26. Chapter 26
Elias
I sat out front of our home, working on tuning up my bike. I needed something to do, something physical that had an actual, verifiable solution. Because lately, I wasn’t getting any real answers in my personal life.
It had been weeks since we’d seen Ivy. After her horrific attack on Arabella, the family had decided she wasn’t allowed to attend family events for a time.
I was still in shock that the whole thing even happened, and none of it sat right with me.
While it was true that Araballa and Ivy should be separated, I still thought that Ivy needed real professional help if there was to be any long-term resolution to this.
And so far, the family had been very cagey in answering my questions about how they were handling it.
Not that it was my business - Arabella was my future mate, and Ivy’s family was responsible for her.
Still, there was a growing discomfort within me about the whole situation.
Spending time with Arabella should have helped.
The more time she was around us, the more she would open up - in theory.
An omega should want to run to her mates for comfort.
Yet I never felt that from Arabella, despite her going through the motions.
Sure, I believed she was possessive of us when she looped her arm through ours or kissed one of us the moment anyone else was watching.
But besides staking her claim, she never seemed emotionally invested.
I couldn't get her to listen to me for long when I talked with her about anything other than her social media accounts. And even when she was attentive, it felt strange, a little too performed. And trauma could do that - but I wanted to help her through it. If we were to bond, I’d feel her every emotion, and it was important to me that she trusted me first.
I tightened the chain on the bike and spun the rear wheel, testing it out.
I heard the door open behind me, and didn't need to look up to know who it was. Ronan stepped out on the porch carrying a mug of coffee. He stopped beside me, watching me work before sitting on a bench. He didn’t say anything, but I felt his inner conflict.
Ronan was the quietest among us. But I could feel every emotion within him, and that alpha has the most to feel out of anyone. Out of the entire pack, he was the most guarded, but the most loyal and the most emotional.
“You’re feeling off,” I said, and he didn’t need to respond. I sat back and sighed. “I feel it too. I can’t seem to make any progress with her.” Ronan knew exactly who ‘her’ was - Arabella. “I just don’t know what to do,” I said, frowning.
“She’s doing everything right,” Ronan said, his dark eyes troubled.
“Exactly. That’s what I don’t get - she’s acting like the perfect omega.
And I do mean acting. I wish she knew she doesn’t need to be perfect.
I want to see the real her.” I murmured, looking down at the bike.
“You know I hate to compare the two, but Ivy was just….” I trailed off, feeling guilty for even saying it.
“It was easier,” Ronan said, nodding once. I ran my hand through my hair.
“I can’t understand it. Arabella is the one we should be connecting with.
Because with those scores, we should be all over each other.
” And truthfully, Arabella was very touchy - she constantly had her hands on us, nuzzling into one of us at all times when we were around her.
And though I knew it turned on the alphas any time an omega did such things, I didn’t feel much passion towards her, and I could tell they were underwhelmed, too.
“Do you think the trauma is causing the issue?” Ronan asked.
“I think it’s the root of it. We don’t know how bad it was for Arabella if she doesn’t talk about it.
And it’s worse than we think. If Ivy is that unstable, who knows what happened in the past?
” I frowned, thinking back to the times I’d gently asked Arabella about her history with her stepsister. She’d only given me vague responses.
I didn’t expect anything to move at a fast pace just because we were a near-perfect match.
But I thought by now that we’d be more cohesive, feel more like a pack with her around us so often.
But it actually felt like we were doing worse.
Nobody talked about it, but Hunter kept trying harder to make things feel right.
Ronan had become more irritable, and I was losing focus.
We were all waiting for it to work, and it wasn’t happening.
“Let’s just be patient. The worst thing we can do is rush.
It will come eventually. Especially once we can get her to perfume around us.
” I said, almost to myself. Arabella had still not allowed herself to perfume in our presence, which I thought might be because she didn’t trust us fully yet.
I knew once that happened, everything would feel better.
We’d smell that heavenly scent, and things would be alright.
