Chapter 572: Misplaced Assumptions

There was a brief pause.

Ronan turned his head away almost immediately, his shoulders shaking as he muffled a laugh. Orion, on the other hand, stayed still, though there was a very clear shift in his expression. The corner of his mouth lifted just slightly before he schooled it, forcing his face back into something neutral.

But the amusement didn’t leave his eyes.

It was obvious. Sophia was staking her claim.

The woman in front of them blinked, clearly caught off guard for half a second. Then her expression smoothed out, though a faint frown lingered between her brows.

"Oh," she said, her voice soft, smooth, and pleasant in a way that immediately stood out. "I’m sorry. That was my fault. I should have introduced myself."

Sophia didn’t miss how nice her voice sounded.

That only made her narrow her eyes slightly. She glanced up at Orion, her gaze sharp.

He immediately straightened, any trace of amusement wiped clean off his face like it had never been there.

Sophia held his gaze for a second longer before turning back to the woman.

The woman gave a small smile. "My name is Annabeth."

Sophia nodded slowly.

"Annabeth," she repeated, then tilted her head slightly. "And why are you with Orion?"

Ronan let out a quiet snort beside them, barely holding it in.

"I think," he said, stepping in before things could spiral further, "it’s important to clarify that Annabeth was speaking to both of us."

Sophia didn’t even look at him.

"If you want to be hitting on women," she said calmly, "you shouldn’t have Orion standing beside you while you do it."

That did it.

Ronan turned away completely this time, pressing a fist to his mouth.

Orion looked like he was about two seconds away from losing whatever control he had left.

Sophia finally turned to him.

"There’s nothing funny about this," she told him firmly. "Just because you’re a supportive friend doesn’t mean you should be standing around while he’s flirting with women."

Orion didn’t say anything; he just stared at her.

Sophia gestured lightly toward Annabeth.

"Even if the woman looks beautiful," she added, "and has a nice voice. And her ass is to die for... yes, very beautiful."

Annabeth blinked.

Then blinked again.

"Thank you?" she said, clearly unsure how she had ended up here.

Sophia nodded like that was exactly the response she expected.

Then she turned back to Orion.

"Have you forgotten that you’re with me?"

Ronan choked on air.

Orion closed his eyes briefly.

Then Sophia looked back at Annabeth.

"And just in case you’re not aware," she said politely, "Orion is my mate. So if you’re part of those who came from the black market—"

Annabeth shook her head immediately.

"No, I’m not," she said quickly. "And... I think there’s been a misunderstanding."

She paused, then added carefully, "I’m not after Orion. Perhaps we are standing too close—that’s why you got that idea—but really, we were just talking. I’m actually from the Silver Creek Pack. I’m the Alpha."

Sophia stared at her.

The silence lasted exactly two seconds.

Then her face went red.

She took a large step back from Orion, creating a very obvious distance between them, and covered her face with both hands.

Ronan and Orion dissolved into laughter.

It started as barely contained sounds and became fully unrestrained laughter within seconds. Ronan grabbed Orion’s shoulder to steady himself. Orion grabbed him back. They held each other up through it.

Sophia groaned.

She dragged both hands over her face, covering it completely.

"Goddess-fucking tits!"

She stayed like that for a second.

Then another.

"I cannot believe I just did that."

The laughter got worse.

Ronan bent forward slightly, clutching his side. Orion wiped at the corner of his eye, still laughing.

She groaned, pressing her palms harder against her face. She couldn’t believe herself. What had she been thinking? What gave her the idea that Annabeth was even into Orion?

Perhaps she was having PTSD from Holly. Holly had been blonde, after all. That was probably it—some deeply buried part of her brain had seen blonde hair and immediately started making terrible connections. And now she was standing here, having accused the Alpha of the Silver Creek Pack of trying to steal her mate, while said Alpha had simply been having a conversation.

Orion wiped a tear from his eye.

"It’s so nice," he managed, voice still unsteady, "to know I’m not the only jealous one."

Sophia dropped her hands from her face and looked at him.

"You," she said, "could have just told me who she was."

"You didn’t ask me," he said. "You asked Annabeth. And then you didn’t give Annabeth a chance to actually explain before you—"

"I understand what happened," Sophia said. "You don’t need to narrate it back to me."

Ronan made a sound that was technically a cough.

Sophia turned to Annabeth.

Then she bowed. Deeply. Both hands pressed flat against her thighs, head going down properly.

"I’m so sorry," she said.

Annabeth looked at her for a moment.

Then she laughed.

"Please don’t apologize," she said. "Truly." The smile on her face was real. "It’s my fault for standing too close to your mate without introducing myself first."

Sophia straightened. "Even so, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that."

"It was an understandable conclusion," Annabeth said.

"This," Ronan announced, "is going to live in my memory forever. I want everyone present to know that. It is permanently stored."

Sophia turned and hit him in the stomach.

He doubled over laughing, which meant the hit had done essentially nothing.

Orion reached out and caught Sophia’s hand before she could reconsider. He pulled her back toward him without effort, tucking her against his side again.

He turned to Annabeth.

"Shorty here," he said, the amusement still sitting in his voice, "is Sophia." He looked down at her briefly. "My mate."

Annabeth’s expression was warm. "It’s nice to meet you, Sophia." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Sophia looked at her.

"Now that the misunderstanding is over," she said, "it’s nice to meet you too."

Annabeth laughed again. Sophia decided she really did have a very nice laugh to go along with the voice.

Orion’s hand squeezed her side once.

"Annabeth was actually about to ask if she could speak with us," he said. "Just before you arrived and jumped to conclusions."

Sophia looked up at him.

"I understand I made an error," she said. "So you can stop."

"I’m just providing context—"

"You can stop providing context."

He laughed.

Ronan, who had recovered enough to stand properly again, shook his head. "I get it, Sophia. I understand why you were jealous." He glanced at Annabeth. "She is a very beautiful woman, after all."

Annabeth’s cheeks went pink.

She looked at the ground briefly, then back up, her composure reassembling itself.

"Should we take this to the office?" Ronan asked, having moved in on the conversation.