The Reaping

Chapter 5

Thomas

As those words left my mouth I looked over to Michael who was seated to the side. His face visibly paled and I saw the huge gulp that he took when he realized he had been busted. At this moment I received so much satisfaction that I almost smiled. I knew that I couldn't do that as it would show emotion. I had been trained from an early age that as the next leader that to anyone who was not family I had to appear to be a tyrant with no feeling.

Throughout the years that had been many stories circulated that made me sound like a heartless monster. That couldn't be further from the truth but I had to make sure that those outside my circle saw me as just that, a monster. My only fear in this is that my mate would be terrified of me. I knew that only those who were just after power would easily come to me and try to seduce me and want to be my mate. I had never entertained a woman because I always wanted to wait for the woman who would love me for who I am and not my status.

"Cora please make your way to the stage. You will from now on be joining the ranks as the female leader of the Chosen." I look into the groups of females and see the red hair of the woman who has captured my heart walking forward. I walk over to the stairs leading up to the stage and hold out my hand to help her onto the stage. Even though I am to show no emotion I am still bound to show how a mate should be treated, with respect. She takes my hand and we walk back over to the podium.

"We will now continue with the reaping. Announcer, please continue." I take my beautiful mate and lead her to our seats. I continue to hold her hand as we sit. She is shaking slightly so I continue to hold her hand. I rub soothing circles on her hand with my thumb and I feel her stiffen slightly before she relaxes. Cora remarkably remains calm and stoic. I have a feeling that she knows that she cannot show how she is feeling to those in the crowd so she mimics my behavior.

The announcer calls Michael's name and he makes his way forward. There is a screen behind us that shows each male's picks and his of course is blank. Michael makes his way toward us and I can see that his eyes are focused on Cora, who has yet to even look his way. As he walks by he looks at her once more and I see her shake her head at him telling him to shut up. He stops and looks at me for what he should do next.

I lean toward Cora and say in a voice loud enough for Michael and her only to hear "This man claimed to have taken your virginity. He also claimed that you begged him to take you as his mate." I see a fire in Cora's eyes as she and Michael look at each other. "Michael, shouldn't you be making your way to choose your mate, rather than staring at mine?"

He turns and looks up at the podium and makes his way there. He briefly looks at the list of females on the screen that is on the podium. When he raises his head he has a confidant look on his face. This man beats all that I've seen. He is going to be trouble for me and I can feel it to my very bones.

"I choose Megan." He says with a cocky smirk like he thinks he has just won the lottery. It's either that or he thinks that she will think that she has won the lottery.

Megan makes her way to the stage and I can see that she is also someone that I am going to have to watch very closely. Some of my informants told me how she has acted during the whole process of the reaping and it is clear that this girl is out for nothing but power. Heavens those two are a match made in heaven. I look at Cora and although her face gives nothing away I can tell that there is some animosity toward Megan. I just need to figure out if it is because Megan is just a pain in the a*s or if it has to do with Michael.

Once the reaping is finished, I make my way with Cora to leave the reaping area. We are the first to leave and I lead her to my private car that will take us to my home. I have my house outside of the headquarters to give myself somewhere to escape the craziness at the main compound. As we ride to the house I am dying to talk to her, but I know that ears are listening everywhere. I do not want our first conversation to be overheard so I wait.

Cora

The last hours of my life have been nothing short of life-altering. I knew that my life was going to change but this is absolutely insane. The words he said are still stuck in my head. I am his mate, the female leader of the Chosen. It's weird how he has been so stoic on the outside but he has done everything possible to touch me and relax me since I climbed those stairs. I was shocked when he continued to hold my hand and even rub soothing circles on it to show me I wasn't alone.

Michael had been what had thrown me for a loop. How dare he say those lies about me? My mate luckily knows the truth and I could see the fear in Michael's eyes. He looked at me with pleading eyes as if I could save him, but there is no way in hell I will help him now. I never had any strong feelings for him other than friendship. I just always thought that we could make a happy family if we were together. I think that it was the familiarity of being around him that made me think that. I often had to overlook his arrogance and the fact that he could never stop running around with multiple girls.

My mind told me that I would just have to pretend to not notice once we were mated, but my heart knew that I would never be happy with that. I have always wanted a man that would be devoted to me alone. I look over to my mate and wonder if he will be that type of man. I know nothing about him other than the stories that go around about him. Those stories are what gave me nightmares. I can't help but wonder if they are true. He has done nothing yet to even give a hint that he is a bad person, in fact, he has done the complete opposite. I will have to just wait and see what happens. I'm not going to judge him on stories that may or may not be true. His actions will speak for him.

We pull up in front of a normal looking house. It is two stories and is on the larger size but it looks nothing like what people would assume the leader would have. There is a garage with a nice yard and a wraparound porch. My mate thanks the driver and then comes around and opens my door holding out his hand. I take it and get out and see that my bags are setting on the porch. Someone must have brought them here while we were at the reaping. We make our way up the steps and my mate unlocks the door and takes my bags in with him.

I walk in and I smile for the first time since I left home. The house had a warm and cozy feeling to it. It was decorated for comfort rather than looks. Everywhere I looked it reminded me of the home that I had always hoped for. I continued to stay lost in my thoughts until I heard someone clear their throat. I turn and I see my mate there looking at me.

"Follow me we have a lot to talk about." He turns and walks into the living room and takes a seat on the sofa and I sit across from him in one of the chairs. He has an almost nervous look on his face which is surprising because it is the first emotion that I have seen on his face.

"First I need you to have an open mind about the things that I am going to tell you." He looks at me and I nod my head letting him know that I will do that. "I am not who you think that I am." I give him a look that lets him know that I am really confused.

"I am Thomas the leader of the Chosen and your mate. I am not the tyrant that everyone believes me to be. I have trained from an early age to not show emotion to anyone outside of my family. The stories you have heard are just that, stories." He looks at me waiting for me to reply.

"May I speak Sir?" I ask. A look of concern and hurt crosses his face.

"Of course you may speak. Whatever made you think that you even had to ask?" I hear a catch in his deep voice as he asks.

"Well, Sir..."

"Thomas."

"I'm sorry what?" I look at him confused.

"Call me Thomas, not Sir or Mate." He clears his throat. "Please continue but tell me why you also call me Sir."

"Thomas, I was taught in my village that women must only speak to their mate when they ask. My family was a little lax with the rules because of my grandparents but I still follow the rules when around others. I also call you sir because women are to never call a man by anything else unless he has given her permission." The look on his face tells me that he is shocked. "My question is if you are not who everyone says you are, then who are you?" I smile as I finish so that he knows that I mean nothing bad by what I have said.

"Cora, have you always been treated as less of a person because you are female?" He asks this question as if he already knows the answer.

"Of course. Women are below men." I answer the way that I was taught and not the way I feel. I have no clue how he feels about women and I want to play this right and not make trouble for myself. I keep my head down after answering hoping that I have not just made a major mistake. I feel a hand under my chin and it lifts my head to look into the eyes of my mate.

"First thing you must learn is that you are not below me. You are greater than I am in my eyes."