Ch 2
By the time I was 450 years old, my father went and selected a bride for me without my consent, Inukimi, a lovely pure blooded dog demoness from his side of the family. My mother's side was outraged that my father had adapted to defying the customs and cultures of our demon lineage by selecting a spouse instead of allowing me to choose my potential mate by instinct.
I had verbally protested as well to the outrage that I was to have a political marriage outside of our culture as a respected an noble Inu. An alpha of the clan has a right to breed with whomever he wanted, but to marry and mate was for life. Mating among canine demons is a very serious and sacred matter in my family, and my own shire was ordering me to mate with one of his relatives because he wanted proper breeding? He also informed me that I wouldn't have to technically mate her, or even plant my seed in her until after he had passed on and I became the new lord of the west. It was an outrageous insult to the sacred bonds in our culture, and to the bride's family as well. I reminded him of the possibilities that I would meet my future mate one day, and would hate to dishonor another female for the outcome. He only told me that I was becoming soft and needed to stop catering to everyone's needs and only look out for my own. Disgusted I walked out of his sight without a dismissal.
Things didn't become better when my beautiful bride arrived with her family to finish the marriageable negotiations, while she may have appeared beautiful with golden eyes, long white hair that reached her legs, pointed ears like my own, and a crescent moon on her forehead to symbolize her high noble rank.
I did as my mother had instructed me and took a good sniff of the female Inu, only to be disappointed that the lady who was chosen for me wasn't my life mate. She too seemed to disapprove of me when she wrinkled her nose in my presence and scowled before replacing her stoic mask.
She became even more disagreeable when she snarled and cursed at the human servants for no reason at all. She called them filthy names and swiped her claws at them to tremble in fear before walking away cackling. Her laughter hurt my ears more than anything. She became even more detestable when she started to whine and complain about her living accommodations, her kimonos, the way her hair was styled, and even the finest raw meats placed before her didn't please her. Lady Inukimi may have had the appearance of a court lady, but her manners and unbecoming decorum were gut reaching even for a demon.
Another thing I couldn't understand was her mood changes, one moment she would appear stoic and calm the next moment she would shed new tears and cry about her sorrows, which she never truly had. I found myself realizing that I would never understand her behavior, even my own mother couldn't for the life of her comprehend the strange lady's behavior.
I tried to be courteous and offered to escort her through the gardens or the office to read, she informed me that she didn't want to become dirty and didn't see the point in reading about past events that didn't apply to herself. So instead she ordered the demon servants to arrange flowers in bowls for her chamber, and hired musicians to play instruments and create poetry that highlighted her beauty. I was never invited, and thanked kami for it.