Chapter 2 Confirmation
Chapter two
Confirmation
Lukas
I arrived back at the packhouse after printing off a few shots from this morning’s class. Of course, New Girl was in most of them. I tried to stay and talk to her afterwards, but the administration office needed me to solve a website issue. Maybe tomorrow.
The packhouse was quiet except for a shower running upstairs. The rest of the pack would be home soon.
Actually, I hadn’t seen Isaac all day—maybe he was in the shower.
Isaac would probably like to create something for this girl to dance in. He desperately needed inspiration in any form he could get. He held the title of the company’s resident choreographer, but his recent stuff had bombed. Edginess radiated all over him—actually from all of us.
We’d spent the past five years building this company from the ground up; finally, we were seen as a respectable place to dance.
But what about the pack? At what point were we supposed to settle for any omega?
We needed someone to bridge us together if we were going to keep doing this pack thing, not to mention the lack of sex made us all irritable.
Some of us, myself included, had the occasional fling, but the lack of a serious relationship really depressed me.
The last of the pictures was placed on the kitchen counter as Preston entered through the front door. With a slight scowl on his face, he walked to the fridge and pulled out a protein smoothie. The sound of water stopped from the shower upstairs.
“You all could have waited for me before you left the studio,” Preston huffed.
“Didn’t you ride with Dem this morning?” I said, glancing up from my photos.
“He bolted out of the building so fast for some reason. Figured you’d discussed it previously.” Preston furrowed his brows, setting the smoothie down on the counter. "I had to get a ride from another dancer."
I looked up at the stairs to see a barely dressed Demetrius barreling down two steps at a time. His expression was full of excitement as his eyes darted between the two of us. I’d never seen him this excited before.
“Is Isaac here?” he shouted.
“Somewhere around here, I think. Why?” I replied with a shrug, curious what got him so jazzed.
“I found her!” Demetrius exclaimed, grabbing Preston’s shoulders.
“Found who?” I asked. Surely he didn’t mean…
Demetrius looked at me, then down at the photos.
“Her!” he exclaimed, pointing at the new girl from this morning. “Why did you take so many pictures of her?”
“I…uh…don’t know, to be honest. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.” I chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of my head. I looked down at the photos curiously before looking back to Demetrius. “There’s just something about her.”
I reached for one picture of her standing with her hands on her hips as she tossed me a playful look. The green leotard she wore really brought out the bright green color in her eyes.
“She’s our omega!” Demetrius exclaimed, picking up a picture of her balancing on her right leg. Her back leg line looked stellar with how high it lifted.
Preston and I both darted our eyes back to my pictures. “Weren’t all the new hires betas?”
“She is definitely an omega, but she seemed just as surprised as I did,” Demetrius said. “I very rudely ordered her away from me before I lost control, so I don’t know the whole story here.”
“What’s all this about?” Isaac asked with a big yawn as he casually strolled down the stairs.
“Dem says he’s found our omega,” Preston beckoned to Isaac, who slowly strolled over to take a look.
“And Lukas stalked her with his camera?” Isaac asked, gesturing to all the photos.
“I couldn’t help it! Her being our scent-match would explain why I couldn’t stop staring at her.
” I picked up one of my pictures, smiling.
She was cute—okay, very sexy. Her legs were long, her waist was narrow—she was a ballerina, after all.
Wouldn’t have to ask me twice to date this girl. “Dem, why do you think she’s an omega?”
“I was conducting the welcome interviews, which you were supposed to be at…” Demetrius glared at Isaac. “I was complimenting a past performance I'd seen of hers when she perfumed.”
Surely he was joking about this, though that would be a cruel joke to play on us.
Preston stared intensely at the pictures, seeming to analyze every bit of her.
He held in his hands a picture of her standing at the barre, her fingers lightly placed on her hips as her warm, inviting smile radiated outward.
“What did she smell like? What’s her name?” I asked, inspecting one of her pictures closer.
“She smelled like roses, and her name is Ivy.”
***
Ivy
Surely I'll be fired after my disastrous meeting with the Director, I thought as I sat wrapped in a blanket in the middle of my living room, a cup of tea by my side. I felt like crap, not just physically, but emotionally too. What happened to me earlier today?
