Malia’s POV
“She’s going to have to let it slide because I’m her favourite,” Penelope replied smugly.
I scoffed. “You don’t have to look so smug,” I said.
She giggled and we both settled comfortably on my bed and attacked the food with gusto.
“But come to think of it,” I began, “aren’t you supposed to eat just a little? You’re going to end up looking bloated. I’m not sure your mate would like that. Men these days want their women looking all snatched,” I teased.
She pointedly ignored me and took another spoonful of her meal. “You’re so incorrigible,” I said with a grin.
“I’m not sure that’s the right word,” she replied through a mouthful of food.
“Whatever. At least I got a mate even with my bad vocabulary,” I said.
“And you have the Alpha and Beta all over you,” she added with a smirk.
“Don’t be jealous, Pen. You’ll find a mate tonight,” I said with a grin.
She chewed thoughtfully for a moment.
“The more I think about it, the more I feel I’m not ready for a mate yet.”
I blinked in surprise. “But why not?” I queried.
She sighed deeply.
“I don’t know. I just feel I don’t know who I am or what exactly I want yet. I want to figure myself out first before being absorbed into someone else’s life or else I’d just lose my sense of individuality,” she answered.
I nodded in understanding and placed my hand on hers. “It’s okay not to be ready, Pen. But I’m sure you’re not going to reject him if he finds you tonight.”
She shrugged. “Or her,” she added.
I furrowed my brows in confusion.
“My mate could be a male or a female,” she explained with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“I know you’re kidding,” I said.
“But what if I’m not?” She queried and for a moment I nearly believed her.
“Quit messing with my head,” I chastised, smacking her playfully on her arm and she burst into a fit of giggles.
I watched in mild horror as she promptly choked and reached for the glass of water.
She gave me a watery smile as her coughing subsided and I shook my head.
“This is the reason why our parents forbade us to speak while eating,” I said.
“Please, don’t act as though you weren’t talking also. I just got unlucky,” she pointed out.
We heard a knock on the door and Penelope quickly dabbed the sides of her mouth with the napkin.
I hid a smile.
As expected, the door swung open to reveal a dashing-looking Ronan. Pen was about to stand up and offer him a bow but he stopped her.
“You do not have to do that when we’re with friends,” he said.
I cleared my throat, got to my feet and gave him a ceremonious bow.
He chuckled. “Well, I’d love to see more of that from you, Malia. Who knew you could show such humility?” He teased.
“Now why didn’t you tell me that there was going to be a mating ceremony today?” I asked, folding my arms underneath my breasts.
His eyes followed the movement and I saw them darken.
“Eyes up here,” I ordered and a mischievous grin spread across his face.
“Well, I totally forgot about it. It was Derek who reminded me,” he replied.
I nodded and then my eyes suddenly brightened as I remembered that he had also not found a mate. “You must be so excited,” I said.
He arched an eyebrow. “Because of some silly mating ceremony? I don’t think so.
“Well, you should be, because there’s a high chance you’re going to find your mate tonight,” I announced with glee and tried to ignore the tiny prick of jealousy I felt.
He rolled his eyes. “Do you really want that to happen?” He queried.
“Of course. Don’t you?” I asked with a puzzled look.
He smirked. “The ceremony is going to start in an hour. You should be dressed by then. My dear brother won’t tolerate tardiness.”
And with that, he was gone.
I turned to look at Penelope and saw that she was staring at me with an unreadable expression.
“What now?” I asked.
“He really does like you. You know that right?” She queried.
I sat next to her and released a sigh. “Of course I do. But if I’m being honest with myself, I have feelings for his brother,” I replied.
“Well, if it were up to me, I’d choose Ronan. He’s the better brother,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s because you have a massive crush on him.”
“If you say so,” she said, getting out of the bed. “You heard the Beta, you have less than an hour to get dressed for the mating ceremony. So let’s get you ready.”
I groaned. “Why do I even need to be there?” I found my mate a long time ago,” I grumbled.
She gave me a wry smile. “Why don’t you go tell that to the Alpha,” she suggested.
I smiled and got to my feet. “I’d do just that,” I replied and made my way out of the room leaving a speechless Penelope staring after me.
I knew she hadn’t expected me to take her suggestion.
I didn’t bother knocking and just barged in.
He was sitting in his living room scrolling through his phone.
“You’ve heard of the concept of knocking right?” He asked without looking at me.
I scoffed. “It’s not like you knock before entering my room,” I retorted.
He looked up at me and the iciness in his eyes left me speechless.
“If you speak to me in that manner ever again, I’m going to have you thrown into the dungeon,” he said with deadly calm. I swallowed nervously and nodded. For a moment I just stood there, trying to remember why I had even come to his room in the first place.
“I’m sure you didn’t come just to stare at me,” he said.
I cleared my throat. “I just wanted to ask if I could be absent from the mating ceremony tonight,” I said with an unbotheredness I didn’t feel at that moment.
“You can do whatever you want. I couldn’t care less. After all, you’ve already found a mate,” he replied with a wry smile.
I sighed as I realized what his coldness towards me was about.
“Ryder,” I began.
“It’s Alpha to you,” he interrupted.
“Oh,” I murmured, then slowly made my way out of his room.
Penelope’s eyes betrayed her worry when she saw my fallen countenance.
“What happened?” She queried.
I plopped down on my bed and she sat next to me. “He hates me now,” I murmured.
Penelope regarded me with a puzzled expression.
“He thought he saw Ronan and I kiss but that was not what happened,” I explained.
“Oh,” she murmured and patted me gently on the back.
“You should try to explain to him when he’s less angry,” she advised.
I nodded. “I’m going for the mating ceremony so please help me get dressed.”
She gave me a small smile. “I guess the Alpha insisted that you must be there,” she said.
I snorted. “He said he couldn’t care less.”
She gave a small gasp. “He must be really angry to have said that.”
“Well, I’m going to enjoy this night no matter what,” I declared as I got to my feet and headed towards the bathroom.
“And that’s the spirit,” Penelope said.
By the time I got out of the bathroom, she had laid out the same dress that Ryder had gotten for me the day we went out for dinner.
“I can pick out another dress for you if you do not want to wear this. I just thought it looks perfect for the occasion,” she said when she noticed I was hesitant about wearing the dress.
My lips curled into a smile. “I think it’s perfect too, Pen. I’ll wear it.”
She grinned and in record time, I was dressed and my makeup was done. She helped slip my feet into a pair of stilettos and I sashayed to the full-length mirror in my closet.
“You look like a goddess,” Pen gushed and I gave her a slow seductive smile.
She frowned. “Please save that smile for the Hawkins brothers,” she said.
I smirked and we walked out of the closet.
The door opened at that moment and Ronan strolled in.
I nearly burst out laughing as his jaw literally dropped. He was so still, he reminded me of one of the sculptures.
“Ronan, we have to leave now or we’ll be late,” I said.
He blinked and opened his mouth as if to say something but he said nothing. I took his proffered arm and together we walked out of the room and down the hallway.
“Aren’t you going to say something?” I asked when we were already halfway to the ballroom where the mating ceremony was to be held.
“You make me speechless,” he said and I giggled.
I began to wish I had worn a pair of flats instead of heels. My feet were hurting.
Ronan noticed and stopped to lift me off the ground like I weighed nothing.
“This is becoming a habit,” I murmured.
“Then consider it one of my good habits,” he replied.