The Breeding Lands (An Epic Erotic Fantasy Novel) (4 page)

Mia watched more and more girls being selected. As lunchtime neared, Mia felt a small glimmer of hope that perhaps she would not be chosen. Melanie had managed to make it through the morning unnoticed as well. Just as Mia was heading outside to eat lunch, she passed two scouts in the hall who seemed to be deep in conversation. The men were older, each with slightly graying hair and fine lines. They both carried an air of authority about them. One was tanned and dark as if he had spent years outdoors, his muscular build still evident and clearly visible through the standard scout uniform—white shirt and white pants.

The other scout was tall and wiry, his skin was pale and nearly translucent, and his eyes shifted wildly as he spoke. There was an almost feral quality about him, and it set Mia on edge as she hugged the wall in passing. As Mia went by the two men, they stopped their conversation, and looked at her with surprise. Mia instantly felt the color drain from her face. She put her head down, hurrying by as she made her way to the doors.

She could feel their eyes raking her body as she attempted to make her exit. She burst through the doors and walked out into the fresh air of the courtyard. She sat down at the table, visibly shaken, and waited for Melanie and their other friends to join her. Something about the way the two scouts stared at her had unnerved her. She didn’t even bother opening her lunch; she had lost her appetite. Melanie sat down a minute later, and to Mia’s great relief she saw that her wrist was still bare.

“I’m worried,” she choked as soon as Melanie sat down across from her. “Two scouts just eyed me in the hallway.”

“Try not to think about it. It doesn’t mean anything." Melanie reassured her. "They have to look at everyone. That’s why they’re—’’

But Melanie stopped mid-sentence, her eyes were wide and focused on something behind Mia.

“What is it?” Mia asked worriedly, turning around to look.

Striding purposefully towards them were the two scouts that Mia had passed in the hall. Their eyes were set on Mia and Melanie.

“Twins,” murmured the pale scout, his beady eyes shifting excitedly between the two girls.

“A great honor is about to be bestowed upon you,” the tanned scout began.

Mia heard a strangled cry. It took her a moment to realize that it had escaped from her own throat. She watched as a glittering blue bracelet was slipped deftly onto her wrist, watched as an identical one was slipped onto Melanie’s wrist.

“We look forward to see you both at the Breeding Lands,” the tanned scout finished, bowing slightly before disappearing into a sea of students.

Fat tears slid silently down Melanie’s cheeks, but Mia was too stunned to cry. Somehow she had known this would happen all along. She and Melanie, with their bright red hair, were a rarity. Their pretty faces and curvy builds only added to their appeal.

“Let’s go home,” Mia croaked, still in shock.

Melanie stood, tears streaming down her face, and silently followed Mia. Students reached out to them, trying to hug them and offer condolences, and other girls held out their own hands, to show that they had been given the same fate. Mia barely noticed any of them.

She saw James in the hallway and would never forget the look of shock and grief that crossed his face when he saw her wrist. He went to approach Mia, but she shook her head and held her hand up to stop him. It would be too painful now. She had said her goodbye to him that day in the garden. She couldn’t open that wound again. In a month’s time she would belong to someone else. She would be someone’s mate. Giving her virginity over like a prize on the blue sands while all the creatures of the continent watched.

Mia and Melanie entered their home solemnly, knowing their mother would be the only one home at this hour.

“No!” their mother screamed in anguish the second they walked through the doors. Their blue bracelets were shimmering beautifully in the light.

She dropped to her knees, sobbing, pounding her fists against the floor.

“Mama, please,” Mia pleaded, and in that moment she knew that she had to be strong for her mother. She couldn’t fall apart. Her fate was sealed.

“My babies,” her mother sobbed. Melanie remained silent and still.

“Mama, it’s okay,” Mia said softly, stroking her mother’s hair. “We knew this was likely to happen. Please hold it together. Gracie needs you.”

Mia’s words seemed to momentarily calm her mother, and she stood, pulling both girls into her chest. Mia wasn’t sure where her strength had come from, but she could feel it now, growing stronger still. The roles strangely reversed, Mia held her mother, smoothing her hair and whispering words of comfort.

* * * * *

CHAPTER THREE

Leila

* * * * *

“I brought you enough money!” Leila cried. Outraged, she dumped the purse of gold coins out on the table.

“The price has increased,” the medicinal man said slyly, shaking his head. “But I can think of other ways that you can make up the difference.” His eyes slid over Leila’s body in a way that was anything but appropriate.

Leila leaned across the counter, her blue eyes flashing. “You are disgusting! Now give me those pills!”

“I’m sorry,” he said simply, turning away.

“That’s fine,” Leila said, trying to speak calmly. “I guess I’ll tell everyone that you tried to rape me in defiance of the tribes.”

The man whipped around, his dark eyes menacing. “You wouldn’t.” He argued.

“I would.” Leila stared him down, her eyes just as hard as his. She had worked hard to earn enough money to buy her mother’s medicine, and she certainly wasn’t going to let a crook get away with reneging on their deal.

The medicinal man shoved the pills across the counter, his body shaking in anger. “Take them!” he spat. “And don’t you dare set foot in my shop again, you little tramp! You're the one who came in here being a little cock-tease, sticking your tits in my face and giving me big eyes about your mother!”

