<i>Zephyrine </i>
He is… shattered. I can feel it. I can see it. But deep down I know I did the right thing. After everything he has done for me, the help I can never repay, the love, the devotion, I cannot repay him with an empty body. I will not make him fatherless.
The Moon Goddess herself decreed I would never bring forth pups except for my second mate, and Lycannar is not the one.
He deserves heirs. He deserves a legacy. I cannot take that away from him. I will repay him endlessly in other ways, but not in the one he desires most.
When I lift my eyes to his, what I see is not anger. It is deeper than pain, deeper than agony. It is awe. Like he had seen this momenting all along, and now that it’s here, he cannot believe he was right.
“You won’t… be my wife because you don’t want to carry my pups?” he asks, and I pause. Wait. He has misunderstood. “Why? Because… because of the curse?”
Hearing that shatters me. Why would he think such a thing?
“No,” I whisper. “Your curse has nothing to do with this, Lycannar. I cannot give birth. I am… barren.”
His brow furrows, confusion shadowing his face. The same crease I’ve seen before when something unsettles him.
“Don’t make horrible things up, Zephyrine, just because you want to say no.”
His words stun me. Now it is my turn to stare at him in awe.
A sigh escapes my lips. I turn away, my eyes tracing his vast kingdom spread endlessly before me. My words cut through the silence, pointing out what I cannot change.
“When I stepped into my role as Alpha, I met the Moon Goddess. Sheid downws, uses I could never undo. Nyroth, as my first mate, was the only one who could impregnate me without hindrance. But I rejected him. And so she gave me another decree. Only my second- chance mate would be able to nt life within me. No other man.”
My heart grows heavier as I slowly turn back to him. My throat tightens, and I swallow hard.
“You are a King, Lycannar. You own a vast kingdom. You bear the weight of your people and
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the duty of a bloodline to continue. I cannot chain you with my brokenness. I would marry you without a moment’s hesitation if I could, but I am barren.” My lips tremble, biting back the ache. “I’m sorry.”
Silence falls. He just stares, no reaction. Not until his jaw hardens and he strides past me, entering the bedchamber.
A chill runs down my spine. His hurt is palpable. I can feel it through the amulet that binds us. His sorrow is raw, deep as a wound that may never heal.
I freeze. This wasn’t why I came. I didn’te to make him bleed deeper.
For a heartbeat, I consider letting him go. But then I break, following him. I step into the bedchamber just as he pulls his shirt over his head, stripping for the night bath.
“Lycannar?” I call softly. No response. “Lycannar, this is for your own good. I’m doing you a favor. Don’t you understand? Don’t
you see it?<b>” </b>
“See what?” He stops, his shirt half off, and his eyes pierce into me. I swallow. “See what, Zephyrine? Did I ask you for this favor?”
My heart sinks. Not from the sharpness of his words but from the rawness of the pain in his
eyes.
“Lycannar, you must understand me.” My voice falters.
“Understand what? Then tell me.” His tone hardens. “Do you love me?”
The question tears me apart. He knows the truth.
“You know I do.”
“And yet you
would have me take another woman, lie with her, just to give me pups? Is that what you want?”
Hearing it aloud rips through me like a de. The thought of him with another woman makes bile rise in my
throat.
My eyes sting, and I lower my gaze, biting my lip until it hurts.
“Let’s face reality, Lycannar. I can’t give you pups. And you need them.” My voice shakes. “Besides… that’s not why I came. Can we not speak of this now?”
gaze,
Tension coils between us like a rope ready to snap. He pins me with his silent. Then he nods slowly.
2/4 <fnc65e> Fresh chapters posted on Find★Novel</fnc65e>
“Fine. Let’s forget about it. I’ll take bath.”
my
He brushes past me without another word, mming the living chamber door behind him.
The sound makes me shudder. It is the first time we’ve truly argued bitterly, painfully, with our future hanging between us.
I try to convince myself I did right. That I am protecting him. I gulp down the ache and follow him, pushing into the bath chamber.
He sits in the water, his hands braced on the stone edge, his head bowed as though the weight of his thoughts is crushing him.
My heart clenches. I begin to undress, stepping into the water, hoping maybe we can mend this here. But no. Lycannar swims past me, leaving without a word. He gathers his clothes and leaves the chamber, leaving me standing alone in the cold water.
That’s when I realize it. Maybe I’ve done something too cruel. Maybe the answer I gave was harsher than I ever intended.
my
him
My lips quiver as I try to hold myself together. First the battle that stole loved ones, and now, just when I’ve found the man I love, fate tears him away from me with another merciless obstacle.
We cannot live on fleeting moments of passion alone. And how can we marry when we know we will never bear children?
Lycannar has always wanted pups. He’s spoken of them in every breath that allowed it.
“As many as your body can give me,” he would say.
But I cannot give him that. I cannot give him anything. Not after everything he has done for <ol><li>me. </li></ol>
I stare at the still water, attempting <i>to </i>finish my bath, but I cannot. The tears rise, burning, blurring, trailing hotly down my cheeks.
I bite my lip, trying <i>to </i>hold back the sobs, but theye anyway. My body shakes. My heart aches. Cursed fate that I am useful to everyone else, but never to him.
I am alone with my sorrow when I hear the footsteps. The door creaks open, and Lycannar stands there, dressed.
I hup, brushing my tears away quickly, but he crosses the room in silence. His hand finds my wrist. Gently, firmly, he pulls me out of the water.
17:35 Fri, Sep 19 <b>G </b>
..
“Come here,” he says softly, his arm circling my waist. “Let’s talk about it.”