1 FULFILL

I ran through the woods. I could feel the wind in my hair and I could smell the fresh flowers blossoming. It was spring and it was beautiful. Spring was my favorite season because it was a time where the earth woke up again. Every single animal that went into hibernation was now opening their eyes to a colorful world of sun, fresh grass, and flowers. My name is Eden Daughtler. I'm eighteen years old...well I just turned eighteen. I was born on May 2nd, so that makes me a Taurus. I am your average teenager. I am 5'3 in height and I weigh about 127 pounds. I'm petite in size but I still have slight curves and a B cup chest. My hair touches my waist and it's a light gray color but can appear black at times. I get that from my mom. My aquamarine eyes are rare and no one knows where I got them from. I love reading books, spending time with my sister and my friend. I'm adventurous and easygoing. I like to spend my time outside in nature. I don't mind getting dirty but other girls do. A lot of the things that I do are not appropriate for a woman. From a young age, we are trained to be ladies and be polite. We are to act like we are princesses even when we are not. We live in a world where men are superior to women. The only thing that we are good for is breeding. I try to tell myself that I'm not one of those girls. I don't fall in that category and I refused to be used. But in the back of my brain, the thought always lingered. One day I would have to be bred. I sat down in front of the small pond. This was my favorite spot to come and relax. I finished all my chores and I was going to enjoy my free time. I live with my mom and my younger sister. My sister is six years old and she is a handful. But she is the sweetest little girl that you would ever meet. She has the softest light brown hair. Her hazel eyes always seem to sparkle when she sees me. My mother has long hair just like mine. Hers is grey mixed with black. To be in her early 40's, she is beautiful. My father walked out on us a few years ago. He wanted more than what my mother couldn't offer him. We live in a small town and there aren't many of us. My mother does what she can to make sure that we are taken care of, but it gets hard. I know that she wants me to marry into a wealthy family so that we don't have to struggle as much. But most of the wealthy families are werewolves. Unfortunately, my family is just human. We don't have to worry about the mating bond and being pulled to someone that we don't know. We get to choose our own fate and that's the one thing that I love about being human. I heard my mom calling me and I jumped up. Break time was over, time to get back to work.

I walked inside the house and smiled at my mom. She looked as if she was frustrated with the pot of soup that she was cooking. I walked over to the stove and grabbed the spoon from her.

"Thank you, you look a mess where have you been?"

"I took a run in the woods. It's so beautiful out there. Maybe after dinner, we can all go for a walk and enjoy the full moon tonight."

My mother sighed loudly and sat down at the table. I told you before, Eden. "It is not ladylike for you to be running through the woods like a rabbit. You are a young lady and you are going to act like one. Now, I have some news for you. The castle is holding its annual Blood ceremony. They said that one girl from each village is invited. Since you are the oldest one here, you will go. We have never had an opportunity like this before. The royals don't usually mingle with our kind."

The blood ceremony was a ceremony that was dedicated to the king. Every time there was a new king, he had to find a mate. We called them queen but, in their world, it was mate. I guess King Thorin finally passed away. The castle wasn't too far away from my village. But I had no interest in the higher-ups. They acted as though they were better than us and they never came out of their palace gates anyway. They sat in their castle at the top of the hill and didn't bother to help their citizens. Most girls my age were buzzing about the castle and the new king but I always drowned them out. Although, it was hard for me to get information because I didn't go to school. My mom decided to home school me and my sister. She didn't want me to be around other girls who could poison my mind. She said that other girls would be doing things that I wasn't doing. I didn't understand what she meant. She didn't want me around boys either. One day she caught me talking to a boy and I was punished for it.

"Mom, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean look at me. How am I supposed to impress a king?"

She stood up and grabbed my wrist yanking me towards her. "Listen to me, your father left us with nothing. We have been suffering and it's time that we get what we deserve. Your pretty face is our meal ticket. Use your looks, charm, and body to win over the king. Seduce him if you have to. But it's time to stop thinking like a little girl and start thinking like a woman. You are a woman now, Eden. You were put here to breed and you know that. One thing that you have that I'm pretty sure a lot of other girls don't have is your virginity. That should automatically put you at the top of the list. You leave tomorrow and I don't want to hear anything else about it."

Being pure was something that my mother took very seriously. She didn't want me to devalue myself in any way.

I rubbed my wrist once she let go. I knew my duty, but it was still a hard pill to swallow. "What if I'm not able to please the king, then what?"

She smiled, "I'll marry you off. Either way, you will bring income to this family somehow."

"It's so unfair," I whispered.

"Being a woman is a hard thing. We go through things that we don't want to go through. But this is what we were meant to do. Men are more superior than we are. We can't take care of ourselves, we need them."

