Chapter 45
Sofia
Sofia was pissed. Not only had she been made to stay in the hospital for longer than she originally thought, but her plan with William had completely failed. From William’s account, his taking that girl out only made her and Arthur closer.
And now it had been two months since then. Two more months with no word from Arthur. It was literally like Sofia didn’t exist to him anymore. He couldn’t possibly have moved on so fast. Not when they still had the mate bond.
Of course, the mate bond had never been consummated. Soifa has been so scared to get pregnant and ruin her career that she had never allowed sex. They had done other things, sure, but never sex. And now Sofia was coming to regret that decision.
If they had consummated the bond, there would be no turning back for either of them. They would be together for life. It was like a magical ward against infidelity. Sofia wouldn’t have minded that part right about now.
She had given up on calling Arthur after about a month. He would never pick up. She had tried to call Dana, too, but the jealous bitch relished putting Sofia down. She hadn’t been any help. Even William had stopped coming by with news after she had chunked her tray of food at him.
There was literally no one she could rely on. Normally, it might have made her feel lonely, but all she felt at the moment was anger. Who did these people think they were? She was a fucking princess. She deserved to be treated like one.
A knock at the door broke her out of her thoughts. She smoothed her hair into place. Just because she was losing her shit didn’t mean that people had to know about it.
“Come in,” she called sweetly. She had learned early on that the nurses did not respond well to threats or aggression. If it helped her get out of here sooner, Sofia would play nice for just about anyone.
The door opened to reveal Arthur’s father, Roman. He was already beaming at her as he came into the room. She looked behind him, expecting to see Arthur’s mother as well, but he was by himself. That was odd.
“Hello, my dear Sofia. How are you? I hope the hospital staff has been treating you well,” Roman said, taking both of her hands in his as he kissed both her cheeks.
Sofia smiled up at him. It hadn’t been that hard to win over Roman when they first met. She wasn’t surprised. Most men fell at her feet.
“I’m doing as well as I can. They’ve treated me very well since I got here.”
Roman nodded. “This is one of the best hospitals in our city. Only the best for you, my dear. But tell me, is there anything that I can do? I feel terrible that I’ve only now been able to visit.”
Sofia’s smile turned predatory. Here was her chance. “Well, actually, now that you mention it, there is something you could do for me.”
“Anything, my dear.”
Sofia’s smile turned into a pout. She willed tears to her eyes. She let her face dissolve into a mask of lonely wanting. “Arthur still hasn’t come to visit me. Do you think you could get him here?”
Roman’s body stiffened and she was delighted at the absolute rage disfiguring his handsome features. She probably should have started with the father. Never send a boy to do a man’s job.
“What?” That single word was filled with such a delicious razor-sharp edge that Sofia shivered in spite of herself.
“William said he’s moved on with someone else, but I think that vile hag has bewitched him or something. How else would he have abandoned me so quickly? How could he be getting married to someone who isn’t his mate?” Sofia was babbling, playing into her distraught performance. She even allowed her tears to spill and she let out a heart wrenching sob. And of course Roman was eating it up.
“There, there, Sofia. Everything will be okay. I promise Arthur will be here this weekend. I’ll make sure of it,” Roman said softly, dragging Sofia into his arms and petting her hair soothingly. Sofia grimached. She was going to have to fix it again.
“What are you going to do?” Sofia asked, making her voice tremble slightly. Roman’s arms around her tightened. Sofia could have laughed. This was just too easy.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. I’m just going to take that girl out of the picture. That’s all. Leave the details to me.”
That sounded ominous. There were many ways to get someone out of the picture. But given Roman’s penchant for torture and murder, Sofia could guess what he was going to do. She covered her mouth to hide her feral smile. She hoped the girl suffered.
“Thank you so much, Alpha Roman,” Sofia murmured and knew she had struck gold when Roman’s chest swelled. There was nothing like reminding old men that they once had power and that they might still have it.
Roman
If Arthur weren’t his only heir, Roman would have killed him. He couldn’t believe his son deliberately disobeyed him like that. He had never done so in the past. That was more like his sister.
Roman’s lips pulled back in a sneer. Elizabeth would have still been alive if she had only listened to him. But no. She had disobeyed him as well. Roman didn’t take too kindly to insubordination.
And now look at what Arthur was making him do. He was going to have to kill an innocent girl for Arthur’s sins. Whatever Sofia might think, he knew the girl hadn’t bewitched his son. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Roman tapped his fingers against the arm rest as he stared at the gallery from the car. Based on the reports he had gotten, this is where the girl would be after she left Noah Cunningham’s house.
He sighed. Normally, it wouldn’t have been easy covering up her murder in such a public space as this. There was the potential for too many witnesses. Luckily, he still had people loyal to him. Molly Whitmore being one of them. She was only all too happy to make sure the rest of her staff were completely distracted.
It seemed the girl had made more enemies than just Sofia. He couldn't blame them though. His son was quite the catch.
If you hadn’t done what you did all those years ago, you wouldn’t have to be doing this now, Elijah said and Roman rolled his eyes. His wolf was always harping on him to be moral. His own personal Jiminy Cricket. Too bad he got stuck with a sociopath.
What I do is for the good of the pack. I don’t want another word from you. She’s here.
Roman tracked the girl as she walked into the gallery. There was something different about her. Something had changed since the last time he saw her. But he didn’t know her well enough to put his finger on it. Nor did he care. She was about to die, after all.
