บท 23: Be My Date
Ronan grinned at his twin brother, Matthew, waiting for him to explode in anger, but to his surprise, Matthew's lips curled into a small smile instead. What the hell was he smiling about? Shouldn't he be ready to declare war against him by now? After all, Ronan had just marked his mate before him!
"So much for not liking Sophia, huh?" Matthew chuckled.
"Yes, I remain true to that sentiment," Ronan replied coolly.
"Then why were you two making out over here? At first, I thought you forced yourself on her, but she seemed to be enjoying it. And it looked to me like you were enjoying kissing her too. The last time I checked, you don't enjoy kissing someone you hate," Matthew said, his tone laced with amusement.
Ronan's irritation flared. What was his brother's point? "So what? I just have a physical attraction to her, that's all."
"Did you mark her too? You asshole… you just had to be the first, didn't you?" Matthew growled, a flicker of anger finally showing in his eyes.
There it was—his brother's anger. "Of course, I marked her first. Her first time mating will be with me too," Ronan declared smugly.
"The hell it will be," Matthew scoffed.
"Both of you shut up. I'm not giving my first time to either of you," Sophia suddenly interjected, speaking up for the first time.
"Well… it has to be one of us, since we are your mates," Matthew pointed out.
"It will definitely not be with Ronan. I'd rather die a virgin," she shot back, pointing an accusing finger at Ronan.
"Ha! Take that, jerk," Matthew taunted.
Ronan snorted dismissively. Whatever… he wouldn't let Matthew touch her first. No way.
"I'm going back to the house. You two can stand here and argue all day, but I'm about to catch a fever in these wet clothes," Sophia announced, clearly fed up.
"Catch a fever? Aren't you supposed to be a werewolf? Werewolves are warm-blooded, idiot," Ronan barked.
"Don't call me an idiot, loser! I was born small amongst the others in the pack with a weaker immune system, so I used to get sick faster than other wolves." Sophia frowned.
"I knew you were a pathetic little shit," Ronan chuckled.
"I'll stab you in your sleep, and then we'll see who's pathetic, alright?" Sophia sneered.
"I'd like to see you try, princess."
"Alright, kids, that's enough. Come on, Sophia. I will escort you. It's not safe for you to go out there alone. These woods harbor dangerous creatures," Matthew interjected, trying to diffuse the tension.
"I can handle myself. Did you forget I'm a werewolf too?" Sophia exclaimed.
"Yes, but I bet you haven't fought anything. Did you, little runt?" Ronan laughed. Sophia glared at him but didn't respond.
Matthew walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on, Sophia. I'm not going to stand here and watch you argue with Ronan all day. Let me take you back home so you can change clothes and get something to eat. I bet you're hungry, aren't you?" he said, gently stroking her cheek.
Ronan rolled his eyes at the caring boyfriend act. It made him sick.
"Yes, I'm very hungry, actually. Thank you for asking, Matthew. At least someone cares," Sophia said pointedly, casting a sharp glance at Ronan.
"Was that another jab at me? Do you want me to take you home and spoon-feed you some soup, my princess?" Ronan teased.
"Yes, and I want you to carry me all the way there too," Sophia snarled.
"Are you trying to be a smartass?" Ronan stepped between Matthew and her, growing tired of all the back talk.
Sophia smirked. "I could never, my king."
That was it—Ronan was pissed off now. He was going to shut that pretty mouth of hers for good.
"Chill, Ronan. Sophia is only joking with you. You've got enough sense of humor to understand. Tell him you're joking, Sophia," Matthew said, trying to keep the peace.
"Yes, Ronan. I made a funny. Why aren't you laughing?" she replied dryly.
"Whatever. Just get out of my face," Ronan grumbled.
Matthew laughed and took Sophia away. Ronan couldn't believe he had let her talk to him that way. What a piece of work that girl was. She'd learn her lesson when he decided to punish her for this.
Later that day, Ronan went to see his mother. She always got angry if he didn't visit her at least once a day. She'd made it a rule, knowing that if she hadn't, he would probably never bother to visit her at all. She was likely right.
He loved his mother, but listening to her talk about what was right or wrong wasn't exactly the highlight of his day. He bet she was going to lecture him about Sophia today.
