CHAPTER 4
1891 Words
ANTHONY DE ANGELIS
I enter the room slowly, seeing Sofia still sleeping in the hospital bed.
The doctors said that she and the baby will be fine.
I approach her carefully, and then my eyes fix on her belly, which is bigger now.
I sit beside her carefully and then touch her belly, making her shift and slowly open her eyes.
I don’t take my hand away this time.
“Where am I?” she whispers.
“In the hospital. You were poisoned at the party, but you’re going to be fine.”
She blinks in confusion and looks at me with fear.
“And the baby?” she asks quickly, her hand going to her belly.
“He’s still fine.”
She relaxes a little after that.
“Who did this?” she asks.
“I’m investigating, and I swear the person who did this will pay.”
“You always do this,” she says, leaving me confused.
“Do what?”
“Kill people. Is that what you do?” she asks in a low voice.
I blink and pull my hand away from her belly before standing up.
“I only kill those who deserve it, Sofia. I don’t hurt innocent people,” I reply quickly.
“That man wasn’t innocent?” she asks, remembering the traitor I executed.
“No, he wasn’t. He was a monster who hurt women. The world is better without him, I promise.”
She watches me for a moment, as if she’s trying to decide whether she believes me.
Then she asks the question I knew was coming.
“What’s going to happen after the baby is born?”
I don’t want to answer that question after almost watching her die.
“You need to rest… the doctors—”
“Are you going to kill me?” she interrupts.
I stop and slowly turn to face her.
Her eyes are fixed on me, but there are no tears now.
I don’t answer.
“That was my goal before I knew you were carrying my legacy.”
She looks away quickly.
She spends two days in the hospital.
When I take her back to the mansion, she doesn’t like my excessive care over her.
I don’t care whether she likes it or not.
On the first day back, she goes to the bathroom and I follow her.
She looks at me angrily.
“I know how to pee by myself. You don’t need to watch me like this.”
“I’m going with you. You could get dizzy. You could fall. Hit your head.”
She crosses her arms, offended.
“I’m not doing that in front of you.”
I snort irritably and leave the bathroom, leaving her alone.
When she comes out and passes by me, it’s impossible not to notice her body in the black nightgown.
Her belly is bigger now, and strangely that makes her even more beautiful and s*xy.
I’m attracted to her, and I hate myself for it.
My eyes are stuck on her legs and her *ss when her voice pulls my attention.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”
“It’s not something I tell everyone,” I reply.
“But it was something I needed to know.”
She seems to get a little dizzy, and then I grab her quickly.
“Are you okay?” I ask, changing the subject.
She nods.
“I am.”
Sofia’s eyes widen, and when I ask if she’s in pain or something, she smiles, touching her belly.
“He moved. The baby is kicking,” she says, surprising me when she takes my hand and places it on her belly.
My eyes widen when I feel my son kicking inside her.
It’s something so innocent and so different from my cruel world.
For the first time, I smile while looking at her.
I can’t control myself anymore when I’m near her.
She looks at me, confused, when I hold her face and then move closer.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Something I shouldn’t do,” I whisper before kissing her.
She doesn’t fight or push me away.
She wants the kiss as much as I do.
This time I kiss her slowly, feeling her tongue against mine.
Her small hands slide up my chest and shoulders to my hair. I groan against her mouth when I feel her pulling the strands.
My hands pull her red hair as my mouth moves down her neck.
She moans softly with her eyes closed.
She is human. Humans and werewolves don’t mix.
“Anthony…” she moans my name, stripping away the little control I still had.
I rub my fingers over her lips, making her open her eyes and look at me.
“You should be afraid of me…” I whisper, and she shakes her head.
“Ask me to walk away…” I ask, and she shakes her head again.
“No.”
“God, Sofia. You made a mistake by saying that.”
I kiss her harder this time, lifting her body and laying her down on the bed.
I straighten up, sighing at the sight of her.
“You’re so beautiful…”
She bites her lip when my hands touch her legs and move higher.
She grips the sheets tightly, trying not to moan, but I smile when I see she has no control anymore either.
I lie over her, lowering my mouth to her breasts.
“Don’t stop, please…” she begs, and I don’t.
