The Breeding Lands (An Epic Erotic Fantasy Novel) (13 page)

“I need you to forgive Father.” Her mother sniffed. “Truly, Mother. You have to forgive him.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” her mother said haughtily. This was going to be harder than Violet thought.

“So, you are going to remain angry at him forever? When will he have finished serving your sentence? Do you think he doesn’t feel as much pain as you do, if not more?” Her mother continued sewing, but Violet saw her back stiffen and she hoped that she was getting through to her. “I can’t leave knowing that you are mad at him,” Violet whispered.

Her words hung in the air, and her mother froze, her needle hovering over the fabric.

Sighing loudly, her mother put the dress and needle down and looked at Violet. “I know I can’t stay mad at your father forever, Violet. And I know I need to forgive him, but...’’ her voice trailed off, “It’s just so hard!” she said angrily. “I blame him!”

“But you can’t, Mother. How could he have known? If you want to blame someone, blame me! I rushed into the store! I didn’t bother looking around or taking in my surroundings. Blame me!” she pleaded.

“Oh, Violet,” her mother said, her voice cracking, “I could never blame you.” She pulled Violet into a hug, and Violet hugged her back tightly.

“Please, Mother,” Violet whispered and her mother nodded, too overcome by emotions to respond. Violet kissed her mother’s head and left her room. She needed her parents to stay strong for Sabrina and Anthony. Even though they were losing Violet, they still had two amazing grandchildren, not to mention Marcus and Blythe.

Grandchildren.

Violet would give her parents grandchildren, yet they would never know them. Violet would become a mother, carry a baby that was half of her parents, and yet her parents would never know her child. Would Violet even love her own child? Could she?

She couldn’t imagine not loving her own child, and yet...the child wouldn’t really be her own, would it? It would grow up to be an animal, a beast who would take a human female for himself one day. The questions were too haunting, too frightening. Violet pushed them away to the corner of her mind. She needed to get through the ritual first, then she could worry about the heinous offspring she would carry.

As much as Violet wanted time to slow down, it seemed to move that much faster. On Violet’s last night at home, Marcus, Blythe, and the children came over for dinner. It was a happy event, though marked with sadness. Violet refused to be morose on the last night with her family. She was going to enjoy every last minute with them. Marcus, Blythe and the children spent the night so they could say goodbye to Violet in the morning. Violet’s parents were both accompanying her to the Breeding Lands, and she was grateful to be with them up to her very last minute.

Since Violet was the only female selected in her region, her family would have to travel to a portal that was just outside one of the towns. The trip would take nearly four hours, and they would need to leave while it was still dark outside. The early hour of their departure did not matter to Violet, because she didn’t sleep much of the night anyway. She finally rose sometime around four in the morning and lit a candle so she could see in the darkness. She decided to dress in one of her own designs. She briefly considered making a dress for the ritual, but the thought of spending her precious time making a dress for such an awful event was repulsive to her.

Instead, Violet dressed in one of her garments that was on the more indecent side. At least, indecent for Violet. She figured the women from North Point would be dressed far worse. Then again, what did Violet know? She went to put on her black slip, but then realized that it would interfere with her dress. She had the sudden desire to burst out laughing, and she decided she was definitely losing her mind. Instead, she slipped on a pair of black panties and pulled the dress over her head.

The dress clung to her body in all the right places, and Violet carried the candle over to the mirror so she could better see herself. The dress was a bright plum that perfectly highlighted Violet’s eyes. With a wave of grief, Violet thought of how she had imagined wearing this dress only for Bryan. In fact, she had thought of Bryan when she made it. It was the type of dress she would have only felt comfortable wearing for Bryan when she was his wife.

The dress hung delicately around her chest, the material draping softly at her collarbone. The sleeves extended down three-quarters of her arm, with long slits from her shoulder to her elbow, exposing her milky skin. From the front, it looked almost normal, cinching in at the waist before flowing down to her ankles, where a hidden slit cut up to her knees when she walked. But the back was a different story. A large oval of material was missing, Violet’s bare back visibly showing through the large cut out.

Deciding not to upset her parents, Violet shrugged into her black sweater. She unbraided her dark chestnut hair, and it fell into soft waves. Though Violet hated what was about to happen to her, she still had the sense to want to look pretty for her future suitor. She had given up on all thoughts of true love and romance. Now she would settle for kindness. Not even kindness, just not cruelty. She would be more than happy with indifference.

She tiptoed down the stairs, not wanting to wake Sabrina or Anthony. Marcus and Blythe were waiting downstairs, and even in the candlelight, Violet could see that Blythe’s eyes were red from crying. Marcus looked like he had been fighting back tears as well. She hugged each of them tightly, nodding as they wished her well and told her they would always love her. Violet’s parents were by the door, her mother holding a satchel of food for the journey.

As brave as Violet was trying to be, she couldn’t help the flood of tears that came as she looked at Marcus and Blythe’s faces for the last time. Sobbing quietly, she followed her parents to the cart. As her father steered the horses down the dark path, her mother hugged her tightly, smoothing her hair and murmuring softly.

Violet wished there was moonlight so she could give her home a proper farewell, but they traveled on in darkness. The Mating Ritual always took place at the start of the New Year, which always coincided with a new lunar cycle. The darkness before the light.

After a bit, the sun began to rise, casting brilliant hues on the moor, making every surface look as if it were bright golden and glowing. She didn’t know what tribe would claim her, but she could only hope it was the Sabre and Usari. She didn’t think she could withstand never seeing the sun again.

She and her parents talked during the remainder of the journey, reminiscing over happy memories and days of Violet’s youth. Though she was still young, Violet felt a hundred years old now. All too soon, they reached the portal. Violet felt the blood drain from her face.