"Ronan, you finally made it! What took you so long?" his mother asked brightly, wrapping her arms around him.
"That little runt was holding me up," he barked.
His mother looked at him in confusion. "Runt? What runt?"
"Sophia," he snapped.
His mother winced. "What kind of nickname is that? Why are you talking about her like this? Don't you have any manners?"
"Why are you so surprised?" Ronan laughed.
"Jeez… Ronan. Do you know how lucky you are to find your mate?"
"Oh great… you're going to tell me this too. I'm sick of people telling me how lucky I am to find my dumbass mate, even though I've mentioned a million times that I didn't want a mate," he groaned.
"You don't want a mate, Ronan, but you need one. You need someone to set you straight," his mother said matter-of-factly.
"And you think Sophia will do that? Don't make me laugh," he scoffed.
"Yes, she will. She's not as weak as she seems," his mother smirked.
"How would you know that?" he barked.
"Call it a mother's intuition, I guess," she shrugged.
"Whatever. If you're done lecturing me, I'd like to go about my business now."
"You barely spend time with your mother. Stay and talk to me. How about we change the subject?" she offered.
Ronan sighed and sat down again.
"Good boy, Ronan. You know I love you no matter what, right?"
"Yes, mother," he grumbled.
"Anyway, I called you over so we can talk about the Spring Festival," she said.
"What about it?" he asked.
Every year, the pack hosted a huge festival where creatures of all kinds could mingle. Ronan was never interested in it; he found it boring. He only went because Minerva and Valentina wouldn't leave him alone otherwise.
"Since Sophia is both of your mates, I was wondering how it would work. Who's going to be her date? I say both of you should be her escorts, but I have a feeling the poor girl is terrified of you. So if you decide to be her date, you'd better shape up and make her like you." His mother grinned.
Something clicked in Ronan's mind. Sophia was jealous of Minerva. She wanted to be alone with him, which was why she let him kiss her and mark her. That meant she was possessive of him. Ronan didn't want to fall in love with her, but he did want to own her—body and soul.
To do that, he needed to make her fall in love with him completely. Maybe the next time she saw him with Minerva, she'd be angry enough to let him have her all the way. He grinned to himself.
"I'll let Matthew take her to the Spring Festival because I already promised Minerva I'd take her," Ronan said.
"You know, I would support you if you wanted to be with Minerva instead of Sophia," his mother said.
He looked at her in surprise. "Why would you say that? She's like a little sister to me."
"I don't know. She's the only person who gets to see the nice side of you, so I thought maybe you love her," his mother replied.
"Sure, I love her the same way I love Valentina. But it doesn't mean anything," Ronan protested.
"Okay, Ronan. Whatever you say. So you've decided you're not taking Sophia as your date?"
"I told you. Tell Matty he can be her date," Ronan said, making his decision clear as he walked out.
Later, Ronan found Minerva hanging out with the rest of the pack members. Sophia was there too, already changed into dry clothes. He'd thought she would stay inside, crying about what happened between them, but he guessed Matthew had convinced her to join everyone.
"Hey, Minerva. Can I ask you something?" Ronan said.
Minerva looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, what's up?"
"How would you like to be my date for the Spring Festival this year?" he asked.
She looked surprised. "Me? Why me? I thought Sophia would be your date since she's your mate."
"She has Matthew. Besides, I don't want to be seen with her," Ronan said, casting a disdainful glance at Sophia.
"What? Are you ashamed of me? If anything, I'm ashamed of you," Sophia chimed in.
"Yes, I'm ashamed of you. You are our enemy's daughter. Not to mention your father probably is known as a coward amongst the other wolves since he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs," Ronan scoffed.
"And you are Mr. Perfect, aren't you?" she cried.
"Not this again! I will go with Sophia. Minerva, you go with Ronan," Matthew said irritably.
Minerva looked at Sophia. "Is that okay with you?"
"Yes, it's okay with me. Why don't you go ahead and make him your mate too so he would leave me the hell alone," Sophia snarled.
Minerva laughed out loud. "I don't think you really want that, Sophia."
"Well, then everything is settled," Ronan announced.
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