Page 2 of Hitched to the Wendigo (Monster Matchmaking #1)

CHAPTER TWO

Sakira

I stumbled, my feet catching on the loose rocks that littered the barren desert floor. The sun beat down mercilessly, and my skin burned despite the thin cloth I'd wrapped around my head and face. My lips cracked and bled, and my throat felt like sandpaper. How long had we been walking? Days? Weeks? Time seemed to blur in this endless wasteland.

"Keep moving!" The harsh voice of our Magnus Terra guard cut through the haze of exhaustion. I glanced back, seeing the gleam of his weapon in the sunlight. It was a stark reminder of why we were here, trudging through this desolate landscape towards an uncertain future.

I wasn't alone in this forced march. There were others, dozens of us, all women, all chosen for this honor . They tore us from our homes, our families, our lives, all because of some ancient pact between humans and monsters that none of us truly understood.

As I took another weary step forward, my mind drifted back to the day that had set me on this path. The day my sister died.

We'd been gathering herbs near the glacier's edge, Mira and I. The ice fields had always been dangerous, but we needed the rare plants that grew there for our medicines. I remembered the crisp air, the way the sunlight glinted off the ice, making it look like a field of diamonds.

Mira had been laughing, her breath forming little clouds in the cold air. "Look, Sakira!" she'd called, holding up a small blue flower. "I found one!"

I opened my mouth to congratulate her when a bone-chilling roar echoed across the ice. We froze, our eyes meeting in shared terror. We knew that sound. Everyone in our village knew that sound.

"Run!" I screamed, grabbing Mira's hand and pulling her towards the treeline. But the ice was slippery, and Mira was younger, smaller. She couldn't keep up.

I heard it before I saw it with the thunderous sound of something massive moving at incredible speed. I glanced back and my heart stopped. A wendigo, its eyes glowing red with hunger, was bearing down on us.

Everything after that was a blur of screams and blood and the sickening crunch of bones. I ran, my legs burning, my lungs on fire. The village alarm bells rang in the distance. And I remembered Mira's final, terrified scream, cut short by a wet, tearing sound that haunted my nightmares for years to come.

A rough shove from behind jerked me back to the present. "I said keep moving!" the guard snarled. I stumbled forward, blinking away the memory and the tears that had formed in my eyes.

It amazed me at the rapid temperature change once we moved north out of the mountains. Our village enjoyed the cool that came from the south as it mingled with the heat from the valley desert below. On the other side of the mountains were the glaciers, the icy cold that caused us to move north, to warmer temperatures, but not to the desert, where nothing lived.

The testing center loomed ahead, a stark metal structure rising out of the desert like some alien monolith. My stomach churned at the sight of it. This was where they'd determine our genetic compatibility with the monsters. This was where they'd seal our fates.

As we approached the entrance, they herded other women inside. Some were crying, others looked shell-shocked, and a few wore expressions of grim determination. I wondered which category I fell into.

The interior of the center was blessedly cool after the scorching heat outside, but the clinical sterility of the place quickly overshadowed that small comfort. Everything was white with the walls, the floors, even the uniforms of the staff. It made me feel dirty and small.

They separated us into groups and led us down different corridors. I landed in a small, windowless room with several other women. A stern-faced technician entered, carrying a tray of equipment that made my skin crawl.

"Remove your outer garments and sit," she commanded, not bothering to look at any of us as individuals.

With trembling hands, I peeled off my dusty, sweat-stained clothes. The thin gown they provided offered little comfort or modesty.

The DNA extraction process was brutal. They took blood, skin samples, even bone marrow. Each procedure was more painful than the last, and by the end, I was shaking and nauseous. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional toll of knowing why they were doing this, to see which of us would be compatible with the monsters. To see which of us would wed a monster and bear their children.

Hours passed in a haze of pain and fear. Finally, a different technician entered the room, holding a tablet. Her face was impassive as she read out names and numbers.

"Sakira Oberdore," she called. I looked up, my heart pounding. "Genetic compatibility: 99.8%."

The world tilted on its axis. The gasps from the other women and their pitying looks didn't help me accept it. But all I could focus on was that number. 99.8%. It might as well have been a death sentence.

I don't remember standing or moving, but suddenly I was on my feet, running. Blind panic drove me forward as I burst out of the room and into the corridor. Alarms blared, and I could hear shouts behind me, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.

Somehow, I made it outside. The desert heat hit me like a wall, but I kept running. My bare feet bled from the cuts on the sharp rocks, but I didn't feel it. All I knew was that I had to get away. I wouldn't mate with a monster.