A few days later, we were supposed to have dinner with Arabella and her family for a PR event. The moment we walked in, my eyes were drawn to her like she was the only light in a dark sea - but not my mate, Arabella. It was Ivy that drew me in.
Ivy was here. It was the first time I'd seen her since the incident, and the moment I spotted her, I felt an immediate sense of relief. The reaction was so strong it surprised me. Hunter saw her after me.
"She’s here,” He growled, still holding back his temper at what the omega had done to Arabella. But beneath that, I could still feel the little thrill in his bond at seeing her. I was moving before I could even think.
“Wait! Don't be obvious," Hunter warned quietly, but I didn’t care.
I made a beeline toward her, and when she saw me, she froze.
I slowed, not wanting to move too quickly.
But I saw her eyes light up for a fraction of a second - a true look of excitement when she saw me, before her face quickly returned to a mask of polite professionalism.
"Ivy," I said, breathlessly. She folded her hands in front of her and nodded at me.
"Elias, it’s nice to see you." She said. Her voice sounded small, and she looked tired, but her smile was real.
"How are you?" I asked, genuinely concerned. Despite what she’d done to Arabella, I still cared for her. She was worthy of getting the right help.
"I'm okay." She said, but it was clear to me that she wasn't.
Before I could say anything else, Clara appeared beside her.
“Ah, Elias! As you can see, Ivy’s been invited to this dinner.
She’s going to be on her best behavior, aren’t you?
” Clara asked, looking sternly at Ivy, even through her smile.
Ivy took a breath as if she wanted to yell something, but then reached for her throat, coughing for a moment as she nodded.
“Y-yes.” She managed to say. “Sorry, dry throat.” She murmured, and I was even more concerned.
“Come now, let’s get you seated,” Clara said, redirecting Ivy toward the opposite end of the table.
Her seat was far away, situated between two of her father's packmates as though someone had deliberately created a buffer zone around her. I suppose it made sense - she shouldn’t be near Arabella.
But it felt odd watching her be treated like a criminal.
“I missed you!” A voice squealed, and I turned to see Arabella jumping into Hunter’s arms, throwing her head back, and laughing as he picked her up.
She seemed extra happy today, despite having Ivy here.
Hunter swung Arabella in a circle and kissed her forehead before setting her down.
Then, Arabella caught my eye and walked straight toward me, not stopping until she was inches away.
“And I really missed you,” she said in a low voice, reaching up to run her hands through my hair.
I normally loved that - but it felt wrong to be so affectionate in such a strange setting.
Arabella didn’t care. She went on her tiptoes and kissed me, more deeply and passionately than she ever had.
I was startled by it, but I knew that she might be feeling extra insecure with another unbonded omega here.
Maybe she was more protective because Ivy had jealousy issues.
I let Arabella touch me, her actions making a very clear claim on me to anyone watching.
Her security as my mate was paramount, and I had to let her feel that no matter what, I was still hers.
I glanced up, and Ivy was looking at the table, her body tense.
If she really did have such strong jealousy issues, this would likely be uncomfortable for her.
But she needed to understand that Arabella was our match.
I braced myself for the meal, letting Arabella sit between Hunter and me, each of her hands holding one of ours.
“Good to see all of you,” Hunter said, tipping his head at Arabella’s family. Yet he shot Ivy a look, stern and serious. I could feel his frustration through our bond - this was the omega who had scratched our mate. And we still had no clear answer as to what was going on with her.
“Likewise. And of course, you can see we brought our wayward omega as well.” Aaron joked, and Ivy bit her lip, her eyes still on the table. I didn’t like the way he joked about the whole thing. It wasn’t normal. “She’s going to be on her best behavior from now on.” He said.
“I’d expect nothing but the best after what happened,” Hunter said, his voice deep and serious.
Ivy didn’t respond, but her cheeks burned.
I felt a pang of sympathy despite it all.
My hand squeezed Arabella’s under the table.
I should have felt more sympathy for my mate - she was the victim here, the one who’d been through extreme trauma.
But for some reason, I couldn't stop the desire to comfort Ivy.
As the dinner started, I found myself watching Ivy more than I intended.
