The Alpha’s Rejected And Broken Mate
Chapter 100

Amber POV

I put the dangly earrings into my ears and then smiled at my reflection with satisfaction in my eyes. I looked perfect, clad in a little black dress and matching heels, the slight swollen bump of my belly hidden beneath the dress. I wore a simple pearl necklace, courtesy of Stefan, and a matching bracelet. We weren't doing anything special, just having dinner together in the kitchen, but I wanted to dress up for his sake and show him how much I was looking forward to this. "You look gorgeous Amber," said his voice as I turned around and looked at him.

He looked just as gorgeous in a black tuxedo, his tie undone, and his hair slightly disheveled. I licked my lips and almost purred at how stunning he looked. Lilac was practically prancing around in my head and drooling at the sight of our mate. "I could say the same about you" I answered lightly, stepping closer to him and smiling widely.

His hand shot out and gripped me around the waist, pulling me closer to him, his dark eyes twinkling with good humor. He bent his head down and then claimed my lips with his, his hand possessively holding me in place. He was rough, possessive, almost primal in the way he took me and I eagerly gave back as good as I got, loving the taste of his lips and the feel of them on mine. I moaned into his mouth and he groaned, before reluctantly stopping and pressing his forehead to mine.

"Damn, any more and I'm going to end up ravishing you" he murmured in my ear.

I shivered in response. We hadn't quite made it that far in our relationship yet, but every time he touched me, I fought the urge to jump him. He wasn't the only one who wanted to ravish the other.

"Sorry" I breathed, not apologetic in the slightest.

He just chuckled in response and then glanced down at his watch. "Are you ready?" he asked, "the girls in the kitchen have prepared quite a feast" he added.

My stomach growled in response, making both of us laugh. I took hold of his hand and let him gently tug me toward the stairs. We walked down silently, walking into the kitchen where the table had been set up with fancy dinnerware and china. "You didn't have to go to so much trouble" I exclaimed, marveling at the flowers that had been placed in the Centre of the table.

Stefan shrugged in response. "You're worth the trouble," he said, pulling out a seat and pushing me in.

He joined me but to my shock, and utter disgust, as he sat down, Elaine took it upon herself to enter the kitchen and sit down opposite us. I glowered at her. Could she not see that Stefan and I were trying to have a romantic dinner?

"Stefan" she greeted him with a wide smile. She was dressed to kill in a bright red dress and matching heels, her makeup heavily applied. She'd gone all out and I felt drab in comparison, even though I knew I looked good. What on earth was she doing here? I glanced at Stefan to see that he too, looked displeased.

"In case you haven't noticed," Stefan said tightly "we're having a romantic dinner. Do you mind?" he hissed.

She looked at the table with a raised eyebrow. "But I thought we were having dinner together? After all, it's not like you've made dear Amber your queen yet" she taunted "and the council still wants you to marry me" she said with a shrug.

"I've made my position on that perfectly clear," Stefan said drily "and the council don't make the decisions, I do."

Elaine continued to sit there, grabbing a bread roll and beginning to rip it to shreds. "Surely you don't mind if I join you? I could get to know more about Amber" she said teasingly.

The nerve of this girl! I opened my mouth to give her a blast of my mind, but Stefan grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it, halting me in my tracks.

"She's a guest of the castle and I can't be rude. Not to mention her father is Elder Mathias" he muttered in a low voice so that only I could hear him.

Great, so I couldn't even give the girl what for, I thought sourly, so much for a dinner between just the two of us. Elaine seemed determined to ruin our romantic interlude. Amber POV

I put the dangly earrings into my ears and then smiled at my reflection with satisfaction in my eyes. I looked perfect, clad in a little black dress and matching heels, the slight swollen bump of my belly hidden beneath the dress. I wore a simple pearl necklace, courtesy of Stefan, and a matching bracelet. We weren't doing anything special, just having dinner together in the kitchen, but I wanted to dress up for his sake and show him how much I was looking forward to this.

"By all means join us," said Stefan quietly, shooting me an apologetic look.

I sighed. This better be a damn good dinner, because I needed something to look forward to. I heard the scurry of servant girls coming to the dining table. Teresa was one of them and she gave me a friendly wink. She also rolled her eyes in Elaine's direction and gave a huff, sharing in my displeasure.

I hid a smile and merely shrugged at her. There wasn't much I could do without rocking the boat so to speak.

I saw Elaine give Stefan a low seductive smile, leaning over and caressing his hand as he flinched. "Do you remember the time we spent all weekend locked up inside that cabin?" she asked him with a knowing smile.

He flushed and glanced at me uncertainly. The first dish was served and Elaine reluctantly let go of Stefan's hand.

"That was" coughed Stefan apologetically "a long time ago Elaine. In the past."

She pouted at him. "But it shows just how much chemistry we have together, doesn't it? I mean, we didn't step foot outside for hours on end, we were so busy" she said with a sly little glance at me "and occupied."

Oh, I bet they were busy and occupied. My mouth was opening and closing, my anger rising to the surface. I saw Teresa lean over to pour my drink and stumble. Wine sloshed all over me. I gave a small squeal and Teresa began to apologize profusely. "I'm so so sorry" she babbled, wiping at my dress as I sat there stunned "something made me a trip," she said.

