The Alpha’s Rejected And Broken Mate
Chapter 87

Stefan POV

I brought Amber with me to the council meeting, which conveniently was held in the throne room. As we approached, we saw that there was a large group of the elders, sequestered at a table, some of which had raised eyebrows as they took in Amber who was clutching my hand tightly. "Don't be so nervous" I chided her, squeezing her hand in a reassuring manner "they aren't going to hurt you or anything. This meeting will just be about boring kingdom matters." Or so help me it better be.

At least I hoped that was the case. It was difficult to read the various expressions on the elder's faces, but Mathias was definitely there, glaring at me and particularly at Amber. She noticed and stiffened as I brought her to my side, my hand resting around her waist. We reached the table and I pulled out a chair for Amber, seating her first before seating myself and joining my hands together, resting my head atop of them.

"Gentlemen," I said evenly, without a hint of malice in my tone, Amber sitting quietly beside me, her hair obstructing her face "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

The elders all glanced at one another as though waiting for someone to have the guts to speak. Instantly I knew this meeting was about more than kingdom matters. Damn. I was so hoping I wasn't about to rip someone's head off. I wish I could have Dylan in here, he would give the elders a real piece of his mind, not caring about the consequences. Not to mention would be a soothing presence for Amber, but he was not permitted in the throne room with the elders, due to his rather undesirable status of being half vampire instead of a full-fledged one. A shame, because I held him in far higher esteem than I ever did the elders.

Finally, Elder Thomas spoke, an elderly vampire with a pot belly and thinning white hair, his eyes a dull red, rather than a vibrant glowing one. His cheeks were red and puffy, a sure sign that the old bastard had been drinking again. Not that he'd admit to it though. "It has come to this council's attention that you have yet to replace a wife and produce an heir" he began in that annoying monotonous tone of his.

Not this again. I felt like exploding, almost jumping to my feet, but Amber quickly reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it and indicating for me to hear them out.

"You know how important it is that you produce an heir, should something happen to you" Mathias cut in as I glowered at him. Thomas cleared his throat. "We have given you several weeks to provide a wife for us to approve of."

I ignored them, wondering what Amber was thinking about all this. I opened my mouth and blasted them all. "How dare you tell me, a king what to do" I hissed "are you out of your mind?"

Thomas had the decency to look a little embarrassed, while another elder, elder Mathew began to speak as though ignoring my words, his brown eyes fixed on mine, his chin jutting out and his forehead creased in wrinkles. "With what happened to your mother and father, we thought you would understand the urgency in providing an heir. After all, both of them were killed by shifters and if it wasn't for you, your lineage would have died out." Amber stiffened beside me. The council looked at her, most with disapproving looks on their faces.

"No one expected them to be killed by shifters" I agreed "but we don't know what really happened that day. You know as well as I that shifters have never really tolerated vampires and vice versa. For all we know, my parents might have been the ones to attack first and paid the consequences" I growled.

My parents had never liked shifters, often commenting on them in derogatory terms. I still remember my father clearly referring to them as 'rabid dogs and nothing better than mangy mutts" on more than one occasion. Both of them had firmly believed themselves to be better than shifters and far superior. It was that kind of thinking that had gotten them killed. I was determined to go down a different route.

"Your parents were the best rulers we have had in a long time" Elder Mathias broke in, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked at him. Why was he looking so shifty now? In fact, why was the entire council beginning to look a bit uncomfortable. It occurred to me that they were deliberately ignoring Amber and I wasn't going to stand for it a moment longer.

"My mate, Amber is sitting beside me," I said "Amber this is the council of elders, Elder Thomas, Elder Mathew, Elder Mathias, Elder Gerald, and Elder Jacob."

She gave them a tentative smile. "It's nice to meet you all" she stammered.

Elder Gerald, a handsome man with silver tips in his black hair, was the only one who smiled back at her, gazing at her with curiosity and interest. "It's a delight to meet you," he said, reaching over and shaking her hand. Amber blushed as he let go and shot a look at me, one of bewilderment.

"You cannot be serious" Elder Mathias hissed, avoiding looking at Amber who looked a little hurt by the rest of the council's actions, "there is no way that we can permit you to have a mate that is a shifter of all things" he snapped.

The council began to mutter amongst themselves as I sucked in a breath. "I expect you to be courteous to my mate" I roared, all of them falling silent. "I care not, that she's a shifter or not of our kind for that matter. I think it's time that we started realizing our mates will not always be other vampires. Some of you have never even found your mate. Has it not occurred to you that this could be because your mate might also be a shifter or witch? Maybe even fae? It's time to stop being so close-minded" I exhaled. The council looked displeased. Except for Alpha Gerald who continued to eye a silent Amber with interest. I could tell by the way she was biting her lip and shifting in her seat that she was fighting not to say anything. "May I ask what kind of shifter you are?" he asked "what colour is your wolf?"

