Leif Pov
"No, she's not pregnant, the doctor confirms.
After so many negatives, I don't even bother to rage anymore. No werewolf, no matter how fertile, has given me the heir who will ensure I remain their leader.
"Are you absolutely sure?" I ask anyway.
-Yes, Alpha Moonstone. There's no life inside her womb, and we're already waiting for the time limit to rule out a false negative.
I sit up slowly. Pain surges through my chest again, but not from the negative, but from the possibility of losing the only thing that gives meaning to my miserable existence.
Another selection match will soon be called, and this time I won't be able to avoid it. Not even Devian will be able to help me, as he's busy preparing his new tax reforms, designed to bring more revenue into the kingdom through territories we don't yet control. When he immerses himself in his affairs, our alliances seem nonexistent, and I'm forced to employ
force.
At this point, I can no longer afford to threaten with firepower or the army at my disposal.
-Well, then this is the end.
The doctor blanches when he understands what I mean. In recent years, every wife who hasn't been able to bear me a ohild has suffered the same fate. In total, I've had six wives, and it's getting harder and harder to find someone who wants to marry me. It's not for lack of attraction, but because of the punishments they've learned to experience.
-I think it's still a bit premature. Maybe we can wait another month and..
"No, this is the last month I gave him, so we'll see what happens." I shrug indifferently.
I know how frustrating it is for you not to be able to conceive an heir, Alpha, but you must be patient. You and your wife are healthy and fertile. I'm sure if you apply treatment..
I'm not going to use fertility treatment to have an heir. What kind of man would I be then? Maybe something's wrong with natural implantation. There are now techniques that... No, it's over, - he interrupted. - Get Lucifer ready.
"Her name is Luz Mara, Alfa, Kevin tells me, no longer laughing when I change my wives
names.
-It doesn't matter, it's the devil himself
Of all my wives, this one has been the most unbearable, but I admit she's the one I'm most sorry to part with. By far, she's the one who has best fulfilled her role as a wife and the one who accepts me calling her by other names while we're together.
Of course, the few times we are. Seeking to procreate no longer appeals to me, and I prefer to wander through towns, frightening them with my presence and reminding them of who I am and what I can do. It's ridiculous, but it's the only way to get through life without going crazy.
Neither of them can convince me to take pity on my wife, who yells the worst things at me before dying in the town square. It's a spectacle no one likes to witness, but one everyone has to witness. The downside is that it hinders my search for a wife.
"Alpha Moonstone, I think you should stop this," Kevin insists as he drives home. "It's getting harder and harder to find a suitable mate for you. Who would want to marry you if you're going to end up as coal?"
The thought makes me smile. The things my beta says from time to time crack me up, and that's why I still keep him.
-Well. I'm sure many fathers with many daughters won't say no to me.
"No, there are no more families interested, Alpha, he replies. "I've tried everything I could to find a woman, but you've eliminated all my possibilities."
The prospect is terrifying, but since I no longer know fear, I simply shrug. Something will turn up; there's always a woman willing to be the one to bear me an heir.
"What you did is regrettable, son," my mother, who is waiting for me in the living room, scolds me.
"What are you doing here? And who let you in?" I ask, losing the little good humor I'd managed to gain from Kevin's complaints.
I'm your mother, I have the right to enter. You're wrong. I don't like it when you come here unannounced. You can leave now.
"You have to stop doing what vou do with ever wife who can't bear vou a child!" she
shouts, exasperated. "There'll be another selection battle, and they'll choose someone
else, probably.
"No, that won't happen," I interrupt her. And if I had to face them, chances are.
-And what if they get the king's approval? Remember, that madman is hungry for power.
He might decide to push you out of the way to get more.
"You heard something," I accuse her, approaching her.
"'Yes, Leif" he nods. "The king no longer believes this is working, and he let me know in this letter."
My mother takes an envelope out of her bag. The type of paper looks familiar, and it's
real. The only way to get something like that is to have someone from the palace send it.