Chapter 1
XANDER
My sister’s pained screams went on for days, echoing around the village. I paced the dirt track outside the birthing tent beside my father, unease and fear coursing through our blood like a disease. There was nothing we could do with the dark feelings, but pace.
When the screams stopped, I thought I’d be relieved, but the next sounds were almost worse: her heartbroken sobs. I looked to my father, our gazes clashing in a sad wave of understanding. After days of torture, Mikaela’s birthing journey had come to an end—but not with the daughter she’d been hoping for.
When her husband James surfaced from the tent, he carried a blood-covered infant with a mop of dark hair—the color almost identical to Mikaela’s and mine. James sported a grim look on his face.
“Another son,” he said, without the pride that would have once been displayed at such a statement.
I forced a smile to my face and looked down at the infant in his father’s arms. He was red and squirming, obviously healthy. “Another strong male for our pack.”
My father took the infant into his arms, cradling him with the confidence of a man who’d held many children in his time. “How’s my daughter?”
My brother-in-law grimaced. “She wants to try again.”
Already? I shook my head, even though I knew it wouldn’t be my decision. “No.”
What were the chances that, after six sons, she'd be able to birth a daughter? Especially when no-one in our pack had achieved a live female birth in over thirty years.
The midwife stepped out of the birthing tent, her clothes and arms covered in blood. She shook her head as she walked toward us, that same grim look on her face. “Mikaela can’t have any more. It’ll kill her. She barely survived this time.”
My father straightened to his full six-foot-two-inch height, looking every inch the pack’s second-in-charge, despite his graying hair. His blue eyes hardened with purpose. “Then she won’t. Mikaela is far too precious to risk.”
My heart broke for my sister, and my pack. We’d never survive to another generation now. I reached out to the baby, letting his tiny fingers curl around mine. Once upon a time, six sons would have been a great accomplishment for any woman of our pack. Something of which to be proud.
But the birth of my latest nephew marked a significant event: the anniversary of one hundred male children born to our pack. No females. My sister had been the last female born to any of our women, thirty-two years ago. If she could no longer have children, our pack was done for.
Thirty years ago, I’d been the first son of the one hundred to be born, and I was determined to be the one to find a solution to the problem that plagued my people.
James took the baby back into his arms. “I’ll take him back to his mother.”
As they walked away, my jaw clenched so tight I could hear the grind of my teeth deep in my ears. This moment should have been one of celebration. New life had been gifted to our pack, and my sister was alive.
Instead, there was an even darker gloom surrounding us as people looked to us for answers, my father and I, the lead Beta and his son.
But just like the Alpha of our pack, we didn’t have any answers.
A strong hand squeezed my shoulder, and I turned to glare at the offending intruder.
“Hey,” Kyle said, withdrawing his hand. “Everything okay, Xander?”
I shook myself, annoyed that I’d inadvertently glowered at him. Kyle had been born only a few months after me, and we’d been friends for as long as I could remember. “Sorry. Just lost in my own head.”
Kyle raised a brow, his brown eyes softening as he chuckled. “Doesn’t look like a happy place to be at the moment.”
I snorted. “It’s not.”
He looked toward the now-silent birthing tent. “Is Mikaela okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she is, but the midwife said she can’t have any more children. It’s too much.”
Kyle grimaced. “Well, six kids in what... ten years? It’s a lot for anyone.”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
My sister was as sweet as she was strong. I’d been very happy for her when she’d found her fated mate, James. The moment they’d laid eyes on one another, they’d fallen in love. And, despite both of them only being eighteen at the time, they had married within the week.