"Oh please, you were just clumsy" snarled Elaine gesturing towards me "Amber you should really, go and clean up" she purred, her eyes twinkling. I would lay bets that what Teresa stumbled or tripped on, had something to do with Elaine, not that I could prove it. Poor Teresa was blushing bright red now and looking completely miserable.

"I'll just be a minute" I told Stefan sourly, getting up from the table and heading towards the nearest bathroom, a red-faced Teresa right behind me.

"Amber I swear, she tripped me" she began and I held up a hand to halt her in her tracks.

"It's okay Teresa" I sighed "it wouldn't surprise me. I just needed a minute away from her before I lost my temper."

Teresa looked relieved. "Well at least wipe your dress down" she suggested wryly "before the wine stains it completely."

I began to wipe the dress down, and Teresa disappeared into the kitchen to get some seltzer to dab on it. What should have only taken a few minutes began to take a lot longer and I wondered what Stefan was up to in my absence.

"That's as good as it's going to get" I finally said, looking at my reflection. Part of me wanted to facepalm myself in the face. Why didn't I just go and change? It would have been far quicker I thought to myself with a grimace. Instead, I'd left Stefan to Elaine's mercy out there.

"Thanks, Teresa," I said as she winked and ducked back out the door, still needing to perform her duties. She and I would talk later, no doubt gossiping about this afternoon and everything that happened.

I opened the door slowly and walked out, heading towards the dining room when I stopped in my tracks. Elaine was now almost sitting on a very uncomfortable-looking Stefan's lap, winding her arms around his neck, her hair billowing out behind her, her dark eyes serious looking.

"Stefan" she was saying, murmuring it in his ear, "you don't really want that slut Amber for your mate, do you? I mean she's pregnant for heaven's sake with someone else's child. Do you really want to raise a child that's not yours?"

I felt sick. This was one of my biggest fears when it came to Stefan. I knew how unfair it was for him to claim someone else's child as their own but he had never made me feel like it was an issue. Part of me feared that he was just saying what I wanted to hear and I stood in the doorway, watching silently, keeping myself out of sight as I unashamedly eavesdropped. Stefan unwound her arms from his neck and stood up, looking down at a repentant-looking Elaine.

"Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," he said to her with a hiss "I don't care that Amber is pregnant. She is my mate and I adore her. Her child will be the future heir and I have no compunctions about helping to raise a child that I already think of as mine."

"You can't be serious" protested Elaine.

"I am deadly serious" thundered Stefan "so stop these little games of yours Elaine, I've already marked Amber and claimed her as mine."

Elaine went deadly pale. "You have" she whispered "are you insane? The council will be furious with you" she added quietly, wringing her hands together.

"The council can shove it," Stefan said rather rudely "it was my decision to make. You were never going to be queen Elaine, it's time you understood that." "What will you do if she rejects you, Stefan? You seem to be pretty confident that she won't" Elaine spat out.

I had heard enough and went striding through the doorway, standing next to Stefan and glowering down at Elaine who was still seated in front of us both. "I have no intentions of rejecting Stefan! Nor does he have any plans to reject me. You might not believe it Elaine, but I adore Stefan. He's shown me nothing but kindness and been nothing but sweet since I've come to this castle. The only one who seems to think we're going to break up is you and this council of yours. Well, guess what" I said with a sneer "I'm not going anywhere."

She seemed flabbergasted, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. An awkward silence filled the room and finally, with a huff she stood up and faced us both.

"You'll be sorry you didn't break up" she hissed "The council will never agree to Amber being queen. She is not suitable for the position."

"Then I'll abdicate the throne," said Stefan and my mouth fell open. Surely he wasn't serious? But judging by the way his eyes were piercing Elaine's he was deadly serious. I couldn't let him do that for me. "Stefan," I said sharply "I would never let you."

He shrugged nonchalantly "I don't remember asking for your permission. But it won't come down to that, will it Elaine?"

She said nothing, her face as pale as a sheet. "You would abdicate the throne for her" she whispered, in a shaking voice, a hand to her mouth and tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I would," Stefan said without hesitation.

"But if it were me, you wouldn't" she continued, tears trailing down her cheeks. She looked stricken. I felt a pang of sympathy for her. Stefan looked immobile.

"No," he said finally "no I wouldn't for you."

Even I blanched at that. She flinched as though she had been physically struck and then sobbing, turned, and ran, her footsteps clacking loudly on the stone-hard castle floor. We watched her go. "Stefan," I said, turning to him and grabbing hold of his hand. "Are you serious, would you really do that?"

"Yes," he whispered, touching a loose stray of hair and tucking it behind my ear. "Because I have to be honest with you Amber. I'm in love with you."

I'm in love with you. The words repeated themselves over and over in my mind. I couldn't believe my ears. My heart began to thud wildly in my chest and my hands felt clammy and shook as I continued to hold his hand. My body began to tremble. Was what I feeling the same thing? I thought about life and what it would be like without him and the one word came to my mind, unbidden. Empty. My life would be empty without him in it. Stefan was my everything, my whole world. He made me feel things that no one else had. Not even Darius had made me this happy. As for Rowan well, he'd had his chance. I couldn't help it. I took a deep breath and then muttered the words in a low voice, that had him whooping for joy. "I love you too."