Claiming Eliza

~*1*~

"Eliza!" My mother shouts from the cottage.

Sighing, I get up and brush off the dirt. The yellow flowers sway with the wind, looking like they're waving good bye.

Adjusting my dress, I head toward the cottage. The sun is in the middle of the sky, signally it's the afternoon.

"Eliza!" My mother yells again.

"I'm coming!" I say, starting to jog up the slop. Smoke plumes from the chimney, and I let myself in through the back door.

I instantly smell a stranger in my home.

I walk in to find my mother sitting at our shabby, dinning room table, with two males across from her.

They look out of place in this tiny cottage. Their weapons glint at me as well as their breastplates. They take notice of me quickly.

"Is this the she-wolf?" The taller one asks. They both stand up. I try to get my mom to look at me but she seems to be avoiding my gaze.

"Yes, she turned 18 last month." My mother replies. She runs her hand through her greying hair, and the pieces start coming together.

"You have to come with us, Committee's orders all she-wolfs 18 and up that are not mated to be collected for the Mating." One of them declares.

Tears spring to my eyes, and I glance down at my mom. Is she just going to let them take me away?

Apparently. The both grab one of my arms and I start to back up. "If you struggle we will not hesitate to make you unconscious."

Frightened I let them take me. "What if I don't want to mate?!" I say, yanking my hand free to swat a blond lock of hair out of my face.

I yank free and try to run out the back door. I am not going to get claimed. I won't let someone do that to me. Once they do, they practically hold my heart in their hands.

I saw what happened to my mom, and I won't give whoever my mate is a chance to crush my heart.

These guards probably expected running from me because the grab me quickly, and I feel a jab on the side of my neck.

My legs become rubber and I pass out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I wake up in a carriage. My head spins as I try to get my bearings. My skin feels weird, almost like someone scrubbed all the dirt off.

My hair is braided back and they changed my clothes. I can't help feel disgusted that the men's hands were all over me.

My replacement dress is silky to the touch and falls mid thigh. It's a light pink almost white. And the straps are thin like floss. They left my underwear, but my bra's gone.

I don't have big boobs, but it's weird because I can see my nipples.

My mate would probably like that. I shake that thought out of my head. I need to figure out a way to avoid this.

Once they release us we have 10 minutes until they release the horny males. There is a 99.9% chance that my mate is one of them.