Chapter 70: Wants Me Too

​Sofia’s heart stopped. The blood drained from her face as she looked up, her hand still frozen on the brass doorknob. Standing in the dimly lit hallway, leaning casually against the stone wall with a raised brow, was Beta Matthew.

​Sofia’s heart skipped, and for a moment she wished she could just disappear, but she couldn’t… unfortunately, she didn’t have a gift for that.

​”Beta…” Her words hung on her lips, as she was unable to complete them.

​Beta Matthew ran a slow gaze over her, from her disheveled hair to her uniform, which was slightly torn. He didn’t need a soothsayer to explain to him what had just happened; the smell of Alaric was already imprinted on her.

​”Follow me,” he said calmly, and began leading the way, not giving Sofia any chance to speak.

​Confused, scared, and panicked, Sofia followed Matthew like a lost puppy. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she wondered where he was taking her. To Alpha Damien, perhaps? The thought of that sent a wave of panic through her.

​They passed the turnoff for the kitchens. They passed the heavy doors leading to the Great Hall. Sofia’s panic spiked.

​”Beta Matthew, please,” she whispered, her voice cracking as her ample chest heaved with exertion. “Where are we going? If this is about Alpha Damien… I can explain.”

​Matthew didn’t stop. He didn’t even turn his head. “Alpha Damien is currently in the infirmary having his arm stitched. If he saw you looking like this, Sofia, there wouldn’t be enough of you left to bury. Keep your mouth shut and keep moving.”

​His voice wasn’t cruel like Damien’s, but it was cold, which felt almost worse.

​Matthew led her toward the executive wing, but instead of heading toward the Alpha’s suite, he stopped at a heavy oak door marked with the Beta’s crest. He ushered her inside and slammed the door shut, the lock clicking so loud that it made Sofia jump.

​Before she could even draw a breath to apologize, Matthew turned. He didn’t just stand there; he moved forward, pinning her against the wood of the door. His hands were braced on either side of her head, trapping her body between his body and the hard oak.

​”Did he fuck you?” he rasped, his eyes dark with a turbulent emotion Sofia couldn’t name.

​”No!” Sofia cried, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. “Beta, please, it wasn’t like that—”

​”Don’t lie to me, Sofia! I can smell him all over you!” Matthew’s composure finally shattered. The calm, collected Beta was gone, replaced by a man fueled by raw jealousy. He leaned in closer, his forehead dropping to rest against hers. “I’ve spent years watching you from the shadows. Years.”

​Sofia froze, her blue eyes widening as she looked up at him. “What are you saying?”

​”I’m saying I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember,” he confessed, the words pouring out of him like a dam breaking. “I stayed silent because I thought Damien was interested in you—and a Beta does not challenge his Alpha. I stood by and watched him treat you like dirt, hating myself every single second for not stepping in. I thought if I waited, if I stayed loyal, eventually I could find a way to protect you.”

​His hands slid down from the door, his fingers gripping her curvy waist with a desperation that made her gasp. “And now… Alaric? The High King comes in for one day and takes what I’ve been dreaming of for years?”

​Sofia felt her head spin. She felt like she was trapped in a vortex of pheromones and high-stakes obsession. First Alexander, then the legendary Alaric, and now Matthew—one of the most eligible bachelors in the pack, a man every she-wolf dreamed of mating with—was claiming he loved her.

​What is happening to me? she thought frantically. Am I emitting some kind of siren scent? Is my body finally projecting some long-dormant mating hormone? It was the only thing that made sense. She was a slave, a “murderer,” a girl with chubby cheeks and heavy curves that the pack usually mocked. Yet here she was, being fought over by the three most powerful men in the territory.

​”Matthew,” she whispered, her full lips trembling. “You can’t love me. I’m Sofia.”

​”You’re everything,” Matthew countered, his gaze dropping to her mouth. “You’re the only thing that kept me in this pack. And I won’t lose you to a King who’s only passing through.”

​He leaned in, his eyes on her trembling lips… He looked like he was seconds away from claiming her right there on the rug of his office. But he held himself back and sucked in a deep breath.

​”Sofia, I want to fight for us… I want to let everyone know that I want you… I love you… but I’ll need you to tell me how you feel about me.”

​Sofia looked at him, and her heart broke for the man before her. Matthew was honorable. He was handsome and kind—everything a woman should want. Any other girl in the pack would have thrown themselves at him. But as she stood there, pinned between his body and the door, she felt… nothing. No spark, no heat, no magnetic pull.

