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An little sneak peek at my upcoming Lycan series:

Any other day, Katya would have been bored to tears. The usual market gossip was generally of little interest to her, but today was a special day, and the air hummed with hushed tones and hurried gestures. Some could hardly hide their excitement, while others wore expressions of dread. The tension in the air was a big change from the expected humdrum of the village gossip center.
“How much?” the old lady from three cottages down asked her suspiciously, eyeing her baskets of fresh vegetables.
Katya conveyed the prices of her wares, and the old lady frowned but went on to inspect the cabbages one by one.
“You think it might be you?” the woman asked conversationally.
“I should hope not!” Katya bristled.
“You’re of age now, so don’t think you’ll be overlooked when they’re considering the choices.”
“I’m well aware of that, thank you.” Before she could say more, a flash of red curls across the market caught her eye.
She watched enviously as Darya flitted from stand to stand, inspecting the items for sale as she chatted and laughed easily with the people in little square. Her easy demeanor brought a touch ofjoviality to the marketplace that had previously been absent. Was it possible she had forgotten what tomorrow was? Katya wished she had the afternoon free to join her friend, instead of the chore of selling at the family market stand. But her mother had sent her to sell today, and there was no way around it.
“I’ll take these two cabbages,” the old woman notified her as she held up her purchases, “but your prices are outrageous. I want a lower price, or I want a dozen eggs to go with them.”
Katya quickly counted out a dozen eggs to give the woman in lieu of a lower price. Her mother would prefer a few more coins in the family’s coffers than to refuse to relinquish the eggs.
“Good luck to you, dearie,” the woman said hastily over her shoulder as she ambled away.
“Ugh, so you’ve been getting that all day too?” Darya had finished her shopping and come to visit her best friend.
“That’s the first I’ve heard someone say such a thing out loud, but I’ve gotten a lot of pitying glances all day.”
“Me, too. Everyone’s all gloom and doom around me, but I refuse to play into it. With all the girls our age in the village, it’s unlikely that it will be either one of us.” Darya’s optimism was refreshing, but a little naïve, as Katya saw it.
“Most likely,” she conceded, but privately she didn’t share her confidence that they had nothing to worry about. The Council could choose any girl they saw fit, as long as they fell within the parameters. As she and Darya had both turned sixteen in the last year, both were up for consideration.