The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 190: We won’t say it again. Just don’t cry

"What does it look like she’s doing?" the Wolfman asked, his voice a low, provocative rumble. He smirked, breathing hot air into my ear and deliberately caressing my earlobe with his lips to show off. "She’s about to mate with me."

That smirk was a knife to the heart and the words he said drew blood.

Fenric let out a strangled sound, his knees finally giving out as he slumped into the shallow water at the edge. Damar stood frozen, his emerald eyes cold enough to kill.

"Let. Her. Go," Fenric finally hissed, his voice trembling with the effort not to shift into his beast form and tear the Wolfman apart.

His eyes were redder than usual and I could see the veins on his neck and forehead hardening. He was so angry it was scary.

I tried to speak, but what could I say?

The situation was exactly as they saw it. I was in the arms of another man and though it wasn’t against my will, they would very much like to believe otherwise to get justification to rip the wolfman to shreds.

I trembled.

"You’re scaring her." The Wolfman said and Fenric flinched. Even when deeply angry, he could not bring himself to cause me any discomfort.

"Arinya," he called, his voice a light tremor of his shaking heart.

But unlike Fenric, Damar seemed sharp-mouthed. He didn’t keep his thoughts to himself, like before. Instead, it felt like in the wake of his anger, the words spilled out with no consideration whatsoever.

"Is this why?" His voice was like a flat, hollow blade. "Is this why you couldn’t eat?" He asked. "Why you grew silent and fell sick? Were you waiting for a new mate? Did you... Get tired of us?" Though his expression was still, his voice broke at that edge, and they broke me too. "Ari, we... We will do better from now on. So please..." He reached out his hand, the stillness shattering into something despairing as his outstretched hand trembled. "...don’t discard us."

The silence that followed Damar’s plea was more agonizing than any scream or words.

The heat was still pulsing through me, but it felt secondary to the cold dread settling in my chest.

To hear Damar—always so composed—sound so utterly broken was more than I could bear. They thought I was sick because I was tired of them? They thought I had been ’waiting’ for someone better to come along?

How... Just where did that thought come from? What did I do to make them have such thoughts? Have I been making them insecure this whole time?

"No," I choked out, but the word was barely a whisper.

The Wolfman felt the sudden, rigid tension in my spine. Sensing my desperation to get on my feet, he slowly let me down, and my feet touched the pebbled bottom of the stream. Though he didn’t want to let go—the rut was still screaming in his blood—he could not hold me back when I so desperately wanted to get to them.

"Damar... Fenric... please," I gasped, trying to take a step toward the bank. Just listen to me first.

I wanted to say those words but they didn’t slip out of my mouth. It was as if something was blocking my throat and preventing me from getting the words across.

Then, I walked. I felt like if I reached them, it would be easier to explain, but my legs were like jelly, and I did not walk far.

The moment I tried to take a second step, my knees buckled. I stumbled, my hands splashing into the cold water but the Wolfman caught me in that moment, pulling me up by my waist to keep me from drowning.

The sight of him touching me again—rescuing me—sent a fresh wave of agony through Fenric’s eyes. He looked like he wanted to die.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The misunderstanding, the guilt, the heat, and the sheer love I felt for the two on the bank collided in my chest. I began to cry—bitter, racking sobs that made my shoulders heave.

I buried my face in my hands, the tears hot against my palms as I cried heavily.

Seeing me break down changed everything. The raw, sharp edges of their betrayal softened into a panicked, desperate alarm. They couldn’t stand my tears; they never could.

"Arinya! No... don’t cry," Fenric stammered, his hand still reaching out through the empty air, trembling. "We... we didn’t mean it. We won’t say it again. Just don’t cry."

"Ari," Damar called, his shoulders trembling. It was at this point that he realized he might have been a little too harsh and hurt me. "Sorry, sorry. Ari, I..." But words could not come out any more than that.

His own feelings betrayed him and left him in a ditch.

"This is quite the scene," the Wolfman suddenly mumbled. "Here, I’ll take you to them."

He lifted me in his arms, causing the two to flinch, and then walked out of the water until his foot touched the grass.

He looked from one to another and then let out a sly grin, but said nothing.

His grin was enough to provoke them, but with me in his arms, they could not even attack if they wanted to.

"Put her down," Fenric growled.

The sound was low, coming from the very bottom of his lungs.

"Easy, Snow-Tiger," the Wolfman said, his voice light despite the tension. He looked at Damar, who was coiled tight like a spring, his emerald eyes tracking every movement of the Wolfman’s hands.

The Wolfman found this amusing, more or less, and slowly gently set me on my feet. The moment my toes touched the grass, my knees gave out. I didn’t fall, though. Fenric was there instantly, moving so fast, as if he expected this to happen.

He caught me, pulling me against his chest with a desperate, crushing force, while Damar moved to wrap himself around my side.

They were both on alert against the Wolfman, openly declaring him an enemy.

I clutched Fenric’s arm, my sobs coming back again as his familiar warmth and scent hit me. I could feel his heart hammering against his ribs.

"I’m sorry," I choked out, my voice muffled by his chest. "I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to..."

"Shh, Arinya, shh," Fenric whispered, his hand shaking as he stroked my wet hair. "We’re here."

But the atmosphere was still poisoned. Damar’s silence was heavy, his hand resting on my shoulder with a possessive, trembling grip. They still thought I had chosen this because I grew bored, and they were trying their best to accept it, even though it hurt.

I pulled back just enough to look at them both. My chest felt tight, the heat in my blood pooling in my lower abdomen in a way that made me feel heavy and breathless. I reached down, my hand clutching my belly instinctively, pressing firmly against the skin.

"It wasn’t... it wasn’t because I wanted another mate," I said, my voice rising with a desperate need for them to understand. I looked at the Wolfman, then back at my husbands. "I didn’t refuse to eat on purpose and my body wasn’t seeking another either."

"But..." Fenric wanted to speak but I interrupted.

"It wasn’t, but you might think otherwise given what you just saw," I said. "To be honest, I’ve suspected my condition all this while but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you."

"Why? What is it?" Fenric asked, his voice frantic. "Why can’t you tell us? Is it because we’re not trustworthy enough?"

I shook my head.

"No, it’s just because I wasn’t certain enough and didn’t want to put your hopes up for nothing." I sniffed and he brushed the tears from my eyes. "But what happened today has helped me confirm it."

I looked at their eager eyes as they anticipated the words I was going to say.

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