Chapter 25: Mark Me

Valentina and Sophia spent hours searching online for the perfect dresses for the Spring Festival.

"It feels like we're shopping for prom," Valentina laughed.

"I've heard about prom. What's it like?" Sophia asked quietly.

Valentina looked at her in surprise. "You didn't go to your prom? Every high school has one, right?"

Sophia shook her head. "No, I didn't go to high school. I was homeschooled because my father didn't like Liz and me going outside much. He said it was too dangerous."

"You're kidding! What did you do for fun then?" Valentina wondered.

"I mostly spent time with Liz and the other girls in the pack, but mostly Liz because…" Sophia paused and looked down.

"Because what?" Valentina asked gently.

"The other girls and I didn't get along. They used to bully me," Sophia sighed. She couldn't catch a break anywhere, not even in her own home.

"You poor thing. Why did they do that to you?" Valentina gasped.

"It was because I was the smallest in the pack. You know how Ronan calls me a runt? Well, he's not wrong. I was a runt, and the other girls made fun of me for it. They used to tell me I wouldn't find my mate because I looked like I barely hit puberty," Sophia laughed bitterly.

"Turns out they were wrong because you did find your mate. Not just one, but two!" Valentina giggled.

"Yes, and one of them is a complete nightmare," Sophia rolled her eyes.

But Valentina had her thinking differently about Ronan. Maybe if he fell in love with her, he'd stop acting like an asshole. But how could she make herself love someone so brutish, especially when all he did was insult her?

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Valentina gave her a light push. "Oh, look at this dress! Isn't it adorable?" She pointed out a short summer dress. "You'd look so cute in it."

Sophia winced. "I don't know about this dress on me. It seems really short. Wouldn't I be showing my legs too much?"

"So what if you are? You've got nice legs. I bet Matthew would appreciate it," Valentina teased.

Sophia looked down and blushed. She wasn't the kind of girl who liked to show off.

"Come on, I think you should get this one. Say yes!" Valentina pressed her.

"But I don't have any money," Sophia said, suddenly remembering her situation. She was basically a refugee here with no job or money to feed herself. How could she buy a new dress?

"Oh, don't worry about that. Mom is buying our dresses," Valentina smiled.

Sophia looked at her in surprise.

"I can't let her do that! She's already done so much by letting me stay with you guys. I've been freeloading since I got here, and I feel so useless."

"Oh, stop being so silly, Sophia. We consider you family now. You're our brothers' mate. My mom was happy to have you since she's been waiting for the day they met their mate. She just never imagined they'd be fighting over one girl," Valentina laughed.

"Yeah, I didn't imagine it would come to this either, but are you sure it's okay? Maybe I could do some work around here to pay her back," Sophia suggested.

"We can talk about all that later. For now, just forget about it and focus on the dress," Valentina suggested.

"I hope Matthew likes it," Sophia said shyly.

"Of course, he will. You're beautiful. Anything would look good on you. But you only want Matthew to like it? What about Ronan?" Valentina laughed.

"I'm not trying to impress Ronan," Sophia snapped.

"Whoa there, girlie. Take it easy. I was just asking," Valentina raised her hand in surrender.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, but I know Ronan doesn't care what I wear. He'll probably make fun of me and call me ugly no matter what."

"Maybe, but I know for a fact he doesn't find you ugly. If he did, he wouldn't act so possessive over you," Valentina said.

Maybe she was right, Sophia thought to herself, but she wasn't convinced.

After spending a few more hours with Valentina, Sophia headed back to her room. A good night's sleep was what she needed after the day she had. Hopefully, she'd have a nice dream about Matthew and not a nightmare about Ronan.

She laughed to herself and wondered what Ronan dreamt about. Maybe he dreamt about turning the world into a snow globe and controlling everyone in it. As she opened the door, she gasped at the figure standing in the middle of the room.

Ronan? Did he break into her room again? Gosh, just give her a break already!

The figure moved closer and smiled, his sparkly green eyes twinkling.

No, not Ronan. This was Matthew. Ronan didn't smile at her like that.

"Did you have fun with Valentina?" he asked.

Sophia smiled back, finally relaxing. "Yes. She's wonderful. I still can't believe how everyone is so nice to me. Well… everyone except for Ronan."

"Forget about Ronan. I'd rather you keep his name off your lips tonight," Matthew growled.

A small smile teased her lips. "Why? Are you jealous of him now? You didn't seem all that jealous when you found me with him earlier."

"I'm not jealous of him because he's sharing you with me, but I am jealous because he got to mark you before me." Matthew reached out and grazed the mark on her neck with his finger.

Sophia shivered as her body tingled all over. She'd tried to forget about the mark all day, but it was impossible. She kept touching it every few minutes, unable to believe she'd let Ronan stamp it on her body like that.

Matthew cupped her cheeks with both hands. "I think it's time, don't you?"

Sophia gulped. Did he want to go all the way? "Time for what?"

"Time for me to mark you too. Unless you were thinking about rejecting me for Ronan," he lifted an eyebrow.

"What? No way! I'd choose you over him any day. I just got caught up in the moment with him and—"

"Shh… You don't need to explain anything to me. I get it. The mate bond is too strong for you to resist him. All I want to know now is if I have your permission to mark you," Matthew said, smiling gently.

Sophia nodded. Unlike his brother, Matthew was asking for permission. Ronan just wanted to take whatever he wanted from her, but Matthew was more considerate of her feelings. She wouldn't mind giving herself to someone like Matthew.

"Mark me as yours," she whispered.

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