both physically and emotionally, I trained him and made sure he learned how our pack worked. How important all of our members were, no matter what rank they had. She taught him to bake, to cook, and she even taught him how to paint and read. She did it so well that other children wanted to attend, and that was how our first school started. Now reading and writing have become as important as fighting and hunting. Painting and history became equal with fishing and tracking prey.
Your mother was a teacher, and several females joined to teach their fields. That's where she clicked with her best friend. I knew her well, one of my good friends, mate, so I was incredibly happy they found each other. It felt good to know she had someone so close, except me, to know her group and network were growing. Then you were born! And Holy Moon goddess, what a surprise and blessing! A female, and to top it all off, my daughter. I love Tew, and I still do, but you became my princess, a special little part of my heart always seemed to have a place hidden just for you; I just didn't know it existed before I met you.
People started coming by from all over the land, even from across the sea, just to see you. To see with their own eyes, and a little hope started smoldering. Hopes that the curse was fading, that you were the beginning of a new future and a new era. But as you grew older, it also created situations we had never foreseen. The first pack to offer us both land, gold, and mateless females in exchange for you, where the Viking packs Alpha.