I broke in before she could answer. "She's a plain silver wolf, very lovely and adorable" I burst out as she looked at me askance. My eyes pleaded with her to go with me, not wanting them to replace out that she was a special or rare wolf. I didn't want her to be used by them.

"Yes," she murmured " a silver wolf."

"See," said Elder Mathew furiously "she's not even a special wolf. She is not fit to be our queen. Bring in the candidate that we have all agreed to."

"Whoa," said Elder Gerald "I never agreed to this."

"Doesn't matter, the majority of did" said Elder Thomas smugly.

I listened to them in disbelief and watched Elder Mathias leave through the doors, coming back clutching the arm of a woman I recognized instantly. She had beautiful raven black hair with a tinge of blue highlights, big dark eyes that were almost black and her hair was long, cascading all the way down to her hips. She wore a revealing black dress, that showed off her creamy pale skin and a generous amount of cleavage. Her feet were clad in killer heels and she wore a smirk on her face as Elder Mathias led her back inside the throne room. Read more free novels at Narugi.com

"We have come to the agreement that Elaine here, would be best suited for the role of queen" Elder Thomas said blithely, as Elder Mathias sat her down and then retook his seat. I could see tears forming in the corners of Amber's eyes and I felt nothing but pure, unadulterated hate toward them all. "Stefan, it's nice to see you again," Elaine said sincerely.

"What were you thinking? That I would just accept an ex-girlfriend as my queen? There is absolutely no logic to your decision" I argued.

"She is of old blood and a full-fledged vampire" Elder Mathias said quietly, the council straining to hear his words "she will bear a child that is pure blood and worthy to be our king. Not to mention she is fertile and willing to have a child with you immediately." Amber sucked in a breath, her hands clutching the edge of the table, her nails digging in. I could see she was struggling to hold her temper.

"I want a child with you more than anything," said Elaine, leaning forward and glancing slyly at Amber "and we did separate on good terms Stefan, still remaining friends. I agree with the council, the future king and heir must be of pure blood and a fully-fledged vampire."

I shook my head "I won't do it, I won't forsake my mate for the sake of what you, the council want. There are no laws that say I must marry another vampire. I have my mate right here and that's where she is staying."

"Look at her" sneered Elaine "she wouldn't last one week as queen and you know it. Plus, our people would never accept a shifter for their queen, or has that not occurred to you?"

Gerald looked at Amber. "I happen to think that having an interracial couple, of different species, for our king and queen would open the way for others to do the same. Perhaps that is what we should be aiming for?" he suggested quietly, to the council's disgust. "She's nothing but a mangy mutt" denied Elaine and just like that, Amber's temper burst to my amazement. I had been expecting her to lose it more quickly than she had.

"Mangy mutt" Amber murmured, shooting up from the table and staring at Elaine, hard "is that the best you could come up with? A bit pathetic," she told the woman, her hands clenching into fists as Elaine looked at her incredulously "I've heard much worse from my own kind and I'm still standing here."

Gerald looked at her approvingly, while the rest of the elder men seemed taken aback by Amber's response. My hand shot out and took hold of hers, rubbing it gently. "You insulted my mate," I told Elaine "and I expect an apology." She opened her mouth to protest and then changed her mind, when Amber made a movement, as though about to go to her. "I apologize, King Stefan, for insulting your mate," she said with a grimace. Amber shot her a look filled with daggers.

"Nonetheless, it is still time you took a wife, so what is going to be your decision?" demanded Mathias "because all hell will break loose if you choose your mate. You will insult our way of life and the way we have always lived." The others readily agreed with him, Elaine nodding adamantly, her hair bouncing over her shoulder.

"Our people will learn to live with it" I growled back "and perhaps they might surprise you and be more willing to accept another race than you imagine they might be like. There are lots of vampires that don't hold grudges against the shifters, unlike you lot. It's time we looked to the future, rather than the past."

"I approve of Amber as the future queen," Gerald told us both unexpectedly "I admire her spirit and I believe we should work towards building a bridge with the other races. I wish you all the luck in the world."

"Thank you," I said lowly "but I must ask my mate something. For it's too presumptuous for me to believe that she'll say yes. Amber, will you be my queen? The child that you are carrying would be my heir" I added as the council sucked in a breath.

She merely looked at me with her big green eyes, biting her lip in the adorable way that she does. I saw her glance at the council uneasily and I waited on tenterhooks for her to open her mouth and give me the answer I was desperately hoping she would. Elaine was muttering under her breath and I shot her a look that told her to shut up. I hated the fact that I had put Amber on the spot like this, but I had to know, if she would be willing to try, for my and hers sake. It would be difficult but we could forge a pathway together and have the marriage I had always wanted, one that was full of love and affection, instead of being duty-bound. I wanted the marriage my parents never had. The question was, did Amber want the same thing?