Chapter 4

Her father stood, his imposing frame casting a shadow across the table. “Sabrina, you don’t understand the complexities—“

“I understand more than you think.” She met his gaze without flinching. “I’ve been studying the traditions, the history, the deaths. And I’ve found a better way.”

Elder Marcus laughed, the sound like dry leaves rustling. “A better way? The Harem has existed since the Goddess first blessed our kind.”

“Things change.” Sabrina opened one of the ancient texts. “Even the Goddess adapts. The texts say she believed in preserving life, not causing deaths. Elder so drugging another and having them raped to have the competition killed is purification. Or perhaps war where the main dies? Or the accidents that seem to occur? What I was going to suggest is this: a sperm bank for all the males that enter my Harem and my Main. It gives all males a chance at a pup, reduces mortality, and helps build stronger bloodlines. Isn’t that what it was meant for? In case of death, they will still have a chance for said bloodline to continue.”

The father paused and stroked his chin at his daughter’s words; her suggestion might strengthen bloodlines and preserve those that might die out if the worst should happen. Some of the men who would automatically go into the Harem due to their age were in their late twenties, and a sperm bank would allow them to father pups long into the future in ways that hadn’t been thought of before. And in a Harem, their age made them targets, as their chances of pups would be higher in some cases than those of younger just-of-age males.

That’s when it happened, the Heart's Choice scroll began to rattle in its stand, it seemed to have sensed Sabrina’s arrival. Once free from its ancient stand, the scroll opened to show the image of the male that would be her main and the next Alpha…

The silence that followed as everyone stared at the scroll was broken only by the unmistakable image of his face. The Elders looked at each other as the young male walked into the room, unaware of what he was about to walk into.

Then he noticed the Heart’s Choice Scroll in the air with his image. His eyes widened as all of the Elders’ eyes snapped in his direction.

His hazel eyes and sandy blonde hair seemed to catch the light as in real life, like the image was a live scroll; it was magic, and the image winked at her, and a smile began to spread across her face.

It was her father, Alpha Jason, who snapped everyone out of the spell…

“Beta Heir Riley, this is unexpected considering my daughter's suggestion.”

“I…I…” Riley stammered, yes, he had told her the truth about how he felt, but he thought he would take the Head of the Harem and her second, but the Heart Choice Scroll was what her heart wanted, though she might never have said it ‘out loud.’

“Well, one problem sorted, it was only a matter of time before the Scroll told us her choice.” Elder Sarah, Sabrina thought, spoke up. “As for your suggestion, young Alpha Heir, it could help to keep our lines strong, even if you yourself don’t use them all. I’m sure that any disgraced mates' sperm could be used by other females in the pack if you choose not to use them. Or perhaps we could trade them for new males to add to your Harem in the future if the numbers grow thin.”

Sabrina watched Elder Sarah for a moment, “That seems to be a fair compromise, although the females who get to use my used mates’ sperm would be up to me, not the council, after all. Once they are mine in the Harem, I own every bit of them.” She then looked to Riley could was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he was her main mate, the next Alpha of the pack. “As for my main, Riley makes the most sense, and my head was already leaning that way, but that means the competition will heat up now for the top three places in the Harem. I still would also like my Harem mates to have normal jobs, along with serving me; it would keep them strong and viable. Possibly have them work as advisers to me on things that they overhear in the pack before problems arise.”

She watched Riley’s face as the weight of what had just happened settled over him, that he would be sharing her bed more than all the other mates, all of her pups would be calling him father, others that fathered pups in the Harem would be called daddy first name as the biological father, but they would never fully be theirs.

Riley swallowed hard. He dreamed of this, his mate, her true choice, his wolf, MoonsShadow, preened in his mind at the thought that most of the pups born to the Luna and true Heir of the pack would be his. The question was who would take the top three places below him, being the main and Alpha, he would be untouchable to the other males, and the only way he could be removed from his place was death, which the official head would take his place, so anyone who tried to kill him would find themselves dying a very slow, painful death.

He moved closer, but in front of her father or the Elders, he dared not touch her. Not yet, but every part of him screamed to pull her into his arms and mark her right then and there.

He bowed one hand, balled into a fist, the other open palm touching to thank the scroll for a gift that he wasn’t expecting. “I’m…I’m honoured,” He managed, unsure of what to say next. His mind was still reeling; he was now allowed to do things he wasn’t allowed to do only ten minutes ago.

“So young Beta, how do you feel about such an interesting development? “ asked Elder Dominic, watching him for any telltale signs.

“I…I’m honoured, of course, Elder Dominic and Sabrina have always been as close as one can be with this tradition in our lives. I just thought that I’d end up as her second, not her main. I’m a little blown away. I’ve always had feelings for her, but I knew even if she had feelings for me as the future Luna and having to choose how she set up her Harem, I knew she couldn’t tell me till later. So I never dared to hope.”