The Breeding Lands (An Epic Erotic Fantasy Novel) (11 page)

Leila nodded, toying with her long hair to distract herself.

“Go lay down,” her mother urged “You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow.”

Following her mother’s suggestion, Leila went to her room to rest. Her one final outfit was sitting on her old dresser, and she stared at it for a long time before she lay down and closed her eyes.

When Leila awoke the following day, she couldn’t tell if it was cloudy or sunny. Her small, dingy bedroom had no windows. In fact, there was only one dirty window in the entire apartment that she shared with her mother. Leila rose and slipped out of bed, tugging her ripped shirt over her bare thighs. Ever since her father had died, Leila had slept in his old uniform shirts. Now, they were ripped and torn in so many places that they barely covered her.

As Leila stepped into the hallway, she could see a sliver of sunlight through the window. Leila hoped the Sabre tribe would take her where the sun always shone. Even the Usari would be endurable, just as long as she wasn’t banished to the darkness of the Northern Forest. The previous evening, after Leila had awoken from her nap, she had cooked dinner for she and her mother and they had stayed up late into the wee morning hours, talking about their hopes and dreams for Leila’s new life. Leila finally felt at peace with leaving her mother behind.

Leila still clung to a childish hope that she might see her sisters in her new life, but a part of her knew that was a pipe dream. Who was to say if her sisters were even still alive? Leila had heard stories about tribe warriors who took a woman at the Mating Ritual, only to kill her a few years later, and return for a new, younger female. Leila trembled at the thought. Pushing the macabre thoughts from her mind, she focused on the breakfast of eggs and bacon she was preparing.

Bacon was a rare treat. Leila couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten bacon. She fried up only one small slice for herself, but three thick slices for her mother. Leila sat the eggs and bacon on the kitchen table and poured two glasses of juice, pouring herself only a small sip, while giving her mother a full glass. Leila didn’t want to eat all of the delicious food she was leaving with her mother.

A few moments later, Leila’s mother hobbled into the kitchen and she smiled widely when she saw the spread. “I thought I smelled bacon!” she exclaimed, taking her seat in front of the small portions. Leila rolled her eyes, and switched the plates and glasses.

“You should have more than me this morning,” her mother argued, “You’ll need your strength.”

Leila laughed and sat down with her mother. It was a comfortable, yet bittersweet breakfast, and all too soon, Leila found herself dressing for the Mating Ritual. Leila fingered the soft blue material, the dress slipping along her fingers. Gemma’s mother had insisted that Leila take her friend’s best dress, and though Leila tried to argue, Gemma’s mother had won.

Now Leila stood holding her best friend’s finest garment, hoping that it would bring her luck today in finding a good mate. Leila pulled the blue silk dress over her head, and slipped her arms through the gauzy sleeves that cut across her shoulder. The material fell softly across her collarbone and clung to her body in all the right places, highlighting her chest and waist. It was the same color as Leila’s bright blue eyes, and Leila’s hair looked like pure sunlight as it fell across the fine material.

She was a vision.

When Leila walked out of her room, her mother gasped. “Leila! You look breathtaking.” Leila gave her mother a small smile, and did a quick turn. “The men will be lining up for you,” her mother said confidently.

Leila went to her mother, embracing her tightly. “I love you, Mama.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart. Go and find yourself the life you deserve.”

Leila nodded, fighting back tears, as she gave her mother a final hug goodbye. Forcing herself not to look back, she left the apartment and hurried down the dark staircase. Once on the street, she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and willing herself not to cry. All her life, she had dreamed of escaping North Point. This was her opportunity. Of course, with new beginnings came sadness, and Leila reminded herself that what she would be getting would be so much better than what she was giving up.

She saw other young women walking on the street, a few of them with parents and older siblings. In North Point it wasn’t always customary to have a family member accompany you to the Breeding Lands. That was left for the better families and nicer towns. Leila arrived at the portal and she was surprised to see her classmate Selena. Selena waved and Leila went to stand beside her. The portal in North Point was a broken bench in a dead end alley.