With one motion, I rip the nightgown from her body and then my clothes.
“Look at me…” I whisper, meeting her green eyes with mine.
Sofia scratches my back hard as I bite her shoulder hard.
When everything ends, she sleeps on my chest, but I can’t do the same.
I think I like watching her sleep.
I touch her cheek carefully. Then her belly.
I remember when I pointed the gun at her in the forest and the way she looked at me.
D*mn it.
I get up slowly, get dressed, and leave the room without waking her.
I go straight to my room, but before I enter, I hear my brother’s voice behind me.
“Anthony. I need to talk to you.”
“Anything can wait. I’m tired,” I say.
“It’s about her.”
I tense at that.
“What about her?” I ask, entering the room, and he follows me.
Alaric closes the door and looks at me uncomfortably, as if he doesn’t know where to start.
He stays near the door, nervous.
“What happened now, Alaric? Did you find out who tried to kill her?” I ask, and he quickly shakes his head.
“No, that’s not what I want to talk about.”
“Then start. I should be sleeping right now.”
He takes a deep breath and then begins to speak.
“Sofia has no one, Anthony.”
“No family. No close relatives. No one who would look for her if she disappeared. She grew up jumping from place to place. Always alone.”
I already knew that.
“And?” I ask.
Alaric takes a step forward. “I like her.”
“And I care,” he adds. “And… she seems to feel the same way about me.”
I feel strange now.
“Get to the point,” I growl. “Now.”
He hesitates for a second, but he doesn’t back down.
“You treat her badly while I treat her with kindness,” he says. “And she deserves that, Anthony. I know you think she’s a threat to the pack, but she wouldn’t be a threat if she knew what we really are.”
My gaze locks onto him.
“What are you talking about?” I ask slowly.
“About bringing Sofia into our world. Into our family.”
“Have you lost your mind?” I say, incredulous.
Alaric smiles faintly.
“She’s strong. Kind. And she’s already tied to us in a way that can’t be undone. We can protect her. You’re engaged to Helena and you need to do what you have to do politically. But I’m free.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I explode.
“About marrying Sofia. After the baby is born.”
For a second, I can’t move.
“No,” I snarl angrily.
“Why?” he asks, confused.
I try to say something, but I can’t. I turn my back to him and look at the moon.
“I don’t need to marry a female and—”
I don’t wait for him to finish. With a single movement, I grab Alaric’s shirt and yank him forward before slamming him against the wall.
His eyes widen, surprised by my reaction.
“You are not going to marry her.”
“Anthony, what are you doing?”
“You are not going to marry her.”
“I’m in love with her. I love her.”
For a moment, I clench my fists, ready to hit him, but I would never touch my brother.
I step back and let him go.
I take a deep breath, and all I can see is Sofia kissing me, and then him.
It drives me insane.
She’s not mine. I shouldn’t feel like this.
“You’re not going to marry a human,” I whisper.
“I will, if she accepts me. Why does thinking about the two of us together make you so out of control?”
I don’t answer.
He studies my face carefully, as if putting together pieces I refuse to look at myself.
“She’s the mother of my child.”
Alaric shakes his head slowly.
“No. There’s more than that. And you know it.”
“Don’t say nonsense.”
“You’re in love with her too, aren’t you?”
I glare at him with even more anger.
I remember the baby growing inside her and then everything that happened between us a few hours ago.
“No, I’m not.”
“Then why did you point a gun at her and still couldn’t pull the trigger? Why did you go crazy when she almost died? Why do you seem to care so much about her and still reject her?” he asks, stepping closer.
I can’t answer.
“You can’t have her. Neither you. Nor anyone.”
Alaric looks at me seriously now.
“She’s not a thing for you to protect or destroy, Anthony. She’s a woman. And she will choose.”
I turn my face back to the window, unable to look at him anymore.
“Leave,” I order.
“Anthony...”
“You’re my brother and I love you more than anything, but I need you to leave now, or I swear that I will…” I whisper.
He nods, opening the door and looking at me one last time.
“If you really care about her, then show it before it’s too late, Anthony.”
“I don’t love her. Do whatever you want with her after my son is born.”
Those are the worst words I have ever said in my entire life.
- Writer
