Page 22 of Arranged Bullied Mate
No, he can’t.
“Don’t even think that,” I say, forcing some semblance of positivity into my tone. “Ronan is by far the stronger wolf. He’s an alpha, Maddox isn’t.”
“Sure thinks he is,” Emily mutters.
The silence that follows is heavy, but Emily is the first to break it, in a way that I don’t expect.
“How are things with you and Ronan?” she asks, and immediately her face screws up like she regrets asking. “Sorry, you don’t have to tell me. I’m just…I guess I’m curious. But also, ew, he’s my brother. So please don’t actually tell me, but also tell me, if that makes sense.”
I laugh, a choked sound, and take a fortifying sip of my own hot chocolate. “It’s…complicated,” I manage, and it’s true, but also the most useless answer I could give.
Emily snorts. “That’s what he said, too. But he’s not very good at talking about feelings. He just gets all broody and weird.” She wraps both hands around her mug. “But he’s been different since you got here.”
She stares down at the swirling foam, then adds, “He doesn’t know how to relax, but lately he’s been less…tense, I guess. I mean, you haven’t seen him at his worst, so angry and stressed out since Dad died. It’s a lot, I think, to become alpha. He’s calmer with you here.”
I can barely hide the shock on my face and splutter slightly as my drink goes down the wrong way. “I doubt that’s anything to do with me. He’s just getting ready for the ceremony, probably feeling more grounded.” I add, “Until this business with Maddox kicked off.”
I regret adding that last bit as Emily’s face falls again. “You have to stop blaming yourself. He was going to do all this anyway, and thank the goddess Jacob was there when you needed him.”
At the mere mention of Jacob’s name, a crimson sweep travels along Emily’s cheeks, and she busies herself with swirlingthe disappearing contents of her cup. “Er, yes, it was,” she says, all nonchalant. “Jacob scares everyone, so that was…good.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tease her about Jacob, but something tells me she’s not ready to go there yet, and it would have the opposite effect of lightening the mood. The thought of Emily with Ronan’s best friend and beta might be too much for this moment, so I simply nod and take her cup to offer a refill. I think I’m as desperate for something to do with my hands as she is—the thought of an official challenge makes my wolf uneasy.
Ronan will win, I’ve no doubt. But everyone knows Maddox is a strong wolf, not an alpha, as he clearly imagines himself to be, but he is strong. Fueled with some kind of delusion, he would be a dangerous opponent. I think about my parents’ foolish plan for me to somehow kill Ronan—I should be glad there’s an opportunity for a challenge, a chance for that to come true. If Ronan died, I could just leave, couldn’t I? Go back to Sophie and run away once and for all. But, as I look over at Emily, surrounded by Ronan’s scent and then the memory of his hands on my body, I know there has to be another way.
I top up Emily’s chocolate with a fresh batch and add a few marshmallows before sliding it back across. Emily thanks me, her voice small, but she’s at least trying to smile, and the blush has receded slightly. I’ll have to ask her about Jacob one day…if I’m still here, of course.
Her phone, which is face down on the counter, suddenly starts to vibrate. The buzz is so sudden and loud that it makes us both jump, and Emily’s hand jerks out, sending her cup flying. The contents slosh everywhere, a sticky, chocolate wave pouring over the edge and right onto my open tote bag.
"Oh, Goddess, I’m so sorry," she yelps, grabbing for napkins, but I’m already yanking my bag off the counter, cocoa streaming from the bottom.
"It’s fine, it’s fine," I say, forcing a laugh. "Goddess, that’s the least of my problems." But I’m already picturing the mess inside—my phone, my notebook, the battered envelope from my landlord, and, shit, my photo.
Emily is already on the phone, voice trembling as she reassures whoever is on the other end that she’s fine. She hangs up quickly, just as I’m emptying the contents of my bag onto the counter and grabbing some paper towels.
Emily reaches for some of the towels and immediately starts dabbing at the counter and the items I dumped there. Her eyes seem to zero in on the small, chocolate-streaked rectangle amidst the jumble. It’s the photo. Sophie’s photo. The one I’d made a mental point to keep hidden, but can never bear to be far away from, as I check it several times a day, and now here it is, exposed and sticky on the countertop.
“Oh, jeez, sorry, sorry,” Emily says again, but she picks up the photo before I can snatch it, cradling it in a napkin instead of her bare fingers, as if she knows instinctively how precious it is. She wipes delicately, trying not to smudge the ink, her brow furrowed in concentration.
I want to demand it back, but my voice dies in my throat. She holds the photo at arm’s length, squinting at the face in it. “You said this is your cousin’s little girl?” she asks, but her tone is different this time. It’s less casual and more searching. She’s looking at me, not the picture.
I nod, because it’s easier than explaining anything, but Emily just keeps looking between me and the photo, her mouth working like she’s chewing over a math equation. “She’sbeautiful,” she says. “She looks a lot like you…and almost identical to Ronan when he was a pup.”
She slides the photo closer, squinting so hard I’m afraid she’ll burn a hole through it. “That can’t just be a coincidence,” she says, almost to herself. “Ava. This is yours and Ronan’s kid, isn’t it?”
The room tunnels around me. My fingers dig into the counter, searching for purchase as my wolf howls in panic and something else, something that wants to curl up and die. I can’t breathe. I think I manage a sound, something halfway between a gasp and a laugh, but Emily is relentless.
“I knew it,” she says, voice low and not at all accusatory, more like she’s simply glad she was right about something. “You were banished with your family. I’d seen you and Ronan together when I was younger, but I never imagined…but this is Ronan’s, isn’t it? She looks just like him. Just like you, too, but—Goddess, that’s why you came back, isn’t it?”
I can't get any words out, but then something strikes me. “You saw us together?” I ask, confused. No one ever knew we were together back then.
She nods thoughtfully. “I used to want to follow him everywhere when I was younger,” she explains. “Of course, I was never allowed. But I caught him sneaking out to the trail once and followed him. I saw you waiting for him, and the way he ran toward you…I didn’t want to hang around; I knew I’d get into so much trouble. But I followed him again once, after I saw him packing some food.”
The picnic we had in the forest only days before my parents’ betrayal was exposed.
I’m completely dumbfounded as she explains that’s why she wasn’t surprised when he chose me. She always thought hewas in love with me, and it was so sad that I’d been banished, too.
“He doesn’t know about her, does he?” Emily says, handing me the photo.