AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Some, but no breeders.”
“How do you know they’re not breeders?”
“They don’t go into heats.” Duh.
He purses his lips. “Is the shrine soundproofed?”
He also knows there’s an Acoustico Kilseleian mage around here, or he wouldn’t ask about soundproofing. Instead of answering his question, I say, “The mage is just a boy and had nothing to do with what happened with the dead Kilseleian king.”
“My mate’s enemy is my enemy.”
“The people here are mainly women and children.”
Lenox nods, appearing satisfied. “Shrine?”
Seemingly uncaring, I shrug. “Sure.”
I care. I care very much about the future of my clan, and the law of nature is clear on survival of the fittest. Those who mate and multiply survive. And not just that. Those who mate outnumber those who don’t, so I can’t have the McMars outnumbering us. I just can’t be the last Ott Alpha, and knowing this, I’ll do whatever it takes to get as many breeders as I can up in this village.
Which is why I made friends with Lenox, my long-time enemy. He has resources I don’t. He knows things I don’t. And he is willing to share. Only Dan and the destructive, old-fashioned thinking will look at our alliance with the neighboring clan as something negative.
Therefore, Dan can never rise as an Alpha of the Ott clan. Not while I breathe.
My clan mates are finished stacking the trunks against the left wall of the shrine. Lenox approaches the statue of our lycan goddess from the right. Her hands are outstretched over her pregnant belly, and she’s collecting offerings on a tray. Made of dark clay, her hair drapes over one shoulder, hiding her large left breast and exposing the other.
She is smiling, showing her lycan fangs, which have torn into enemies.
Lenox pats his pockets, then says, “Be right back,” before disappearing outside.
I pray frequently, but I haven’t brought a gift ever since the clan wars. Back then, I would bring a trophy, often a piece of a McMar male’s ear and a thumb. I thought those would gain me favor with the goddess. But I was wrong. The wars cost me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until many turns later that I realized we’d lost everything that mattered. I stopped bringing trophies of dead McMars. I have no idea what else she could want, so I never brought anything else besides my prayer. I wonder what Lenox will bring.
Here he comes, and lo and behold, he’s carrying a tiara. As he places it on the tray, I calculate how much this thing is worth. Diamond and platinum. The design itself looks elven. Lenox is part elf.
“Did you make that?”
“Nah, I mainly do woodwork.”
“It’s Kilseleian, isn’t it?”
“Gloriana’s tiara.”
I don’t know why he thinks a Kilseleian tiara is the most fitting gift for our lycan goddess, but I never pretended to understand these McMars anyway.
While Lenox prays for the survival of his mate during labor, the hair on the back of my neck stands on ends, and I think of the petite Kilseleian female inside my home and how I’m going to breed her, and I wonder if, in a few cycles, I’ll stand in that exact place he’s standing in, praying that she survives.
Unsure if I should rejoice in thinking that I might father a pup or if I should worry I’ll have to raise the pup on my own, I move toward the trunks and start inspecting them, even though they’ve been inspected already. Lots of pretty dresses in there, and a jewelry box. I open it and sift through golden coins. A dowry, I believe.
The McMar party arrived here to make a statement saying that Marybell has powerful friends.
One could call it a threat, but I won’t because it warms my heart that she’s protected and people care about her. It also gives me a sense of security that if anything happens to me, she will have shelter.
I pick up a furry rug. Is this what I think it is? I sniff. Oh no, you don’t. Lenox brought a rug he made out of one of my males. He’s playing it like that, huh? Okay, okay.
“Hey—” I look up, and when I see Lenox’s serious expression, I change what I was gonna say. “What’s the matter?”
“I have a theory.”
“I’m listening.”
