Chapter 120
Chapter 120
55 vouchints
I take a seat at the bottom of the staircase that leads up to the renovated part of the castle. The look of defeat on Santiago’s face is all I can think of. It’s over. The nagging knot in my belly is gone. From the moment I learned my position in his life, my mind has been racing, and the itching under my skin only stopped when Ragnar and Ivar allowed me to be myself around them.
There’s nothing now. The silence is heavy. It feels like everything that was left spilt out when the light of the man I was once in love with went out. It was like what was left of him inside of me died along with him.
“Sophie?” I look up at the King when he stops in front of me. His eyes move down to the blood on my shirt. A small smile tugs on the edges of his lips. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly. “Just need a moment.”
“You were aware he was going to mark you, yes?” he lowers his voice so that I’m the only one who can hear him. I can’t help but laugh.
“Yes, sir. I asked him to,” I say. He places his giant hand on my head.
“You’ve always been a part of this family, Sophia. I’m glad it’s in blood now,” he says before tipping my chin. “You should go home and get some rest.
“Thank you, sir. Is there anything you need from me?” I ask.
“Not tonight,” he shakes his head.
I watch him walk away. I lean back against the stairs and drop my head enough to see my grandmother at the top of the stairs. Her eyes are dark, but her irises glisten in the dim light. The predatory way she comes down tells me that she didn’t like the interaction I just had with the king.
“What was that?” she demands.
“I’m not at liberty to say. If he hasn’t told you, I’m not going to either,” I take deeps breath and sit up as she lowers her body to crouch beside me. She doesn’t like my answer, and I can feel the hostility in the aura around her.
“As of now, you are officially my Queen. You belong to Ragnar. If you are caught-”
“The fact that you even think that,” I cut her off. “Says more about you than it does me. It makes me see why the King would want to keep this secret. Maybe you’re not as close to him as you think you are. Or maybe you’re just as big a threat to him as anyone else.”
Guilt flickers across her face, and she sits back. Ragnar and Ivar are laughing when they come down the stairs Ragnar is the first to catch on to the tension between us. He comes over to me and offers me his hand.
‘Is everything okay?” he asks as I take his hand and let him help me up.
“Everything is fine,” she says.
“Keep telling yourself that, I scoff.
“Don’t blow this out of proportion, Soph. I’ve been here a long time, and I can tell you exactly what it looks like most of the time, she growls.
“Hey,” Ragnar steps between us.
1/4
1:30 am PD&D.
Chapter 120
55 vouchers
“She’s mad, I don’t want to tell her what is happening between your father and me. She just accused me of fucking him.”
“I never said that,” she all but shouts.
“No, but it was heavily implied, Major General.”
“Sophia-”
“Zaraphine,” I growl, letting the events of what happened tonight come over me. She blinks a couple of times before taking a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m not saying a word to you. It’s not my place. I haven’t even told his sons, and I won’t. I meant what I said.”
Without another glance, she turns away and goes in the direction the King had gone. I sigh, not liking that she would assume that. Especially after what just happened in the courtroom. I’m not doing anything wrong. The King deserves this privacy from whoever he wants to keep it private from. Including his family.
“He’s okay, right?” Ivar asks.
“Better than okay,” I nod. “Just give him some time to wrap his mind around all the changes around here. It’s healthy for him to want to keep this private. Let him have it.”
‘I trust you,” he smiles. His eyes land on the blood on my shirt as well. He smiles and smacks Ragnar on his arm. “We have two days before we go into Artume to take it. We should plan stupid shit together more often. Apparently, we’re good at it.”
‘I’d also like to take a moment to appreciate how much of an asshole our little Omega can be,” Ragnar smirks and pokes my side teasingly.
‘I’ll see you guys later. That wolf looked pissed. Stay safe,” Ivar says and heads back up the stairs.
‘Zara is very protective of my father,” Ragnar tries to explain when we get back to my car. I glance over at him, pressing my ips together. “What?”
‘Nothing, I get it. It doesn’t change the fact that it hurt my feelings. Especially after the night we’ve had. She was right there when everything was laid out on the table,” I shrug. “That was a wild accusation. And now she’s going to go and piss off your father as well to cause him unnecessary stress.”
‘I don’t doubt that,” he grins. “I just don’t want this to ruin anything.”
‘It hasn’t ruined anything,” I laugh. “How do you feel? Are you okay? How is the scar?”
‘I’m great,” he says, turning to face me. “Everything is perfect or will soon be. This is the first time I ride passenger”
“There are snacks in the glove compartment,” I point out. He glances at me and then reaches for them.
‘Skittles? How did you know these are my favorite?” he laughs.
“You always carry them in the extra pockets of your cargos when we’re training”
His reaction takes over my body. That same warmth from carlier floods my body, and all of the negative emotions I felt fade
away.
When we get back to my grandmother’s house, I want nothing more than to get out of the clothes I’m wearing. I want to erase the mess that happened tonight, even if it’s just for a moment. I know that everyone is going to be talking about it as soon as I’m out in the open again.
A hot shower later, I’m sitting on the edge of my bed staring at the mirror in front of me. I stand up and tilt my head enough so that I can see the mark. The two crescent marks are still bright red. I know they’ll remain that way until I place my mark
2/4
9:30 am PD
Chapter 120
on him.
55 vouchers
Under the bruising. I see the sigil of our mating starting to form. I’ve never seen a mark–up close like this, but I do know that our mating has been blessed by fate. It wouldn’t look the way it does. It would hurt, but as I press around it, ripples of pleasure pulse through my body.
“Soph, you hungry?” Ragnar knocks on my door. “I ordered takeout. You okay with pizza?”
“Yeah,” I answer and open the door. His eyes scan my body before they land on my shoulder. The smile on his face is priceless.
“May I?” he asks. I nod, and he reaches to push my hair back. He tips my head back to get a better look at it. The sound that comes out of me when his fingers grazed it makes him jump back. “Does it hurt?”
“No,‘ I say, feeling my face heat up.
“Oh, he grins and drops his hands. We should talk about this.”
“We should?” I clear my throat and step aside. He takes it as an invitation to come. I shut the door behind me. Usually, he beelines for the bed, but he pauses and looks around nervously. He decides to sit at my tea table. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he says, but he doesn’t look up at me.
I go over to him and sit across the table. I can feel how nervous he is in my body, and it’s insane. It’s making me feel giddy, and I want nothing more than to tease him about this. His shoulders visibly tighten when I open my mouth to try to say something. His leg begins to bounce up and dowIL
Take a deep breath. Ragnar I press my lips together.
He clears his throat and takes a deep breath. He lets it out slowly. I take one with him because his emotions are all over the place. It’s only then that I realize why all of this is so important to him. He’s never had to think about it because of the mark on his chest. It was something that never mattered to him until I came along. I reach out over the table and place my hand over his. He immediately stops moving
I don’t know what to do with myself,” he whispers. “I never thought this would ever happen to me again. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it.”
“Okay, would you like me to take over from here? I suggest. “We can go as slow as you want. I’m not in a hurry.”
“I am,” he says honestly. I want nothing more than to be tied to you in every way possible as soon as possible. I cannot and will not ever allow you to feel like you’re being second–guessed again. I need you to know this is where you belong because from the moment you came back, that’s exactly how you’ve made me feel”
214
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
