Chapter 773: Elizabeth. 2
Seeing that Leona reluctantly accepted her explanation, Bella continued:
"The mutation of the Elizabeth Gene is extremely rare and is said to occur every 3 or 4 generations in The Lykos Clan. It's an event of utmost importance to The Clan."
"This event occurred three generations ago with my mother and happened again a few years ago when you were born, Leona."
"The Matriarch identified the mutant gene within you and personally gave you the full name you use today."
"She named me...?" Leona asked, somewhat shocked. She had always thought that her father had given her the name, something he took pride in.
"Yes," Bella nodded and continued, "By receiving the name Elizabeth directly from The Matriarch, you became her direct successor. After all, from The Clan's point of view, it's always better to have someone with our Ancestor's mutation as the Leader. It's a guarantee that this woman will become very strong in the future."
"... That's why you said my presence would change the entire political climate within The Clan," Leona now understood Bella's words.
"Yes," Bella nodded.
"Hmm, you mentioned 'this woman' as if you were specifying that only the women of the Clan can awaken this mutation," Natalia pointed out.
"... Good observation..." Bella widened her eyes slightly and soon smiled faintly. "Yes, you are correct."
"Only women can awaken this mutation."
"Why? After all, it's something genetic, isn't it? Men should also be able to awaken it," Natalia questioned.
"That's due to the peculiarities of the mutation," explained Bella.
"Peculiarities?" Natalia asked.
"Hmm~... Think of it as an enhanced version of the condition of Noble Vampires, where practically 99% of the next generation inherits the Power from the previous generation, with only rare cases of 1% failing to inherit the Power."
"A woman with this mutation will have the next generation of Wolves born from her be significantly stronger than the previous one, with a talent and potential increase of around 1x or 3x. The last time this happened was in my mother's generation, meaning me and my siblings."
"As we grew up, it was clear how different we were from the Wolves of our age, and my brother Adam was an anomaly among us," Bella explained.
"Hmm, that still doesn't explain why. If it's just that, men should experience the same benefit, right? In fact, wouldn't it be better to have this mutation in men?"
Bella's smile wavered. "... You're quite observant. Almost too observant for your own good, Lady Natalia."
Natalia displayed a sweet smile. "... I see. It seems there's something more that you can't reveal about this mutation, isn't there?"
"Indeed, only The Matriarch can share that information. I'm already at risk of getting in trouble by 'guiding' Leona to the correct answer. I don't want to get involved in more problems," Bella said.
"Hmm~, I understand... Because of this 'something more' that you can't reveal, The Lykos Clan has always been able to produce a General for The King of The Werewolves," Natalia now understood why the Lykos Clan always created Generals for The Werewolf King.
'This mutation must offer something more than just Lineage Enhancement. Otherwise, they wouldn't give it so much importance,' Natalia thought.
"And because of this mutant gene, all the Alpha Werewolves from other Clans want to have relationships with the women and men of our Clan. They desire the chance to obtain this mutation for themselves," Bella scoffed at the foolishness of these Clans. It was obvious that Maya would never allow anyone born with the Elizabeth genes to be outside The Clan. Even the rare grandchildren born to women and men from other Alpha Clans were raised within The Lykos Clan.
"Fortunately, since most of The Clan has internal relationships, we have never had major problems because of it."
While Natalia and Bella conversed, Leona drew her own conclusions about the entire situation, and her imagination didn't like what she envisioned.
"So you want to use me as a breeding machine..." Leona's eyes shimmered slightly.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Bella looked at Leona, confused.
"... Isn't that the reason why you want me to be the Leader? So that I become someone like Maya, who has a reverse harem?" Leona asked, puzzled.
"Huh? Of course not. Don't use my mother as an example for yourself. She's just a very eccentric woman who doesn't know moderation," explained Bella.
"I noticed... The way she looks at my Husband is quite obvious," Leona said.
"If your Husband is everything you've said..." Bella started to speak but was interrupted by Leona.
"He is much more than I've said," Leona corrected her.
"... If he is more than what you've said, it's obvious that she would be interested... Although it's a bit nauseating to think about my mother with a Vampire of all things," Bella murmured in the end.
"Humph, my Husband isn't interested in married women. He's not a pervert," Leona snorted.
Bella coughed and changed the subject: "Essentially speaking, all members of The Lykos Clan can do as they please as long as it doesn't harm The Clan and they fulfill their Clan obligations. This Clan is a family, not a prison."
"Anyway, why is Maya like this? Couldn't her husbands calm her down?" Leona asked curiously.
"....." Bella gave Leona a dry look, her gaze saying, 'Can you stop talking about that for a second?'
Of course, Leona wasn't a telepath, so she didn't understand what Bella meant, and she didn't really care either.
Realizing that Leona wouldn't give up on her question, Bella sighed and spoke, "Unfortunately, neither of my parents was a strong enough Alpha to challenge her authority. My mother is simply too powerful. She not only has the Elizabeth genes, which cause a mutation in her Werewolf side, but she has also achieved the state of a Complete Werewolf, which is equivalent to the full transformation of Noble Vampires."
"That's confusing..." Leona narrowed her eyes, understanding and yet not understanding what Bella was saying.
"Yes, she made the explanation too complicated," Natalia nodded and explained to Leona, "In simple terms, Maya has the genes of a legendary Super Saiyan, and she can transform into a Super Saiyan, which is much stronger than normal Saiyans, right?"
"... What the hell are you talking about, woman?" Bella asked, completely confused now. It was her turn to not understand anything.
