23. Chapter 23
Ivy
For a moment, I just stared down at the words. Like my body was in such shock that I couldn’t actually process what was happening.
The compatibility profile Pack Vale had received wasn't Arabella's. The personality markers weren't hers. The trauma indicators weren't hers. The loyalty scores, the collaborative instincts, the creativity markers, the emotional compatibility ratings - those were mine.
Arabella hadn’t just stolen the pack that was best suited for me; she’d stolen my entire damn identity. All because her own scores were so abysmally poor that she wasn’t even eligible to submit to the matchmaking database. So she took what was mine.
Mine.
A horrible sound escaped my throat. For weeks, I'd been grieving something that I was told wasn’t real. I’d believed the lie that I wasn’t enough, that I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, my entire existence just wasn’t enough.
And Arabella fucking fed me the lie.
My stomach twisted. Every single thing in my life had been taken from me, little by little, under the assumption that I just didn’t deserve it.
It was all a bullshit lie. One that my family had created, and maintained, for years now.
But now, their lies loosened their hold on me.
Something in me finally broke. I felt myself change, the shrinking self doubt replaced by righteous rage.
This was the one thing that truly, without a doubt, belonged to me. She stole the one thing that was mine. My entire genetic and personality file, all me, she stole.
I was breathing heavy, my rage boiling up as I felt my omega instincts breaking through.
The suppressants could only hold me back for so long.
Everything deep inside me had always known that Pack Vale were my mates, even from the beginning.
I’d just let myself be gaslit into believing I wasn’t good enough.
Now, I had confirmation that I was always good enough.
And I was beyond angry - I was full of ballistic rage.
The sound of a car door slamming outside jolted me upright. Voices followed as I heard my family come through the door, Arabella laughing about something.
My vision blurred red. For years, I'd swallowed every insult, let my own light dull so that Arabella could systematically take over my family, my house, my work, my friends, everything. Now she went beyond that, taking over my entire identity and stealing my pack. Mine.
The deep, feral possessive voice inside me was coming from the long-suppressed side of me that they’d tried so hard to get me to hide.
It had been years of having to barely have a heat, rushing through it, and overusing suppressants to not cause Arabella any issues.
Years of having my ideas renamed as Arabella’s, my mom’s company slowly becoming Arabella’s.
My fathers practically ignoring my existence to make their new omega and her daughter happy.
Ignoring that my mom was ever here - ignoring that I was still here.
Every single stolen achievement flashed through my mind as I raced down the stairs, my teeth bared as I ran. Every moment I'd been told to be smaller, quieter, to let things go. To be quieter. But this was beyond pale. This was my future, my pack. My mates.
My feet pounded down the staircase while fury surged through me.
By the time I reached the bottom floor, my heart was hammering so hard I could barely hear.
The family had just entered the house. Arabella stood in the foyer talking animatedly about something.
She was smiling, laughing with ease despite all her horrific actions.
The sight of her made something feral rise inside me.
"I KNOW WHAT YOU DID!" The words exploded out of me. Everyone froze. I was sure they’d never heard me yell before, not like this.
"Ivy?" Clara said, looking at me with alarm, her eyes wide. “What is going on?” She demanded, and I zeroed in on Arabella.
"You stole my profile!" I screamed at her. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by panic. I barrelled toward her, but one of my fathers stepped in front of me, his arms stopping me within two feet of reaching her.
"What are you talking about?" She stammered, her eyes looking around nervously, grasping at her mom for protection.
"You submitted my compatibility profile! Yours was so bad they banned you from the database!” I cried out. “Pack Vale matched with me!"
The room went silent, and my fathers exchanged confused looks. Clara stepped forward, her face icy as her muscles tightened. She hissed at me through clenched teeth.
"Ivy, calm down and stop this nonsense at once!" Normally, an order from her would have me subdued and giving up. But I was beyond that now.
"No. Arabella is a liar and a thief!” I growled, turning to face her.
“Tell them, Arabella!” I ordered, and she looked panicked.
“Tell them, or I can just bring down the documents, and we can all see just how poorly you scored to be banned from the matchmaking database!” My words were so biting that my family collectively flinched.
They had never seen me like this before.
And for the first time, I wasn't interested in calming down.
Arabella was pale as she stood there, too shocked to respond. I was glad to finally see her panic about something. My father stepped forward.
"What is she talking about?" He asked.
Arabella looked between them, then over at me, hatred suddenly on her face.
“Okay, so what? So what if I did? The truth is, they would never have wanted you if they knew it was you.” She turned to the rest of the family, who were looking at her with surprise.
“Come on, it's no big deal! Ivy had a better result than me, but Pack Vale was already basically courting me anyway! It made sense to give them that nudge!” She said, and I scoffed at her excuse.
My father looked at her with raised eyebrows. “It's true, then?” He asked, looking concerned. Clara was quiet for a moment, and I stood there, triumphant. Finally, finally they would see the truth. Arabella had gone too far.
Then Clara spoke, her voice small and wavering, in that way that always made my fathers succumb to her wishes.
"Oh no." Her soft cry filled the room as she looked at them, her eyes pleading - but behind them, I saw her calculating.
"Arabella made a mistake. But we can fix this." She said, holding her daughter close to her. I stared at her, but Clara was pleading directly to my fathers now. “We have to stay the course. It’s not a huge deal - the girls are so similar anyway, but Arabella was clearly the favorite from day one. So she gave them a little motivation, so what. They can’t even tell. They already love Arabella.” I stared at her incredulously.