“Let’s go together,” Selena suggested, and Leila nodded in agreement.

The two young women sat next to one another, and waited nervously. Suddenly, a bright white light blinded Leila and she had the nauseating sensation of traveling quickly. The air was different, and Leila’s blue bracelet vibrated against her skin, reminding her that she was lucky to be one of the chosen females.

Before Leila could wrap her head around the moving sensation, she had come to a stop and was standing on her own two feet. A quick glance to her right confirmed that Selena was still with her. With wide eyes, the two women looked out across the Breeding Lands.

It was everything Leila had imagined and more. The sand was a bright and dazzling blue, bluer than any shade she had ever seen in her life. The sky was wide and clear, and Leila looked at it with disbelief. North Point’s sky was always cloudy and smoggy, the air dirty and polluted.

The position of the sun was all wrong, too. It was higher, brighter than she had ever seen it in North Point. Suddenly, Leila was filled with the overwhelming desire to laugh. She peeked at Selena, who also looked giddy with amazement.

“This is incredible!” Selena laughed.

Leila spun in a full circle, swinging her arms out to her side. “Look at the sky!” she exclaimed, gazing upwards again. Her heart was bursting with joy; she had never felt so alive.

“Come on! Let’s get good spots!” Selena said, dragging Leila with her. They passed large metal bleachers, and Leila looked up at all the spectators taking their seats. She tried to imagine her mother sitting on the hard metal as she watched Elisa get chosen by a mate. Leila pushed the thought out of her mind. Selena pulled Leila into a crowded area, which Leila quickly learned was near the entrance of the warriors.

“We want the best selection,” Selena told her confidently. “Everyone will see us here!”

Leila couldn’t argue with Selena’s thought process, and she watched in amazement as the other women took their places. Some were excited, others seemed downright grief-stricken. Selena was literally bouncing up and down and Leila had to remind her that they still had to wait for the rest of the women to arrive. Young women and families were now pouring into the blue desert, and Leila had a feeling that it wouldn’t be long before the warriors arrived.

Suddenly, as if summoned from the center of the earth, a loud and clear gong rang out. Leila looked around for the source of the sound, and she saw Selena do the same. She heard a girl nearby gasp and Leila whipped back around. Moving towards the women were dozens of warriors, some in human form, others in animal form. Leila was near the very front. She felt her stomach flip nervously. This was it. Her entire future hung in the balance of these few moments. She straightened her shoulders, smoothing her blue dress down and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

The line of warriors moved ever closer, and Leila could hear some of them calling out in deep voices while others made low animal sounds deep in their throats. The warriors came running up to the women, some of them with wild eyes, as they weaved in and out, looking from face to face for someone to claim. Leila watched as some women were claimed instantly, and she shrieked in surprise as a fight broke out between two wolves for the young woman next to her.

Leila backed away so she wouldn’t get hurt and saw that a man was fighting a lion in front of Selena. Another man jumped into the action and Leila found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. The lion swiped at the newcomer, and the man dropped to his knees, large gashes from the lion’s claws bleeding profusely. Leila covered her eyes and turned around. There were two men standing in front of her. They looked at her and back to one another, before they leapt into battle. Shocked to see the men fighting over her, Leila stumbled backwards and watched in horror as one man killed the other man. Just as he was about to claim Leila for his own, a bear came lumbering by and he snarled loudly, lunging at the victor.

Leila watched as the bear and man fought, and she slowly noticed a growing crowd around her. Men and animals alike were circling around Leila and lining up behind one another. Leila’s eyes widened with disbelief; were all these shifters here to fight for her? Her question was quickly answered when the bear won the fight, and the next warrior stepped up taking on the bear.

“This is crazy!” Leila cried as the bear killed the warrior, and a wolf lunged in the air, next in line, to fight the bear. Leila realized that only one could survive of all the men and beasts surrounding her. This was a battle to the death.

