The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 318: The conclusion is a nursery

I turned to the whole room, my gaze sweeping over the sea of suspicious, hurt faces.

"I am also a mother, so I understand what it means to cherish your child. And as a mother of Noah’s child, I refuse to let my cubs grow up thinking they are the only ones who matter. If Noah won’t bring his children together, then I will. I’m not here to steal anything, I’m here to give these pups a future where they aren’t just ’the King’s mistakes.’ I want them to be a pack."

The woman who had sneered earlier stood up, her tail lashing behind her. "And how do you plan to do that? You think a few words in a stone hall will change the fact that he doesn’t know my daughter’s name?"

"I plan to make it impossible for him to ignore them," I said, my voice hardening with a new resolve. "We are going to organize a communal nursery. A training ground for the older ones. A place where all of Noah’s children eat, play, and learn together. And Noah? He will be there. Not because of a ’duty visit,’ but because his Queen is making it a royal decree."

A ripple of murmurs broke out. Some looked hopeful, some looked terrified that I was selling them a dream that would only break their hearts again.

"If he doesn’t come," I said, looking directly at Talia, "then he’ll have to answer to all of us at once. And believe me, a grumpy King is nothing compared to a mob of angry mothers."

A small, genuine snort of laughter broke from the back—the scarred woman. It was a dry, rusty sound, but it was a start.

The atmosphere was coming to life again. I was winning them over. It was good. If we can stick to this peace, it’ll mean well for the kingdom.

A small pup—looking no older than four—broke away from his mother and waddled toward me. He stopped a few inches away, his little black tail wagging tentatively as he sniffed the hem of my tunic.

"Are you the Tiger Lady?" he asked, his voice high and sweet.

The silence in the hall was absolute. I knelt down, ignoring the protest of my aching muscles, and offered him a small, tired smile. "I am. And who are you, little wolf?"

The little boy puffed out his chest, his tiny tail giving a frantic, happy wag.

"I’m Kael! My mama says I’m going to be a Great Hunter, just like the King!"

I felt a sharp pang in my chest. Beside me, I heard a stifled sob. I didn’t have to look up to know it came from a woman who had probably spent every night telling her son stories of a father who hadn’t visited in months.

"Well, Kael," I said, reaching out to gently boop his nose. "A Great Hunter needs a pack. Do you see all these other little wolves? They’re your brothers and sisters. If you’re going to hunt, you shouldn’t do it alone."

The boy’s dark eyes—so much like Noah’s—widened as he looked around the room. He walked over to a slightly older girl with grey-tipped ears and poked her arm.

"Are you my sister?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The girl looked at her mother, who was biting her lip so hard it was white, then slowly nodded.

"I think so," she whispered.

The little pup who had been chewing on dried meat waddled forward. He stopped at my feet, tilted his head, and reached out a small hand to touch the shimmering purple scale on my ankle.

"Is it a fish?" he asked, his golden eyes full of wonder.

"It’s a gift from a friend," I whispered to him, ruffling his messy hair. "And yes, he’s a fish."

He chuckled as if we were sharing a secret.

I stood up slowly, my joints cracking as the eyes of every mother in the room followed my movement. The atmosphere had shifted from a jagged, defensive wall of ice to something much more complicated—a messy pool of raw hope and old wounds.

"Kael, go find your other sister," I said softly, nudging him toward a girl in a red tunic who was hiding behind her mother’s leg.

As the children began to tentatively sniff at each other, their small tails wagging in a chaotic, nervous rhythm, I turned my attention back to the ’Committee.’

"I’m going to be honest with you," I said, my voice projecting to the very back of the stone hall. "Noah is a coward when it comes to the consequences of his past. He’s a King who can face a hundred enemies, but he’s terrified of the silence that follows when he looks at his own children’s faces."

Talia stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "And you think calling him a coward to our faces is going to make us trust you, Tiger? You’re what he’s been boldly calling his ’wife’. And I’m sure it means you’re special to him. Very special since he marked you. Mother or not, you’re not like the rest of us who have to scream for his affection but still get nothing."

"Well, I call him a coward because it’s the truth, not so I can make you feel better." I countered, meeting her gaze. "He thinks that by staying away, he’s making it ’simpler’ for everyone. He’s wrong. He’s just letting the rot grow. But I am not a coward, and I am not going to let my own cubs grow up as strangers to their blood."

I looked directly at the woman with the scarred face. "I’m serious. I will create a Royal Nursery. Starting tomorrow, the pups who have gotten their second forms and are no longer breastfeeding, I’m sure there aren’t any, will do everything together."

"She’s bossy," Talia muttered, though there was a flicker of something that wasn’t quite hatred in her eyes. "And she’s arrogant. But... she’s the first one who’s actually mentioned the pups instead of just talking about how we got in the King’s bed."

She turned back to me, her arms uncrossing for the first time since I’d entered.

"If you’re lying to us, Arinya," ah, she finally said my name right. "If you’re just trying to keep us quiet so you can have him all to yourself and make our pups suffer, I will not stay quiet and will do something that will cause all of us, including your cubs, to suffer."

I felt a spite in my heart as she threatened my cubs. I was angry, but then I also remembered the dream. If I don’t mess this up, a tragedy doesn’t have to happen, and no one has to suffer. Not my cubs, not their pups, and... well, Noah might suffer a bit, but let’s say he brought it on himself, haha.

"I got it," I said, offering her a tired but sincere nod. "I’ll definitely do it right."

As the mothers began to talk amongst themselves, the tension finally breaking into a low roar of planning, I felt a sudden, familiar chill. I looked down at my wrist. The blue coral crest was shimmering softly, responding to the proximity of that one merman who took me as his anchor.

Thalor.