She looked between my fathers, gauging their response.
“Think about it. If they were to find out now, they might back out of all the business deals. The company would suffer. Arabella’s reputation would suffer needlessly.
” Clara’s words were sad and she nearly whined as she held Arabella.
My fathers didn’t recoil or look at her like they were appalled. If anything, they actually seemed to be considering her.
“What?” I yelled, my anger so palpable that I could feel the sweat gathering on my skin. “You can’t be serious!”
"They're already courting her," Clara said. "If Pack Vale finds out, they'll never trust us again."
I looked around the room, but my fathers seemed to be nodding along like this made sense. I looked at Arabella, who quickly stood next to her mom, facing the pack.
“It makes more sense this way,” She said, and I felt my skin heat up with rage.
“You absolute piece of-” My words were cut off.
"You're better suited for this," Clara interrupted, grabbing Arabella's hand. "You're already established publicly. You're comfortable with packs like them." She said, and I felt sick.
"That’s your reaction? To help further this lie?" I said, incredulous. Clara's expression hardened.
"They've already chosen Arabella." She said with finality.
"No," I said, but my bottom lip was trembling. Even now, even after everything, the family was still choosing Arabella over me. And she realized it, too. A cruel smile spread across her face.
"Come on, Ivy, did you really think Pack Vale would choose you over me?" She said, her face dripping in mock sympathy. “The lab results don’t really matter. They can’t even tell.” She moved closer, and I sucked in a breath at her audacity.
"You hide in a lab all day. You’re socially inept, and no one would ever look at you and think you could belong with a pack like them. ”
The words hit me again, the insults reaching my deepest insecurities. I faltered, and Arabella could see it.
"Honestly, Ivy, even if they found out, they'd still choose me. The truth is, they were never yours. They’re mine.” She said it as if it was already true - she was still, after all this, trying to steal my pack. Mine.
Hearing that word made me snap. Every instinct in my body rebelled against her claim on them. The distance between us disappeared, and before I knew it, I was on her. My hand reached for her, and my fingernails caught on her cheek, dragging it down as I lunged at her.
Arabella screamed bloody murder. And for one glorious moment, I didn’t care. I was glad I’d finally made her feel a bit of the pain that she’d put me through all these years.
Then, an alpha bark filled the room.
"Ivy! Stop!”
My father’s command hit like a physical blow, and my muscles locked as I stumbled backward.
Clara gathered Arabella into her arms as the rest of the pack circled her, protecting her from me as they growled.
I stood there, shaking. The instinctive omega response was immediate and brutal as I submitted to his order.
My father looked more furious than I’d ever seen him.
"You will stop this behavior immediately!" He said, his rage and dominance now rolling off of him.
“Look at what she did!” I cried out, my body locked at his command. “She needs to be stopped!”
He stepped forward, his large frame looking even bigger with his rage. “You don't get to make decisions around here, omega. I do!” His voice thundered. I froze, the power of my own flesh and blood’s alpha command pressing down on me.
My mouth opened, and I let out a sob. “I have a match, they are mine!” I cried, and he shook his head.
“No. What’s done is done. Arabella is the best choice for Pack Vale, and they are already courting her. It will stay that way. You can find another pack later. One better suited to you.” He said, and I felt my entire body tremble.
“You - you can’t do this!” I shouted, raising my hands up as I pleaded with him. “She’s lied about it! They are my match, father!” I rarely used that term. But I was desperate. This was my pack, not hers.
He simply shook his head. “Clara is right. Stopping now would cause chaos for the family and the business. You’re out of control.
You are not allowed to hurt your family.
As for all of this match business, you’ll get over it.
” My mouth dropped open at his casual dismissal. I felt the rage boil up in me again.
“Why don’t we let Pack Vale decide for themselves!
I’ll tell them myself what a liar Arabella is-” My words were cut off abruptly by my father, who stepped forward, his hand suddenly on my shoulder so close to my neck that I froze, terrified of what he’d do.
His hand curled around me tight, a warning to stand down.
Then, he delivered an alpha bark so strong, and so devastating, that I nearly blacked out.
“You will never speak of this to anyone again. Not to Pack Vale, not to a single soul.” The alpha command wrapped around my throat like chains. My heart shattered.
"No!" I sobbed, my knees giving out as the command wove its way into my body and mind.
"Enough!” The second bark hit even harder.
"You will go upstairs and stay up there. You will not come down until I decide you can behave right."
I stared at him - even though I’d always known he never loved my mother or me as much as he did Clara and Arabella, he was still supposed to protect me. Instead, he was protecting Arabella. Then he delivered one final blow.
"Arabella will be their mate."
I felt something inside me shatter. An alpha bark from a father was even stronger than a regular alpha bark. He’s effectively made me mute to reveal this betrayal. If someone else didn't tell Pack Vale, then they’d never know the truth.
My eyes filled with tears, blurry and wet as I glanced around. Clara was still holding Arabella, patting her hair as Arabella sobbed about her face, which now had bright red scratch marks. I realized I’d drawn blood. I swallowed, then turned.
My footsteps on the stairs were all I could hear, the compelled obedience forcing me to do as he said. By the time I reached my bedroom, I was trembling so violently I could barely stand. I pulled the door closed behind me and slid to the floor. All my life, I thought I was trapped.
Now, I understood the reality - I was never trapped until now.
Pack Vale was mine - they had always been mine. And now my own family was helping to steal them away.