She barely touched her food and avoided eye contact.
Her emotions seemed tightly controlled, as though she was forcing herself to remain calm.
Of course, her family didn’t seem to have sympathy.
Every once in a while, they’d throw a jab her way, seemingly innocent, but still meant to put her in her place.
When the discussion turned to work, Clara piped up. "We would have launched our newest product weeks ago if someone hadn't caused delays." She shot a look at Ivy. My hands twitched, the instinct to reach out to her overwhelming. Phillip leaned on the table to glance at her as well.
“Well, she’s learning that not everything can go exactly the way she wants.
” He said casually. “It’s an important lesson for any omega.
" I looked at Ronan, the strange feeling I was having mirrored by him through our bond. They talked about her as if she wasn’t here, like she was a child.
She was a grown adult, and it was weird.
Ronan was sitting still, though I could see his eye twitch.
Something about this whole scenario just wasn’t right.
“I think we can move on from past mistakes, if that’s all right with everyone,” Ronan said, his voice interjecting across the veiled barbs. He looked at Arabella, who graciously nodded.
“Yes, it’s always best to learn, forgive, and move on to better things.” She said, smiling at each of us.
“Well, in order to move on, lessons do have to be learned,” Clara said with a shrug.
“We don’t need to make things uncomfortable,” I said, my blunt comment addressing the elephant in the room.
“And who started that?” Hunter asked, looking at me over Arabella’s head. He frowned at my comment, and I could feel him sending me a warning shot through our bond.
“I apologize - you are right,” Clara said, taking over. “Ivy has always struggled with social situations," Clara said sympathetically. “We feel that a little exposure at a time would be helpful.”
Arabella immediately shook her head. "Let’s drop it. She's trying."
"And you're so patient with her," Clara said proudly. Again with the talking like Ivy wasn’t here. Ivy lowered her eyes to her plate, swallowing.
“Well, speaking of the future, I’ve been having the best time of my life with Pack Vale,” Arabella said proudly.
“Thank you to each of you for making this past month the most memorable. I’ve never felt so cherished before.
” Arabella’s expression of adoration was hard to look away from - she knew exactly how to appeal to Hunter and Ronan’s protective nature.
Hunter put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closely.
“And no one will ever harm you again. You’re ours.” He said, his voice practically purring as he tilted her chin to face him.
Across the table, a glass spilled on the floor, the shattering sound drawing all attention.
My gaze snapped over to Ivy, who was trembling so hard that she’d knocked over her glass, her fist tight around her fork as she took in short, quick gasps.
Her eyes were on Arabella. The careful control she'd maintained all evening had cracked completely.
Immediately, my pack went into protection mode. I pulled Arabella to me, angling myself in front of her as Hunter stood quickly, his full attention now focused on Ivy. The room went quiet.
"I'd like to make something clear." His voice boomed out across the dining room. Every conversation stopped, and the other patrons were now watching us.
"Arabella is under the protection of Pack Vale.
Whatever disagreements exist between you and her, they end now.
I will not tolerate any mistreatment of Arabella.
I will not tolerate open acts of jealousy, aggression, intimidation, or any other type of attempts to undermine her relationship with our pack. "
His declaration hung heavily over the table, and though he didn’t say her name, it was clear he was speaking directly to Ivy. Across the room, Ivy looked as though she'd been physically struck.
“Is that clear?” He asked, but no matter how intimidating he was, Ivy, for some inexplicable reason, wasn’t backing down. She didn’t answer him, just stared, swallowing as if she couldn’t speak. Hunter's expression hardened.
"Ivy." He said, his voice strained and tense. Slowly, she breathed in through her mouth, her eyes resolute.
"You owe Arabella an apology." Hunter demanded.
Every muscle in my body tightened. The entire room was now focused on her, and waiting for her response.
I looked at Hunter, willing him to let this go.
But once he had a point to make, there was no stopping him.
And he wanted Ivy to submit. Yet from the look on her face, she had no intention to do so.
Great, just great. And the evening had started off so promising.