"I have my reasons why this cannot be a marriage." Lord Jethro finally spoke, his voice deep and firm.
The priest said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
Lord Jethro remained quiet for a moment, as if he was weighing his words, deciding whether he should even say what he was about to say.
He then spoke hesitantly, "I understand that nothing written in our laws says people of the same gender cannot be together in that way," he began.
"And I want to imagine that love can grow from many different things. It could arise from someone of the same gender, and there is nothing wrong with that."
He paused.
"But I will not allow it," he declared. "Not for myself, and not for anyone in my empire."
No one spoke, so Lord Jethro continued.
"There are many reasons against it. And the main reason which is so obvious is that... There is no procreation between the same gender, and allowing it will only decrease the empire's population rate. We would weaken the future of our packs. The Moon Goddess created us to procreate, and if we go against that, wouldn't we be offending her? Wouldn't we be putting ourselves at a disadvantage?"
He paused again, his voice steady and sure.
"Everything about it points to the fact that the goddess herself does not allow it. If she did, then maybe she would have given men the ability to conceive. But since that does not happen, I will not allow it either. I cannot risk our species' continuity. If we weaken even a little, other species like vampires will take over us."
His tone turned colder, more serious.
"Our species has weakened before, and the result was severe, it was the reason why the Moon Goddess introduced the Enigma, a more powerful version of a wolf.. to make sure we do not weaken again. To make sure that it protects her people."
The priest nodded slowly, clearly showing that, everything Lord Jethro said made sense in every possible way.
Grey agreed quietly, even though he felt deep down that part of him didn't want to.
He hated the part of himself that felt an undeniable desire for men, and that was why he found himself siding so strongly with Lord Jethro.
It felt like the only way to fight what he didn't want to be.
"I agree with you, Lord Jethro," the priest said, "but… not that I'm trying to argue for that kind of relationship, but as you explained, and insisted that a man cannot conceive, I cannot help but wonder, how would we know that for sure?"
He hesitated, trying to make the question sound casual, as if he were merely curious and not challenging the Lord at all.
"It is not like anyone has tried and discovered that it is actually impossible." he added.
Lord Jethro did not hesitate to answer. If anything, it sounded as though he had been waiting for that question to arise.
"Ever since this issue started rising, I have been doing research," he said. "Especially in the history books."
His voice grew more determined.
"And it was shocking to me that in ancient times, when our species was almost wiped out, it was because of the same reason. Those kinds of relationships became widespread, and no record states that a man ever conceived. That is when the population dropped drastically."
He gestured toward his desk, as if to emphasize the proof he had gathered.
"Those history books contain that information," he continued. "And I was afraid that perhaps this issue has risen again because history wants to repeat itself. And I will not allow that to happen again."
The priest looked stunned.
Grey felt even more stunned.
"You might be wondering," Lord Jethro added, as if reading the priest's thoughts, "why I do not just proceed with this, since I already have wives who can give heirs. But that would mean I am introducing that kind of relationship. And if I do it myself, I will not be able to stop others from doing it too."
He spoke the words with the same firmness he had used before, leaving no room for argument.
"I have already written rules against that kind of relationship. All that remains is for them to be printed and spread throughout the empire, and for you, our priest, to make sure you teach them in the temples, statii clearly why we are against it."
"Yes, my Lord," the priest said, bowing slightly.
The silence returned again, before the priest asked, "Then what about you and Alpha Greystone?"
Lord Jethro did not respond at once.
"I think I will have to find other ways to deal with this," Lord Jethro said finally. "If everyone sees the name as marriage, I do not even want to entertain the idea of what I'm warning people against."
The words struck Grey unexpectedly, he instantly felt hollow in a way that caught him off guard. He hadn't expected to feel anything like this. He wasn't even sure why it was hitting him so hard.
It wasn't that he was hoping to be close to Lord Jethro in that way. It wasn't that he had valued the fact that he would be given his name.
So why did the withdrawal of that name feel like a loss?
Grey realized, with a shock he did not want to admit, that he had been allowing himself to feel closer to Lord Jethro than he should have.
And now, without the name, without the idea of being tied to him, lord Jethro felt distant.. he felt unreachable.
Grey felt as if he had been holding onto something that was suddenly taken away, leaving him empty and alone again.
The priest finally rose and left the office.
Grey stood as well, wanting to walk away, wanting to go somewhere he could sort out his thoughts and feelings.
He wanted to be free to scold himself back to his senses, but the moment he stood, Lord Jethro stopped him.
"Stay for a moment," he said.
Grey paused, but didn't turn back.
"It seems like we are going to undo everything we had already planned," Lord Jethro added.