***Opal Hart P.O.V.***
-Bell chimes three times on the intercom-
~Attention, attention, all members from A-H group are to report to the mess hall on time today due to the Alphas visit. Please be on your best behavior, that is all.~
"Opal..." I heard the familiar voice of my bunk mate. "Hey Opal, didn't you hear Lady Jude? She says we need to go to the mess hall on time today, no sleeping all day and missing meals like you have been." I felt Abby gently shake my foot while talking to me.
"I heard everything crystal clear Abby, I just could give a fuck less what they want us to do." I rolled over towards the wall and pulled my hood over my head. "Opal... I don't want Madame Jude to punish you again. You really haven't been the same since you had that meeting with the Major. Please just talk to me, what happened?" I kicked my foot against the wall trying to intentionally scare her away from me, Abby was just to... to, docile, something that I just couldn't stand. Weakness.
"Get. Out. Abby. You don't have to pretend to be nice to me, I hardly know you and honestly its better that way. People like you don't survive in this world long anyway." I hear a soft whimper and a click of our cabin door opening and closing.
Finally alone, but never really alone... Their are cameras in every corner of what some of my 'roomies' would consider a comfortable home. They wanted to keep an eye on us at all times making sure to keep the unpaired females away from the males until a suitable match was found.
A 'suitable' match was always found.
After the pairing we are moved into a private home still inside the guarded Human sector of Oddiea. I'm not sure what happens after that, although I would image "then comes baby in a baby carriage." Disgusting, every one of them.
I had only been in this encampment for three weeks and I was immediately called into the head of operations office, Major Jack-as... I mean Jake. He was the head of the unpaired male sector and it was his job to meet with each female that was ready to be paired with the males in his group. At 23 years young I was the youngest girl to have been found alive after the zombies were cured. All the other woman were hitting their early thirties, woman who could have been married and had children before the world decided it wanted to die.
*Flashback to Meeting*
I knocked gently on the Major's office door, the two other gentlemen standing guard in front had checked my badge and nodded for me to enter. I was slightly nervous because I had never met this so called Major nor had I seen a single male in over three weeks since arriving to this female only camp. The male side already seemed way more militarized than what the woman were accustom to. Our daily activities were gathering, cooking, laundry... Things my mother would force me to do.
"Welcome Opal, please take a seat in front of my desk." I quickly moved to sit and gazed at my hands fiddling in my lap. I wasn't able to see his face when I entered because he was turned towards the window behind his large oak desk.
"I have been reading over your file Opal, and I must say I am quite impressed." I hear the movement of the blinds being shut and wheels rolling across the hard wood floor. I know he was looking at me now waiting for me to reply but I kept my eyes glued to the ground. "Can I ask you a question Opal?" His voice was smooth but something tells me that made this man even more dangerous, but I replied with a quick nod of my head.
"How does a young girl such as yourself survive alone for seven years during the fall of Oddiea, I had heard rumors that a woman with bright white hair and a fierce background had been transferred over from the Alphas pack, but I had to meet her for myself."
"I'm sorry but I guess you have to be more specific, what have you heard?" I finally lifted my head to be met with piercing grey eyes; the man that stood before me looked no more than thirty with jet black hair that was neatly gel'ed back and a cleanly shaven face. I am sure by now I looked confused because Lady Jude was in her fifties, I guess I just expected someone... old.
His face looked stunned for a second as we caught each others gaze and a smile began to form across his lips. "I heard that you managed to trek and survive through the undead virus in the Forest of Spirits. That place covers over three thousand miles worth of land and with the virus spreading so rapidly at the time I find it quite impossible a woman as... beautiful and frail looking as yourself made it alone for seven years." He had slowly walked around his desk and made his way to sit on the edge forcing me to tilt my head upwards to look him in the eyes.
"That I have to say is true Major. I lived in a cabin with my family on the edge of the forest all of my life. I hunted game with my younger brother and father as soon as I turned twelve, and my mother taught me how to cook and store meat and vegetables. I guess you could say I was giving the tools to survive in the wild my whole life." By now I could hear my heart beating in my ears, his close proximity made me feel like a caged dove and his judging eyes somehow seemed unwavering.
"Hmm, so you were not alone?" He briefly paused seeming cautious before continuing. "I have no record of a male member of your family on file, do you know if they have been vaxed?" I clenched my jaw trying to refrain from showing him too much emotion, "I have not been looked for from the undead sector, so I highly doubt my family survived. And no, I was not alone at first, but we had no way to barricade and protect ourselves from the growing numbers of the dead. So, my father did what he thought was best and gave me his rifle and told me to take my brother and go into the woods." I stopped holding back tears that always threaten to fall whenever I thought of my younger brother.
"I.... I ran so fast that he wasn't able to keep up and I lost him to a group of dead... I continued to run around for hours screaming for him but I knew that I had been too late. After that I wondered around for days surviving off whatever animals and plants I could find. Occasionally I would run into people here an then, some I had to kill to defend my virtue, others were already bitten or worse dying from environmental hardships..." I closed my eyes for a second not wanting to see the pity I'm sure he had plastered on his face before I continued.