“Fools!” a beautiful voice hissed, and Leila whirled around to see a translucent-looking fairy hovering just above her. A Peace Keeper. She shook her beautiful, yet unearthly head in disgust. “Do you all want to die?” she trilled at the men.

Some seemed delirious with their need and want of Leila, while others seemed to let the Peace Keeper’s warning sink in. “But look at her!” a man cried, his long brown hair in a thick ponytail down his back. “She is the fairest of all the women!”

He was met by a chorus of cheers and Leila’s mouth hung open in shock. The bear suddenly went down, and the wolf went on to take one, and then two new opponents.

“Her hair is like gold!” another cried, and some of the men made low guttural sounds deep in their throats. None seemed to be giving up, and Leila was stunned that they would eagerly meet their death in wait of her. The Peace Keeper rolled her eyes, and hissed angrily before flitting away.

Leila noticed that the bodies of the slain were slowly disappearing into the sand. There had to be at least ten that were killed now, and the wolf seemed to be on a winning streak. Leila watched him kill a fourth man and howl with happiness. As he gloated, the next warrior, a man with tight curls, leapt on the wolf’s back, catching him by surprise, and snapped its neck with a sickening crack.

Leila screamed as the wolf fell limply to the ground. The warrior let out a deep yell of victory and beckoned his next opponent, a tiger. The tiger put up a good fight, but he was no match for the man. Leila watched as ten, then twenty men lost their lives in trying to win her. Leila noticed that the spectators were all pointing to her. She wasn’t far from the bleachers, and she figured that everyone had a good view of what was happening to her. Had this ever happened before? She had heard of some women who had ten or maybe twenty men line up for her, but those were tales that were few and far between. And Leila had always wondered if they were merely legends.

Yet here she was, with at least fifty shifters who were battling for her, half of them already dead. She slowly looked from side to side and saw a few smaller battles going on, but they were only with two or three shifters. Other couples were beginning to sink into the sand to consummate their marriages.

Her eyes back on the battle before her, Leila noticed that the men and animals were becoming more savage with each killing. She looked away as men were beheaded, and animals had limbs torn off. Her stomach was queasy and she didn’t know how much longer she could watch. She had never imagined it would be so brutal. And as each man stepped up to fight, she noticed that his eyes were wilder and more feral than the next. Leila feared that the most humane of the warriors were being killed, and only the most brutal ones remained.

Another dozen warriors were killed, and Leila watched as they slowly sank into the sand, swallowed up by the barren blue dessert. Would it ever end? How many had been killed now? Thirty? Forty? The line was slowly dwindling. How many members had each tribe lost? Leila thought there had been a roughly equal number of wild cats, bears and wolves. Leila couldn’t tell to which tribe the men belonged. Some were obvious, with dark tanned skin, while others had pale skin that clearly never saw the light of day.

Now there were only a handful of men and beasts surrounding her. A tiger killed a wolf, and then a man sent a spear through the tiger’s heart. The man took down a bear and another man, before a lion ripped his throat out. The lion stalked around the next warrior, a thick man with wild dark hair, and cruel black eyes. Just as the lion went to lunge, the man’s body ripped in half and a massive, black bear took his place. The bear attacked the lion, breaking his rib cage and finishing him. The bear then took on two wolves, each of them no match for its brute strength.

Fear set in as Leila realized there were only three more warriors waiting to take on the bear. She remembered the cold vicious look in his eyes and she suddenly feared that she might not have the kind of life she had dreamed about. While she mostly dreamed about a life of luxury and fine things, she had always assumed that her mate would care for her and respect her. She couldn’t imagine the dark eyes of the bear warrior showing her any love or compassion. The bear snarled loudly, killing the first of the waiting warriors. The second warrior shifted into a tiger, which tried to sink its sabre fangs into the bear’s side. But the bear was too quick, and swiped at the tiger, before stomping on its head.