“He was challenged and is currently fertilizing the world’s most rancid corncob. But it felt like a cautionary tale. The Northwest decided to keep the celibacy covenant, and for the following decades, our Alphas seemed okay with it. Not everyone wants to be sexually active or in a relationship, you know? It was a problem for later.” Amanda chews at her lower lip. “And then later came.”
“Was that four decades ago? The Alpha before Koen?”
“A little less than that. But yeah.” She sets the mug down, as if she’ll need all her limbs for this. “She was a fantastic Alpha. Also, she was in love and unapologetic about it. She asked the Assembly to rescind the covenant. According to my mother, at the time the Assembly was a crock of geezers whose main hobby was to shake their fists at the clouds. O
