The Runaway Breeder

I sit in front of my mirror, my reflection stunning with my straight chestnut-colored hair, my off-the-shoulder blush-colored crop top, and my high-waisted mini skirt. Last month, I had turned sixteen, the age a wolf finds their role in their pack and, possibly, their mate. Since I had missed out on last month's roll distribution, considering my birthday was just after it, today I would be given my position in the pack, now that I'm sixteen and had shifted. I can't help but smile, both in excitement at my reflection and at the picture taped to the mirror of my cousin and I. Just after my birthday, Chris and I had gone for a run in the forest that surrounds our territory. His black wolf towered over me while my blue-white fur with black-tipped paws glowed in the warm early spring sunlight of May. "Laina, let's go before we're late," Chris yells up to my room from the bottom of the steps. Taking one last look at myself, I sigh, slip on my knee-high black boots, and grab my cellphone and black handbag before heading out into the second-floor hallway. "Coming!" I yell back to my cousin, hurrying down the stairs to where he waited. One thing that annoys me about Chris is his need to always be on time. One time we really wanted to see the live-action Beauty and the Beast, and Chris made us wait at the theater two hours before the movie even started just so that we could get the best seats and snacks. Needless to say, my popcorn was soggy by the time the movie started. "You look amazing," he gushes as I stand before Chris, doing a small turn so my cousin could approve of my outfit. His mate, Jack, saunters over, giving me a once over and a wink before snuggling into Chris's side with a content smile on his face. "Thank you, you two look amazing as well," I say, laughing. Jack and Chris were the first openly gay mates in the pack. They had come out about ten years ago. This started a little bit of a rift in the pack, but the previous Alpha had stopped it, declaring that same-sex mates are allowed. It was the Moon Goddess' blessing and intent to pair mates of the same sex together, so who was the pack to judge. With that, more and more wolves who said they hadn't found their mates soon came out. It became normal to see openly gay and lesbian couples around the pack, and I couldn't help but beam with pride at how accepting my pack is to change. Chris and jack's relationship is quite sweet. It was a Romeo and Juliet kind of story in the beginning, with their families and pack members being against it, but they persevered and kept strong. The only difference from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is that no one died in our pack for my cousin to be happy. "Now let's hurry up before we are late. That is no way to start off as a working member of this pack." Jack states and grabs both Chris's and my wrist, dragging us out the door and into the car. The pack house is about half an hour's drive from where we live. It functions as a space for meetings, special occasions, and for the warriors and wolves without mates live. If it weren't for Chris and Jack being my family and guardians, I would have been living at the pack house long ago, ever since my parents' deaths. Slowly the big mansion comes into view, and the drive comes to an end, with the car coming to a stop in the parking lot, the three of us getting out in front of the old Victorian building. "Remember, you are to mingle with the other wolves while the Alpha assigns you to your position. Who knows, maybe you can be his mate," Chris says, kissing my forehead before he and Jake walk away to join the other parents and guardians. I sigh sadly as I watch wolves my age talk to their parents one last time, wishing for once that my own had survived the rogue attack eight years ago. Shaking my head, I take a deep breath, sighing wistfully one last time before turning towards the building and heading into it with a brave smile on my face. The first thing that hits me is the amount of wolves; the second is how they are dressed. Everyone wants to make a good impression since they are aiming for the highest position possible, even the girls are trying to stay away from one position that no one wants, the breeder. Breeders are the girls assigned to become the pup-making machines in the pack. Their job is to be bred and fucked senseless by the warriors who are mateless. It is to add more wolves to our pack population and bring about stronger wolves in the next generation. It is a barbaric way to increase the pack's population, but none of us has a say in it. To say I am nervous is an understatement, and knowing that whoever gets the breeder position will be a slave and will be screwed daily 'till she births twenty pups isn't helping my mood. While everyone else mingles, I stick to myself and head to a corner of the room as I spot the Alpha talking to a few girls, two warriors with him at all times. Those warriors are the ones everyone fears. They are the ones waiting for the girl who will be the newest breeder, and they are the ones who will handle the newest breeder because they chose to never find their mates just to be able to have their pick of the breeder populace in the pack. They are the warriors that love being able to screw any girl as they please without repercussion and are a she-wolf's worst nightmare. Finally the Alpha turns in my direction and begins to make his way towards me. I can't help but smile at our young Alpha. At twenty, the man has yet to find a mate to rule beside him as his Luna and is the most eligible bachelor of our pack. "Laina, how ni—." He stops mid-greeting and sniffs the air, moving closer to 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. Could I possibly be his mate? Quietly I wait for his next statement, which 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 fill with smirks as their eyes scan me from head to toe. The one with dreadlocks winks at me, and I know he will want to take his go at me first. His partner reaches out to grab my left arm as the dreadlock guy takes my right, and they begin to lead me out of the room. Whispers and sympathetic gazes are sent my way, but I hold my head high and my gaze steady. I will not show weakness to them. Everyone knows what happens after you are assigned as 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, and this is my future. I feel numb inside as I am led to a separate area just to the left of the pack house, a black car coming into view. In moments, Chris and Jake will be told my position, and they will be given half an hour to talk to me as my legal guardians before I am taken away to what will be my prison for the next twenty or so years. They will be here in Queue a sobbing Chris. "Laina, are you okay?" Chris's voice fills my ears, and his arms hold me in a tight hug. I watch as the guards walk away to give us privacy. Since this is my last free moment, the guards are not allowed to listen in at all. A few minutes of silence falls between us, and I can't stand it, my mind just can't wrap around the situation I am in. "I...I don't know what to do," I whisper, feeling Jack wipe away the 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 don't understand what Chris is saying, my fuzzy mind unable to comprehend his words before I am ripped away from him and pushed into the car, the door slamming in my face and the engine coming to life. I watch in the rear-view mirror as my life fades away from me, the tears now flowing freely. Is this how Katniss felt when she was whisked away from her family in District 12?