180. This place can't handle me

Alana

Moments later, Sedrik and I were still lying in bed with our bodies lazily entwined with each other. Not long ago we had exhausted ourselves between orgasms and emotions, and now we just wanted to relax while we felt each other's hearts beat.

“Can you guess what I’m thinking?” I asked him as I rubbed invisible circles on his muscular arm.

He was caressing my cheekbone, always looking at me like I was a goddess in his bed. “Are you thinking I’m the hottest man on this entire vast continent?” he tried to guess, and I laughed.

“Not that you're wrong, but I just think you're an arrogant bastard,” I told him.

“You like those types. You love a bad boy. That's why you married a wild wolf instead of those boring witches from your land,” he said teasingly.

“I can't deny that there's a grain of truth to it,” I admitted, and he gave a smug laugh.

“I knew it,” he said smugly, placing an arm behind the back of his head and relaxing.

I ran my hand over his chest, feeling so comfortable that I was lying here with my man. “But I wasn't just thinking about that, darling,” I said. “I was here thinking about you taking a vacation.”

"What do you mean?" he asked.

“A vacation,” I replied. “You are always working and busy. Does working for a leading Alpha not give you the right to take vacations? Since I'm already packed, we could travel to a nice place, just you, me and our daughter. How about the idyllic coasts of Mashland in the south? Sun, sand on our feet, and a beautiful sea—I think I need that after staying here in the frozen North for so long.” There was a hopeful smile on my lips.

Maybe what we really needed was time and such a place without hostility and without responsibility, where he, my daughter and I could enjoy each other's presence like a normal family like any other. That would allow us to relax, and maybe we could get our energy back here, and maybe we would forget about this divorce thing.

“In Mashland? You know there are a lot of bad mermaids in that sea,” he objectively.

“The mermaids will only do us any harm if we provoke them, But if we stay at peace with them, they will leave us alone too,” I said to him, demonstrating that that wasn't really a reason for us not to go there.

Sedrik was sighing. “Still, I don’t know if I can go. At least not now,” He said, making me lift my head and look at him.

"Why not? What would stop you?”

He sighed, looking at the ceiling. I saw his Adam's apple moving in his throat, showing that he was nervous. “The people are planning a ritual,” he said. “A mating ritual.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, having difficulty understanding what he was saying.

He was still staring at the ceiling. “I was afraid to tell you this, Alana. It's about the issue of the child heir,” he said, and he was now looking at me, although his look was one of fear. “The people want me to impregnate another woman to produce a male child who will be the leader when I can no longer.”

For a moment, I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he still thinking about that? I mean, weren't these things sorted out? “So they think I’m not fit to give you a son?” I asked, feeling a bitter taste in the roof of my mouth.

After everything I had done for these people, they still couldn't consider me part of them. I could even be the Alpha's wife and the witch who saved them several times, but they would still prefer a she-wolf to carry in her womb the one who would be their leader.

Sedrik held my hand. “Why didn’t we just take it in stride?” He suggested. “We already have a daughter, right? We're going to have a bunch more children, as many as we want. I just need to have this child for my people. You don’t even have to live with him when he’s born if that’s what bothers you.”

I giggled without any humor. I took my hand away from his and sat on the bed. “Believe me, Sedrik, how I would deal with a stepson is the thing I care least about right now,” I said, still feeling bitter.

“That’s good, right?” He needed confirmation from me to feel good about himself.

“Tell me something, Sedrik. Will my daughter still be the leader here, since she is the firstborn, rightful heir to the throne?” I asked, looking at him over my shoulder.

Sedrik looked away, unable to look at me. “The people want me to impregnate a she-wolf in this ritual precisely so that she will bear the child who will inherit my crown of teeth,” he confessed.

I giggled, but it came out more like a mumble. “Then we don’t see eye to eye, Sedrik,” I said. “The child you placed inside me is the rightful heir to your throne, but since neither you nor your people can recognize this, then I am sorry to say, but this place does not belong to me.” I got up from the bed.

But he held my arm, not letting me get out of bed. “What are you talking about?” He asked quickly, as if he were under pressure.

I looked at him deeply in the eyes. “I have just concluded that this pack is too small for a witch as powerful as me. Good thing I already packed my bags, right?” I told him, letting go of him and walking away.