The Bride He Hates-Chapter 81: Fertility Issues?

The council chamber felt colder than usual, though Lyanna knew it was just her imagination. She sat next to Azrael, as always.

Lord Cedric cleared his throat and stood before the gathered council.

"Your Majesties, thank you for joining this session. We have important matters of succession to discuss."

Lyanna noticed Azrael tense beside her, though his expression remained neutral.

"The kingdom has been stable for months now." Lord Cedric said. "The vampire-human cooperation initiative is thriving. Trade and political alliances are doing well. But..." He paused. "There is one crucial element for long term stability."

"An heir." Lady Morgana said gently.

Lyanna clenched her hands in her lap. Then, another council member, Lord Cassius, stood up.

"Your Majesties have been married for over a year now. In vampire society, time moves differently than for humans, yet succession is considered a priority, especially for a union like yours."

"Are you saying we’re neglecting our duties?" Azrael asked coldly.

"Not neglecting, Your Majesty." Cedric replied on his behalf. "But the courts are starting to ask questions. When can we expect news of succession? Will there be a royal child to strengthen the vampire-human alliance?"

Lyanna felt her cheeks burn. They were discussing her fertility, her intimate relationship with Azrael, as if it were a business matter. Which, she realized, to them it was.

"Our private lives are not council business." Azrael replied in a dangerous tone.

"With respect, Your Majesty," Cassius pressed. "The royal succession is very much council business. The stability of Thornfield depends on inheritance. And given the queen’s situation..."

"Careful. Choose your next words very carefully, Cassius."

The noble fell silent immediately.

"Your Majesties, we’re not asking for immediate results. We are just asking you to priortize succession." Cedric said.

"The council’s concern is noted. His Majesty and I will discuss the matter privately." Lyanna finally spoke.

"When can we expect a decision?" Cedric asked.

"When we’re ready." Azrael replied. "This session is over."

The council members exchanged glances but knew better than to push further. They left, leaving Lyanna and Azrael alone in the chamber.

Silence stretched between them. Lyanna stared at the ceiling, counting the painted stars to calm her racing heart.

"That was..." She started.

"Invasive." Azrael finished for her. "Inappropriate. I’ll speak to Cedric about overstepping."

"They’re not wrong though." She turned to look at him. "We’ve been married for over a year."

Azrael’s jaw tightened.

"Do they expect us to perform on command? Should I schedule our lovemaking around council meetings?"

Despite everything, she smiled at his irritation.

"I think they expect us to at least try."

"Are we not?" He turned to face her. "Lyanna, we’ve never discussed this openly, but I assumed..."

"That we’d have children eventually?" She stood up. "But Azrael, I’m not ready yet."

He stood up as well.

"Why not?"

"Because we just started being happy. We just figured out how to be a couple instead of enemies. We just learned how to love each other. And children...they change everything."

"They do."

"I’m not even a year into being a vampire. I’m still learning. Adding motherhood on top of that..." She shook her head. "I can’t. Not yet."

"I understand, and I won’t push for children before we’re ready. But Lyanna, the council won’t stop pressuring us, even if I speak to them. It’s politics."

"I know it’s politics!" She was suddenly frustrated. "Everything is always politics! Even my womb is politics too!"

"Lyanna... why are you...."

"Tell me honestly Azrael, if you had to choose between my feelings or politics, which would you choose?"

He looked conflicted.

"You’re my wife. Of course, you’ll always be my top priority. But I’m also a king, Lyanna. I can’t ignore politics just because it is inconvenient or uncomfortable."

Lyanna looked at the man she loved, the king who sometimes forgot to be a husband and felt a chill of dread.

"Exactly what I needed to hear." She replied and left.

Later that afternoon, Lyanna walked through the castle gardens, looking for peace. She had found a love for gardening in recent months. She was examining a beautiful moonflower when she heard female voices coming from a nearby corner.

"Over a year and no pregnancy." One of them said. "It’s embarrassing."

Lyanna froze, recognizing the voice of Lady Celeste, a noble from one of the minor vampire houses.

"Perhaps they’re not trying?" Another one said.

"His Majesty seems quite smitten with her. But if they were truly spending their nights together..."

"They are." Celeste interrupted the other one. "My maid says she often hears them during her night duty." They both giggled.

"But looks like it’s not working. She is still thinking like a human. A real vampire queen would have provided an heir by now."

"Maybe she can’t. Turned vampires sometimes have trouble conceiving."

Is this true?

"I feel sorry for His Majesty. He is married to a woman who can’t give him children. He should have married proper vampire nobility. Someone like Lady Sylvia."

"Well...if she is indeed barren, then he can seek an annulment. It would be politically acceptable. Failure to produce an heir is a valid reason to end even royal marriages."

"Do you think he’d actually divorce her?"

"I’m not sure. But if she can’t fulfil her main queenly role..."

Lyanna didn’t wait to hear more. She rushed back to the castle. She had never thought that becoming a vampire might affect her fertility.

That evening, while Azrael attended a military briefing, Lyanna locked herself in the castle library.

If there is any information about vampire fertility, it would be here.

She found the medical texts in the restricted section, books on vampire physiology and reproduction.

"Vampire conception is more difficult than human reproduction. Born vampires have the highest fertility rates, but even they may take decades or centuries to conceive. Turned vampires face additional complications. The transformation process can harm reproductive organs, especially if the turning was traumatic."

Lyanna’s hands shook as she continued reading.

"Newly turned vampires have the lowest conception rates. The younger the vampire, the more difficult conception becomes. Many turned vampires report trying for decades or even centuries before they succeed."

Decades? Centuries?

"Factors that increase difficulty: violent transformation, severe injury before turning, silver poisoning, trauma during the turning process."

Lyanna had experienced all of those. According to this text, her chances of conceiving were extremely low.

She kept reading, hoping to find some solution or treatment. She found only one option.

"Ancient blood magic rituals can enhance fertility in turned vampires, though success is not guaranteed. These rituals need significant magical power and usually involve blood bonds with multiple powerful vampires to help the turned vampire’s damaged system."

Blood bonds with multiple vampires?

She remembered Victor mentioning something similar once; rituals where a vampire drank from several others to gain their strength. It wasn’t sexual, but it was intimate.

The thought made her uncomfortable. She closed the book immediately.

Should I tell Azrael? Confess that I might not be able to give him children? Or research more first and be sure first before worrying him?

The library door opened. She jumped and shoved the book aside.

"Lyanna?" It was Azrael. "I’ve been looking for you. We need to talk."

She turned to face him, her heart pounding.

Has someone told him I was researching about fertility? Does he know what I’ve discovered?

But he looked distracted, not hurt or suspicious.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Intelligence just came in. There are reports of attacks on border territories, both human and vampire."

"By whom?" Her focus shifted immediately.

"Victor is investigating." He replied. "I’ll need to focus on this for the next few days. I have security assessments, military planning. I need to coordinate with other courts as well "

"I want to help." She said.

"This is military strategy, Lyanna. It’s not really your..."

"My what? Expertise?" Her voice sharpened. "I’m your wife, Azrael. Your queen."

"We’ll discuss it tomorrow. I have meetings tonight..."

"Of course you do." She replied bitterly. "Meetings I’m apparently not important enough to attend."

"That’s not what I said."

"It’s what you meant."

They stared at each other and suddenly the distance between them felt like miles instead of a few steps.

"Lyanna..."

"Just go to your meetings, Azrael. I don’t want to keep you from important matters."

He sighed in frustration and left, not in the mood to argue. Lyanna stood alone in the library, surrounded by books about her damaged body, facing the reality that her marriage might be weaker than she had believed.