"Ohhh, that makes sense," Leona understood now.
"It makes sense!?" Bella asked, still confused.
"It does to me," Leona nodded.
'So, I basically have an even stronger version of the Werewolf Lineage, huh... Neat,' Leona thought.
"... Haah... Anyway, the only male Alpha who can challenge my mother is The King of The Werewolves himself, but as we know, he is married to the Queen, and the Queen is not a woman who would allow that unless she was completely subjugated."
The entire upper circle of Werewolves knew that Volk had never managed to fully subjugate Tasha. They also knew that this was a sensitive subject for the Royal Family, specifically for Volk.
"Going back to the explanation, the reason you were named is related to Power. You have the potential to become the next Maya. That's why you were chosen temporarily, but if you don't want to lead The Clan, there are other more suitable candidates."
"... Hmm." Somehow, Leona found her Clan quite reasonable with these matters.
Seeing Leona's slightly bewildered look, Bella said, "What? Did you think we would force someone to become The Clan Leader?" She snorted. "Forcing someone into such an important position is counterproductive and would only harm The Clan in the long run. Besides, we are not lacking competent individuals."
"... That makes a lot of sense." From Leona's tone, it was clear that she didn't expect to hear those words from Bella.
"So, that cliché anime scenario of the missing Heiress returning to The Clan and causing chaos won't happen here?... Somehow, I'm disappointed." Leona could be quite narcissistic at times.
"No, that's just common sense," Bella said. "It's better to give Leadership of The Clan to someone capable who wants the position rather than to someone who has the potential to be better but doesn't want to take on that responsibility."
After all, there were various roles within The Clan, and this person with potential could very well assume another position, like that of a warrior, for example.
Bella held Leona's hand with both hands and looked into her eyes. "So, now that you have the information you wanted, support me! With you by my side, I will achieve Leadership of The Clan! Please, help your aunt!"
Leona looked at Bella with an expressionless face. Somehow, she felt that this woman was quite brazen, but she didn't dislike her. After all, Bella had been very upfront about what she wanted from the beginning.
"Not yet," Leona replied.
"Huh?"
"You haven't finished explaining about my Clan and this mutation. I want to know why I didn't awaken this Power when I was younger."
"... About that... I don't have any evidence, but I think it's because of my brother Adam."
"My father? What did he do?"
"Hmm, it was just a rumor that circulated at the time, but I remember my other brothers saying that Adam used his retirement as an excuse to take you away from Samar and raise you in a peaceful environment where the Awakening of your mutation wouldn't be triggered. I don't know if it's true or not. After all, that's not the version of my brother that I know, but who knows?"
"Can the Awakening of the mutation be delayed...?" Leona asked with narrowed eyes.
"Hmm? Of course. Only The Matriarch would know more specific details that are not in the books, but I believe so. After all, it is said several times that the Elizabeth gene is a mutation that makes the individual rely more on their 'instincts,' right?" Bella explained.
"In Samar, it's normal to grow up in an environment that enhances our instincts, like running in the forest, fighting strong animals, fighting as a pack, fostering competition among Clan Members, and so on," Bella continued.
"But in the Human World, it's not like that, right? There, the 'rational' side is more valued, and I bet you grew up being heavily protected, both by your father and everyone around you."
Leona fell silent. What Bella said had merit. Ever since she became self-aware, she had always been protected. There were some inconveniences at school with girls who didn't like her, but things never escalated because of Victor, her brother, Andrew, and later Fred.
Deciding to confront her father about this later, Leona asked the question that intrigued her the most at the moment.
"How do I Awaken this mutant gene?"
"... Huh? What are you talking about? Haven't you Awakened it already?" Bella asked, confused.
"... Of course not. I don't feel any imbalance, nor do I have emotional instability."
Natalia decided not to comment on what Leona said. As someone who knew Leona before and now, she could clearly perceive the change in the woman, but Leona herself didn't realize it.
As they say, people don't notice their own faults until someone points them out.
This was a perfect example of Leona's current situation.
"This type of issue usually occurs during the growth phase or when we need to control our instincts. Since you grew up without developing your Werewolf side, the issues from childhood were corrected. And during the Awakening phase, when instincts grow stronger... Well, your instincts are completely satisfied, right?" explained Bella.
"Well..." Leona pondered for a moment on that and realized it was true. Before, she had an immense desire to have Victor all to herself, but since they got together, she had become completely calm. The year of intense night-
time activities worked wonders in appeasing her instincts.
"From your look, I can tell I hit the mark," Bella nodded, confirming her assumptions.
"According to what my mother told me, in her childhood, she wanted to be stronger than everyone else. Her instincts guided her towards that goal, just like it happened with the other members of The Lykos Clan back then. And as she grew older, and realized she had no partners who could match her strength. She desired an Alpha as strong as her... As you know, that desire remains unfulfilled to this day."
"But as time passed and she saw her children and grandchildren, she became calmer... However, I fear that it's only temporary..." Bella murmured in the end.
Leona and Natalia listened attentively to what Bella said and were able to understand her thoughts.
"As expected of my Husband, with his ridiculously irresistible Charm," Leona agreed with herself. It seemed that her thoughts were correct.
Just as Leona was about to say something, they all heard a confident and defiant voice.
"What's this? Why are Vampires in this sacred place?"
Bella furrowed her brow and looked towards the entrance of the library. There stood a tall man with a strong posture, her brother Connor, the next candidate to lead the Clan. As always, he was accompanied by his wives, one of them being his own sister, Daphne Lykos, and the other his niece, Iona Lykos.