"The last two years were the worst though, food sources were dwindling so I wasn't able to find as much meat... I began to get weaker, thinner, until one day I was drinking water from a stream that I would normally circle on a route I cleared every day. I guess my body had finally given up and I passed out. When I came too I had a woman looking over my scrapes and applying some sort of salve. I later discovered that she was a werewolf and that her and her pack were looking for human survivors, so I stayed with them and learned how to become stronger by training with the warriors of the pack for eight months, until they had no choice but by law to send me here. They are my second family, I just have to be here because the laws placed by your commander." He leaned back to size me up further and the air around me definitely felt lighter, he didn't seem happy that I mentioned them being family.
"Well..." he speaks coolly, "you are more spectacular than I thought, and I must say that you are very lucky you were able to be so 'close' with the werewolves." He clears his throat and crosses his leg over, "tell me more about the pack you were staying in, wasn't that the same one that is lead by Alpha Tidus himself?" I quirk my right eyebrow questioning why he was so curious about the wolves. "I'm sorry Major, but I don't understand what that has to do with the pairing interview... The werewolves are a very private intimate species too sir, they really don't like sharing information with outsiders." I was trying to keep my patience but something about this man had all my warning bells chiming.
He lifted his hand as if to clear the air and chuckled, "Call me Jake, Opal..." His tongue lingered on my name a little to long. "I also heard that their warriors in particular were very strong and handsome." He smirked looking lost in thought.
"That is also another private matter I'm not sure I can discuss Jake. You can ask me anything you want about me and I will answer, except for my time in the pack, please." I had used the word please but it wasn't to be nice, and I really didn't want to reopen the deepest wound in my heart. "So it is true then," he said as more of a statement than a question.
"I'm sorry Jake, but again, you have me at a disadvantage... What, may I ask is true about me that you have heard?" He grabbed the chair that was sitting next to me and turned it so that he could rest his arms on the back of it while sitting facing me still. "You know, I am looking for a wife Opal... I am one of the youngest Majors, but with this high position I am able to provide a comfortable life for me and my future wife." He grabs a loose curl gently rubbing it between his fingers. "I had never married before all of this and they are allowing the Majors to chose a wife of their liking since the female numbers have grown higher over the last few months." he paused and smirked at my flushed face, what was he possibly saying?
"I would like to have you Opal... What do you think about that? We could even take our time before having our first child, I'll give you everything you want and ask for." He seemed so pleased with himself I almost felt guilty having to reject him, I already had found my soul mate... No man could replace that, being here was just a stupid formality. "Jake, I am extremely flattered..." I wasn't sure just how to put it, "I am incapable of being loved and honestly can't stand the idea of procreating just because we are expected to help replenish the human race." In a matter of seconds his sweet demeanor was replaced with pure malice as he stood instantly throwing the chair towards the wall.
"It isn't exactly a choice for you! However I am trying to be kind and find common ground so that we can get along and our match will be made smoother. I understand you were a wolf slut for a few months but they couldn't have been that amazing to make you want to turn down human males." I was absolutely frozen as I watch the once calm gentleman turn into a raging monster, and I had seen some pretty scary monsters. The thing about humans were, they were unpredictable... I had studied monsters for years learning there patterns, wants and needs, and even they kept morals most humans failed at.
I stood slowly as if I were trying to sneak up on a doe, "Major, I have no clue as to why you are talking to me like this when moments ago we were able to carry on a civilized conversation... But I assure you, if you call me a slut one more time I will pull your teeth out of your skull and shove them up your arse." He let out a wicked laugh and rubbed his hand through his thick gel'ed hair and with every word he said next he took a step toward me until his hand was secured around my throat.
"tsk tsk tsk, I know you were raised a ruffian but I assure you a few weeks with me and you will behave like a proper little princess. I will not have you embarrassing me in front of our leader or my peers." I tried all my might to pry his hands off my throat but he had grabbed both of my hands with his other slamming me against the wall. I had been in similar disgusting situations such as this one when I was in the forest alone, but I had a weapon then, and the environmental upper hand.
His hand finally released my throat giving me a chance to breathe properly but he kept my wrists pinned above my head in a death grip. "Do not make a sound princess or I will call the guards in here to have their way with you." I whimper trying to hold in the hot heavy tears that threaten to fall. His hands started to roam over the buttoned collar of my shirt and I clenched my fists causing my nails to dig deeply into my palms.
"I heard that you were mated to a werewolf male but he died protecting the Alpha," he slowly unbuttoned my shirt pulling my collar to the side revealing my mate mark. "Ah there it is, so it is true. I wonder if this will get in the way of you ever feeling real pleasure from our future interactions." I don't know what part of me decided to become brave but I let loose the nastiest lewgie I could muster right between his eyes and he instantly released my hands.
"I would rather die here now than become your brainwashed wife!" I half expected him to hit me or deliver his promise of those guards, but he just let out a crazed cackle. "You have no where to run princess, and no mate to save you. I have no problem spending the rest of our life breaking you. Return to your cabin princess, and be sure to behave yourself... I will be watching." I bolted for the door and didn't stop running until I hit the bed with my knees and hid under the covers.
"Damn you Leo, Damn you for dying on me! You promised you would never leave me! You... Promised..." I spent the rest of the night crying into my pillow weeping for my loved ones I had lost, I wasn't going to stay here... even if I died trying to leave.