02 The Breeder Truck

Maren

I landed hard on the dirty metal floor of the truck bed. It reeked of rust, sweat and piss. 

A chorus of jeers and laughter greeted me. I blinked, eyes adjusting to the dim light. Other wolves, a dozen of them, crowded the space. They all looked to be about my age — young enough to still be malleable, but old enough to know what was happening and why we were here.

A dark-haired girl, wearing a tight purple dress, leered at me. "Well, well, look what they dragged in. A fat bitch. Bet you'll be the first one to get thrown out." She ran her eyes down my body, lingering on my tits and the slight flare of my hips. "That dress is so tight I can see the outline of your ass. Too bad you can't fit into one of our dresses, huh?"

"Leave her alone," a blonde girl snapped from the back corner. She was the only one wearing a cloak, and she clutched it around her like a shield. "She's as much of a tribute as you are."

The dark-haired girl scoffed. "Oh, don't be jealous, Skye. I'll bet you anything I'm his favorite the moment I let him between my legs." 

She stretched languidly, arching her back until her tits pushed up through the bodice. "He's a man, isn't he? I've got a tight little cunt and I can get wet fast, I'll have him claimed before you even get the chance to dream about it." 

She slid her hand between her legs, slapping herself through the thin fabric of her dress. "Men go crazy for a slick, ready cunt, don't they? I'll be dripping for him, just thinking about it. You can bet he'll want me."

"I'll want him," a girl said quietly.

"I'll fuck him," another girl said. "I'll ride him till he can't stand. I'll milk him for his seed."

"I'll give him puppies," said a third.

"I'll be his perfect Luna," said the dark-haired girl. "I'll do anything he wants, I'll be whatever he needs."

The blonde girl laughed. "You'll do what you're told to do," she said. "That's what we're here for. One of us will be his Luna, the rest of us..." She shrugged. "Will be disposed of."

The room fell silent at that. I swallowed hard. 

"He'll choose all of us," one of the other girls said finally, defiant. "Why send so many of us otherwise?"

The blonde girl looked away, shaking her head. "You don't understand. This is the Lycan King we're talking about. He's a beast, an animal. He only wants what he can use, and he doesn't want to use any of us for long."

I shivered, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the cold. 

"Fuck all of you," the dark-haired girl said, standing up. She turned to me, her eyes raking over me. "I don't know who sent you, but you're not going to make it out of this alive."

She climbed over the girls, pushing her way toward me. "And you, sweetheart, are going to be the first one on the menu. You're so fat and slow, I bet he'll break you in two."

She reached down, grabbing me by the throat, hauling me up to my knees. I gasped, clutching at her wrist. Her claws bit into my skin, drawing blood.

"Oh, look," she said. "She's bleeding. Guess that means she's ripe for the picking, huh?"

I heard a low growl. The blonde girl stood, moving to block the dark-haired girl. "Back off," she said quietly. "You know the rules. No one touches the other tributes before the King does."

The words fell from Skye's lips like a curse, and in the sudden hush I felt the truck grow ten degrees colder. The dark-haired girl shot back to her seat, eyes glinting with malice. Skye just tilted her head, a cold little smirk playing around the corners of her mouth.

"Don't be a fool, Skye," a girl piped up from the back, pushing herself upright on her elbows. "This is just your way of scaring the rest of us so he picks you." She smiled, showing sharp teeth. "You're not going to have him to yourself."

Skye didn't even bother with a retort. She just gave a single, decisive nod and turned away, leaving me alone with the new nightmare that had settled like ice in my belly.

One comes out the other side. 

I swallowed hard. Surely that couldn't be right. It sounded like some sick game, and not even the North would resort to—

I forced myself to stop the thought. Of course they would. They had no use for me, for any of them, and one breeding bitch would be enough. 

Unless they wanted to put the rest to work. Maybe that was what Skye had meant - not a death match, but a test of usefulness. That, at least, was something I could do. I knew work. It was all I had ever done.

And who would want me anyway? 

The road was bumpy, and it made my stomach clench. I tried to push my mind away from thoughts of what was about to happen. 

