Assigned Stars, Chosen Fires

Emma Tibarn still recalled her first day in this world. Five years had passed, but it stuck with her like a bad dream. It had been the summer after her freshman year. She'd gone back to her hometown to drop by her grandma's grave. Coming down the hillside, her foot slipped on wet stone. Next thing she knew, she woke up in a place where nothing looked familiar. A pig with wings came charging at her like some sick cartoon gag. Lucky for her, a hunting squad had been nearby. They took her in, patched her up, and dropped her off in the nearest city. That was when she found out she wasn't on Earth anymore. She was smack in the middle of an interstellar empire filled with therians. Then, she learned one crucial fact: in this world, females were treated like queens. The gender balance was insane. Way more males than females. Which meant females got the red-carpet treatment—houses, stipends, and the best perk of all: the Beastmate System. Once a female turned twenty-three the system would assign her nine partners at once. Every year, she'd get a new draft pick. Emma didn't need a stadium full of people. Nine was plenty and she might not survive the honeymoon. So, awakening was non-negotiable. Emma had gotten lucky. Within a month, her lightning-based and water-based abilities lit up like fireworks. Jackpot. She learned that matching worked by rank. Low-tier females only got low-tier males. The higher your rank, the hotter your lineup. To climb the ranks, there was only one way: crack open a beast and claim its core. Now that she had turned 23, she received her first males draft. Hopefully she'd find at least one worth keeping.