Chapter 2.

“There now! Gather around. Accompanied families you make take your positions around the cliff but please do not interfere once Lady Hale begins her evaluation of the girls.”

Our family members, the ones meant to protect us and love us, skiped in joy to stand behind the white marker painted in a circle on the ground.

“Line up!” said captain Tala.

We moved into formation, each girl from tallest to shortest stood in a half-moon inside the circle.

I stood next to Iliana, our height measured the same but she was thin and tight where as I was curvy with a big chest and a round ass. I inherited my curves from my mother, she said it was a gift and would frequently explain to my sister and I ’how boring it would be if every female looked the same with their long legs and symmetric proportions’.

Boring indeed to look like a walking model with the strength and stamina of a werewolf.

I bit back a chuckle looked around the circle.

“I’m so nervous,” Olive said and fixed her bust, she lifted her breast and unbuttoned two buttons on her brasier.

“Not me. Just think about the Alphas, close your eyes and imagine arriving at the house,” Liv said and closed her eyes, “you step inside and see them, big, tall and powerful and they’re all yours. They will chase you and not the other way around,” she said and bit down on her glossy lip seductively.

She shouldn't be wearing lipgloss, it’s against the rules and that was all I could think about now whereas the girls around her were getting giddy thinking about what was waiting for them.

Why couldn't I have been as brainwashed like them? Then I would stand here and dream about big hunky men chasing me, wanting to claim me, instead of panicking over the fact that it wasn't a fairytale we were walking into. We were giving everything up, every ounce of free will is stripped the second they put a number on your head. And just when I thought that I had scared myself to the core, they spoke.

“Lady Hale everyone.” Captain Tala stepped back.

The blood in my veins felt like it froze to ice when I heard the footsteps come at us. Lady Hale walked out from around the covered shed and she held her signature cane in her hand, the eagle head on the top would always be stained in blood after the ritual but it was spotlessly polished in the begining.

“Hello girls,” He voice was smooth and spoken through a smirk on her red lips. Her long black hair sat high on her head and fell in a braid to her lower back.

She’s wearing a black leather corset and black jeans that cling to her body like a second skin.

“We shall begin right away, I hear the Alpha’s are more than eager to meet this years selection of girls,” she purred.

Like we’re priced cattle up for auction.

The girls smiled but kept their eyes stuck on their feet. We obey the rules or we get punished and we have seen this happen to many times to mess up now that it’s our turn and we’re the ones who can get in trouble.

The small notes with each girls name on it was being sifted in the chalice. They took their sweet time choosing, wanting each girl desperate and sweating before the first name was called.

“Anna Winston,” Lady Hale walked up to her and scanned her from top to bottom. Anna was nervously pressing her toes into the dirt and pulling them in. She was fidgeting, something that was seen as a sign of weak nerves. Everyone stiffened when Lady Hale stabbed her cane down next to Annas foto and she froze. We all froze from the sound of the sharp tip slicing through the wind.

She lifted the cane and the eagle-head pressed under Anna’s chin and her head was lifted. Only now was Anna allowed to make eye contact.

Lady Hale always watched the body first, evaluating everything she saw and she ranked you on four factors; chest, waist, hips and ass. The face was a whole other factor, one she looked at last. Over the years Lady Hale had made remarks that stuck in our heads, we would recite them later- for me it was mockery but for the other girls it was like reciting a whole scripture.

One of the remarks that stuck was three years ago, one of the girls had a big scar running from her eye to her lips and Lady Hale said ’I can sell an ugly face but not an ugly vessel. You may not bare his children but you will make him happy’

“Turn for me,” she said. I shivered and returned from the memories that plagued me.

Anna turned, her hands fell to her sides when she did a full spin before stopping in front of Lady Hale.

“Hm,” the eagle head landed roughly on her colors bone and pulled down over Anna’s chest, the wings pressed down over her nipple and Anna gulped while looking for a sign on Lady Hales face to see what she though.

“Lovely,” Lucy Hale watched with contentment and scribbled something on her board.

She raised the cane and stabbed the sharp beak of the eagle into Anna’s side. The pain had her bending over, she was weaker due to the lack of nutrition- that wouldn't have hurt her otherwise. Her eyes glowed when her wolf stepped forward, agitated by the pain and Lady Hale was watching with pride. Her eyes glimmered and she smiled as she turned the beak and the drew the first drop of blood from her first victim.

“Very well, seven,” she declared. Anna gasped and shifted her head, her mother was clapping from the sidelines as Anna’s hands were tied behind her back by captain Tala.

The fear in her eyes twinkled when she looked at her mom and her dad stood behind smiling proudly. It wasn't fear of being taken from her family, it was fear of disappointing them.

*Only if a girl wasn't chosen by an Alpha would she return home. They would be taken back as soon as the Hunt was over and would forever live as castaways. Unwanted by any pack, even their own. It was unfathomable the shame that would be brought upon the whole family if a girl returned unmarked. Many parents hoped to never see their girls again after the ritual.

Anna looked down at her feet as Lady Hale continued the rounds with the girls.

She stood in front of Jess, a girl i’ve been close to since we were kids and also the one I’ve feared for the most the whole of last year. Jess was the kindest girl you’ll ever meet but the fear in her eyes wasn't a reflection of her ranking but rather the fact that she won't get one- Jess doesn't have a wolf. She was the first pack member in a century to be born without a wolf and I felt my heart beating faster the longer Lade Hale stood with her.

Just one glance was all it took.

Lady Hale stepped back and tilted her head.

“Shift,” she gave the order.

I could see Jess fighting to tell her, I told her to be honest immediately and be grateful that she didn’t have her wolf. She’ll get to stay, her parents would never shun her, they were good people, and if the Alpha did then they would go with her. She would never be alone. The silence was deafening as everyone waited for the inevitable. I watched her parents press up abasing each other with tears pooling in their eyes in fear of how Lady Hale would handle their daughter.

Jess gulped and called on all of her courage.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

Lady Hale stepped aside with a scowl.

It went to fast for anyone to see but the eagle ornament strikes Jess’s face and she fell to the ground.

“Such a waste of a pretty face.” All she had to do was flick her head and two warioirs were by her feet in a second. "Dispose of her."

"Yes, Lady Hale." 

I heard her cries as the warriors dragged her away into the woods. They would leave her there and after the ceremony her parents would be able to go and get her; I saw them in the corner of my eyes, they wanted to run after her but there were rules and certain ones couldn't be broken without causing further consequents. I could still hear Jess’s screams and only when she was far enough away did it stop.