Suddenly there was a thud on the side of the truck, followed by the sound of snarling. I jolted upright, eyes darting around in the dark. 

The girls too were on high alert.

"What was that?" One of them asked.

But to the side, Skye didn't look disturbed. Like she already understood what was happening.

Then more thuds came, and growls. "What the hell—" one of the guards swore. I could barely hear him over the din of snapping jaws and screeching metal. 

The truck swerved violently to the side, and I was thrown across the floor. I hit my head hard on the metal frame, and stars burst across my vision. A guard's voice shouted orders to the others – "Right side! Right side! Shoot to kill!"

There was a burst of gunfire. I rolled over and managed to sit up, head throbbing. The truck sped up, tires screeching as it took a sharp turn. 

The truck threw me again to the other side, my shoulder slamming into the wall of the truck as the driver took the sharp turn. 

I felt my shoulder pop out of its socket, the searing agony radiating through my arm. 

"Arghh!! Fuck!" I screamed, writhing on the ground. 

None of the other girls moved. None of them even looked at me. 

"One down." The voice was flat, uninterested. 

A burst of laughter erupted from the group. The dark-haired laughed loudest, her pale blue eyes flashing cruelly.

Skye's lips curled back in a vicious snarl. "You idiots," she spat at the girls, not even looking at them.

She didn't say anything more; she walked over to me. I shrank back, trying to tuck my arm protectively against my body, but it was no use. She grabbed my wrist, her grip hard enough to bruise, and leaned over me with a furious scowl. 

"Where does it hurt?"

I had to swallow twice before I could force the words out between gritted teeth. "Shoulder... it popped out when I fell..." My voice cracks. 

Then, without any warning, she jerked my arm upward. 

The pain exploded behind my eyes. I howled, arching back as if I could escape it, my vision going dark around the edges. I felt tears flooding my face as I gasped for breath that wouldn't come, my heart jackrabbiting against my ribs. 

After an eternity, it stopped. Skye was still leaning over me, her eyes hard as flint. I stared up at her, shaking and silent, trying to catch my breath. 

"Support it with your other hand until it heals right," she growls. 

I nod wordlessly, too stunned to speak, and carefully lift my good arm to cradle the bad one. Skye studies me for a moment longer, then pushes to her feet and walks away without a backward glance.

One of the girls snorted loudly. "Why are you wasting your time on that fat pig?"

Skye's head snapped towards the speaker. 

The girl's mouth snapped shut.

Still catching my breath, I manage a quiet "Thank you."

Skye's footsteps halted. She turned to me, her face going hard. 

"We're not friends," she said, blunt as a slap. 

Behind me, one of the other girls giggled. "Oh oh," she cooed. 

Skye narrowed her eyes at me. "Don't get any ideas about climbing into the King's bed, either. That's mine. Stay out of my way." She spun on her heel and stalked away.

I flinched. Another girl snickered behind me. "You'd have been better off throwing yourself into that horde," she said. "You're no use to anyone where we're headed anyway." 

My palms prickled with sweat, my heart hammering. 

A moment later the truck lurched to a stop. I braced myself on the wall as the door opened with a screech. 

"Move!" barked an imperious voice from outside. "You're late, all of you. Alpha is already waiting and you'll see him tonight. Hurry it up, girls!"

I stumbled forward and out onto a marble floor. The truck had pulled up in some kind of grand entrance hall. High windows arched overhead, filtering the light. 

A fierce-looking older woman stood by the door, arms folded. She had a tight, silver bun pulled back so severely it must have hurt. Deep lines etched her face, and her pale eyes looked at me with something between contempt and disinterest. 

"Ilsa Marrow," she said curtly, as if it was an insult. "You'll be reporting to me for all matters of discipline and protocol. You'll be bathed and dressed and instructed tonight. Heads down, no eye contact with the King. Do not make me repeat myself." 

I dropped my gaze. Around me, the other girls were being led out of the truck. Guards waited in line, cuffs glinting in their hands. "Cuff them all," Ilsa commanded.

* * *