CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

L ance sat bolt upright when he heard the knock on the door. It was still dark outside, and they had only been asleep for an hour. He figured it was...yup. One look at the alarm clock confirmed it: five o’clock in the morning.

“Stay here,” he ordered and reached for his pants.

“Lance, don’t kill anyone. It could be a neighbor or something,” Sofia replied.

Yeah, well, dead neighbors don’t squeal.

“At five a.m.?”

She shrugged as he frowned at her, grabbing a T-shirt and pulling it over his head. “Who knows you live here? From the rebellion?” Lance asked as the banging continued.

“No one. Although Stefano did, and so did his drivers.”

“Sofia! Open up,” a male voice called out.

Who the fuck?

He glared at her as she sat up in bed and pulled the sheets across her breasts, surprise on her face.

“Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed.

“You know this guy?” he growled. “If this is a former lover, you better talk fast, mate of mine.”

Bang, bang

“Ben! Stop banging. I will be there in a minute.”

Ben?

Lance growled as his lips peeled back to expose his fangs.

“Put those away,” Sofia scolded, pointing at his lips and pulling a silk dressing gown over her body. She pushed past him, but he grabbed her arm.

“The fuck do you think you are doing?” She tried to shrug him off and he raised a brow. “Who is this male?”

She frowned at him as he marched off. “Stop. Ben is my brother.”

Well, that got his attention. He froze for a moment, then turned to the door, ripped it open, pulled the male—who was much bigger than he’d been expecting—inside the apartment, and slammed the door.

“Start fucking talking,” Lance ordered, pointing at him.

If the guy looked like that, why hadn’t he been protecting his sister? Lance had to assume he was part of the rebellion and was here for no good reason. He was only breathing because he was her blood relative.

One bad move and he’d be a former blood relative.

Ben took one—calculated, long—look at Lance, glanced at Sofia, then placed his hands on his hips and grinned. “Well, shit, you’ve mated.” Then with a look of relief added, “Thank God.”

“Where the hell have you been?” Sofia demanded.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER , Lance was feeling marginally less like committing murder.

Marginally.

Ben had apparently left the family fold over seventy years ago. He had, unlike Sofia, struggled to align with the rebellion cause, and after threats from his father and the Russos, had done a disappearing act.

“So you just left her? Vulnerable?” Lance growled.

Ben turned to him.

The guy was all good looking and shit with his dimples and Italian accent, but he could fuck off with his charms. First, guys didn’t do it for him, and second, as Sofia’s mate, he wasn’t interested in his bullshit. He wanted answers, and Ben was being extremely vague.

“Ah, the protective mate.” Ben smiled. “Sofia wasn’t vulnerable or in any danger when I left. She was the chosen one.” That last bit was said with a hint of bitterness. “The successful one, following the footsteps my father had laid out for her.”

Sofia leaned against him as they sat on the sofa. Lance relaxed into the feel of her body. “He’s right. Before...” she trailed off. “I was never in any danger before.”

“Jury’s still out on that,” he mumbled.

Ben sobered and leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms on his knees. “Sofi, what happened? I heard rumors through my channels, and I was told you were in danger.” His eyes swept over Lance. “I came as soon as I could.”

“Fuck you,” Lance snapped. “As if I would harm her. She’s my mate.”

Ben’s eyes dropped to the logo on his T-shirt. “You serve the king.”

“Lance is a senior lieutenant commander in the Moretti army.”

Ben whistled. “Right at the top.”

That’s right, asshole.

Lance nodded.

“I’ll tell you what happened. Your sister was raped. Perhaps if you had been there, it never would have happened,” Lance growled as Sofia turned to look at him in horror.

“Lance! How dare you!”

Ben’s face turned deadly. “The fuck? Where the hell were you when this was happening?”

The two of them jumped to their feet and faced off.

Fangs out, dicks out.

It was only when Sofia squeezed between them and Lance felt she was in danger that he stepped back, his eyes never leaving Ben’s face.

“For goodness’ sake, you’re both on the same damn side,” she cried.

After a bit more testosterone and growling, Ben shook his head. “She’s right.”

Sofia pushed Lance back onto the sofa and glared at him. “Do not do that again. That is my story to tell and choose who I tell.”

“I am sorry,” he apologized, meaning it. He’d known it was wrong as the words were falling out of his mouth, but something about this male pushed his buttons. As he apologized to his mate, he could hear Ben’s smirk across the room. He looked over, and the guy was wise enough to drop it.

“You look trained,” Lance commented, narrowing his eyes at the male. Expert eyes; he’d been training males long enough to know a well-honed warrior’s body, and this male had that and more.

What he didn’t have was the smarts to keep his attitude in check, and that likely got him in trouble. Poking one of the highest-ranking Moretti soldiers—his sister’s mate—was a dick move.

Ben shrugged. “Something like that.”

Lance gave the guy a few points for his sudden poker face. He was hiding something, but the fact he hadn’t spouted it off meant he had some self-control, which was good to see. Ben likely had power and skill, and didn’t feel threatened by Lance.

He should.

From what he could see, he was still a young, naive vampire.

Lance grinned to himself. Yeah, he wouldn’t mind breaking this little fucker.

“Well,” Lance looked at his watch arrogantly. “This has been fun, but we have places to be.”

“Where are you staying?” Sofia asked. “We do have to go, but can we talk?”

“I’m nearby,” Ben replied, not sharing any details. “I’ll message you and we can meet up when you are free.”

Lance stood. “She won’t be. She’s not meeting any of the Ferrero family without me present.”

Ben continued staring at his sister, and Lance respected the guy for it. He wanted to hear from Sofia, giving her the opportunity to decide for herself. Lance was testing the guy and knew he was risking his mate’s wrath in doing so. Beside him, Sofia sighed and put a hand on his arm.

He’d expected far worse. Guilt threaded through him as he realized his mate was emotionally exhausted.

“Things have been chaotic and dangerous in my life, Ben. Lance is being protective,” she explained. “Just answer me one question.” Ben raised a brow. “Are you working with the rebellion?”

“Fuck no. You know that’s why I left, right?”

“No. I did not,” she answered, her voice tense. “No one would tell me anything. I was instructed never to ask again.”

Well, this was very fucking interesting. Perhaps learning more about Ben was in their best interest.

“Come back tomorrow at this time and we will talk. I’ll give you both some time to catch up,” Lance said, placing his arm around Sofia’s lower back. “It will be daylight soon. We must return to the castle.”

Ben’s dimpled smile returned. “You always were a high achiever, sis. Meeting with royalty, huh?”

“If only it was that simple,” Sofia replied.