Chapter 9
"One by one, you will introduce yourself. I trust they taught you how," Jackson ordered.
"Yes, sir," they all said in sync.
Sasha was shoved forward. "You first."
"I am tribute 53. I am 19."
She reached for the belt that held her robe closed. She began to untie it when her wrist was jerked away from her body and her robe was held shut by the king's hand.
"No!" He tied her belt tight around her. "Say your name, age and give one fact about yourself. Were you told why you were chosen to be here?" Sasha nodded. "State that, too. You do not need to show your bodies off like a piece of meat. You are more than that." He walked back to his throne and sat, waving his hand. "Start over."
"My name is Sasha Soma. I am 19 and I love to read. I chose myself to be here, because I ranked the highest in training and upon doing that I was given the responsibility to choose who came here as tributes. I know the girls the best, so I was the perfect one to pick who came. I thought that as a shifter's breeder, I could offer your offspring a high intelligence, loyalty and a passion for life."
She stepped back into line.
"What training? As in fighting? Are you a warrior?," the king asked.
Sasha stepped forward again, turning her head in the direction of his voice. She studied his face as she answered.
"We do have some defense training to make sure we can protect ourselves against males who would wish to make us less than pure for our purpose here, but we were mostly trained to be able to do our makeup and how to please whoever chose us."
"You were taught how to have sex?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"On men?"
"No, sire. We practiced on bananas, cucumbers and other similarly shaped objects."
His eyes widened in shock. "Did you penetrate yourselves with them?"
Sasha blushed. "No! We were not allowed to touch ourselves."
"How did they stop you from doing that?"
Sasha nervously fingered her robe. "We wore chastity belts."
"Are you serious?" Sasha nodded. "I don't believe you."
"If you wish, sire, I can show you."
"I do. Come here."
Sasha carefully made her way to him. She untied her belt and opened her robe. His eyes hungrily roamed over her body, lingering on her curves before coming to rest at the piece of metal that covered her vagina and was held in place by a metal chain. She reached into her robe pocket to get the key she had been given in the van on the way here.
"We are to give our keys to the man that chooses us."
He looked into her eyes. "You may go back to your spot."
She retied her robe, before walking back to the girls. She walked until she was standing in front of the girl to the right of Kalani. The girls were forced to step to the side and Kalani eased her sister back into the line. She squeezed Sasha's shoulder. Sasha zoned out, studying each man that was in the room as the other girls introduced themselves until Kalani stepped forward.
"My name is Kalani Soma. I am 17 and I love to garden. I was chosen, because I have a high intelligence that will be beneficial to your species."
The king stood and the hall fell silent.
"Tell me, Sasha, are Tiffany and Kalani your sisters?"
"Yes, they are, Your highness."
"Are you three the only daughters your family has?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why send all of you?"
"Our mother, Madame Anastasia, is the leader of Tursum. As you are the new king who has ascended into power, I thought it would be in our best interests to ensure that you knew that we appreciated all of your protection and help in our little town. My sister, Kalani, being the youngest, has the best reproductive chances. She is smart and from what I hear, extremely beautiful. She knows 6 languages and is a math genius. My older sister, Tiffany, is a wolf shifter. Her genes will strengthen those of her offspring."
The king tilted his head. "Are you and Kalani shifters, too?"
"No, sir. We have a different father and we are human."
His eyes softened as he looked at her. She swallowed and tried to control the lingering arousal that was rapidly rising again. If he didn’t stop looking at her like that she was going to have no choice, but to beg him to fuck her like crazy in the middle of the filled room. Breathe, girl, she told herself as he continued to watch her.
"Next."
The rest of the girls quickly answered as the king continued to watch her. She forced herself to stand still, but Goddess was it hard when all she wanted to do was feel his hands on her body and the wind rushing through her hair. She cursed under breath when her body got even hotter. After the introductions were done, Jackson moved between the two lines.
"Beta Malcolm, please step forward and make your selection."
His eyes ran over all the females, before coming back to rest on Sasha.
"I will take Sasha."
Sasha gave him a sharp nod. She took the four steps to the middle of the open space between the two lines. He met her there with his hand out. She dropped her key into it and stepped back, his blue eyes glinting at her.
"Gamma Gregory?"
"Carla," he said bitterly.
He took her key.
"Aleksey?"
"I want Raven."
Sasha looked him over. His brown eyes were kind as they watched her approach him. His shoulder length brown slightly curly hair coupled with his mustache and beard made him look like a skilled woodsman. His highly muscular body almost quivered as she shyly handed him her key.
"Zubin, you are up."
"Melissa."
Sasha turned her head to check him out. His black hair made his light sea green eyes appear paler in the artificial light. His body was built, but he was not overly big like most of the others. He could definitely protect her if he needed to. So far so good for her girls. She started to grow anxious when Kalani and Sherri were still waiting to be chosen along with another girl when only two men were left to pick their breeder. Her heart sank when the second to the last man chose Taylor. That left both Sherri and Kalani standing in the tribute line with the last man stepping forward to pick.
"Shaun, choose."
"Sherri."
Sasha spun around to look at Kalani. Tears filled her eyes as Jackson marched over to her little sister and grabbed her arm roughly.
"To the dungeons with you until we build the fire."
Sasha stepped forward. "Please, sir, take me instead."
"No. She was not chosen. She will go to her death."
A tear trickled out of her eye. "Can she at least say goodbye?"
"No! Know your place, breeder!"
He began to drag her out of the hall.
"I love you, Aja," Kalani cried.
Sasha wiped at her cheeks angrily.
"I love you, too, Lani," Sasha whispered, as her knees hit the floor.
"I choose Kalani!," a voice murmured quietly, the power behind it was unquestionable as he knew he would be heard even at the low volume in his voice.
Jackson froze and slowly turned to face the king.
"What did you say, sire?"
"You heard me."
"Your Highness, higher ups don't choose a tribute their first ceremony-"
"You are correct that most don't, but it is not against my fathers laws. I said I choose her, so let her go."
He let her go and Kalani rushed to kneel in front of the king, holding her key up to him. He gently took the key and pulled her to her feet. He looked over the girls.
"I am sure you are all very hungry. Please, accompany us to the dining hall, so that we may feed you."
The king led Kalani down the center of the room and everyone else fell into step behind them. Sasha eyed the man who had picked Sherri. He was dirty blonde with dark blue eyes that held intelligence and humor. She could tell he worked out, but his black suit jacket hid his bulging muscles well. He smiled at Sherri and Sasha was amazed to see her blush. Oh, yes her girls did well. Three were chosen by men who very obviously were gentle souls and the last was chosen by the king himself. Someone grabbed her elbow, forcing her to slow down. She looked up and her heart started pounding when she found herself looking at the beta. He continued to slow until they had stopped.
"You're coming with me," he muttered.