Ivy’s Point Of View
The water I swallowed a moment ago seems to have come back up, and I find myself choking. No one asks if I’m okay or tries to comfort me as I attempt to breathe. Eventually, I recover enough to ask, "A Breeder? You want me to be a baby-making machine for an Alpha?"
I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. I’m a virgin! I’ve never even kissed a man before! I’ve been saving myself in hopes of finding a true love match that will become a fated mate, but from what I’m hearing, none of that matters now.
"That’s right, dear," my father says. "The pay is excellent, and it would give our pack some much-needed status in the kingdom."
"But what about me?" I ask, annoyed. "You’re okay with essentially selling my virginity to some random Alpha?"
"Honey, it’s not like that," my mom says. "It’s an honor. A lot of Alphas and Betas are sending their daughters to try for the position. We are only hoping that you’ll be the best suited."
I shake my head. "No, please."
My father’s hand lashes out and slaps me hard across the face. I recoil as my cheek lights on fire. I should’ve known better than to tell him no. This isn’t the first time he’s slapped me. "Don’t you tell me no, little bitch!"
I step back, out of his reach. "Mom, Dad, please! You know I’ve always done everything you’ve asked me to do, but you can’t seriously be asking me to do this! To sell myself to an Alpha I don’t even know?"
My dad takes a deep breath through his nose. "I think you’re misunderstanding a couple of things, Ivy," my father says. "First of all, we’re not asking you to do anything. We are telling you. You’ll leave tomorrow."
"But Dad!" I begin. He holds up a hand to stop me, and I’m not sure if he might strike me if I don’t stop talking. He has done so before.
"The other thing you’re misunderstanding, Ivy," he continues, "is that you will not be a Breeder for a random Alpha."
I take a deep breath, hoping that means I won’t be a Breeder at all. "I won’t?" I ask worriedly.
"No, daughter," my mother says. "There are four Alphas, and they’ve already been selected, so it isn’t random at all!"
My spirits fall as I realize my misunderstanding had nothing to do with not having to become a Breeder. That is still the job they are giving me. It’s just the random part I was apparently wrong about.
"So... I’ll be assigned to one of the Alphas as a Breeder?" I ask them.
Again, my parents shake their heads. "No, that’s not it at all," my father says, clearly growing agitated again.
I lean back against the kitchen counter, feeling myself grow dizzy and weak in the knees from so much discussion about such a terrifying subject. "What is it then?" I ask.
They have an internal debate about who has to answer that question, and it is my mom who draws the short stick. With a deep breath, she says, "Ivy, you won’t be a Breeder to one of the Alphas. You’ll be a Breeder to all four."
"All four?" The words echo around in my head, but I can’t absorb them. It just doesn’t seem possible. My parents are willing to sell me to all four of them?
I’ll have to have sex with four different men?
"No!" The word escapes my lips before I can even think about it, and once again, I feel the sharp blow of my father’s hand contacting my cheek.
The stinging inside of me is worse than the smarting in my cheek, though. I can’t do this...
That lightheaded feeling envelopes me, and the next thing I know, the world is turning dark at the edges, and I find myself giving way to gravity.
The last thing I hear is my mom saying, "Ivy, really?" and then the world goes black.
The journey to Castle Ravenwood takes about two days. We travel by train, me and the escort that King Victor has sent to make sure that I arrive at the castle safely. Some of the packs are in a bit of an uproar over the way that King Victor has chosen the four Alphas to be considered to replace him, and there’s a possibility that they might be willing to take their outrage out on the women coming to the castle.
This entire journey is a little overwhelming, and I still haven’t gotten my mind wrapped around why I’m even going to the castle. The last thing on earth I want to do is be a Breeder—not even for one Alpha, let alone four strangers.
My hands are trembling, and my stomach is in knots as I swallow back bile. I can’t believe I’m even here!
My shoulder still hurts from where my father pushed me onto the train, right before the door closed.
This is the last place in the world I ever wanted to be!
But here I am, sitting next to Delta Marcus, my escort, on a train speeding toward the castle. I know that there are other women on board who are going for the same purpose, but I haven’t met any of them yet. The escorts all think it would be best if we wait until we get to the castle to get to know one another.
If we even have the chance to. After all, only one of us will be staying. We’re all essentially competitors.
I overhear a conversation between two passengers in front of us. "I suppose some of these pretty girls must be going to the castle to audition for that dreadful Breeder position," the woman says.
The man sitting next to her, who I assume is her husband, says, "Yes, this is the third train ride I’ve been on this month where there’s been a bunch of hopeful young women about to have their dreams shattered."
That’s true. My dreams will indeed be shattered if I am selected.
But I look around the train and see lots of girls seemingly much more confident than I am. Bleached blondes, fierce redheads, girls with satiny dark hair... I’d go as far to say that they’re more beautiful than me, and because of that, I’m hopeful that one of them will be chosen, not me.
To be fair, I am not ugly, but I’m not beautiful. At least, no one has ever told me that I am. I have blonde, straight hair, blue eyes, and a decent figure. My nose is a little too long for my face, I think, and there’s a small gap between my two front teeth. When I look at these other girls, I see no flaws whatsoever.
My eyes land on a redhead in a green dress. She smiles at me, and I manage a smile back, but I’m too nervous to keep looking at her. She’s way prettier than I am, which makes me feel slightly better.
Everyone else seems happy about this possibility, though a few girls look a little nervous, but no one looks like they are on the verge of throwing up, like I am.
The redhead is so beautiful, she’ll definitely get the job before I will, which is reassuring, because as much as my parents seem to hate me, at least I would legitimately lose instead of just having to run away to avoid the contest.
But then... maybe that is my best option. I look around the train, wondering if there’s any way I can just hurl myself out one of these windows. We are going too fast for that. That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to consider running away if the chance presents itself.
Whatever is out there in the world, it has to be better than this.