Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, I had to hold myself back from laughing.
I’d always wondered how Arya had ended up pregnant so quickly. Now, it made perfect sense, considering she’d lined up a whole string of lovers. Such a level of dedication had certainly raised her odds of getting pregnant fast.
But in her frantic strategy, she’d overlooked a problem. Her beloved fox’s bloodline was far too potent and exposed all her
secrets bare.
Kael clenched his fists tightly, his whole body trembling from rage. When all of them acknowledged relations with Arya, he finally snapped.
“Is this what you promised me? That you’d bear my cub?” he roared.
Arya wiped away a tear and stood up with the cub in her arms.
“If it weren’t for your ridiculous lion customs, do you think I’d have gone this far? You can’t father cubs, yet you’re blaming me for not getting pregnant.
“Since you lions are going to make me mate with some strong lions anyway, why can’t I pick someone I actually like?”
As her voice rang out, the crowd gasped in unison.
1/2
Chapter 6
+25 BONUS
In beastfolk culture, great significance was attached to bloodline. And as the clan leader, being infertile made him a disgrace
to his entire clan.
Most clans would have done everything to keep such a scandal buried deep. Yet, Arya was hurling it into the open for all to
see without the slightest care for its consequences.
But she didn’t seem to think she did wrong. If anything, she looked vindicated.
“The cub has lion blood, doesn’t he? It’s not my fault your gene pool is so weak it couldn’t keep the fox traits out!”
The crowd stood stunned, silenced by the sheer shamelessness of her words. Some felt a twinge of sympathy for the infertile
Kael, while others agreed that her words made sense.
“Well, aside from the tail, the cub does have lion features. And the ritual confirmed lion bloodline, so it isn’t exactly a
mudwhelp. Perhaps it’s best to let this be.”
No one brought up the position of the chieftain again. Even without the scandal, the lion clan leader’s infertility had stripped the lions of their right to power.
2/2
