The Runaway Breeder

CHAPTER 4

　　"Laina, how ni-" He stops mid-greeting, standing before me and sniffing the air, and moves closer to where I sit while he focuses his attention solely on me. Excitement bubbles inside me with the possibility this brings. His scent wafts over me, and a feeling of calmness runs through every nerve ending in my body. Could I possibly be his mate?

　　Sam and I grew up together since my father was once his father's Beta. He used to babysit me during meetings where both of our parents would be busy with pack work. Even if Sam is eight years older than me, as children, he would spend his free time with me, spoiling and treating me to anything my little heart desired. I remember one time he bought me a lacy dark red dress for my twelfth birthday. It was a little revealing for my taste at the time, but I still loved the attention Sam showered me with that day as we took a trip into the city. When each year passed without Sam finding his mate, it gave me some form of hope that maybe I could be his and he mine. Quietly, I wait for his following statement that will decide my fate and role.

　　"Breeder." His voice is filled with desire as his hands shift to grope my large breasts, a smirk playing at his lips. I gasp in surprise, fear spreading through me with this one word. This isn't possible, right?

　　The two Warriors' stoic faces soon morph into a smirk as their eyes scan me from head to toe. The dark-toned wolf with dreadlocks winks at me as his eyes hold a trace of lust barely visible in his chocolate-coloured gaze. Deep down, I know he will want to take a go at me first. His partner reaches out to grab my left arm as the dreadlock guy takes my right, the grip tight enough to remind me that escape is futile as they will hunt me down. Whispers and sympathetic gazes are sent my way as the two Warriors lead me out of the building. Some she-wolves exclaim in the joy of not being chosen, while others wish me good luck even though I feel far from lucky. I can see some holding their phones, ready to capture a sobbing breakdown that follows each year when a new Breeder is chosen, but I refuse to give these wolves the satisfaction of a good show and instead keep my head held high. I keep my gaze forward and take each step towards the door with as much dignity as I can muster. Never show weakness when forced into an unfavourable situation is what my father used to tell me as a child.

　　Everyone knows what will happen after you are assigned as a Breeder. You will be whisked away from your family and forced to stay in a cottage guarded day and night, only able to garden in the medium-sized yard given to you. But the truth is, you are nothing but a slave to the warriors assigned to breed you. You will welcome an unknown male into your home, lead him to the bed you sleep in each night, and spread your legs whether you want to or not. You will spend the next six months carefully observed like a rat in a lab while you carry the pup inside you to a healthy delivery, and you will repeat the process a few months later, never given a say as to who will breed you. You are nothing to the pack even after gaining your freedom when the twentieth pup is born. And this is the life I will be living now.

　　The doors to the pack house close. The pack meeting will proceed as usual now that a new Breeder is chosen. This is when reality begins to sink in. I feel numb, my mind still wrapping around my new role as the men lead me to a black car. The doors are open, waiting to shut me inside and whisk me away from the life I know, but no one forces me into the vehicle. In moments, Chris and Jack will be informed of my position and rush over from whatever it is they are doing, with the prodding eyes of their friends questioning what is wrong, finding me where each Breeder waits for their final words with loved ones. Only a few minutes will be allotted to us, and then I'll be taken away where no one will be able to see me for the next twenty years or so.

　　Knowing Chris and his obsession with time, they will be here in three...

　　Two...

　　One.

　　Cue a sobbing Chris.

　　"Laina, are you okay?" Chris's voice fills my ears the moment his arms hold me in a tight hug. I watch as the guards walk away to give us privacy, far enough to not hear a thing but close enough to chase after me if I decide to run. Since this is my last free moment as a regular pack member, the guards are not allowed to listen in, much like giving a prisoner on death row their final meal before taking them to the chair that will end their life. A few minutes of silence fall between us. Chris is sobbing into my shoulder as Jack sends me a grimace of a smile. We all know the situation is dire.

　　"I...I don't know what to do." I whisper, feeling Jack wipe away stray tears that had fallen from my eyes.

　　"What you do is behave, wait for a free moment, and run. Run towards the old treehouse, look for something pink, grab it, and keep running." I do not understand what Chris has said, my fuzzy mind unable to comprehend his words before I am ripped away from my best friend and pushed into the car, the door slamming in my face and the engine roaring to life.

　　I watch in the rearview mirror as my life fades into the distance away from me, the tears now flowing freely.

　　All I can think of: Is this how Katniss felt when she was whisked away from her family in District Twelve in The Hunger Games?