Chapter Eight
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and characters.
Summary:
She was a calm and peaceful female kidnapped by him. He was a ruthless killer that didn't care for anyone. No matter how much she tried to run, she'd always be his beauty and he'd be her sadistic beast.
Trish and Dez raised their hands in defense. They had realized that they've been missing for almost a month, but honestly, they were looking for Brooke. Not Austin and Ally. Truth be told actually, they had thought both could survive in the wild alone. Well, Austin at least, Ally grew up in a village, being the head of the village's daughter. It'd make sense that she wouldn't know her way around the forest or something.
Trish, though, was taken aback when Ally ran up to her and hugged her tightly. Said brunette ignored the pain in her shoulder as she hugged the smaller female. Trish, awkwardly, patted Ally's back. She wasn't used to this – it was awkward. Bandits never hugged anyone, but here she was, forcing herself not to push the unsuspecting brunette off her. Ally looked up at her and let her go, standing up straight. "Ally, are you okay? How'd you hurt your shoulder?" Trish asked, a bit of concern seeping through her voice.
Macy snickered and it was enough to make her known to everyone else. They looked at her and Trish grunted before glaring at her. Macy didn't even hesitate to glare back at the girl and Ally sensed a very dangerous tension between the group and Macy. Smirking, Macy stood up, walking to stand beside Ally. Austin almost growled and Ally raised a brow.
Was she missing something?
Giggling – quite evilly in Ally's opinion – Macy glared darkly at Trish. "Trish, oh Trish, look what the wolf dragged in," she hissed. "And everyone else. And it seems you've added a bit more members to your group."
Trish didn't stop glaring at her, but gave her a fake smile. "It's cat, Macy. Then again, you're not as educated as me," she sneered. Macy's glared darkened even more. "And yes, we have. Austin here had them come with us; we're not heartless enough to kill people."
Macy snorted loudly and rolled her eyes. Ally suddenly felt like she was dragged into a reckless feud that she had no idea about. "Don't kill people? Who are? The bandits of saints because that'd be a lie, you'd kill anything that walks, especially Austin," Macy jeered.
Austin grabbed Macy's ponytail roughly and dragged her to the ground. Ally gasped at his action and pried his hand off Macy's hair. Ally glared at him and instead of returning it, Austin walked past them and choked the nearest member. Sadly, it was Dallas and he was finding it hard to breathe by the second. Austin threw him to the ground, causing the group to take a few steps away from him. Cautiously, Dez approached his friend, only to be punched across the face. Blood spurted out of his nose and onto Trish's shirt. She squealed with surprise and ran to her fiancé, clutching his nose.
Ally gasped and stood up to run up to Austin, but Macy grabbed her uninjured arm. Ally looked down at her and watched her shake her head. Ally was confused and had no idea why. Then, without thinking, she sputtered out, "Who murdered Kira? And you had a son?"
Just hearing that, Austin turned to face her. He stormed up to her and choked her, Trish and Macy yelling at him. He ignored them and pressed Ally up against the tree. "Who the fuck told you I had a son because I sure as hell didn't," he hissed lowly.
Ally clawed his hand off her and he let go, clutching his injured hand. She took a few gasps of air and stared up at him. "Never mind that, Austin, did you murder Kira?" she asked. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Answer me, Austin! I will leave if you say yes and I'm taking my son with me."
Without answering – and blinded by anger – Austin stormed off past his group. Macy ran up to Ally yelling about how stupid she was. Ally ignored her as everyone told her the same exact thing. Then something clicked in her brain. If they knew it was a stupid question, then they knew the answer. "Well, did he?" she asked.
They were taken aback by her boldness. No one answered for a while and then, Macy spoke up. "Did you ask the question in terms of saving us?" she asked.
Ally shook her head. "Austin was talking to himself last night. I had to know, he said he'd never murder another female. I wanted to know what that meant. And earlier this month, he had said that Kira was murdered. I only wanted to know his answer. And I guess it's a yes, judging by all your expressions," she answered.
Everyone gulped and looked away from Ally. Not one person wanted to answer the question, so they'd ignore it. "You're all too scared. If you die, you die. What do you have to lose? And anyways, I'd die first. I'm the one being nosy, might as well tell me," she explained.
Macy took a deep breath and looked at Ally, no emotion on her face. "She betrayed him, it was the only way."
Austin punched his reflection in the water, watching it ripple before calming down. He gritted his teeth. She had found out. She wasn't going to stay. It wasn't even like he had a choice, Kira betrayed him. He trusted her and she played him. All those times she said I love you to him, she was only making sure he fell deeper into her trap. Only to make sure he'd be captured, tied up and tortured mercilessly.
And then, she wondered why he came after her.
