Chapter 5
“Attention, ladies. As you are all aware, you have been selected by our own, Sasha Soma, to be this year’s tributes. Your first step, selection, has been completed. Step two, are pictures. You will each take two. The first one is a seemingly candid picture, designed to show your strength. The second will be a lingerie shot, to entice the men to choose you. We are only sending one extra girl this year, so whoever is not chosen will be alone in the fires the first night, so make sure you put your best foot forward and we will do the rest. Step three, will be shopping for the things that you will be taking with you. The last step is to actually leave and arrive at the shifter territory. Now,” she clapped her hands and the doors opened behind them.
Three men rolled clothing racks in. The girls all began to whisper as they eyed the skimpy clothes hanging on the mobile closets. Sasha glanced around at her team and gave a sharp, short shake of her head. They instantly fell silent as they waited for the headmistress to continue.
“As the winner of the race, Sasha will be distributing the lingerie. One for each girl, please. You may come to the front.”
They all began to snicker as she carefully made her way to the front. She felt each one slowly before taking a beautiful emerald green lace strapless corset with matching boy shorts. She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to present her little sister in this, but the goal was to make the men drool and get her chosen, so she could figure out a way to save her whole team.
“Kalani Soma.”
Her sister hurried to her side to take the outfit. Next, she picked up a golden bodysuit. She ran her hands over it, sighing. This color would look fantastic on Sherri, with her long silver hair and light baby blue eyes. She bit back another sigh.
“Sherri.”
After handing Sherri her outfit, she reached for a navy blue teddy that would accentuate Melissa’s curves and make her deep purple hair pop while lightening her cerulean blue eyes. She ran her hands over the material again and trembled at the thought of forcing Melissa to show almost everything off in the see through outfit.
“Melissa!”
Sasha drew in a shaky breath as she took the outfit from her. Next, she picked up a dark black barely see through nightgown. She rubbed it on her cheek before holding it out for her brown haired brown eyed older sister to take.
“Tiffany.”
She quickly passed out lingerie to the rest of the women, saving a beautiful sapphire bra and panty set for Raven to highlight her blonde hair and hazel eyes. Lastly, she picked up a bridal white bodysuit littered with emerald crystals for herself. She groaned, before cautiously making her way back to her seat.
“You will have two hours to get ready and decide what you are going to wear for your ‘candid’ pictures. You are allowed one prop. You must bring everything you need back here, as you will not be allowed to leave between photos. You are dismissed.”
Everyone fled from the hall in a rush except for Sasha and her team, who all huddled around her. She smiled at them.
“You guys know how to do your make-up, your outfits and your props. You all got this. I set you up for success. Hands in.”
She put her hand in the middle and they all followed suit. Her smile widened.
“TEAM SOMA!”
They all threw their hands up, giggling as they cheered, before dashing off in different directions. Sasha slowly made her way to her house, wanting to give Kalani as much time in the bathroom as she could. She sank into her bed to read a little about the king so she could start working on a plan to grab his attention. She hated that there were no pictures of him. That would have been so helpful. She flipped to the first page.
‘King Aiden Lee Jameson. Aged 20. He became king after his father was murdered in a raid on the castle. He is a warrior and has bested everyone that has ever come up against him. He does not take prisoners and has a ferocious tenacity for eradicating his enemies. He has a high intelligence. His interests include, but are not limited to physical training, heights, books and carpentry. He dislikes being challenged, chaos, leaving home and anything red. He is stubborn and spiteful. He has a bad attitude and will cut someone down in a heartbeat. He is ruthless and cruel. He has stolen many women from their homes and made them be sex slaves in his harem. He has a sister that he protects with his life. She is the key. Her name is Ana. She loves to sing and read. She is 19 and is sheltered. She-’
“Aja, the bathroom is all yours.”
