The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 231: I was getting too worked up

"What do you want to know?"

Noah knelt at the edge of the furs, his golden eyes searching mine. He looked exhausted, but there was a new weight in his gaze—something regal that I had missed because I was too busy watching him pout and flirt.

"First," I opened my mouth to speak but the first thing that came out was quite silly. "Why are you called a silver wolf?"

Noah blinked, looking puzzled, as if the question caught him off guard like, ’What sort of question was that?’

Then, he laughed.

"It’s not funny. This is no laughing matter." I said and he nodded.

"They call me that cause they believe I’m ’special’." He said but I made no sense to that.

"Hm, is it more special than the fact that they call you a ’king’?" I asked and watched his shoulder stiffen. "Is there something I missed when I was passed out after delivery, or is this something you should’ve told me, like, I don’t know, the day after we met?"

"I didn’t want you to find out like this," he said, his voice low and guilt-stricken.

"Find out what, Noah? That I’m apparently ’Her Majesty’?"

"It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?" Noah said, his voice dropping softly while sounding weary. He sat back on his heels, his long fingers trailing distractedly over the edge of the furs. "Especially in a cave like this."

"It’s not just ridiculous, Noah. It’s terrifying," I countered, my eyes moving to the basket where my three tiny, innocent babies lay. "I’m a female who can barely handle the cold, and now I’m told I’m the ’Queen’ of a pack I’ve never even met? Does that make sense to you?"

He shrugged his shoulders and I tilted my head.

"You told me you were just a wolf who wanted a break. And now that I think about it, I should’ve asked for more answers then. A break from what? Your throne?"

Noah looked at his hands, his knuckles still raw from the blizzard.

"I didn’t lie about wanting a break, Little Tiger. I was suffocating. In the West-Way, being the Alpha isn’t just about leading—it’s about every breath you take belonging to the pack. Every decision is a weight. Every word is a law. I was tired of the politics, the posturing, and the endless ’responsibilities’ that didn’t allow me to just... be."

He looked up at me, his dark eyes glowing in the firelight. "I came to the middle of nowhere to find myself again, to be free. But do you know what I found beside myself? You! I found you!"

I was speechless. Was he trying to shift all this into a romantic tension when I was so pissed out of my head?

"I didn’t want the crown to follow me here. I wanted to be the man who protects you, not the King who commands you."

"What do you mean king who commands me? Whether you’re a king has nothing to do with me. I wasn’t your subject to begin with. My problem with you is that you kept it from me. You had plenty of time to talk about yourself, Noah. A lot of time, but you never mentioned it even once." I rasped and then took in a deep breath.

I was getting too worked up.

"Yes, I didn’t bring it up. I hid it intentionally."

"Why?" I asked but he went silent. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind and my lips curled as I felt amused. "Wait, you didn’t think I was going to treat you any differently just because you told me you were a king, did you?" I asked and Fenric stifled a laugh.

Noah looked at him and even I couldn’t hold back the laugh.

"Wait, wait, did you really think that? That I’d prostrate and go, ’your majesty’?" My voice illustrated the sarcasm so well that Fenric couldn’t hold the laugh back anymore and laughed out.

Noah looked at us like we had lost our minds but we were sane. If anything, he was the one out of his mind if he didn’t know what our personalities were like even now.

"Noah, to us, you would’ve been no different from an addition to the family. Royalty or not, you’re still just Noah. And besides, if we’re talking about royals, Fenric and I are pretty royal ourselves if we consider that our fathers are chiefs in our tribes."

Noah went silent, his hand on his head as he scratched in confusion. He didn’t know how to handle this situation.

I reached for his hand and he looked up at me.

"Was that really your concern?" I asked and he looked me in the eyes, embarrassed as he nodded.

I understood a bit of his reasoning. He went so far as to run away from his own throne, why would he bother revealing his identity at the expense of being revered so suffocatingly again? 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

And neither Fenric nor I talked about our fathers either so to him we were just normal wandering beastmen.

But that does not mean I pardon him for keeping such a big secret from me.

I have no plans on being the queen or anything like that.

I squeezed his hand and he yelped.

"I’ll definitely punish you later for deceiving me," I said and then let go, turning my gaze to Fenric. "And you, how did you already know he was king? Did you know from the start?"

Fenric immediately shook his head.

"No, not at all." He said and scratched the corner of his face nervously. "I didn’t know until yesterday. I was concerned since I didn’t know who these beastmen were, but Noah told me not to worry since they were his tribesmen. I was confused since they were different species and so he told me about it."

"Did you get angry?" I asked but he threw his face away, scared to answer.

After seeing me get mad, he wasn’t confident that I wouldn’t get mad at his words.

I clicked my tongue and called his name with a deep tone,

"Fenric?" The hair all over his body stood in a jittery state.

"Yes, wife?" He began to wag like an obedient puppy.

"Did you get angry on my behalf?"

"Sorry wife, but I couldn’t get angry," he said, dropping his head on the fur, his head nudging against my thigh.

"And why is that?"

"Because that means Arinya gets to have a crown and become a queen, just like you deserve." He said, peeking to look at me with those gullible red eyes of his.

It shot a Cupid arrow through my heart. I need to calm down, I’m a mum now. I can’t let his adorable actions get to my heart when there are already three at the corner who can take on that job without lifting a paw.

I cleared my throat.

"And besides, it’s thanks to him being a king that he was able to bring their best healers here. It worked out, Arinya." He said his head, kneeling upright.

Yes, being a king did have its perks, but you also have to weigh the responsibility that comes with it.

"So, you like the idea of me being queen?" I asked and he nodded frantically. I looked at Noah and he slowly gave me two thumbs up.

Ugh, they were unforgivable.