The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 191: I wasn’t leaving you, Fenric

"Fenric, Damar, I think..." I lowered my head and whispered. "I think I’ve conceived,"

Fenric’s hand, which was cleaning the tears from my eyes, immediately froze in place. His fingers were still damp, but his eyes were wide, fixed on mine with a look of pure, shock.

The silence that followed my words was a wreck.

I could feel my own heart beating, I could feel the blood in my veins—hot blood—and how my body kept burning.

What would they think? I wondered.

I just told them I was going to be a mother, and that either one of them, a father, so why wasn’t anyone saying anything?

It was a bit nerve-wracking. It was as if the wind itself had stopped breathing.

And then, Fenric’s hand, which had been frozen in front of my cheek, finally moved.

"Did I... Hear that right?"

"Conceived?" Damar whispered. The word sounded so foreign in his mouth, fragile and heavy all at once. His emerald eyes dropped slowly, tracing the line of my arm down to where my hand was still protectively clutching my stomach.

Fenric’s chest hitched, a ragged, uneven breath escaping him.

"You mean... a cub? Our cub?"

I nodded, fresh tears leaking out because the look of raw, staggering awe on their faces was almost too much to bear.

"I didn’t want to say anything while I was just feeling sick just because I guessed it. I didn’t want to see you disappointed if I was wrong. But this heat... the way my body reacted today, and how you misunderstood..." I clicked my belly even harder. "I just couldn’t keep it to myself any longer."

They still couldn’t bring themselves to make a proper comment on the issue but I could feel their gaze. Their uncertain gaze was filled with suppressed excitement and a bit of regret.

I looked at the wolfman. He was standing a few feet away, his arms crossed over his bare, tanned chest, watching the three of us with a silent, intense curiosity. ’What will they do next?’ His eyes read.

And then there was that relentless erection of his that did not cool down, no matter how much time passed. His breathing was ragged, and his eyes that seemed clear were secretly rampaging, trying to get something... Trying to get me.

I felt sorry for him, but clearing the air of this situation comes first.

"I don’t know how to explain it but it’s like my body wasn’t listening to me," I continued, my voice trembling. "I’m not trying to throw away responsibility for my own action, but it’s true. It was seeking something to stabilize... But you guys weren’t there and I... I was so hot. My mind was unclear and..."

"Ari," Damar called softly, an intense guilt ripping in his gaze.

"I wasn’t leaving you, Fenric. I wasn’t bored, Damar. I swear my body wasn’t sick because I was tired of you. I swear it so please..." I reached for Fenric’s arm and clutched it tightly. "... don’t think I went looking for another male because of that."

The realization of my words hit them hard and their faces contorted. The news of the pregnancy didn’t hit them as much as this situation did. I thought they would be thrilled and somehow forget about this situation but they didn’t.

They listened to the end, and now that they’ve listened to it all, they began to blame themselves for the actions they nearly took.

"Arinya," Fenric held me close. "I don’t blame you." He said, breathing in hard, as if inhaling every scent on my shoulder. "I’m sorry that you cried and for having the thoughts I did."

My heart thumped.

"Ari, I am also at fault," Damar said, lowering his body. "I was the one who said such harsh words without knowing what was going on in your body. I... I don’t deserve to be your husband."

"No!" I exclaimed, my body stiffening. "Please don’t say that. It’s not your fault you misunderstood. Given what you saw, it’s only a given and... If I no longer have you, what will be left of me?" I trembled. "Will you abandon me, Damar?"

His eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Never! I will never abandon you." Though I could see the desperation in his eyes, his words were smooth, though breaking at the edges... It sounded like self-loathing. "Until Ari tells me herself that she is tired of me, I will never leave. And even if you get tired of me," he lowered his head, hiding his shame. "I will not go far. I will stick around until you want me back."

His words lit something in me. It was like a little flame of assurance.

"Arinya," Fenric called, holding me to himself. "I really want to have cubs with you," he said with a muffled voice and then I realized he was hiding his smile. "So, knowing you’ve conceived, I can’t help the excitement inside me."

The air had shifted. The hostility they felt towards the Wolfman had died down completely, as they shifted their attention to me completely, and the pain that lingered in my eyes was wiped away with Fenric’s kisses on my eyelids, sucking up my tears and smiling at me.

Fenric let out a low, shaky laugh that sounded half like a sob. He buried his face in the crook of my neck again, his hot breath shuddering against my skin.

"A cub," he murmured against my pulse. "We’re going to have a cub."

He raised his head and met my eyes.

"Hehe, Arinya’s going to be a wonderful mother."

My heart glowed in that moment. Literally. The words he just said, those unexpected words, lifted the weight off my heart completely, and what came about was a soft laughter from my lips.

I laughed.

Damar leaned in closer, his forehead resting against my temple. His cool skin felt like a balm to my lingering fever.

"We were so foolish," he whispered, his voice thick with that self-loathing that I hated to hear. "We thought the worst of you when you were carrying the greatest gift we could receive."

They held me then, the two of them forming a wall of muscle and warmth around me, shielding me from the worries. For a moment, we forgot there was anyone else there.

"So," a voice broke through our bubble—deep, smooth, and laced with that same predatory confidence.

We all turned our heads, both of them drowning like someone had taken candy out of their mouths.

The Wolfman stepped closer again, his black ears flicked, and his tail swayed slowly behind him. The rut was still visible in the tension of his jaw and the way his eyes burned, but he was in control... for now.

"Now that the family meeting is over," he said, his gaze settling on me with a look that made my stomach flip, "...are we going to finish what we started? Because your ’condition’ isn’t going to settle down just because you told them the news."

They glared at him, their hostility returning tenfold.

"Don’t look at me like that. She’s still burning, and I’m currently in a state where I need her. We need each other, apparently, so give us space, since I’m going to supply this female with all she needs."

Fenric stiffened, his growl returning, but this time it was different. He looked at my flushed skin, then at Damar, and finally at the stranger’s mark on my wrist.

At this point, he has no reason to deny the wolfman’s words. After all, he is now one of my mates.

I was going to plead that they let it go this time when Damar lifted his body and stood in front of the Wolfman, looking at him with sheer disdain in his eyes.

Then, he looked down at his poking and throbbing erection, the disdain growing even more.

"You’re Ari’s new mate now." He said. "You have to promise to love and respect her. She has to be your priority in everything you do and put her first before anyone else. Even if she does something wrong, you have to swear to take her side."

I stared, taken aback. Damar was repeating the words I said to them before I allowed them to mark me.

Though the order was off, he still wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be exploited by a hot beastman, just because I was not in my right mind when I let him mark me.

"Wow, that’s a lot of promises." The wolfman said, brushing his hand over his head and Damar frowned.

"You will make those promises now or you will die by my hands. The choice is yours."

He paused, and so did I. Was it up to that point?

"I will not let a beastman who is capable of hurting Ari be her mate. If it means killing you to make sure she is safe, then I will do it. So, make the promise now!" He demanded.

"Do you think you can take me on, just because you’re a snake?" The wolfman asked, tilting his head with a little mocking smirk.

But then he heard a growl from behind.

The growl came from Fenric, telling him that he was going to join the fight if the situation called for it.

And the Wolfman knew fighting against both of them would put him at a serious disadvantage.

The smirk fell and he dropped his hand.

"Alright, I get it. I don’t feel like betraying or hurting the female anyway—"

"Arinya!" Damar interrupted him. "Her name is Arinya."

The Wolfman narrowed his eyes. He looked like he didn’t like being told what to do but he had to put up with it.

"Arinya, right. And my name is Noah. Let’s be one big happy family."