She fooled him, made him feel secure around her, a false sense of security. He didn't even think; he felt empty that day. He felt like he had just sold his soul when he raised that knife and stabbed her three times.
Austin yelled at his reflection and punched the water again. He was furious; she was going to leave him. She had already thought he had the mind of a beast; the story wasn't going to help her desire to leave him. When the water calmed again, he looked at himself again. He felt weak, seeing those stupid tears in his eyes. Crap, he thought angrily, I didn't fall for the spoiled bitch, did I? He gulped and fell back on his ass, covering his face.
After a while of silence, he heard rustling in the bushes. Looking up, he found himself looking at an Ally look alike. She stared at him for a while and then stepped fully out of the bushes. "You treat my daughter like she's nothing," she whispered. Austin just stared. It was the same woman Ally had been running with when he invaded her village. "But, you regret it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you developed feelings for my daughter. And they aren't the friendly ones Ally seems to have for you at the moment. Actually, she's indecisive. She doesn't know how she feels, but I do. I know how the both of you feel."
Austin growled and bared his teeth at her, not replying. She sat in front of him – well, on the other side of the riverbank. She blinked at him before smiling brightly. Austin had to stop himself from gritting his teeth in annoyance. She was exactly like Ally, except she gave him smiles, not glares. "Oh boy, yep, you fell hard, boy. My name is Penny, I'm Ally's mother and Jasper's grandmother." She narrowed her eyes and smirked. Her smirk looked awfully like Ally's. "Mhhmm, I should've looked at you more closely. You resemble Jasper quite a lot. You can't be the father who would've corrupted poor little Jasper, could you?"
Austin was deeply confused. What had she meant by that? He barely knew the kid. "I don't understand what you're saying. I haven't seen my son in years, I assume he's dead," he spoke.
Penny giggled and waved her hand at Austin. "Pity, huh? I was just wondering, though. Three females came to my village a few years back, they spoke of a man in a group – bandit group – saying he was going to corrupt his own two-year old child. It amazed me, how much of a dolt people could be. No parent would want that… unless, they were extremely cold. You seem to transfer your feelings into anger, however, and need to work on that, or Ally will leave you for good," Penny explained.
Austin narrowed his eyes at her, but he gaze turned frosty, scaring him. "Listen, I'm not a fan of bandits, but I require a request. I want to tag along to ensure my daughter is safe in your hands. There is no way in hell I'm allowing her to travel with such a violent being. Especially one who is naïve enough to not realize I've been following him since my daughter was kidnapped."
Austin's eyes widened. So much for wanting to marry Ally, her mother didn't even like him. The older woman stood up and lifted her dress, crossing the river. Once she was standing in front of Austin, she offered him a slight smile. "Come now, I want to meet everyone," she demanded, walking off.
Austin gritted his teeth. Now he knew where Ally's boldness came from.
Ally was just finishing up dinner when Austin arrived back. She looked up at him, but quickly casted her eyes down. She was absolutely terrified of what he could possibly do out of anger now. Hitting her was one thing – and that was saying something, she hated violence upon another person – but to murder her in cold blood was another. She couldn't look at him and not shiver in fear. She was sure that he meant what he said last night; he'd really kill her if she ran. So, she had to think cunningly or else. "Ally" She slowly looked up to meet his gaze and shivered slightly. "Your mother will be tagging along."
Out from behind Austin came her mother. She smiled at her daughter and hugged her tightly, careful not to hurt her already injured arm. Ally returned it and almost cried. Where did his change of heart come from? "Baby, I'm here now, you have no worries anymore."
Ally smiled and hugged her tighter. Austin watched silently, his expression forlorn and torn. He sighed quietly to himself and went to sit down against a tree, ignoring his own so large group. He sat there, thinking of ways to get Ally to trust him more. But didn't he say that they were back at square one last time?
He growled in confusion and looked to the sky. He was so lost in his thoughts about Ally that Macy had to come over and thrust a bowl of soup in his face. He looked at it for a while, and then slowly took it from her. Macy smiled at him and walked off to sit with Dazzy at the far end of the group. It confused Austin. Just why the hell did she feel so rejected around his group and himself? He watched her slowly eat her soup and smile at Dazzy, as she fed her carrots. The horse neighed with excitement and Macy smiled, nuzzling her face against the horse.
He looked down at his soup and put it down, looking up to stare at Ally. She was happily conversing with Cassidy, Jasper and her mother, holding Cassidy's son. He smiled lopsidedly. She'd make a good mother of her own biological children. Quickly, he wiped the smile off his face and focused back on his soup. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way of his work.
Morning rose over the group and Penny groaned. Just how did they get up before dawn and not feel like they were going to drop over in exhaustion? She watched Austin walk over to her still sleeping daughter and pick her up. Penny slightly smile at the action and was tackled by Jasper. He held on tightly to her neck and whispered a simple thing in her ear, "Mommy and daddy are so cute together."