“It’s all right, Violet. We will be with you every step of the way,” her mother soothed.

A few other families were milling about and Violet waited for her turn. Her family stepped up to the gnarled white rock together and placed their hands upon its rough surface. Violet felt her stomach lurch forward as blinding white light filled her vision. She squeezed her eyes shut in protest of the light, and felt the strange wind against her face. Moments later, it was over, and on shaky legs she stepped away from what had once been the rock. Violet blinked as she took in her new surroundings. She was standing on bright blue sand, the same bright shade as the bracelet fastened around her wrist.

The sky was clear and high, another breathtaking shade of blue. This was the last place Violet ever imagined she would be. The blue desert was filling up, and Violet saw hundreds of young women making their way into the strange blue sands, each woman finding her own spot. There were many women strewn along one edge of the desert, and Violet imagined that was the “front line.” She decided to stand as far away from that point as possible.

Realizing she was running out of time, Violet shrugged her sweater off and handed it to her mother. “Violet!” her mother exclaimed, scandalized as she took in Violet’s dress.

Violet shrugged. “I figure this was as good a time as any.” Her mother’s mouth hung open in shock as she walked a small circle around Violet.

“You’re not going to attract the right attention in that,” she hissed, unable to help her motherly instincts.

Violet gave her mother a sad smile. “Look where I am, Mother. Do you think that matters now?”

Unable to argue, her mother snapped her mouth closed and looked over Violet again. Violet could see her father was trying not to smile. “Well, aside from the fact that it is perfectly indecent, it is a very beautiful dress. And it flawlessly brings out the color of your eyes,” her mother conceded.

Violet grinned, but then the moment was gone, and they were back in the present, saying their final good byes.

“This is it, Violet,” her father croaked, and he pulled her in for a tight hug. Violet noticed the large metal bleachers behind him that were filling with hundreds of spectators.

“I love you, Father. Forever.”

“I know, Sweetheart. You will always be my little girl. I’ll never stop loving you.”

Violet choked back a sob as she hugged her mother.

“I love you, Violet.”

“I love you, too.”

Violet pulled away, knowing that lingering would only make things harder. “I love you both,” she said fiercely, before turning away from her parents and making her way to the less crowded part of the desert.

She saw numerous women as she passed, all of whom seemed to be battling a myriad of emotions. Some seemed happy, other excited, and some appeared paralyzed with fear. Still yet, others sobbed, and Violet knew she had to keep herself together. She didn’t want to turn into a weeping mess. There was no going back now.

She found an empty spot near the back where only a few women were clustered. She looked around and saw that many women were like herself, brunette. She had spotted only a handful of golden haired women, and she had stared, never before having seen blonde hair. Startled, she noticed two women nearby that had bright red hair, the same shade as a blazing fire.

Violet thought she was seeing double, and then realized that the girls must be twins. Beautiful twins with flaming red hair.

Those twins must have never stood a chance with the scouts.

The tribes prided themselves on finding the best, most beautiful, most unique females. Girls like the redheaded twins, blondes and brunettes like Violet who had rare traits such as violet eyes or stunning bodies.

Violet watched the twins with interest, saw them hug tightly before standing a distance apart. It seemed that the desert was full now, and the women were all waiting. A gong rang and Violet looked around, wondering where the sound came from. A few seconds later, she heard excited gasps and cries of fear, and she squinted into the distance. In the front of the desert, where many of the women crowded together, came a long line of warriors.

Violet’s hands were clammy, and she felt a chill despite the warm sun beating down on her. Her eyes raked the bleachers, but there were thousands of spectators now, and she knew she would never find her parents.

The mass of warriors encroached and Violet waited anxiously. Now that the moment had arrived, she wanted it to be over. Some of the warriors were making their way to the back of the desert, and Violet watched as some began to battle ferociously for women. A dozen yards ahead, two bears were fighting one another for a petite woman, and a few yards from that, a man was wrestling a wolf.

A tiger flew past Violet and she jumped, unable to help the cry that came from her throat. A hulking man walked past her, his eyes lazily moving over her as he continued on his way. As the waves of men crossed the blue desert, Violet found it hard to focus on any one thing. There were animals fighting animals, men fighting men, and animals fighting men. Some women only had two or three opponents fighting for her, but a few of the women had five or six.

Violet had to turn her eyes away from an exceptionally vicious wolf that was slaughtering a handful of men nearby. She kept her eyes down, afraid to peek as the animals and men moved into her vicinity. A werewolf slinked past her, followed by a strutting lion. Neither bothered to glance at her. Violet was one of many brunettes, earning nothing more than a careless glance. The warriors wanted the rarities—the fair-haired women.

What if no one chose Violet? What happened then? Would she be forced to a tribe? Would she be allowed to go home? She stopped herself. She had never heard of a woman not being chosen. There were more men than women. The men would kill each other off until every living warrior had a mate.

A dark brown bear came clumping by, and it circled Violet slowly, sniffing her. Violet froze, holding perfectly still. The bear sniffed her one last time, before moving on. It was hard to see through all of the fighting, but it seemed that some of the women were already entwined with their men, performing the last step of solidifying their union; mating on the blue sands.

A few more warriors passed Violet, none of them giving her more than a fleeting glance, when she felt a presence behind her. Afraid of turning around, Violet held very still. She could still feel something behind her, and slowly turned around.

She saw the body of a man, and her eyes traveled higher and higher, taking in his lean and trim body. When she finally came to rest on his face, she couldn’t have been more surprised. His eyes were bright and kind, the same vibrant shade of the lush green hills of her home. He had curly dark hair that hung to his shoulders, and he pushed a strand out of his face as he studied Violet.