Chapter 1
4 years later
“Sasha, Tiffany, Louisa, Angenette, Carla and Taylor, come to the front.”
Sasha stepped around the two dozen other girls in the room to go to the front where the other five named females were already standing, eagerly waiting for the orders that would start the final part of this travesty of a competition. The hunt. These other girls, having the pleasure of actually being liked by the organizers of this asinine competition, were to fight, sometimes even to the death, to earn the right to decide who was going to have the ability to choose who was going to be sent to their deaths in a little over a week's time. Goddess, how they hated her and would do anything to sabotage her into losing. They took turns glaring at her and she rolled her shoulders back, ignoring them as she had done for the last dozen or so years. They were not going to get to her. Not today. Not when Kalani’s life depended on this last hunt.
“Welcome to the last day of The Breeding Race. Please, join me in congratulating our top 6 ladies.” Headmistress Lyndhurst waited for the thunderous applause to die down, before continuing. “Rules are as follows, each team captain,” she pointed at the 6 of them in the front, “will pick a team of four. The winning team captain will then have 24 hours to submit a list of 12 girls that will be sent to Terra Mysterium.”
The land of mystery. Just hearing the name alone was enough to send a ripple of fear through every single competing female in the room. Everyone knew what would happen. The girls that were sent there were used to bear children for a group of unknown shifters. If they were unable to produce a child within the first two years, they were slaughtered. After they had 3 children or ten years had passed, whichever came first, they were then put to death. Everyone had seen the bonfires that burned the bodies and smelled the acrid odor of burning flesh. If you listened closely you could hear the screams of pain and terror of the women as they were burned alive. Fingers were snapped in front of her face and she blinked up at the headmistress. She bent her knees, lowering herself into the half bow that they were taught to use to exhibit submissiveness to the people above them. She rolled her eyes.
“You are to pick first. I would advise you to choose very wisely, they might cost you your life.”
She nodded and stepped forward, already having chosen. Her eyes scanned the crowd of girls who were all vying for her attention in an attempt to get chosen. They all disgusted her. Most of them had never said a kind word to her and were now wanting to be on her team, because of what? Because she had proven herself to be the most adept at survival, excelling at every aspect of training. She scoffed. And to think Tiffany, the wolf shifter was the apple of their mother’s eye, but had failed to best Sasha. She cleared her throat, realizing she was taking up too much time.
“I will take Raven Montgomery, Melissa Romanoff, Sherri Coda and Kalani Soma.”
“State your reasoning for choosing them.”
She apologized to Kalani with her eyes for what she was about to say. She had already told them what she was going to say, but she knew it would still hurt them. She hated seeing the look of defeat on Kalani’s face.
“Because as the strongest student, if I can not come to a win with the weakest behind me, then I believe I should be sent to Terra Mysterium as a breeder. Nothing in life is easy, so neither should this.”
“Take your clothes off, before you are sent to choose your only survival item.”
She stripped down until all she wore was her chastity belt and her hands over her breasts. She turned in a full circle to show that there was nothing hidden on her body.
“You may get dressed and head out with your team after you get your one item.”
She quickly got dressed as her team approached her. They ran behind her on the way to the library to get her item of choice. It was the one thing that could possibly ensure a win if she chose the right thing, but she already knew what to choose. She just had to get it before any of the others did. They were only given five minutes before Tiffany, as the second place student, would be hot on her heels. She glanced at the four behind her who were already out of breath and groaned. She slowed her pace to fall into step beside Kalani.
“Are you good on the plan?”
“Yes.”
“Take them and I will meet you there after I get the pixie dust.”
“Okay. Come on, girls. This way.”
She waited for them to disappear around the corner, before sprinting full speed to the library. She got to the table loaded with magical items and a strange woman stepped forward out of the shadows.
“The first team to bring back the horn of a unicorn, wins.”
She gave a sharp nod as the woman melted back into the shadows. She rapidly shifted items on the table. Where was it? The little crimson bag with the gold ropes that held it closed. A loud bell rang and she pushed herself faster. Come on! Where- Aha. She pushed the shield out of the way to snag the small bag. She pocketed it and dashed out of the room. The doors swung close behind her and she cursed to herself when she saw Tiffany along with her gang of bullies racing towards her. She flipped her off before darting to the right, towards the woods. She pumped her legs as hard and as fast as they could go. She had to get to the cave before Tiffany shifted. She hated the anything goes, nothing is barred, no rules last hunt with a passion. It gave shifters an unfair advantage over the humans. She smirked. Or so Tiffany thought. Nobody knew about her visions, except Kalani and she knew that she would give her life up before telling anyone.
She bounded over the small creek halfway to the cave. The pixie dust would entice the unicorn to draw near to wherever the scent was and allow the girls on her team to vanish without a trace, thus ensuring their safety as she hunted for the damn elusive beast. She glanced over her shoulder as the sound of a wolf howling drew her attention briefly.
“Game on, bitch,” she muttered as she skidded to a halt inside of the cave. “Remember, you have to be quiet. She can’t smell or see you with this on, but she can still hear you. I will be back for you.”
She quickly opened the bag and began tossing handfuls of pixie dust over the girls, before tossing it around the edge of the cave, saving just enough to use on herself. She scaled a tree before rubbing some of the dust behind her ears, neck, wrists and behind her knees, before dumping the rest over her clothes. She settled back against the tree and began to mimic the musical laughter of the pixies that lived so freely in the woods. Thank the Goddess above for giving her these dreams. Without them, Kalani and the rest of her team had no chance of surviving this death lottery. She took her shoes off and placed the right one immediately in the front pocket of her hoodie before taking the thin diamond lace out of the left before pocketing that one, too. She shifted positions on the branch, her muscles coiling as she twittered again. She heard the sound of hoofs on the ground and grabbed the limb. She sent the pixie laughter again and a glimpse of a shiny snow white coat glistening in the sunshine made her take a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
‘Come to mama, you little fucker.’
It cautiously moved under her tree and she dropped onto its back. It bucked wildly trying to dislodge her, but she held on tight to its neck as it careened through the forest. She sent up a bird call and was thankful when she heard Kalani answer it. She rode the unicorn until it collapsed in pure exhaustion onto the ground. She quickly sawed the horn off, before putting it in her bra for safekeeping. She breathed deeply as she jogged back to the gardening shed just behind the main building of the school. As she neared it, she sent another bird call out and relaxed when it was immediately answered. She turned the hose on and quickly rinsed the pixie dust off of herself before spraying it around herself. Her team slowly came into view again, making her relax further. She turned the hose off, before grasping Kalani’s chin in her hand. She tilted her face every which way and pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her tight.
“You did great, Lani.”
“Thanks, Aja. Did you get it?”
She touched her chest and when the point on the horn pressed into her breast, she nodded.
“What’s my name?”
“Sasha!”
Her eyes glinted at them.
“What’s my name?,” she shouted.
“SASHA!,” they cheered.