บท 8: OUR Mate
Ronan did what he always tried to avoid, no matter how angry Matthew made him—he raised his hand and hurled a fireball at his brother. Matthew dodged it skillfully, as if he had expected it. The sleek bastard.
As brothers, they had fought plenty of times, but it had never gone beyond a friendly scuffle. This time, though, it was serious. It was real. Ronan couldn't control the rage that surged through him upon discovering that he had to share his mate with Matthew.
Sharing? Ronan had never been good at that. He didn't even share toys with Matthew when they were little unless their mother forced him to, and even then, he fought hard to defy her. But this situation was far worse than fighting over a toy.
"Ronan! Control your anger. Let's talk about this like adults," Matthew called out after dodging the fireball.
"Fuck off, Matty! How can you suggest such a thing? I won't share her. Not even with you," Ronan sneered, ready to attack again, rage burning through his veins.
"We don't have a choice. We're both bound to her by destiny," Matthew said, and no matter how many times Ronan wanted to deny it, he knew his brother was right.
"So now what? We fight over her like a pack of wild wolves?" Ronan snarled.
"Either that, or we let her choose. If she rejects you, she'll be all mine," Matthew grinned, clearly confident that Sophia would pick him. Everyone was always on Matty's side—the goody two-shoes.
"Great suggestion. Too bad I didn't give her the option to choose. I told her if she rejected me, I'd snap her little neck," Ronan laughed darkly.
Matthew's eyes widened in shock. "You didn't!"
"I didn't say those exact words, but I insinuated it. She's naïve but not stupid. She won't reject me if she knows what's good for her," Ronan smirked.
"I don't believe you. You threatened our mate? How low can you go, Ron? And why are you obsessing over her if you don't expect her to love you?" Matthew said, shaking his head in disappointment.
Ronan honestly had no idea what he wanted from Sophia, but he knew he couldn't let her go. "The reasons don't matter, brother. Just stay out of my way. Maybe I'll force her to reject you."
"She wouldn't listen to you. Unlike you, she actually likes me," Matthew laughed.
Ronan growled and threw another fireball at him. This time, it nearly hit its mark. Matthew's eyes flared with anger.
"Two can play that game," Matthew growled and raised his hand.
So, he finally decided to fight fire with fire, Ronan thought. Matthew moved his hand in a circular motion, his powers unpredictable since he rarely used them. Ronan braced himself for whatever was coming.
Suddenly, Matthew shoved his palm forward, and a red wave of energy emitted from his hand. Before Ronan knew it, he was flung off the ground and slammed against a tree.
Ronan let out a blood-curdling roar and leaped at Matthew, shifting mid-air. His paw was aimed directly at his brother's face, and he didn't care if he mauled him in the process. He was beyond pissed and needed Matthew to suffer the consequences of making him this angry.
Matthew shifted to his wolf within seconds and dodged Ronan's attack.
[Simmer down, Ronan. I just wanted to talk about it], Matthew linked with him.
Ronan didn't do talking. Adrenaline was already pumping through him, and he hadn't had the chance to fight someone his equal in a long time. Everyone else was just too easy to defeat.
He snarled and lunged at Matthew again, a deep growl resonating from within his throat. Matthew launched himself at the same time, claws spread, ready to slice through Ronan's skin. They collided, clawing and tearing at each other. Matthew whined and drew back as Ronan swiped at him, cutting a gash on his neck. In retaliation, Matthew jumped on Ronan's back and dug his teeth into his throat—not hard enough to crush his windpipe, but enough to hurt.
"What are you doing!? Stop it!" Valentina's shrill voice cut through the air, snapping Ronan out of his frenzy. He shook Matthew off his throat and stood up straight. Matthew didn't attack him either.
Go away, Val! We're settling this our way, Ronan linked with her.
"By tearing each other apart? What the hell is wrong with you?" Valentina shouted.
Ronan wouldn't hurt me for real. Let us fight it out, Matthew told her.
That's what he thinks…
"You're lucky our parents aren't home right now. Both of you would be in so much trouble!" Valentina exclaimed.
Ronan shifted back to his human form and leaned against a tree. He wasn't even close to being done. He had a lot of rage left in him, and he wanted to take it all out on Matthew, but he didn't want to upset his sister. With a snap of his fingers, new clothes appeared on his body.
Normally, he liked to walk around naked for the shock value, but he doubted his sister would appreciate that. He watched Matthew shift back as well and do the same, though he seemed slightly more worn out, sitting down on the ground and panting.
"Now, care to explain what the hell you two are fighting about?" Valentina growled.
"What's happenin' here?" Callan appeared behind her, followed by Minerva, who stared at them in shock.
"I leave you guys alone for one minute, and you try to kill each other?" Minerva commented in a light tone.
"Ronan is keeping my mate prisoner," Matthew declared.
Way to tattle on me, brother, Ronan thought.
"No… I'm keeping MY mate prisoner," Ronan corrected him.
"What? Whose mate? I don't understand," Valentina said, squinting her eyes.
"Let me explain… Ronan and I have the same mate, and she happens to be Jeremiah's daughter," Matthew explained.
"Who is Jeremiah?" Minerva asked.
"Alpha Jeremiah from the Bloodmoon pack," Ronan grumbled.
"The enemy's daughter? That is HILARIOUS!" Callan whistled.
"It's not funny!" Valentina snapped at Callan, then turned back to Ronan and Matthew. "Are you serious? And Ronan is keeping her prisoner? Why?"
"So I can punish her on her father's behalf, of course," Ronan said. "He dared to invade our territory and attack us. So I destroyed some of his wolves and took his daughter as a hostage. How was I supposed to know she would turn out to be my mate?" he said irritably.
"OUR mate," Matthew corrected him.
"This is insane. We have to tell Mom and Dad," Valentina murmured.
Ronan jumped in front of her and grabbed her shoulder. "NO! I don't want them to know about her."
"Well, you can't exactly hide her from them either!" Matthew said.
Ronan knew their mother would never let him "play" with Sophia as he wanted to. She was good and didn't believe in revenge, while Ronan thrived on hatred and anger. And their father, the alpha, wouldn't oppose her in any way. Their mother had him wrapped around her finger.
"No one tells our parents anything, or I will destroy you, no matter who you are," Ronan roared.
Matthew raised his hand in protest. "That's not—"
"What are you not telling us?"
Valentina gasped, and they all turned around as their father spoke nearby. How much had he heard?
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