Chapter 15 his fear

Chapter 15 his fear
Amber’s P.O.V. (Continued)

“You should have told us last night during dinner, Amber. When did you start distancing yourself from us? When did you start hiding things from us?” David questioned me in the same way, but his heartbreak was hidden behind his anger.
I couldn’t even say sorry because there was still one important thing that I was hiding from them.
“What else are you hiding from us?” David asked coldly; gone was the warmth of his brotherly love for me.
He was also a strict father when it comes to teaching the younger a lesson.
I was reluctant, but I know that I can’t hide anything from him. He can use his big brother authority over us at any time, making us speak the truth.
“K….. king Lucifer,” I spoke in a very low voice, still holding my breath, which had started a burning sensation in my chest.
“What about him?” He asked more coldly, tightened his grip on my arm.
“H…… he is my mate,” I whispered, my voice getting lower after every character coming out of my mouth.
“What?” The whole house shook badly when all of them roared aloud.
I trembled so hard that my knees went jelly because of the pressure of their anger.
David immediately tightened his grip on me and pulled me up to keep steady on my feet.
“He…. He is you…your mate an… and yet h…. he treated ….. how could he not acknowledge you but get you transferred? Did he reject you?” Daniel questioned furiously.
I shook my head and slowly looked at him with blurred vision.
Tears now burst the gates and streamed down like a flood.
“No….. h… he asked for some time,” I told them in a cracked voice.
Silence stretched this time.
I lowered my eyes again as I didn’t want them to see my heartbreak.
Daniel scoffed bitterly, breaking the silence, but it only thickened the tension in the air.
“Time for what? Deciding whether you’re worth it?” he asked sarcastically. My nails dug deeper inside my palms.
“Daniel,” Laila snapped gently, though her voice carried her pain.
Laila moved closer to me slowly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, moving me away from David but holding me tightly.
“Amber…” she whispered softly. But she didn’t say anything else.
I was glad that she didn’t because I don’t think that there was something that could soothe this ache in my heart.
“It…. It’s not like th…. That he rejected me, right?” I spoke with fake hope in my tone, trying to smile, but it looked more like a cry.
The moment I said it, I realized how weak it sounded.
Laila tightened her grip on my torso.
I lowered my gaze again, my chest tightening painfully.
“Is it because of what happened to his first mate?” I snapped my head, widening my eyes in shock when Laila spoke in a very low and cautious voice, shattering the silence in the process.
Lucifer’s first mate?
My mind short-circuited, but then I remembered David mentioning something about it, I guess, three years ago.
“That’s right. His first mate, Queen Clara.” Daniel exclaimed aloud, widening his eyes in shock.
“She was killed in a rogue attack three years ago. She was three months pregnant with their first pup back then, and till today, there is no clue about how she died.” David spoke in a grim but serious tone.
My breath hitched, and my mind got some clarity.
A man who not only lost his first fated mate but also his first unborn pup, without getting a clue who killed them, can it be easy for him to accept someone else this quickly?
I knew the answer in my heart.
Absolutely not.
Instead of feeling ecstasy, he would have felt fear.
Fear of losing his second-chance mate, too.
Goddess!!!!!!
I should have thought about everything properly instead of blaming him for using me as an accessory or indirectly rejecting me.
David nodded. “If his first mate’s death was targeted—and we still don’t know if it was—then acknowledging a second mate publicly could put her in danger.”
“He’s the king,” David continued. “Every move he makes is watched. Every weakness… exploited, and a mate.” he paused, looking at me sympathetically this time.
I knew the next statement very well.
Because in our world, your fated mate is the greatest weakness of all.
“So instead of claiming you,” David said quietly, “he moved you closer. Under protection. Under his command.”
My breath grew uneven.
Now, I didn’t know whether to be grateful to him for not clearing things properly or still blame him for not trusting me this much.
Then, he is the king. He doesn’t need to explain himself to anyone, not even to his mate.
“He didn’t reject you,” Laila whispered, her voice filled with realization.
“But he didn’t accept me either,” I whispered and sniffed harder.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand and looked at my brothers.
Both had grim expressions, but they were waiting for me to speak.
But I was still too overwhelmed even to utter a single word.
“What do you want to do, Amber? Just tell us. We will do everything in our power to make you happy forever.” Daniel spoke to me in a serious voice, still worried for me, though.
“If you don’t want to go to the royal pack. It’s fine with me. We can go to the pack house right now, sever our ties with this pack, pack our bags, and go to the city. We don’t need this pack to survive. You are our princess, and you will always be.” David spoke with the same serious tone, but holding his brotherly love in his voice.
I am the luckiest person alive on the planet because I have the most loving and protective family with me.
Tears blurred my vision again, but I smiled happily this time.
"Your brothers are right, Amber. You don't need a man to survive. You are a force in yourself. Whether he has troubles or not, he should have given you a proper explanation instead of forcing his decision on you. I will go with you, and I will ask him to clear his stance on this. He is afraid, I got it, but what about you? Why did he make you suffer like this? Not acknowledging your mate is a kind of indirect rejection. He is the king. Doesn't he know this?" Laila ranted angrily, scolding Lucifer openly, making me laugh in the end.
"Laila. Easy, my love." David asked her in a cautious tone.
"What easy, huh? Our princess is not a toy to be played with by him," she scolded David while glaring hard at him.
"Guys." I stopped them before she could say more or scold David more.
"I love you, guys, and I love you so much," I spoke to them sincerely while smiling widely, still having tears in my eyes.
They all smiled, but they couldn't hide their worries.
"First, hear me out on what I have in my mind now, and then, you guys can decide what I should do," I suggested.