Exiled Villainess: They Threw Me Out, Now Every Beastman Wants Me novel Chapter 185

Chapter 185: No More Cubs

Calis had gathered the entire pack, and everyone was filled with both curiosity and unease.

He rarely called everyone together unless something significant had happened or was about to.

And it was strange for the alpha to do this shortly after Tera had left.

Girruk stood behind his father, his body filled with a tension that had been building for days.

His punishment had only recently ended, and the endless perimeter runs had left his legs aching.

His resentment for Calis had also increased.

Why did this male get to lead just because his father had been the former alpha?

Calis’ father had fought and killed another wolf for the position, and then handed the title to his son like it was an inheritance rather than something that should be earned.

And Girruk’s own father, who had been friends with the previous alpha, had helped Calis, devoting years to help train the young wolf after his father’s passing.

But now this handed-down leader was making decisions that could destroy everything the wolves had built so far.

Girruk wished he was stronger. He would have taken the title from Calis already.

Greymaw, for his part, was barely containing his satisfaction.

Calis had called this gathering after the shiftless female had left. The timing was perfect.

This meant Calis had finally seen reason and understood that the female had overstepped.

She had filled the pack with strange ideas that had no place in their traditions.

He did not like how Calis was letting it all happen, but he was pleased the male was going to set things right.

He would tell the pack that while the female’s help with water and the pen had been appreciated, her involvement would end here. They did not need outsiders telling them how to live. They would thank her for her service and politely inform her not to return.

"After the pregnant females have delivered their cubs, there will be no more mating for a year."

The words sat in the air, and for a breath, no one moved.

Then the meaning sank in.

"WHAT?!"

Voices exploded from every direction.

"No mating?!"

"For how long?!"

"Does that not mean that there would no more cubs?!"

Calis continued over the noise. "For one full year. Possibly two. No female in this pack will carry a cub during that time."

The second wave of outrage hit harder than the first.

Several of the younger males who had been warming to Tera’s ideas over the past week were now staring at their alpha with open-mouthed horror.

One of them looked down at his own crotch as if Calis had personally threatened it.

One male in the back whispered, "For how LONG?" with the horrified tone of someone who had just been told the sun was being turned off.

The females were not outraged.

They were confused.

They looked at each other, trying to understand what had prompted this. Faelynn’s hand had drifted to her swollen belly, and her crimson eyes were fixed on her brother with an intensity that was trying to read what was underneath.

But the elders reacted the most violently.

The ones who had been quietly warming to Tera over the past week snapped back into rigid opposition as if the softening had never happened.

"This is madness!" one elder snarled.

"Our numbers are already low! If you stop having cubs now—"

"Who put this idea in your head?!" another demanded, and the question landed with the weight of an accusation that everyone already knew the answer to.

The clearing went quiet for one beat.

Then Greymaw answered in an icy tone, "The shiftless female."

He could not believe he had expected sense from Calis.

The wolf was smarter than this!

Greymaw stepped forward, angry.

"She has been here for barely more than one full turn of the moon, and she has already poisoned your mind against the very practices that have kept this pack alive. What do you mean the females should stop having cubs?!"

Several wolves growled in agreement.

Another elder pointed a gnarled finger at the space where the portal had been that morning.

"That female left, and the first thing our alpha does is tell us to stop reproducing! Does no one else see what is happening here?!"

The murmuring grew louder and angrier, and Calis could feel the tide turning against him.

His crimson eyes burned, and when he spoke, his voice cut through everything.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone was silenced, only for it to be broken by a small cub in the back row who had chosen this exact moment to loudly announce, "Papa, I need to pee."

The male quickly clamped a hand over the cub’s mouth.

Calis glared at them, furious. "LISTEN before you say any more rubbish."

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