She stuffed the folder back under her pillow, grabbed her lingerie and went into the bathroom. She quickly showered and pulled the bodysuit on. She arranged the strips of fabric to cover her nipples and her clit. Her red pubic curls peeked around the edges of the white strap and she cursed. Should she have shaved? Would the pubic hair scare the men off? Was she sentencing herself to death by not cleaning up her edges? No, she refused to believe that. She quickly did her make-up and stepped out. She looked over Kalani, adjusting her outfit before walking over to her dresser to grab her emerald choker and put it around her own neck. She took Kalani's hand and squeezed it.
“Keep your head up, little one. I know this makes you uncomfortable, but I need you to breathe and remember how I told you to position yourself. Bent over, grab your ankles, let your hair fall to one side of your face and look over your shoulder. You have a very nice ass. There has to be one man there that is an ass man. You have to do everything you can to get picked.”
“OK, Aja.”
Sasha forced her chin up to look into her eyes. “I’m serious. If I am going to save us, you need to survive long enough for me to come up with a plan.”
She gripped Sasha’s wrist. “I understand, Sasha. I promise.”
Sasha hugged her tight. “Ok, let’s go.”
They skipped through the small town while Sasha carried their extra clothes and Kalani’s prop, doing their best to ignore the ogling eyes of the townspeople. They met everyone else in the foyer of the school, before Sasha slipped away to the library. She went straight back to the blind section to find a book to use as a prop. She found one and hurried back to the others just as the headmistress stepped in front of them. She waited for their chatter to die down, before addressing them.
“Sasha, you are up first. You only get one picture, so be sure that is the picture you want before you say snap.”
Sasha followed her into the gym where a black background had been up and she smirked, even more grateful that she had given Tiffany a black outfit. She eyed Ethan nervously as he helped the young female photographer set up the camera. She stood nervously beside the bench, shifting her weight. The headmistress walked over to her with a key and unlocked the chastity belt.
“Sasha, get in your position.”
Ethan’s head snapped up and his mouth dropped open as his eyes ran over her body. She looked away and sat on the bench. She sighed, knowing that she was about to really give him a different view on her. She spread her legs, her white knee high boots drew attention to her calves and she was hoping that they would draw enough attention away from the rest of her body. She dropped her head back, wrapping one hand around her throat and made an ‘o’ with her lips to make it look like she was moaning as her other hand went to her pelvic area to dip a finger under the material covering her vagina to make it look like she was masturbating. She closed her eyes and shook her hair out a little. She arched her back, pushing her breasts out more.
“Snap.”
Her mouth went back into the ‘o’ and a second later the click of the camera accompanied by a flash almost blinded her for real. She removed her hands from her body and stood up. Ethan gulped and met her eyes. He tugged on his collar and shifted his body to hide his erection. The headmistress put the belt back on her and ushered her out of the room. She glanced at Ethan over her shoulder and was happy to see him staring at the picture the photographer was showing him in awe. It had to be a good photo to elicit such a look from him. Right? The headmistress left her standing with the other girls, ordering her to change and get to the picnic areas. She hurried to the bathroom to get ready. She put on a hunter green shimmering summer dress with green sandals. She washed her face before putting on basic neutral colored make-up. She knew her natural beauty was more than enough to catch a man. She grabbed the book and rushed out to the assigned area. Miss Autumn waited with another photographer.
“Okay, Sasha, you need to pick a location and a position. Quickly we have maybe 15 minutes.”
Sasha sat on the fountain lip and crossed her legs at the ankles. She opened the book, set it on her lap and put three fingers on the braille. She let her hair fall on the left side of her face and raised her other hand to look like she was tucking her hair behind her ear. She lowered her head a little and bit her lip softly. She gave a small nod and the photographer took the picture. Miss Autumn looked at it, before smiling.
“You look so innocent and unintentionally sultry. Good job, Sasha.”
She nodded and bounced up. She took the book back to the library before sitting on the steps to wait for Kalani. After an hour of waiting, Kalani walked up to her with her shoulders slumped and tears on her face. Sasha immediately began to worry.
“What’s wrong?”