Chapter 9 #2
With a mischievous grin, Isaac leaned forward in his chair. “I will be.”
“I definitely don’t trust you!” She teasingly wagged her finger at Isaac before nodding in agreement. “Sure, sounds like fun.”
“Preston and I were wondering if you’d join us for an event on Thursday,” Dem said as he shifted his hand to brush against the back of her neck.
“There’s a fundraiser the two of us need to make an appearance at.
Probably not as fun, but I thought it’d be good practice for you while nobody recognizes you yet. ”
“That sounds fine except I don’t have anything elegant to wear,” she replied, looking up to Dem. “I guess I can go shopping this week.”
“We’ll take you, maybe on Tuesday?” He suggested as he caught a little bit of her hair and twirled it around his fingers.
“Sure,” she agreed, then gave one big, final gasp, rubbing her stomach as she pushed her plate to the side. “I’m stuffed! Thank you, Preston and everyone, that was delicious.”
“You’re very welcome,” Preston beamed at the compliment, unable to hide the smile spreading across his face. “I’ll box some up for you to take home and eat for later.”
“How about we put away all of this food, then take a tour of the packhouse?” I stretched out of my chair, standing and grabbing a bag of chips. “I want to show you everything!”
***
Ivy
After helping clean up lunch, I was given the official tour of the Arco packhouse.
The place was absolutely astounding. The main entrance led to an enormous open-concept living and entertainment area connected to the kitchen.
The floor was a beautiful bluish-grey polished concrete, and huge windows allowed tons of sunlight in from the backyard patio.
Comfortable-looking black couches were spread all around a large, flat screen tv, with all of the latest gaming consoles connected.
“Who’s the gamer…and are you prepared to lose to me in Street Fighter?” I pointed to their consoles. Preston and Lukas flashed me a huge grin while Isaac shook his head, and Dem laughed softly.
“There’s no way you’re beating me,” Preston loomed close to me. “You can barely talk to me still. How will you trash-talk?”
Another blush covered my face as Preston’s intense stare captured me. I turned my gaze away from him as I bashfully replied, “I’m getting better…sucker!”
With a gasp, Preston grabbed his heart and pretended to collapse on the couch, softly laughing. “I’m clearly done for.”
“For the record, I'm the best player here. Undefeated by anyone in the pack.” Lukas walked up close to me as his fingers intertwined with mine. “I can gladly show you some tips.”
“You can be my player two,” I flirtatiously joked with him as I batted my eyelashes. “Don’t drag me down.”
“I…uh…” Lukas stood stunned next to me.
“Looks like you broke him,” Isaac laughed as he grabbed my free hand and pulled me towards him. “Come look around some more.”
He led me down a hallway that had large paintings of landscapes mixed with ballet posters and pictures. We passed a bathroom and a guest room before arriving at a large gym at the end of the hallway.
“We all work out here three to four times a week. We should add some equipment you like to use,” Isaac frowned, looking around. “I’m guessing you don’t use the weight racks much.”
“What do you mean? I can bench up to 180,” I replied with a straight face. “Need a spotter though.”
Isaac blinked at me in confusion. “Are you serious?”
Bursting out laughing, I playfully swatted him in the stomach. “No! I usually need five-pound weights for toning, a few stretch bands, and an elliptical machine.”
“I see, we have a joker here,” Isaac said as he playfully pulled me closer and put me in a headlock. My heart was beating so fast as I laughed. I seemed to always be smiling around this pack.
After the gym, they showed me the other side of the packhouse off the kitchen.
“Of course, we needed our own ballet studio, so we had one custom-built here.” Demetrius led me into the next room.
Everything needed for a ballet class was inside the room—a special marley dance floor, ballet barres, large mirrors, a stereo in the corner, even a box of rosin on the ground.
“This room gets a lot of use when we need to work through steps and concepts.”
“I give myself a ballet class every Sunday. You should join me tomorrow.” Preston brushed a few strands of hair off my shoulder.
I quickly agreed; the idea of dancing next to him anywhere was exhilarating.
He reached for my hand, pulling me inside the room and placing it on a particular barre spot. “Your spot’s here, right in front of me.”
“I have a problem with this spot.” I shook my head in disappointment. “I’ll need to cheat off you when I’m not paying attention to what the steps are in the exercise.” I playfully gestured at him behind me.
