Pregnant With Four Alphas' Babies: A Reverse Harem Romance Chapter 48: Her Fate is Unthinkable

*Adam*

“Ki… kill the Breeder?” I ask as I try to process what the king has just said.

“Kill. Snuff out her life. Give her a permanent transfer from the world of the living to the spirit realm. Whatever kids today are saying. I want her dead!”

I can feel cold sweat forming on my forehead. I still don’t think I am hearing the king well. What has the Breeder done to deserve death?

“Is there no other way to get rid of her? I mean killing her is a bit… extreme,” I remark.

The king glares at me looking bored, irritated, or both. “Are you questioning my commands, Beta Adam?”

I shake my head. Well, I actually want to question him some more, but find it would be a dumb move to do so right now. Agreeing with him would assure that he doesn’t task someone else with this twisted plot.

“You will tell nobody of what we have discussed here. Not the Alphas and definitely not your wife. This is a duty you will perform with great discretion, for the king and the good of the crown.”

Again I nod, feeling too numb to answer. How is killing the Breeder good for the crown? I have so many questions, but I know questions won’t do any good.

“You can go,” he barks, and I scurry away from him on legs of lead.

I pinch my arm for the umpteenth time, praying each time it will wake me up from this awful nightmare I’m in. I am born to serve the king, but this one request has me thrown. I don’t know the Breeder personally, but I have met her once or twice, and she seems like a nice girl.

Shelby always talks about how sweet she is. How has this simple arrangement gotten to a point of wanting her dead? I can’t bring myself to kill Rose. She has done nothing deserving of death.

I walk to my room and hope to find Shelby. No one can hear or know about this, but I can’t hide this development from my wife.

The room smells like lavender as I walk in. I see Shelby seated on the bed as she waves an incense stick around. I wish the smell could truly ward off the evil that is manifesting in this palace, but I doubt it does anything except add fragrance to the air.

“Hi, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Shelby greets me as I move toward her.

I clear my throat as I stop in front of her. I need to be close to her to tell her about everything in case someone overhears me.

“I was just talking to the king,” I explain.

Shelby blinks at me and waves the burning stick between us. It’s as if she is trying to wave away the king’s scent from me. I wish her incense sticks were as magical as she thinks they are and they could just undo all I had been told.

“What now? Was he telling you to have me on a tighter leash again?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“Is that what has your panties in a bunch? I mean, he’s been saying that forever,” she says and waves the stick again.

I hold her hand and take the stick away, placing it on the wooden stand by the side table. “The king wants me to get rid of your friend,” I tell her before I lose the nerve.

“Get rid of which friend?” She narrows her gaze at me.

“Rose,” I answer and raise a hand to rub at the back of my neck where tension is building.

“Get rid of her, how?” She doesn’t blink as she stares at me. I swear she can see right to my soul with those eyes.

“Kill her!” There is no reason for me to sugarcoat the matter.

She chuckles lightly for a while before breaking into a full-on laugh. Has my wife lost her mind?

“No. He can’t kill her. She’s pregnant. He can’t want her dead, right? If she dies, the baby dies, you know? You must have misunderstood him, hun.”

I crouch and take her hands in mine. “I didn’t misunderstand the king, my love. As soon as Rose has the baby, he wants me to get rid of her.”

“Well, we all knew that would happen. I mean, she will just return to her home after having the baby. I know her home is not an ideal or lovely place, but we can’t equate her going back home to a death sentence,” she says as she tries to pull her hand away from my grasp.

“The king doesn’t want her to return to her home. He wants her killed,” I repeat. I know Shelby isn’t stupid and understands exactly what I mean. Just as I found the request difficult to swallow, she, too, is failing to come to terms with the absurd plan.

“So did you agree to this plan? Are you going to kill Rose?” she asks as she stares coldly at me. I feel my soul shudder from the glare.

“Well, I… I couldn’t tell the king ‘no.’ I am his Beta and owe him my loyalty. I couldn’t directly reject the task,” I answer.

This time, she tugs her hands with force away from mine.

“So you agreed to kill my friend? Rose is my best friend, Adam. If you dare touch a single hair on her head all in the name of stupid loyalty, I will…I will…” she stutters. I see tears sparkling in the depth of her beautiful eyes.

“The king already thinks of me as a weak Beta. He doesn’t have to say it for me to know that’s what he assumes– ” I don’t get to finish my statement as Shelby cuts me off.

“So you will prove your strength by killing an innocent woman? A woman who would never hurt a fly? How macho of you! What will you be awarded for such bravery, Adam? A golden plaque for being a mighty warrior?” Her words are as hard-hitting as the icy stare she’s giving me.

“Calm down, my love. I said I didn’t directly go against his order, but that doesn’t mean I want to carry out the request. I know how close you and Rose are; hurting her would be as good as hurting you,” I explain calmly.

“Let’s suppose she wasn’t my friend, Adam. Would you kill her then? An innocent woman?”

I stand up and run my hand through my hair. When it comes to Shelby, I always have to say exactly what I mean. She hates half-answers, and I don’t think I am winning any favors with her at this very moment.

“No. I would never lay a hand on a woman. Not Rose or any other woman–except for warriors in battle, of course. You know me better than that, Shelby,” I defend myself.

She folds her arms across her chest. “When it comes to your loyalty to the king, I sometimes have to wonder…. Anyway, why does the king want Rose to be killed anyway?”

“The Alphas have fallen for Rose, yet the king wants them to fall for Emily. As long as Rose is around, this will make everything difficult for his cousin,” I explain the situation clearly.

Shelby tsks as she looks at me. “Of course, they’d fall for Rose. I mean, my friend is gorgeous inside and out, unlike that vile cousin of his. Instead of putting his energy into killing my friend, the king should have put the same amount of energy into training his cousin the basics of being a decent human being.”

I nod. “I’m afraid the king will go ahead with this plan, with or without me. Agreeing with him is my way of making him think he already has a man for the job. That way, he won’t give the assignment to someone else. Any other person might not hesitate to do the king’s bidding.”

“I know,” Shelby sighs. “Then, we need a plan. What do you suggest we do?” Shelby asks as she looks at me, expecting to hear a brilliant idea.

I bite my lip. I’d expected that she’d be the one to come up with a plan.