The Breeding Lands (An Epic Erotic Fantasy Novel) (2 page)

The years passed, and just as the youngest males of the tribes were beginning to enter manhood, their prayers were suddenly answered. One day, an armada of enormous foreign machines came tearing into the atmosphere, creating beautiful flares of light and fire that cascaded across the sky. The massive contraptions landed in the water near the Eastern Highlands with deafening thuds.

From these machines emerged wave after wave of human beings. They looked exactly like the people of the tribes. There were men, children, and women. Women of various ages, colors, beauty, but all fertile. After careful observation, the tribes learned that these new beings, while intelligent, were unable to shift into any other forms. In fact, the humans were quite fragile and weak compared to the creatures of Lacertine.

The tribes converged to determine what should be done about these new creatures. The Usari Ravagers proposed that the tribes seize the women immediately, capture them for their own breeding, and make the human males and children slaves in the tribal regions. Luckily for the humans, the Lycans and Sabres agreed that it would be beneficial for all parties if the humans were permitted to live on their own in the Eastern Highlands, under the protection of the three tribes. In exchange for their protection, the humans would have to sacrifice females to the tribes, to partake in The Mating Ritual, to serve as lifelong mates and to bear shifter offspring to the tribes.

The Mating Ritual would take place every year on the blue sands of The Breeding Lands. The human legion would bring one thousand females to be sacrificed as shifter mates. All able warriors of the three tribes would meet, and choose their mate from the line of one thousand females. If any warriors were to chose the same woman, then they must fight to the death for her. Once mated on the blue sands, the couple could only be separated from one another by death.

The tribal chieftains befriended these new creatures and brought them their proposal. They learned that the humans were the last of their kind, refugees from a planet called Earth. There had once been billions of them on their planet, but now their numbers were down to only a few hundred thousand. The humans were grateful to the tribes for their peaceful welcome and agreed to their proposition. They would sacrifice one thousand females every year, in exchange for protection and an otherwise peaceful life on Lacertine. And so they began to rebuild their lives on the lush, grassy hills of the Eastern Highlands.

* * * * *

CHAPTER ONE

Mia

* * * * *

Mia hurried down the dock, her wild hair flowing behind her as she waved at the boat that was pulling away.

“Papa! Wait!” She cried frantically. Her father looked up at her with confusion. She skidded to the end of the dock, panting heavily and clutching a package. He eyed the small linen sack appreciatively.

“You forgot your lunch.”

Her father grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Sweet Mia! You are too good to me,” he said as he leaned over to retrieve his food for the day. He blew Mia a kiss, and then eased the boat out into the blue waters.

Mia turned around and walked leisurely back along the pier. She paused momentarily to catch her breath. She loved the salty smell of the sea, and the way that the sun warmed her bare skin. A few silver sea birds called out to her, beckoning her to spend the day on docks, lounging around and dipping her feet into the waters. She sighed, knowing that she had to get home to start on her chores.

“Good morning, Mia!” a voice called.

Mia turned around and shielded her eyes to see in the bright sunlight. Mr. Danvers, her Ancient Human History teacher, waved to her from a nearby boat.

“Hello Mr. Danvers!”

“How is that project coming along, the one you and your sister are supposed to be working on?” There was a slight twinkle in his eyes and Mia knew it was because he already knew the answer.

“We finished last night,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Of course you girls did!” he said happily. “If only all my students could be as bright and dedicated as you,” he sighed. “You ladies never disappoint.”

Mia smiled kindly. “Enjoy the rest of your day!” She called.

She hurried the rest of the way up the dock, and hoped fleetingly that her father would catch some Nihilo crabs that day. They hadn’t had any in months. Nihilo crabs were big, fleshy crustaceans as large in size as a person's head, with three monster claws each. One was a meal in itself. Their meat was sweet and buttery, and Mia’s mother knew how to cook them with just right.

As she walked along the craggy shore, Mia’s thoughts drifted to the impending Mating Ritual. She shuddered to think that it was only eight short weeks away. The year was nearly at its end, and the first lunar cycle of the new year was looming over them like a storm cloud. She wished more than anything that she had been born a boy, so that she wouldn’t have to go through the agony of these next few weeks.

It seemed like only yesterday when her Aunt Jossalyn had come over to their house wearing a glittering blue bracelet on her wrist. Mia knew that some women considered it to be a great honor to be selected for mating, but she saw it as a demonstration of barbaric power. Mia remembered how her aunt had cried, and begged not to have to leave her family. She remembered how her mother had attempted to console her aunt while fighting back her own tears. Jossalyn had been the first person to be selected that Mia had ever really known.

Mia’s parents hadn’t let Mia or her sisters go to the Mating Ritual, though they’d gone in support of Jossalyn. Mia’s mother never seemed quite the same afterwards. Every year, Mia’s mother would get a haunted look in her eyes, mourning the loss of her sister.

From what Mia’s mother had told her, Aunt Jossalyn had been taken by the Sabre Pride, to live in the perpetual heat of the sun in the Southern Lowlands. Once a woman was taken by her mate, they disappeared to their tribal region and never spoke to their human relations again. Mia’s mother had no way of knowing if her sister was alive or dead. Mia often thought to herself that it would be best if her aunt was dead. What kind of life would she have living as a sexual slave to a ravenous beast?