Penny had to keep her laughter in, Jasper was way too cute. They both watched another male direct Cassidy to his horse as she held tightly onto her son and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Penny smirked, that man clearly liked Cassidy very much. Austin walked up to her – after handing his horse's reins off to someone else – and helped her to her feet. "Are you coming, Macy?"
Penny looked back at the dirty blonde who was collecting her own things and placing them on her horse. She gazed at Austin for a while and shook her head. "I don't have any more business here. I'm going to go home, if that's okay with you," she spoke.
Penny narrowed her eyes. Clearly this woman was much older than Austin, yet she asked for his permission like a sister would. Austin gave her an unreadable look and nodded. He yelled for the rest of the group to stop moving and to turn around. "Austin, I can go –"
"Shut up, I'm just looking out for you, okay?"
Most would expect that sentence to sound sincere and thoughtful, but Austin had hissed it out that he sounded like he was threatening her. Penny sighed and shook her head, watching as everyone turned around and switched directions. They followed Austin, as if he was the oldest and demanded respect.
Penny almost gaped at the way he carried himself.
He radiated arrogance and practical coldness. He was demanding everyone's respect. She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. They honestly listened to someone who demanded everything out of them? Have they no respect for themselves? "That's so disrespectful." Everyone stopped and looked back at Penny. They wondered who was she talking to? "Austin, I'm talking to you. You're disrespectful. You don't demand people to start following you, it's not respectful," Penny scolded him.
Whereas Ally sounded pissed off teaching him about respect, Penny sounded like a disappointed mother. Either way, it pissed off Austin to be told what to do. Penny looked at the group. One person was sporting a bruised nose and another had marks on his neck. Her gaze landed back on Austin's and she gave him a disapproving stare.
And for some reason, her stare made Austin feel guilty about something.
She walked up to him and pulled on his ear. "Young man, have not learned anything about respect? You do not hurt your friends in any way, shape or form. They are your friends and you are supposed to treat them like such. Apologize young man," she scolded him.
He almost – almost – yelled at her, but something about her look made him feel the need to apologize. It was like his own mother – whom he has never met – was controlling him like a mother would. Austin has seen his fair share of mother's caring for their child, and scolding them seemed to always be a part of it.
But, Austin had never felt the love of a mother or the proper love of a female because he grew up around emotionless beings. In reality, Austin hasn't really felt love in his entire life. Except for Kira – he had actually loved her and it showed in his actions and words.
But, instead of apologizing, Austin huffed and continued walking. Penny stared dumbfounded at his back as the group continued to follow him. His disrespect went a long way. He clearly was incapable of being nice and respectful. Penny felt her eye twitch and her hand tighten a bit around Jasper's hand.
She did not being disrespected lightly.
Ally woke up to the feeling of bumps. She groaned and looked around her surroundings. Bleary eyes stared at Austin's back and she yawned loudly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She blinked a few times as her vision became less blurry and clearer. She yawned again, and sat up straight on the horse. "Damn that boy, he's so rude."
The murmuring was loud and it made Ally look to her side. Her mother was murmuring angrily to herself about someone who was completely disrespectful and without thinking, she suggested that her mother was talking about Austin. She grabbed the reins out of her mother's hands, alarming the older woman. She grasped her dress and looked up. "Ally, you're awake. I'm surprised, you scared me," she told her.
Ally yawned and shook her head. She had just woken up and she still felt tired. She blinked a few times and licked her lips. "I take it you're murmuring about Austin," Ally whispered, looking at the said blond's back.
Penny sighed and rolled her eyes, nodding. "Stop trying, Austin will never know the definition of respect. Now, where are we heading?" she asked.
Penny pursed her lips in thought before nodding to herself. "We're dropping off the dirty blonde," she explained.
Ally looked back at Macy and her face fell. Macy was leaving them. She stopped her horse, making Macy stop hers in surprise. "Ally, what the hell, Als, are you okay? What'd you stop?" she asked.
Ally pouted at her and hopped off her horse. She stood in front of Macy and petted Dazzy. "Why are you leaving?" she asked at the same time Austin growled,
"Why the fuck did we stop?"
Ally looked back at him and rolled her eyes. "Listen, I just want to know why Macy's leaving. Are you chasing her away? You seem to chase everyone away," Ally asked accusingly.
Austin clenched his fists and shook his head slowly. He glowered at Ally darkly and hissed out, "What'd you say?"
Yeah, it's short. I have this other idea on my mind… and I don't know why. I was lying in bed and it was just there. I'm going to write it out and yes, it's an A&A story.
Hoped you liked/loved it.
R&R
HollowedLover1379
