Chapter 4

~ RONAN ~

Nik is currently with her in a quarter Warren provides for us. In as much as it fucking aches me to have left her side, it's fucking pissing me off that I need to spend more time in this bloody pack.

The contract is already drawn up. Since it was already printed, all my lawyer had to do was add a clause and send over the soft copy for printing. I glance through it the second time, checking for the clause that I demanded to be added, with a satisfied smirk.

I slam it right on his desk… There's a cut bleeding from his nose. Even though it's been up to thirty minutes, I can tell that his wolf has not fully healed him.

"You're only alive because I choose to, Warren… Now, sign this… But don't think I'm going to let you walk away scot-free… I'm not, and you know I don't bluff… Sign the fucking papers, I need to leave this pathetic hellhole."

I curse. His eyes dart towards the paper. The broken table has already been replaced with a new one.

"Are the terms still beneficial? If not, I'm afraid I'll have to—" he protests, but I don't let him finish, I stand to my feet, slamming my hand on his desk as hard as I can. "You should know better than to fuck with me, Warren. Fucking sign it… You should be lucky that I don't go back on my word. So hence, the alliance still benefits you. Westbrook gets Black Shadow protection, trade access, and council favor…"

The look in his eyes brightens as he grabs the pen, scribbling his signature.

I pick up the contract, fold it once, and tuck it inside my jacket.

"My lawyer will file the original with the council by morning. You'll receive your copy within the week. And also, Warren, the contract states you leave her alone. You don't contact her, or send anyone to contact her either… And if anything happens to her that traces back to you or this pack, Westbrook's Southern territory transfers to my name within seventy-two hours."

The excitement on his face drains on hearing my statement, and I smirk. If only he knew half of his assets are going to his sister too, then he wouldn't just be frowning.

He parts his mouth to say whatever filth he has… I wonder where he's hiding his shameful face.

I move towards the door. "Have her things ready, we're leaving right away…"

"She doesn't have things," he remarks, a tinge of bitterness biting back.

Something is fishy. Why would he treat his sister as scum? And I'm damn sure that today's treatment wouldn't be as bad as the others I don't get to witness.

"And why is that? Isn't she your sister, as you say? And she's eighteen, and you mean to tell me she doesn't have a fucking cloth aside from the one she's putting on?" I'm already losing my temper at how unbearable and wicked he can be. The people must be suffering if his own sister is suffering this much.

The door suddenly opens, and a petite lady with auburn hair fills the entrance.

Her face immediately drops into a scare, which she quickly masks with a smile. "Alpha Ronan… I hear you've already taken a liking to your new bride. Hope you do like her… and her manners don't upset you… because she's a slave…"

"You should shut her up for insulting our mate…" Kael quips.

I raise a brow at Warren, ignoring her coy attention. Sister and now slave?

"I thought you said she was your sister… Warren…"

The woman's eyes widen, and she and Warren exchange a look immediately. Something is indeed very fishy. From the similar ring on her hand and Warren's, she must be Warren's mate.

"Yes, she's his sister… but you know how it is with the black sheep of the family," she says, recovering fast, her smile sliding back into place like a mask she's practiced wearing. "She's always been a bit of a… burden. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

I say nothing, staring at her intensely, which she takes for an invitation to go further.

"I just want to prepare you, Alpha Ronan, because I'd hate for you to be blindsided…" She steps further into the room, clasping her hands together. "She can't talk, I mean not a single word. She's as mute as a stone, and before you ask, she has no wolf either. And what's worse is that she's come of age. She's eighteen. eighteen years old, and nothing." She laughs in a mocking tone. "We've tried everything, bless her heart. She's just… empty. Broken, if we're being honest. I always said Warren was too kind, keeping her around this long. A wolfless, dumb girl with no future, no use, no—"

"Rip her throat out," Kael snarls.

"Enough."

My voice pierces through the room like a blade hitting stone. She stops mid-sentence, blinking.

I turn to Warren.

"Put her in her place." I say it quietly. "Now. Before I do it for you."

Warren straightens immediately, finally finding a spine when it costs him nothing. "Nova—"

"I was only trying to help—"

"I said enough." Warren yells, and her mouth snaps shut, her smile curdling at the edges.

I stare at her for a beat.

"What she is or isn't," I say, "is no longer your business. What comes out of your mouth about my bride is no longer your business either." I tilt my head slightly. "Are we clear?"

She nods once, stiffly, fear instilled in her eyes as she immediately scurries away from my sight to Warren.

"She hates our mate, and must have made her see hell," Kael says.

I know.

I look back at Warren, fixing my jacket. "You can keep her stuff. She's not coming back here, so it doesn't matter."

I walk toward the door, finally mindlinking Nikolai for us to get set.