She shuddered as she approached her family’s sea cottage. Mia had heard of older girls from school who had been selected by the tribal scouts. She remembered seeing the chosen girls huddled together, tears streaming down their faces, and their new blue bracelets sparkling under the bright lights of the school hallways.

Mr. Danvers taught Mia that humans had once lived on another planet called Earth. Although they had destroyed the planet and all but exterminated their own race, Mia couldn’t help thinking about how nice it must have been for humans on Earth. How freeing it must have been to be in charge of your own destiny, to decide who would be your mate, when to have a baby, and to never live in fear that you would be selected by a brutal monster and sent to live with it in its foreign tribal lands.

Mia tried to push the horrible thoughts from her mind. Worrying wasn’t going to help anything, after all. She walked around the back of the house, where she knew she would find Melanie. Sure enough, Melanie was there in the small yard that overlooked the sea. Whenever Mia looked at Melanie, it was like she was looking in the mirror. Her sister had long red locks that looked even brighter than usual in the plentiful sunshine. Her emerald green eyes were set in a pretty heart shaped face with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

Melanie broke into a grin as Mia approached. “Hey sis!”

Mia smiled and sat next to her twin. “I saw Mr. Danvers at the dock. I told him we were finished with our project.”

Melanie tossed her head back and laughed. “Was he surprised?”

“Of course not.”

“Gracie is already driving Mama crazy. That’s why I came out here.”

Mia chuckled. Gracie was their younger sister, a mini-version of themselves. Her bright red hair, however, was unruly and curly, making the little rug rat even more noticeable.

Mia hated the fact that she and her sisters had red hair. Most humans had dark hair, and Mia had often wished that she had born with lush brown locks. Light hair was a rarity, and red hair even more so, which made women with red hair much more desirable to the tribes. Mia could think of only a handful of girls she knew who had light hair, and no one else in her small town had red hair besides the girls in her family.

Although both of Mia's parents had dark hair, her Aunt Jossalyn’s hair had been red. She had been very beautiful, from what Mia remembered. Mia’s father once revealed that her mother broke into tears when she realized her twins were redheads.

“What are you thinking about?” Melanie demanded.

Mia knew her eyes must be filled with worry and sadness. “Nothing,” she lied.

Melanie put her book down and took Mia’s hand in her own, her sister knew her too well. “You can’t keep dwelling on it. It’s out of our control. The scouts will come one day and we will have to take our chances, just like every other girl our age.” Mia opened her mouth to protest, feeling the anger bubbling inside her, she hated feeling so helpless. “And I don’t want to hear any more about our damn hair! I love my hair! And if that means that I’m going to get selected because of it, then I’m going to have to deal with it!”

Mia admired Melanie’s realist attitude, wished she could share her sister's careful reasoning and calm demeanor. Conversely, Mia was filled with passion and fire—she had a bad temper and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

“Now let’s go inside. I want to get our chores done before this gorgeous day is over!” Melanie demanded. She hopped off the bench, and left her book behind for later. Mia followed Melanie inside, rolling up the sleeves of her plain gray dress as she entered the kitchen.

“Thank you, sweetheart, for taking Papa his lunch,” Mia’s mother said as she and Melanie walked in the door. She planted a kiss on Mia’s cheek and smiled wily as she handed each girl a bucket full of cleaning supplies and sent them up the creaky wooden steps to the second floor.

While most people in Mia’s small town lived in the tiny clusters of modern houses just beyond the docks, Mia’s parents had opted for an older cottage because it had “charm,” as they put it. And though the newer homes of the town had self-cleaning amenities, the cottage still needed to be cleaned by hand.

Mia and Melanie set out to clean the bathroom and two bedrooms that made up the second floor. Gracie was in charge of cleaning her own room, but Mia and Melanie still had to go in to make sure she’d done a good enough job.

“Mia! You’re back!” cried a small voice. A crop of wild red curls emerged from behind the shower curtain.

“Gracie! What are you doing in here?”

“Hiding from Mama,” she admitted, pulling the curtain back. The tub was filled with books and dolls.

“She’s cleaning the downstairs now, so you’re safe. Hurry up and get your room clean so we can finish fast and go outside to play!”

Gracie gathered her treasures and scampered off to her own room. Mia and Melanie cleaned the bathroom, then moved into the bedroom that they shared. They spoke about school and some of their friends. Both girls were the brightest fifth years in their class. And their bright hair, pretty faces, and fiery personalities, they were two of the most popular girls in their year. Their school wasn’t as big as some of the others in the Eastern Highlands, but it was certainly big enough. The Mating Ritual scouts never overlooked it.

The fifth year picnic was happening in two weeks’ time. And while it was a happy occasion, it was tinged with sadness as well. After all, it would be a farewell party for some of the girls. Mia always remembered returning to school after the Mating Ritual had taken place, noticing how the hallways seemed less crowded, and how the mood in the building seemed darker.

Some girls sobbed over losing their friends, other students stayed home to mourn the loss of sisters. But even if they tried to hide it for a few days out of respect, all of the remaining girls were relieved that they would be able to finish school and see their nineteenth birthday. Then they would be free to marry, have babies, or pursue more education. Their lives were their own if they made it past that eighteenth year.

Melanie was busy prattling on about one of the fourth year girls who was intent on crashing the fifth year picnic when suddenly an idea struck Mia.