What did he call me? An omega? I was not an omega. I’d always been classified as a beta; there was never any question of my classification before.
Flipping the cold pack on my head, I slumped down into my couch with my head practically on fire. What were these symptoms? This didn’t feel like the flu or a bug. Maybe this was just first-day stress sickness, or I pushed myself too hard. I'd been doing a lot of driving lately.
My phone buzzed silently next to me. Caller ID: Unknown.
“Hello?” I meekly answered as I fought to hold back a wave of tiredness.
“Miss Ivy?” A deep, rich voice sounded across the line—Director Demetrius.
“Demetrius, sir, I’m so sorry for what happened earlier today. I think I'm coming down with a bug…maybe the flu…” The words spilled out of me.
“It’s all fine; I wanted to first call and apologize for yelling.
I was just a bit startled.” Demetrius paused, articulating his words carefully.
“Would you consent to the company doctor helping you right now? Dr. Laughlin is a female omega who can run some tests on you. If you’re feeling sick, she can get you some medication. ”
“Oh,” I replied, a tad shocked. “Yes, that sounds fine.” He mentioned she was female, which settled my mind a bit.
“Great, she should be nearby. Are you living in the temporary housing across from the studios? Most new hires stay there for a few months,” Demetrius asked. He sounded eager for some reason.
“Uh, yes.”
“Perfect, she’ll be over shortly, then we can talk again afterwards…if you’re comfortable with that.”
“Yes, that’s fine.” I hesitated before adding. “Sir, do I still have a job?”
“Of course,” he replied quickly. “Right now, I just want to make sure you’re healthy. Please take tomorrow and the next day off if you’re still under the weather. We'll figure out the rest after Dr. Laughlin's visit. And this is my private number if you need anything.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief. “Yes, thank you, sir.”
“Please, Demetrius is fine. I’ll talk with you soon.” With that, he hung up.
I stared at the phone, trying to gather my words.
That phone call was not what I was expecting. He seemed very understanding and wanted to help, but there was a hint of eagerness in his voice. And he gave me his personal cell. What Director did that for a new dancer who was merely sick?
I recalled being in his office earlier today. The smell of coffee and dark chocolate was so rich and intoxicating; it instantly filled my head the moment I stepped past the door. I was usually nose-blind, even to strong alphas. Why was his scent so strong? The heat in his room was intense as well.
An interesting craving formed in the pit of my stomach at the thought of his scent. It was such a weird sensation, and I didn’t quite know what to make of it.
A quick knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. Was the doctor here already?
I rushed over and looked through the peephole before letting her in. A tall, thin brunette woman walked in carrying a small duffel bag.
“Hello, Ivy, I’m Dr. Laughlin. The pack sent me over to give you a check-up. How are you feeling?” She asked as she slowly walked into my apartment with a gentle smile. “I can see you look a little bit flushed at the moment.”
“Hi, um, yes, I feel a little…no, very warm, and there’s this crawling sensation all over my skin. I’m sorry, did you say pack?” I asked, confused. What pack was she talking about?
“Yes, one of the Arco pack members sent me a quick text. I actually live in the penthouse on the top floor; I’m the owner of this building,” she said as she set her bag down on the kitchen table.
“Oh, I only just talked to the Director…”
She smiled at me as she pulled out a thermometer. “Well, they all live together in their packhouse and help each other out. So tell me about yourself. Demetrius mentioned you said you were a beta.”
“Yes,” I answered quickly. “But he called me an omega earlier…I’m not one. I don’t know where these symptoms are coming from.”
“New symptoms can be frightening,” she said as she used a digital thermometer on my forehead. “When were you designated as a beta?”
“When I was younger, probably around ten years old.”
“That’s pretty young. Who designated you? Do you remember?” She glanced at the reading on her thermometer before returning it to her bag.
“My mom took me to the Alpha Designator in our community. Everyone always said he had a nose for designations.”
“Ah, the good old sniff test,” Dr. Laughlin chuckled as she pulled out some more equipment.
“Not quite accurate at the age of ten, and the older the designator, the less he can smell in general. Combine that with the fact I’m assuming you were dancing a ton of hours of ballet…
his designation might not have been correct. ”
I watched her lay out vials and tubes across the table as a thousand questions ran through my mind.