Page 2 of Her Males

Levia raises a brow and flicks through the pages of the report. He’s hardly looked at it, let alone read any detail, and I struggle to understand where his air of nonchalance is coming from. Why go through the effort of setting up this meeting if he’s so uninterested?

“Do I look like a fool, Aziel? Do you think my people don’t visit your kingdom and come back with stories of yourregulations? The ones that have been in effect for the past forty years.” Levia spits the word “regulations” like it’s burned him. “If you come out with this report, I give it days before word spreads and there’s the threat of war against your kingdom. The ogres are looking for any excuse to take you out.”

Levia turns to me and leans in. “They hate the Wraths. Always have, always will.”

My pulse races as I give a jerky nod. I have a feeling he’s only speaking to me to make Aziel mad.

“That’s why we’ve come to you,” Aziel argues. “You’re close with Mammon, and with both the Envy and Greed kingdoms backing us, there isn’t a risk of war. Nobody would willingly enter a fight against the three of us.”

Levia sucks on his teeth.

“My people have been suffering, Aziel, and this level of involvement will be draining. Many breeds will fight back when we try telling them how to behave. If my men each have a wife of their own and a young female on the way, I’m sure they’ll feel much more motivated to join your cause. My people need something tangible to fight for, not just an idea.”

Gray squeezes my thigh, and Silas places his hand on my other one. This is the first contact Silas and I have had since our encounter in the library, and I fight with everything I have not to react as his fingers dig into my flesh.

“Are you suggesting I give you my women?” Aziel asks.

He sounds pissed, and I fear he’s about to lose control as the glass in his hand shatters. Nobody reacts to it, and a shadow smoothly moves forward and begins cleaning up the mess.

“You have more than enough of them.”

Aziel waves away the shadow. “My women are not for sale.”

I’m relieved to hear that. Aziel may be one of the world’s biggest assholes, but at least he seems to care about his people.

Levia takes a moment to consider Aziel’s words, and I bounce my knee as I wait. This conversation isn’t going how I hoped. I’m not sure what I thought would happen, but it wasn’t Levia suggesting Aziel give away the Wrath women like they’re trading cards.

“Very well,” Levia concedes. “Give me a few years to get things moving in Envy. Once I see your information is true and we have an uptick in female births, I will help.”

Years? With so many already on the brink of extinction, we don’t have the luxury of time.

Aziel pinches the bridge of his nose, and I watch him with mild interest. He’s more composed than I thought he’d be.

Silas chimes in. “Let us discuss this privately and get back to you.”

There’s nothing to discuss. If Levia doesn’t want to help, we will keep searching until we find someone willing. Men have grown callous around the topic and treatment of females over the years, but I’m sure there are many leaders out there who care.

“Nothing is stopping me from creating a drug that simulates the oxytocin women need,” Levia threatens.

I stiffen.

That’s precisely why we’re here. We don’t need help spreading the information—we need help controlling how it’s handled. Anybody could, in theory, drug women with the needed oxytocin and rape them until they’re pregnant with a female. It’s what we’re trying to avoid, and my blood runs cold as Levia threatens to do exactly that.

“Why don’t you go ahead and give it a try?” Aziel’s threat is poorly veiled.

I take pleasure in how Levia’s throat bobs. He’s scared of Aziel, and I like seeing it. Demons are one of the strongest breeds, and Wraths are the deadliest among them.

“I want five years to begin the rehabilitation process within Envy,” Levia says.

Over my dead body.

Gray nudges my shoulder, capturing my attention, and gestures for me to stand. Silas removes his hand from my thigh as I do so, and he turns to say something to Levia as Gray teleports me back to the manor.

My body feels heavy and disorientated as the front sitting room materializes around us, and I squeeze Gray’s arms as I struggle to regain my footing. He holds my waist until I’m steady, and I glare at the floor as I try to collect my thoughts.

Gray’s patient, and he silently pulls up a chair for me to sit in.

I plop down with a huff before dropping my head into my hands. His feet inch forward before he crouches and peers up at me from between my fingers.

---