He stepped up close to me and whispered in my ear. “If you mess up my steps, I will punish you, Ivy.”
The largest chill ran down my spine as my skin burst with my scent.
An all too throaty laugh escaped from me, and I tried to step away to clear my head, but his arms wrapped around me and pulled me close to his body.
I could sense the possessiveness and aggression in him, yet I wasn’t scared.
He buried his nose in my neck and smelled deeply as one of his hands moved up to grab my breast.
My heart pounded as my stomach flipped at his contact. I wanted to pull away. But his touch set my skin on fire. A large gasp escaped from me, which seemed to bring Preston back to reality.
“I’m sorry,” he said, lifting his arms and running his hands through his hair as he walked away with his eyes closed. “I’ll behave.”
“Come here, love,” Isaac pulled me out of the ballet studio and towards the stairs. “Give him a moment. You’re just too sexy for all of us to control ourselves. Please don’t think poorly of us.”
Isaac led me up the stairs as Demetrius and Lukas followed us. “Upstairs are the living quarters. Each of us has a suite. This door is mine,” he said as he opened it, letting me peek in.
Isaac’s room was full of color. His bed was unkempt, and there were notebooks scattered throughout the desk, drawers, and floor.
Posters of ballets and various rock bands were plastered all over his walls, while a few bean bags were tossed around the room.
Sitting in the corner was a pinball machine, covered in a few shirts.
“This room is so you,” I softly laughed, hugging Isaac’s arm. “I’m not surprised at all.”
“What’s wrong with my room?” He mockingly asked me with a teasing smile.
“Absolutely nothing,” I said, taking in every aspect of his space.
Lukas grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the next room. He opened the door and gave a little wave at the space inside.
His room was all soft greys and blues, and everything had a matching and stylish edge.
On one side of the room sat a desk with four monitors, all on, displaying different information.
Next to the desk was a bookcase featuring alternating rows of books and gaming memorabilia.
In the center of the room, his bed was nicely made with a few books resting on the comforter.
“Yep, this is about what I expected here as well,” I said as I took in Lukas’s room. “Have enough monitors over there?”
“Nope, still need more!” Lukas gestured at them. “How am I supposed to multitask with this pitiful setup?”
I grabbed his hand and pointed to the cameras on the wall. “Very nice. Are those vintage?”
“I pick them up when I can,” Lukas shrugged, beaming at me.
Next to the cameras was a picture of me in an arabesque position. “Hey, there was this photographer on the first day of company class, taking a lot of pictures of me. Did you get that from him?”
“Oh yeah, that guy. You should be careful; he has a massive crush on you.” Lukas winked at me.
“What did I miss? Are we showing Ivy our stuff?” Preston joined us from behind, resting a hand on my shoulder.
“Perfect timing, next is your room.” Isaac waved us forward.
“Best you be ready,” Preston shot me a confident smile as he reached for his door, opening it. “This is the best room by far.”
I looked around Preston’s room, which had a vibrant green and blue tone to it.
Posters of former ballets hung on the walls, items from autographed greats were showcased in display frames, and bookcases full of autobiographies and history books lined one of the walls.
A beautiful, vintage desk with a small laptop sat next to the bookcases, along with an area for watching TV.
“Very bold and precise…” I whispered, finding the same intensity from his room that I felt from him. It was hard to put into words anything to do with Preston.
“Well, do you like it?” He looked down at me, running his hand down my arm.
I bit my lip as I looked at him, not quite sure what to say.
“Seriously? My room as well?” Preston frowned before sighing as the other three softly laughed behind us. “I’ll eventually be able to read your emotions, you know this, right?”
I nodded in understanding. A tiny longing wished he could hear them right now.
“Come on,” Demetrius pulled me away. We walked past a pair of double doors before arriving at another room down the hall.
“This room is mine. Nothing spectacular, but since we’re sharing.
” He pushed open his door to reveal a room full of reds, blacks, and purples with recessed lighting.
The bed in the center looked elegantly crafted with intricately carved patterns in the wood and a lush red comforter on top of the mattress.
There was a large, elegantly crafted fireplace opposite the bed and a bar in one corner for drinks.