I don't know how long I ran or how far I got. The desert all looked the same, with endless stretches of sand and rock under a merciless sun. My lungs burned, and my vision blurred. Still, I pushed on, driven by terror and desperation.

It was the mountains that finally stopped me. They rose before me, their peaks disappearing into the clouds. I stared at them, my mind racing. Could I climb them? Could I escape into those towering crags and disappear?

I was half-way up a narrow pass when I heard engines. Looking back, I saw a cloud of dust on the horizon. The Magnus Terra guards had found me.

Panic gave me a fresh burst of energy, and I scrambled higher, my hands bleeding as I pulled myself over sharp rocks. But it was no use. The guards had vehicles, and they knew these mountains. They caught up to me just as I reached a precarious ledge.

"Stop right there!" One of them called out. I turned, seeing the guards spreading out below me, their weapons trained on my position. "There's nowhere left to go. Come down slowly with your hands where we can see them."

I looked behind me at the sheer drop beyond the ledge. Then back at the guards. For a moment, I considered jumping. Wouldn't that be better than the fate that awaited me?

But as I stood there, teetering on the edge, a strange calm came over me. I thought of my family back in the village. Of little Daisy, who needed the extra food and medicine my match would provide. Of my parents, who had already lost one daughter to the monsters. Could I make them lose another?

Slowly, I raised my hands and climbed down. As the guards surrounded me, roughly binding my wrists, I made a silent vow. I would survive this. I would endure whatever came next. For my family. For Mira. For myself.

The journey back to the testing center was a blur. I was numb, physically and emotionally drained. They kept me separate from the other women this time, probably afraid I'd try to escape again. Not that I had the energy for another attempt.

Back inside the sterile white walls, I cleaned up, my cuts treated, and given fresh clothes. Then they led to a small, private room. It was more comfortable than where we'd been before, with a proper bed and even a window, though it was too high and narrow to offer any real view or hope of escape.

A woman entered. Not a technician this time, but someone in a crisp business suit. She carried a tablet and though she wore a reassuring expression, she came across as condescending.

"Sakira Oberdore," she said, consulting her tablet. "I'm Dr. Emilia Voss, lead geneticist for the Magnus Terra Interspecies Breeding Program." She looked up at me, her gaze sharp and assessing. "Do you understand why you're here?"

I nodded mutely, not trusting myself to speak.

Dr. Voss sighed, setting down her tablet. "I know this must be frightening for you. But I want you to understand the importance of what's happening here. Your genetic compatibility rating is the highest we've seen in decades. The potential of your union with your matched partner could be groundbreaking."

"Partner," I spat, finding my voice. "You mean the monster you're going to force me to breed with."

Dr. Voss's lips thinned. "I understand your perspective, but I assure you, the Wendigo are far more than simple monsters. They are an ancient and complex species, and this program is vital for the continued peace between our races."

I laughed bitterly. "Peace? Is that what you call it when they raid our villages and slaughter our people?"

"Those incidents are regrettable," Dr. Voss said, her tone clipped. "But they are the actions of rogue individuals, not representative of Wendigo society. The majority of their kind adhere to the terms of our alliance. "

I turned away, unable to look at her anymore. How could she be so calm about this? So clinical? Didn't she understand what she was asking of us, or of me?

"Your match was sent to their tribe via a wilderness courier." Dr. Voss continued, seemingly unperturbed by my reaction. "He will arrive within the week to begin the claiming ritual."

My head snapped back around. "Claiming ritual?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Dr. Voss nodded. "It's a traditional Wendigo ceremony to formalize the union between mates. Don't worry, you'll be fully briefed on what to expect before it takes place."

The panic rose again, threatening to overwhelm me. "And if I refuse?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Dr. Voss's expression hardened. "That is not an option, Miss Oberdore. You made your choice when you submitted yourself for testing. The agreement your village signed is binding. Refusal at this stage would be seen as a breach of the treaty and could have severe consequences for your entire community."

I slumped back in my chair, defeated. I didn't make the choice, but my elders did. She was right. I had no choice. I had to go through with this, for the sake of my family, my village, everyone I cared about.

The agony of the return trip did little to boost my mood. Perhaps the monster wouldn't want to mate with a human. That was the only hope I clung to. With desperation, I shoved it out of my mind and went about my duties in the village, that of helping others with my knowledge of herbs and abilities to heal. I hoped against hope I'd never hear about the monster match again.