Leila stared at the man in disbelief. She may have flirted a bit to help get her way, but it was such second nature to her that most of the time Leila didn’t even realize what she was doing. She had the overpowering urge to tell the man to go fuck himself, but instead she grabbed the pills and hurried out of the dusty shop. Once on the street, she took a deep breath of fresh air. She ran around the corner, and didn’t stop until she was nearly home, afraid that the man might change his mind and come chasing after her.

“Lying piece of filth,” she muttered to herself, clutching the pills.

Leila and her mother lived in the largest human city of the Eastern Highlands, North Point. It was a depressing location that received only eight hours of sunlight a day. Most of North Point was filled with humans who wanted to live further south, but couldn’t seem to better themselves enough to move away.

Leila came to the small, dilapidated row house where she and her mother lived. It was surrounded by other equally run-down homes, some abandoned and some so filled with families that they were b
ursting at the seams. The house had been divided into two units, and she and her mother occupied the top half. Leila let herself inside and trudged up the dark stairs to their apartment. Their home was sparsely furnished, but clean. Leila made her way into her mother’s room.

“Momma? Are you awake? I have your pills.” Her mother groaned from the bed, her eyelids fluttering open. Leila poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the nightstand and handed her mother a small green pill. “Take this, “she murmured, slipping the pill into her mother’s bony hand. Her mother shakily put the pill into her mouth, and Leila helped her with the water.

“Thank you,” her mother whispered. “Did you have any trouble getting them?”

“No trouble,” Leila lied. Her mother’s eyelids began to droop and Leila knew she would fall back asleep. “I’ll start some soup for dinner, alright?”

Her mother groaned in response, and Leila slipped out of the room and made her way to the tiny kitchen. As she began to dice up vegetables that were almost to the point of rotting, Leila fretted over what would happen to her mother if she were chosen for the Mating Ritual. Leila hated to admit that she wanted to be selected. If her mother weren’t so ill, she would freely volunteer for selection. But it didn’t seem right to purposefully leave her mother when she was so ill. Leila would have to put her faith in the scouts.

Leila thought that she had a good chance of being chosen. Both of her older sisters had been chosen, and Leila knew that they had been secretly delighted to leave the town of North Point. Anywhere seemed better than their cramped apartment.

As Leila dumped the vegetables in the bubbling broth, she envisioned a tan, muscular Sabre man taking her for his own. She had seen the Sabre Pride scouts in school, and they were always the most handsome and alluring. Leila imagined living in the hot grasslands of the Southern Lowlands, where the sun always shone, and night never came. It sounded marvelous.

She closed her eyes, imagining what it might feel like to always have the sun on her skin. She got a delicious shiver as she imagined having an impressive mate who would make love to her, then shift into a tiger or lion. Letting the soup cook, she sat at the kitchen table and opened her schoolbooks. Leila’s heart wasn’t in her work with the scouts’ visit only a week away. She didn’t make plans for her future in North Point, only the life she imagined she would have as a woman of a tribe. But she needed to help her mother get well first.

When Leila was fourteen, her eldest sister Elisa had been selected and taken by the Sabre tribe. Leila’s mother went to the Ritual while Leila’s other sister, Katherine, stayed home with her. Once Leila’s mother returned from the ritual, her health seemed to go downhill. Katherine and Leila helped as much as they could, but they seemed to be fighting a losing battle.

When Leila was sixteen, Katherine had been selected, but Leila’s mother was too sick to travel to the ritual, and Leila was too young. They had no idea which tribe Katherine had gone to. In Leila’s fantasies, she imagined that Katherine went to the Sabre tribe also. She imagined Katherine and Elisa together, and if only the Sabre tribe could select Leila too, then they would all be together again.

Since Katherine had left, Leila’s mother had only gotten worse. Until very recently, Leila feared that she might not make it to see her eighteenth year. But her mother had rallied somewhat, and now that Leila was able to buy medicine, she had become hopeful.

A loud knock at the door pulled Leila out of her thoughts, and she hurried to answer it. Her best friend Gemma burst inside.

“I
have
to talk to you,” Gemma said, pushing the schoolbooks out of the way and motioned for Leila to sit down. “Things are becoming really serious with Graham.”

“Gemma, are you out of your mind?” Leila hissed.

Gemma gave her a helpless smile. “I can’t help it! And let’s be honest, I’m not going to be selected, I don’t look like
you
,” she said pointedly.

Leila’s looks were the other reason why she felt fairly confident about being selected. Leila knew it was shallow, but she was also realistic; the scouts pretty much based their choices on looks. It’s not like they had time to get to know every human female in the region. Leila was blessed, or as some people saw it, cursed, with light hair. Most of the humans had dark hair, but Leila was one of the few who didn’t. Leila’s hair wasn’t just light, it was golden. Her eyes were as bright and blue as the sky, making Leila the most beautiful girl at school—possibly the most beautiful girl in all of North Point.

“I got sick of waiting.”

“Gemma, please. Just wait another week. That’s all!”

“Too late,” she whispered, and she pulled up her shirt to reveal a slightly swollen belly.

Leila gripped the table and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt bile rise in her throat. “They’ll kill you,” she croaked, opening her eyes to stare at Gemma with sheer disbelief.

For the first time, Gemma’s bravado seemed to slip. “No one will find out,” she said stubbornly, but Leila could hear the fear in her friend’s voice.

“Why couldn’t you have waited?” Leila moaned, standing from the table and pacing the kitchen. “What are we going to do? We have to find a way to hide this for the next week, and pray that once you start to show no one tries to determine the exact date you conceived.”