I didn't respond, I ran to my bedroom and slammed the door. I hated that the weight of my family eating was on my shoulders. I wasn't cut out for this. I was no match for a king. I was way out of my league going into the castle. I didn't even have a proper dress to wear. What the hell was I supposed to do?

My room door opened and I turned around to see my little sister Grace walking in. She sat down on the end of my bed and rubbed my leg.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for coming to check on me."

She stared at me for a moment before climbing into my lap. "Do you really have to leave tomorrow? Is it true that Mom is sending you to the castle?"

"Yeah, but I'll be back. I'll make sure that I come back for you. I'll only be gone a few days. Can you manage to stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

"I could try," she sobbed.

I rubbed her back trying to soothe her. My little sister was my life, she meant everything to me. There were days where we would go hungry. We didn't have enough money to feed ourselves. If I had to marry one of the kings' guards in order to make sure that my sister eat every night, I would. I understood my duty as a woman and it was time that I fulfilled it.

"Listen, it's my job to take care of you and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I won't abandon you I promise. You know that whenever I promise something, I keep it."

She smiled a little. "Don't go to the castle causing trouble."

I laughed, "I'll try my best. Now, how about you help me pick out a dress to wear?"

She wiped away her tears and jumped up racing to my closet. I knew that helping me find clothes was going to make her feel better. I hated seeing my little sister cry and that alone pushed me to listen to my mother. But there was another part of me that couldn't hide who I was. I was an adventurous spirit and I wanted to enjoy life. I wanted to do things that women usually didn't do. I enjoyed climbing trees and catching fish in the river. But I knew that once I became a wife, I wouldn't be able to do any of that anymore. I would have to be ladylike and carry myself like a pretty princess. The thought made me nauseous, but it was something that I couldn't fight. I was born a woman and there was no changing that.

It was hard telling my sister goodbye, but I knew that it was only for ashort time. I arrived at the village, and I couldn't stop staring when I saw how beautiful the village was, it was children laughing andplaying everywhere. The pack was full of so much life and activity; it was waybigger than my village by six hundred more members. I couldn't believeall the things they had; they had flower shops, bookstores, mini restaurants, and a hospital. All the girls were beautiful. They were wearingtheir best dresses and their hair was done in elegant buns. I decided to wear acute red dress that I thought was elegant enough. My hair was neatly brushedand pulled back by two hairpins. I decided to wear black flats because I could be clumsy on heels.

As I watched as the women conversate with each other, I started to feel lonely. I stared at the décor in awe. Everything was so beautiful and inviting and so was the village. I thought that the king lived in a castle, but I was mistaken. It was like a city, and he had to own the biggest house. A girl bumped into me, and I turned to face her. She had long blonde hair and baby blue eyes. She was breathtaking as she stood there in her yellow dress and yellow heels. She stared at me in disgust and I frowned. What was her problem?

"I can't believe they stooped so low as to invite the poor. As if the king would ever breed you. I would be afraid that you would bring lice to my bed." She giggled and walked away leaving me standing there alone.

I was shocked by her words but most of all I was hurt. I didn't belong here and it showed. Everyone here was way above me and I was a nobody. I didn't understand why my mother would send me here. I wanted to go home but I knew that I couldn't. I had to see this through, no matter what. The guards called for attention, and we all stood in line. I tried to keep my distance because I didn't want to get too close to someone and offend them.

I looked up and stared in amazement at Queen Esme. She was so beautiful in her white dress. Her long brown hair flowed down her back. She stood in front of us and smiled.

"I'm so happy to have you, young women, here today. It is a pleasure to see you all come out to support your king in finding a mate. My son, Tristian is our new king. He is ready to breed the female that he sees fit." She stepped aside and a young man walked to the front.

I stared at him in amazement. He was handsome if that was even the correct word to use. He was beautiful and tall. His light brown hair was combed neatly over to the side and his steel-grey eyes stared each one of us down. I could tell that he was very well built from the outline of his white button-down dress shirt. I stared down at my feet when our eyes met. There was no way that he was going to pick me. Not when he looked like something from a magazine.

"Thank you all for being here today." I could hear small gasps from the line of girls. His voice was deep but sexy at the same time. "You will be here for two weeks. While you're here, you'll go through two things. You'll have a chance to talk to me one on one. And then you will get to attend the blood ceremony. This is where I will choose who I want to breed. Is this in any way unclear?"

We all answered no and he continued. "I won't take trouble in my home. So, I suggest you behave yourselves. The one-on-one talk with me starts now and after that, you will be shown your dorms. You will get twenty minutes of my time, so make it worth it."

He turned around leaving us standing there. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. How was I supposed to talk to him? What was I supposed to say?