Chapter 55
Ragnar
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155 Vouchers
That shouldn’t have happened. I don’t know what it is about Sophia that draws me to her. It started the first time I heard her voice over the phone. That night had been the first time since I lost my mate that I got a full night’s sleep
I lost control back there. From the first time I sat in front of her something in me has changed, and I’m afraid of what that means. Every touch silences the buzzing in my head. Her scent all I want to inhale. I know I should leave before she comes back out, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Just the idea is making my entire body scream.
Her words played in my head for the past three days. I find myself raging with them. No amount of exercise or running has shaken the comparison she made between her shit stain of a mate and me. Thinking about it only makes me want to bend her over my lap to paint her round ass red until she takes it back
“-Yeah, I would have to ask my grandmother. This is her place, and we really haven’t set any ground rules, but if you’re coming to Blackstone, I’m sure we can meet somewhere. The darkness in her eyes is gone. The smile on her face is genuine. Her baby–blue eyes are lit up for whoever she’s talking to on the phone. “Okay, let me know, and Ill be there.”
I reach for the lemonade when she takes a seat across from me. She’s tapping away at her phone. The urge to ask her who the hell she’s talking to is on the tip of my tongue. The back–and forth from upstairs riled me up, and for whatever reason. I want nothing more than to make it her problem. I have to keep together, or she’s going to snap.
It’s too early for this. Out of anyone it could have been, why does it have to be me? Why does it have to be her?
“Have you given any thought to the medical programs?” I ask, trang to change the course my thoughts want to take me.
The moment she looks up from her phone, her eyes light up. She smiles, a soft, pensive tug of her bruised lips. I set the glass down, unable to take a drink, and try to avert my gaze. All I want to think about is that kiss: from the first one, she’s made a hell of an impression, and I want to explore more.
“Yes,” she says wholeheartedly. “When I first started looking into the videos and the pamphlet my grandma gave me. I thought pediatrics off the bat. But the medic evacuation squad program looks like so much fun-”
I tune her out. The way she’s smiling, how she’s moving around as she speaks. Perhaps it’s the position of the sun, but I swear she’s glowing now. She hadn’t been upstairs. She looked miserable. I may have had a hand in that, but it’s an insane distraction. It’s going to border on temptation soon, and neither of us is going to like that.
“The M.E. Squad is one of the toughest programs to get into. They test your endurance, there’s a written exam, and they have psychological training. If you’re serious, you’re going to have to bulk up. I motion to her. She looks down at herself and then nods. “You’re also going to have to study for it. I have a couple of texts I can send over. You might want to reconsider not accepting the Major General’s offer for counseling”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to open up to her about anything. I’m not even sure if I want to even think about it for a while.
“Then you should consider going on your own. You’re technically an adult of your race, so you can do that without her needing to know. However, I advise you to reconsider going with her. You don’t have to open up to her about what you went through. You have other shit you can talk about. The loss of your family, for example. You’re not the only one who lost
them.
She falls back to think about that.
“I know it’s what she’s going to want to talk about, though,” she sights and reaches for something on the charcuterie board.
“You can go at your own pace. Open up about what connects you two, I had to go with my father and Ivar. We dealt with the way we addressed one another first. For a while, our relationship wasn’t the best, and my father tried his best to keep my brother and me from going anywhere near the throne room
“He was paranoid, and we were coming into our power. His beast side was on alert at all times. It wasn’t until he almost hurt
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1713 Tue, Jan 20 GDD.
Chapter 33
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66 Wolichers
Ivar when the two of them bumped into one another, turning armer. If I hadn’t been there to push harm out of the way, he would have scared him of worse. Once you
establish a routine things start to feel a little normal, you can move on to the hand stu
She takes a deep breath and nods before reaching for her glass of lemonade. The idea repulses her. Sophia can’t hide what she’s feeling to save her life. It’s something that she shares with vin. Something they get from their mother
There were times when Mrs. Helvig could mask her temper to the point. And it was only when the Major General was. around. That’s something they all shared for the sake of Mr. Helg, who was always caught in the middle.
“Soph, I really am sorry about Megan trying to compel you. I would never ask anyone for that.”
You’re the King, Ragnar,” she says gently. “Fate hasn’t been very kind to us, but that doesn’t mean we take that and inflict it on the rest of the world.”
“Is that how you want to justify defending him? You want to play he compassion card?” I scoff.
She takes a drink from her glass and sets it down. I think she’s going to drop the conversation, but she looks up at me with that same darkness as before.
“Santiago isn’t yours to kill, Ragnar,” I sit up when I see her eyes darken, and not just because she’s upset, but it’s something close to the way a Lycan reacts when it’s fighting shift. “Not because there’s a special place in my heart for him or whatever romantic notion you believe I harbor.
“He’s not yours because he’s mine. I was promised body and soul and if I can’t have him, no one can,” a chill runs down my spine as I watch her let out a heavy sigh before meeting my eyes gain. “Do you honestly think that I feel nothing for the humiliation he put me through? That fucking idiot really thought I would roll over for someone like the pick me slur of our pack
“I wasted four years of my life doing shit that didn’t even matter hated the idea of becoming a Luna. Luna Romano spent her days serving a man she could run circles around, all because some celestial asshole thought it would be great to pair her with a fucking dipshit.
“But look at me,” she says bitterly. “I can barely move. I haven’t felt like this since I was in the early stages of physical therapy I was exposed to my bond with him for a long time and consuminated it daily. My nervous system is in shock, it feels like something in me died. I’m not in the headspace to do something as stupid as try to take out an alpha family.”
All I can do is stare at her. She’s not joking. I had only been exposed to my mate for a few months. We never consummated our bond. She wanted to wait until we were both ready for the mark. Nothing about Sophia suggests she’s in any discomfort. but then again, she hasn’t tried anything too heavy. I thought she bounced back a little too soon.
“Why are you hiding it?”
“There are a lot of people watching,” she says quietly and sits ha
“You think the wolves here report back to Artume?” I scoff.
“I thought I was supposed to be the naive one, Ragnar,” she smile in what I think just might be my new favorite smirk on
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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.