Several couches and chairs appeared around the room, each designed for a different level of relaxing or reading.
“The vampire’s den,” Isaac joked as I gasped at the room.
“It’s not a vampire’s den,” Demetrius frowned at him. “The dark colors help me stay relaxed and focused.”
“Very passionate colors.” I stepped in a tad, analyzing the room. Looking back to Dem, I added, “It’s very comforting in a way, like snuggling in during a winter storm.”
Demetrius looked at me with surprise, seeming lost for words for a moment before smiling. “Yeah, it is,” he said as Lukas reached for my hand and led us farther down the hall.
“There’s one more room to show you for now,” Lukas said excitedly, pulling me to the last door and placing his hand on the doorknob. He hesitated for a moment before opening the door.
This one led to a pretty bare, white room. There was a large, lovely white bed in the center, very comfortable looking, but devoid of any personality. An empty desk and a plain dresser lined the walls, along with a lot of empty space. This suite was missing a lot of furniture compared to the rest.
“Is this another guest bedroom?” I asked, looking at all of them.
“No,” Demetrius shook his head. “This is the most important room of all—your room. We obviously didn’t want to decorate it, not knowing who you were at the time, but maybe we could make plans to go shopping with you soon.”
My mouth opened in surprise as I looked back at the room, taking a few steps inside.
This was supposed to be my room. I closed my eyes and tried to embrace the chaos of feelings swimming inside me.
Some were screaming for my independence, others wanted to move in right away.
I was growing tired of the constant struggle between my rational mind and my omega side.
“If you don’t like this room, we can switch you to one of the other rooms,” Demetrius said as he gently placed his hands on my shoulders.
“No, it’s perfect.” I turned around, reaching for his hands as I looked at each of them.
“I just have these warring thoughts of my independence versus embracing this. I appreciate your patience.” They were each being so considerate towards my feelings, even though we were all experiencing this pull to be together.
The omega guides said to trust my instincts, so I closed my eyes and tried to silence the war inside my mind.
I turned back around and looked at the room again. The windows let the sun shine into a specific spot, perfect for a little book nook. “Right here, we can put a bunch of couches and blankets for reading. Maybe add a few stands for plants as well."
“Anything you want, we’ll work to get it,” Lukas added as he entered the room and stood in the sunlight.
“I used to come in here and imagine what life would be like with an omega in our pack.” Isaac walked farther in and sat on the bed. “I’d often picture how she’d decorate this space. I’m looking forward to seeing what you bring to this room.”
“I’m excited as well.” The thought of coming closer to this pack—my pack—did excite me.
After the tour, we all went downstairs to relax for a bit, discussing important details about the packhouse and answering more of my questions.
By the time dinner rolled around, I already felt more comfortable with each of them near me in this house.
Preston heated leftovers for all of us, which were still delicious, then we settled down in front of the TV.
Preston, Lukas, and I challenged each other to play some fighting games, while Demetrius and Isaac discussed different plans for next season.
I must admit, I could hold my own against Preston, but my gaming skills were no match against Lukas. We played competitively all night, each rotating who faced whom during matches. As midnight approached, I let out a large yawn and stretched, standing up off the floor.
My gaze drifted to Demetrius, who patted the couch next to him. I gladly took the space and leaned against him.
“Are you getting tired?” he asked, gently caressing my arm.
“Yeah, a bit,” I said as I let out another large yawn. I snuggled closer into his arms and let his scent soothe me.
“Want me to take you home? You can also sleep in your room upstairs if you’d like, or kick one of us out of our rooms and sleep there too,” he softly laughed. The room seemed to grow quiet from chatter.
“Can I stay here in my room tonight?” I closed my eyes, imagining how comfortable that bed would feel.
“Absolutely,” he whispered to me. “Want me to carry you upstairs?”
I shook my head, but soon my eyes felt so heavy that I drifted off to sleep.
A pair of warm arms gently lifted me and carried me to my bedroom.
They softly set me down on the bed, then an extra blanket was placed on top of me.
I didn’t know if I was ready to live here anytime soon, but I wanted to imagine it… just for tonight.
“Good night, Ivy,” Demetrius whispered as he kissed my cheek.
“Good night, Dem,” I whispered back as I snuggled in closer to my pillow. Just as imagined, the bed was very comfortable.