Chapter 6 Fair Play

• “Whoever impregnates her first?” Eli asks, running his hand through his red hair.
• “That’s right,” the king says. “In order to determine the order in which you will have your first try, we will have a race, in your wolf forms, tomorrow afternoon. Whoever comes in first will have first dibs on her and claim her virginity.”
• I feel a flicker in my groin at the mention of the girl’s virginity. She’s never been claimed at all?
• Intriguing.
• I don’t like the idea of sharing her with these other three men, but at least we won’t have to share her with anyone else.
• “I hope that all of you will promise not to sleep with her out of turn. It wouldn’t be fair.”
• The four of us nod. “Of course,” I say, and the others echo. Though… I have to admit, it might be difficult to keep my hands off of her. I think of her soft curves, the roundness of her full breasts… yeah, it’ll be hard, all right. I feel another tightening in my pants and have to resist the urge to readjust. Mark shifts in his seat, and I wonder if he is thinking the same thing.
• “As soon as we know the girl is pregnant, we will do a test on the child to determine who the father is as soon as possible, and that man will become the next king. Then, I will retire and leave the kingdom to him.”
• The four of us exchange glances. We have known each other our entire lives, in one way or another, and we’ve become friends. I know that, whoever wins, they will be fair to the other three and reward them somehow for their loyalty. I know I will if I am the winner. These other three Alphas are the best of the best, and I respect them.
• “And what of the girl?” Tristan asks. “Will the winner marry her and make her the Luna?”
• King Gene laughs loudly, and I am tempted to exchange a shocked glance with the others, but none of us dare look at one another.
• “Heavens, no!” he exclaims. “This girl is not fit to be a Luna! Her father is an Alpha, that’s true, but Alpha Howard of Elm pack is an Alpha in name only. He’s certainly not a proven leader. The girl was chosen simply because she has two uterine horns.”
• My forehead furrows. “Two… uterine horns?” I know what he means, but I don’t understand why
• that makes her the winner.
• She’s beautiful and seems very sweet. Why wouldn’t that be enough? I assumed it was that and that she must also be quite intelligent and possibly bred from a highly ranked family.
• I guess I was wrong on some of those counts….
• “Yes, it will be easier for her to get pregnant,” he admits. “And she’s not hard to look at….” The king’s expression in reaction to the girl is a bit…disconcerting. He continues, “But no, she will not be the next Luna.”
• We all sit in silence for a moment, almost daring one another to ask the next obvious question.
• It is Mark, with his piercing blue eyes that all of the girls love so much, who speaks up, finally.
• “Then… who will be?” he asks.
• “Yes, who will be the Luna?” Eli also wonders.
• “I have chosen a beautiful daughter of a proper Alpha to become the next Luna. You will be satisfied with her, I assure you.”
• He seems to be done speaking, and we still don’t know who he is talking about.
• Tristan speaks up. “May we know her name?”
• He nods. “Emily Ivy.”
• I bite back the gasp that threatens to slip from my lips.
• Emily Ivy. Daughter of Alpha Cole Ivy of Glenn pack.
• The king’s cousin’s daughter….
• “Was Emily considered as the Breeder?” Eli asks.
• The king’s eyes widen as if he’s asked an obscene question. “Goddess, no!” he says. “Do you think I’d defile my family by allowing my cousin’s daughter to sleep with four different men? No, my cousin’s daughter is as pure as the freshly fallen snow on the top of a mountain’s peak, and she shall remain that way until she is married to whoever wins this contest.”
• That answers that question….
• “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry,” Eli apologizes, bowing his head.
• “No need,” King Gene waves him off, but it’s clear he doesn’t mean it. He’s annoyed. “Now, I ask that the four of you stay away from her the best you can until after the run. Then, we shall see what order you will have her in. Please, manage your turns as is decided upon. This needs to be as fair as possible.”
• “Yes, Alpha King,” we all say in unison.
• King Gene dismisses us with a wave of his hand, and the four of us stand to walk out of his office. I want to tell the other three that I saw her in the hallway, but I don’t want to make them jealous.
• “Can you believe it?” Tristan says, brushing a hand through his brown hair. “It’s the same girl we talked to in the hallway!”
• “I know. It’s crazy,” Mark agrees.
• “Wait–the two of you spoke to her already?” Eli asks, his face turning almost as red as his hair. “Well, that’s not fair.”
• “I did, too,” I admit.
• All three turn to look at me as we slowly make our way back to our rooms, which are quite a ways away from the office.
• “You did?” Eli asks me. “When?”
• “On my way back from changing my clothes. I hardly said anything to her, and she was too nervous to really speak. I’m not sure she knew who I was.”
• “I don’t think she knew who we were either,” Mark says.
• “Well, that’s just great!” Eli says. “I’m already at a disadvantage, and we haven’t even started yet!”
• “Relax, Eli,” Tristan says. “It’s not like we impregnated her by saying hello.”
• “I tried,” I say, and they all snicker at my joke. “I guess my eyes just aren’t as piercing as Mark’s.”
• That gets another laugh out of everyone, and Mark punches me in the arm. He’s playing, but it still hurts. I try not to react.
• “Well, you guys keep all of your piercing parts out of her until I at least get a chance to speak to her,” Eli insists.
• ‘Piercing parts.’ Sounds suggestive….
• We all laugh at Eli’s empty threat and continue to talk about how beautiful she is until we reach our rooms.
• Eli’s door opens first, and a beautiful brunette, with highlights of red in her hair, steps out.
• “What’s so funny, brother?” she asks.
• Kelly is his sister, but since we’ve been at the castle these past few months, she seems like she’s my sister, too. All of us feel the same way.
• “Nothing. Just stupid boy talk.” Eli shrugs.
• “Are you taking me to the gardens soon?” Kelly asks, leaning against the door jamb.
• Eli sighs. “Soon,” he promises her. “I need to check in with my Beta. I’m still running a pack, even though I'm not there, you know.”
• He has a point. I need to check with my Beta, too. I don’t like leaving the pack for this long, but it’s for a worthy cause, and I trust the people I’ve left behind. “See you all later,” I say and walk the few doors down to my own room.
• We are all going to do work, from the sound of it.
• I need to get everything I can done before I have my first encounter with Rose.
• Because I have a feeling that once I’ve had her, she’ll be all I can think about.