Chapter forty-one
1526 Words
Without having to go back, Ndeye and Fa'Bintou immediately knew whose voice it was, and it was none other than hers: Ma'Khady.
_ What are you doing here? Fa'Bintou immediately attacked her, starting the hostilities.
Sensing a dispute between women, Ibra apologized to Fa'Bintou before leaving so discreetly that neither Ndeye nor Ma'Khady saw him do so, being more occupied with staring at each other.
_ What a question! I am here to give Moha what that useless Luna could never give him: an heir," Ma'Khady replied, breaking the silence.
_ Do you think you can? Even if the situation becomes desperate, don't expect to be the one Moha chooses.
_ But the choice has already been made and I am the Chosen One.
_ You know, when the raven sees the wounded and dying lion, it thinks it's near the end and starts to prowl around him. But you never know, the lion may recover and get up again and finally devour him.
_ But this is not likely to be the case with our dearest Luna. This time the lion will not recover and the crow will eat his corpse when he dies, believe me.
_ You can still dream!
_ Do you bet? You know Fa'Bintou, even if at present only the immediate family, me, the pack, and the council of elders know about Ndeye's sterility, the truth will soon be known to all. Everyone will despise you then, Ndeye, and you will become nothing more than "The damned Supreme Luna". Or am I wrong?
Unable to retaliate against such an attack by Ma'Khady and stricken, Ndeye immediately ran despite Fa'Bintou who took charge of chasing Ma'Khady, into her room where she burst into tears, lying in the fetal position on the bed.
_ Until when? Lys suddenly asked her.
_ ... Until... Until when what? she replied, confused.
Until when are you going to mope around like this and cry about not being able to give birth? How long are you going to let yourself go to waste?
_ ....
_ You have been dying for three weeks. I thought you just needed time to get over it, but this is too much. Childbirth is one of the greatest gifts a woman can receive. So be it. But not all women have it and you are one of them. We are among those. Do you think that not being able to feel our child curling up against me, not seeing him running beside me, delights me? But I've come to terms with it. Do you also believe that Moha and Aras are not suffering? They just know how to hide their pain, unlike you. How can you act so selfishly by dragging them into your spiral of self-inflicted pain? And believe me, it's because they care so much about us that they put up with it. Aras is even researching day and night to find a way for you to experience the joy of motherhood. If it had been anyone else, he would not have hesitated to let you wither away to find someone else. Don't forget who you are, where you come from, what you've been through, what you've endured, what you've known, because that's how you've always been able to overcome everything. So pull yourself together for yourself, for Moha, for me, for Aras, and for everyone who cares about you because this situation cannot continue!
Faced with Lys' frankness, Ndeye, whose inner strength she had touched before she had finished, fell to the ground in tears, finally aware of all the pain she had inflicted on others over the last three weeks, especially on Moha.
_ Goddess! How could I be so selfish? she asked herself in a whisper.
_ Ndeye? Ndeye? Lys called out to her, beginning to worry after several minutes when she saw Ndeye still in tears.
She didn't answer him and instead got up to go into the bathroom to rinse her face before stopping in front of the mirror to look herself in the eye.
_ You are right. This situation can't continue, especially not with Ma'Khady around. How about a makeover and a new wardrobe as starting? she said.
_ Excellent choice agreed on Lys.
_ Let's get to work! And thank you. I needed to hear what you said.
_ Just save me the trouble of having to glue myself to it.
_ I'll try.
Fa'Bintou for her part was sitting thinking of the words she would have to use to comfort and prevent Ndeye from falling back into her sad state of just a few hours ago when she materialized before her, resplendent. She had dressed in a knee-length dress, had taken the time to comb her hair and even adorn herself properly, something that Fa'Bintou could not understand.
_ Wow! You look great Ndeye! May I ask what this is in honor of? she asked.
_ I'm going out, she replied.
_ What? You're going out?
_ Yes.
_ To go where?
_ Shopping.
_ By the way, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've put you through these past few days.
Fa'Bintou, taken aback by the reversal of the situation and this sudden and unexpected decision by Ndeye, who seemed to have just metamorphosed in the space of a few minutes, stood speechless watching her walk away, proudly, helplessly. When she recovered, Ndeye was far away, but she didn't worry about it and just smiled.
_ It was time.
Meanwhile......
On his way home, overcome by a sense of renewed strength that he realized was coming from Ndeye, Moha received an urgent call from his beta Mahmoud. The four most important members of the Council of Elders had just landed in Senegal and demanded to meet him as soon as possible. Although he was convinced that something had changed for the better with Ndeye and was anxious to see her be sure, he had to turn back and go to his parent's house where the four would be staying. When he arrived, he found them in his father's office, visibly waiting for him, from which office his father left in a rage before realizing his son's presence. Unable to tell him what was going on, he nodded his head and left. Moha immediately had a bad feeling about this meeting, which he could not avoid. And as soon as he sat down and the greetings were made, they did not hesitate to get to the heart of the matter of their coming.
_ You must have some idea, Alpha, that we are here on an important matter, said Jimin, the leader of the elders.
_ Do you call bothering people and messing with their heads an important matter? Moha replied.
_ We understand that you are hostile to us Alpha, but what we have to talk to you about cannot be ignored, intervened the second, Moses.
_ I am not hostile to you. You are mistaken. I just didn't like the way you meddled in my household. Ndeye almost died! Can you believe it? All this for a child?
_ We feel so sorry for you, Alpha. We couldn't have known that she would rule like that, they apologized in one voice.
_ No. I don't think you're sorry or understand anything. And I can't bear to be in the same room with people like you, even if you are the Ancients.
_ You can't leave this room like that Alpha. We haven't told you what we're here for yet.
_ I think you can keep it to yourself. (Opening the door to leave).
_ Alpha! We got Ma'Khady back!
_ What? You brought who back? (Stopping to turn around).
_ Ma'Khady. We had to consult and conclude that she is the one you need to conceive an heir.
_ In whose name?
_ It's that...
_ I said in whose name? Answer my question, damn it!
_ We thought that if we told you our decision, you might be reluctant and delay things. So we took the liberty of sending for her in your place.
_ Without my approval? You had no right to do that, Council of Elders or not! With all due respect, you're overstepping your authority. No. You deserve no respect, not with your actions. Did you even consider Ma'Khady's opinion?
_ Yes. And she agrees. Don't worry, Alpha. You won't have to part with the Luna. Ma'Khady will just be like a concubine or a surrogate.
_ Do you hear yourself talking? Do I look like a stallion who's just good at mating, regardless of the female? I am a rational being after all! You go too far!
_ It's for your good and that of all the wolves...
_ Out!
_ Alpha, you...
_ I said get out! Get out! Get out of my sight! Now!
Without asking for their remains, all four elders immediately left the office, alerted by the dark aura emanating from Moha, half-transformed, and the like of which they had never known. Left alone, he threw the flowerpot in his hand against the wall, his eyes bloodshot and uncontrollable.
- Writer