​The realization was a bitter pill to swallow. For years, she had been tethered to Damien by a toxic, painful attraction she couldn’t extinguish, and just an hour ago, Alaric had ignited a primal hunger in her that she didn’t know existed. But Matthew? To her, he was the only friend she had in a den of wolves, and the thought of losing that friendship to a lie was unbearable.

​”Matthew,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You are the best man I know. Truly.”

​”But?” Matthew rasped, his face falling as he sensed the shift in her energy.

​”But I don’t see you that way,” she said, the words feeling like lead in her mouth. “And I don’t think I ever will. I don’t have that… that fire for you. And if you do this—if you challenge Damien for me—you will lose everything. He will strip you of your title, your home, your family. I can’t let you ruin your life for a girl who can’t give you the heart you deserve.”

​Matthew flinched as if she had struck him. His hands dropped from her hips, his shoulders sagging under the weight of a rejection he had feared for a lifetime. “It’s because of them, isn’t it? Damien… and now Alaric?”

​”It doesn’t matter who it’s because of,” Sofia said, her chest tightening with grief. “It only matters that it isn’t you. I’m so sorry, Matthew.”

​The silence in the room was suffocating. Matthew stepped back, giving her space, his expression shuttering into the cold, professional mask of a Beta once more. He looked away, unable to bear the pity in her blue eyes.

​Seeing his pain was more than she could take. Sofia didn’t wait for him to dismiss her. She turned, fumbled with the lock, and ran out of the office. She didn’t look back as she sprinted down the hallway, her thick thighs aching and her breath coming in jagged sobs.

​She ran blindly, her only thought to get back to the safety of her room before Damien found her. But as she rounded the corner toward the servant’s stairs, she slammed into a wall of solid, warm muscle.

​Strong arms wrapped around her to steady her, and a familiar, intoxicating scent filled her lungs.

​”Running again, little bird?” Alaric’s deep voice rumbled above her. He looked down at her tear-stained face, his emerald eyes narrowing as he took in her distress. “Who was it? Who made you cry?”

​Sofia frowned. “Nobody.”

​She released herself from his grip and kept running.

​She reached her small room, took off her uniform, bathed, and changed into another uniform; just then, the door pushed open and Damien walked in.

​He ran a slow, predatory gaze over her… she looked normal, but he could sense something was off… he couldn’t just pinpoint whatever it was.

​”Why do you look so tense?” he asked, taking slow, predatory steps towards her.

​Sofia swallowed hard but found her voice. “Because you scare me.”

​Damien’s brow furrowed. He couldn’t explain it, but hearing her say she was scared of him didn’t sit well with him… he hated it.

​”And why do I scare you?” he asked, those words from her having more effect on him than they should have.

​Sofia couldn’t speak. She could already tell her words hadn’t sat right with him, and she didn’t want to provoke the beast further. She pressed her lips together, her full, trembling mouth tight as she looked at the floor.

​Her silence only fueled his anger.

​”Talk to me!” he roared, losing his temper. He lunged forward, his hand slamming against the stone wall beside her head as he pinned her body against the cold masonry. “Talk… or I will give you a real reason to be terrified.”

​Sofia gasped, her eyes wide as she looked up at him, but the words were stuck in her throat. The scent of him was overwhelming in the small room.

​Damien’s eyes flashed a predatory gold. If he couldn’t get her to speak, he would get her to feel. He reached down, his fingers catching the hem of her fresh grey uniform. With a brutal tug, he lifted her gown, exposing her thick, silky thighs.

​Sofia’s breath hitched in a jagged sob as he roughly shifted her underwear aside. Before she could protest, he drove a finger deep inside her.

​Sofia’s mouth fell open in a silent, shocked gasp, her back arching against the wall as the sudden intrusion sent a jolt of unwanted electricity through her swollen, wet pussy.

​”Are you scared of me when I do this?” he hissed into her ear, his breath hot against her skin. He began to move his finger with a punishing, rhythmic friction, watching her face with a dark, twisted intensity. “Does your heart beat this fast because of fear, Sofia? Or is it because you know you belong to me?”

​Sofia’s head thunked back against the wall, her eyes fluttering. She hated him. She hated how he treated her, and she hated that even now, her traitorous body was responding to his touch.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep