Valentina grabbed Ronan with both hands as he tried to go after Sophia and Matthew. She hugged him from behind, her usual tactic to calm him down when he was too outraged.
"Please, don't. Just calm down, Ron. She didn't do anything wrong. You know that," Valentina pleaded.
Ronan clenched his fists, his anger still simmering beneath the surface. He knew Valentina was right, but the desire to punish Sophia for her defiance was overwhelming. He wanted to grab her by the hair and drag her small body across the neighborhood.
How dare she talk back to him?
And fucking Matthew—he just had to come and rescue her. How could he be so smitten by her already? Sure, Ronan was drawn to her too, but he didn't want to act like he was in love with her. Did Matthew think he'd win her over with his prince charming act? Maybe he was hoping she would reject Ronan for him.
Never. She was his.
"I am calm. Let me go, Val," Ronan barked.
Valentina didn't release him immediately. Instead, she stared at him intently as if calculating his anger level. "Are you sure? You aren't planning to go after them?"
"I'm planning to go back to the house. If they're there, that's on them."
"But you won't try to fight Matthew again, right?" Valentina asked.
Ronan sighed, suppressing the urge to confront Matthew and snatch Sophia away for a little 'talk.' But he didn't want to upset Valentina. She hated it when he fought with Matthew, and he cared about her feelings. "Fine, I won't fight Matty. But I do want to talk to Sophia."
"Don't hurt her, Ronan. You're lucky to find a mate so soon. I know you don't care about the bond…"
"You're right, I don't give a shit about the mate bond thing. In fact, I'm sick and tired of hearing about it," Ronan snarled.
"Then why don't you let Matthew be with her? Why not just leave her alone?" Valentina asked.
"I said I didn't care about her as a mate, but I didn't say I wanted to give her up to Matty. Maybe I want to have fun with her before tossing her out?" Ronan smirked.
"That's disgusting! How can you say things like that?" Valentina gasped.
"Spare me the lecture. I'm going back to the house," Ronan grumbled, then walked off. His day was ruined anyway.
But Ronan didn't actually plan on going back to his room. He wanted to see Sophia again.
[You need to apologize to her for throwing fire at her], his wolf urged.
[Apologize? Why the fuck would I do that? She slapped me], Ronan snarled.
[You admitted to killing her sister. The girl was clearly close to her sibling. How would you feel if someone killed Valentina or Matthew? Hmm?]
[I didn't kill her fucking sister. You know that], Ronan barked.
[Yes, but she doesn't. She thinks you did it. You did kill the others after all].
[Only the ones that attacked me. Since when do you care who I killed? You enjoy the bloodshed with me. Just admit it], Ronan murmured. He stopped in front of Sophia's room, pausing as he heard more than one voice. Matthew was still with her.
[It looks like you lost to Matthew], his wolf taunted as they heard Sophia moan.
Oh, hell no…
Closed doors never stopped him. Ronan created a portal to enter her room. Did she think she could fuck his brother while acting like he was the scum of the earth? He didn't think so. They could both go to hell.
Ronan stopped in his tracks as he saw Sophia lying on the bed, naked, her hair sprawled across her chest like a red blanket. Her eyes were closed as Matthew kissed her all over her body. She bit her lower lip, trying to stifle her moans as Matthew touched her between her legs.
[What a beautiful sight. I almost don't want you to interrupt them], his wolf chuckled.
Ronan's cock throbbed in need as he watched, but he didn't want Matthew to steal her first time.
Fuck no.
He moved to stand behind Matthew so that Sophia would see him first. When Matthew stood up straight and glared at him, Ronan couldn't contain his laughter. Matthew looked angrier than Ronan had been ten minutes ago.
"What the hell, Ronan? What are you doing?" Matthew growled.
"What? You think I'd just let you have fun with my mate?" Ronan sneered.
"She's my mate too, and she wants me, not you—ME!" Matthew glared at him.
Ronan looked at Sophia, who had already pulled the sheets up to her neck. Too late for that—he had already seen everything he needed to see. "Oh, does she now?"
"Tell him, Sophia," Matthew said, almost pleading.
What a whiny bitch, asking the little runt to validate his opinion, Ronan thought.
"Go ahead and tell me, runt. You want this asshole? Is your pussy aching to be fucked by my brother's cock?" Ronan said in a mocking tone.
Sophia cringed at his crude words, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't even look him in the eyes.
Ronan walked over and roughly grabbed her jaw. "Tell me. Tell me you want to fuck him and see what happens."
"Ronan! Do not threaten her. She can desire whoever she wants. She is not your slave, for fuck's sake," Matthew raged.
"Alright, alright, no threats. But I still want to hear what the runt wants," Ronan said, smiling at Sophia. He knew he intimidated her; she was shaking like a leaf. Even if she wanted Matthew, she wouldn't admit it now.
"I want both of you to go away," she finally said with a trembling voice.
Ronan looked at Matthew. "See? Looks like she doesn't want you that badly."
"That's because you interrupted us, asshole," Matthew shook his head, then put his clothes back on.
"Oh, my bad. I didn't think it was appropriate to touch a lady before the official mating ceremony," Ronan said sarcastically.
"Since when do you care what's appropriate?" Matthew barked.
"GET OUT! Both of you!" Sophia screamed. She was standing now with the sheet tightly wrapped around her body.
Matthew sighed. "You go first. I don't trust you alone with her," he said to Ronan.
Ronan shrugged. "Alright then, goodnight."
He waited until Matthew left, then went back to her room. Did he really think Ronan was done with her? Dumbass.
He was disappointed to see that she had put her dress back on. He had hoped to enjoy her naked body after Matthew left.
Sophia looked at him and sighed. "Great, you're back. Which one are you again?"
Ah, she couldn't tell Matthew and him apart yet. This was going to be more fun than he thought.