Chapter 29
Chapter twenty-nine
Audience Approval
Ivy
I waited nervously in the arrival area of the airport as Preston gently massaged my shoulder with his good hand. It’d been two years since I’d seen my parents, and my stomach was doing flips.
“They said they’re heading out now; we should see them any moment.” I excitedly bounced around, looking past the other passengers till I finally saw my mom and dad.
“Ivy!” My mom called out as I ran up to her for a big hug. Next, I hugged my dad, who gruffed hello and gave me a tight squeeze.
“Mom, Dad, this is Preston, one of my packmates.” I introduced them to Preston, who was standing like a prince with a smile right behind me.
“Oh, so this is the one you dance with, right?” Mom whispered in my ear.
“Yes, mom,” I whispered back. “Though I might be dancing with Isaac soon, too. Last night was a long night.”
“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Turin. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.” Preston shook my dad’s hand firmly as my dad glared at him. My mom bypassed Preston’s hand and squeezed him into a big hug.
“We’ve heard so much about you and everything. I’m just so excited to meet all of Ivy’s packmates.” My mom babbled as she took Preston’s arm and let him lead her out. “No one on my family’s side has been anything but betas. I was so shocked when Ivy called me.”
“We were all shocked,” Preston smiled back. “We thought we’d hired a beta, only to realize we were standing in the presence of this wonderful omega.”
I laughed softly as I turned my attention to my dad. “You’re going to be nice to my packmates, right?”
“We’ll see,” he grumbled at me.
***
Isaac
We were all sitting in the living room, waiting anxiously for Ivy and Preston to return with Ivy’s parents. I teased Dem that he had better be ready to answer her dad’s questions. He rolled his eyes at me, clearly not concerned.
The garage door closing sounded as a woman called out into the room.
“Oh wow, this house is gorgeous! I can’t believe this! It’s practically a mansion!”
Ivy’s sweet voice called out next. “Mom, Dad, your guest room will be right here down the hall. Everyone else is…” She peeked around the corner, giving us a smile. “Everyone else is waiting to meet you.”
“Okay, let me guess.” Ivy’s mom stepped out from around the corner as we all stood up from the couch.
“You must be Isaac,” she said, looking me over.
“Very well done, Mrs. Turin,” I smiled, giving her a little bow.
“Please call me Jonah,” she said before looking over to Lukas. “You must be Lukas…and Demetrius!” She guessed correctly with a big smile. “This is my husband, Justin—Ivy’s dad.
Justin gave us all a small wave and a slight glare as he entered the living room, followed by Preston and Ivy, who quickly found seats. I repositioned myself to sit next to Ivy, reminding myself not to touch her.
Jonah began as she looked at all of us. “Thank you so much for letting us visit. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen Ivy perform, and obviously, we wanted to understand more about her living situation.”
“Absolutely, this is Ivy’s home as much as ours.” Dem smiled, gesturing to Ivy. “Anything she needs, we’re here to provide.”
“How does all this work exactly? Do you control the finances?” Justin’s eyes narrowed in on Dem.
“I watch over the finances to ensure we remain stable and secure, but no one person controls the money in our pack. We each get an equal share to spend as we like,” Dem calmly replied. “Everyone’s voice is heard on how we save and spend.”
“So Ivy met Demetrius first, and then the rest of the pack. Who fell in love with whom first?” Jonah looked around at all of us.
We each shared a glance. Even if we had an answer to her question, it would be unwise to voice it due to potential pack jealousy.
“That’s a very difficult question to answer,” I chimed in, reaching for Ivy’s thigh before remembering I wasn’t to touch her too much.
“Her scent drew us to her. The biological scent-match mated us together before we really ever formed any close relationships. The rest fell into place as we spent more time with her.”
Preston stood up and made his way to the kitchen. “Would everyone enjoy some deli meat sandwiches?”
“Preston’s our chef. He cooks almost every meal for us,” Ivy beamed at Preston.
“Now that’s a sweet deal—an omega who gets gourmet meals on demand!” Johan laughed. “Sandwiches sound great!”
“So you’re the one running the show?” Justin asked, frowning slightly at Dem.
“I am the pack leader, yes. I’d say I’m more of the guide for the pack. Everyone here is free to do as they wish, and every member of the pack is a part of every decision, including Ivy.” Dem calmly replied.
“It’s hard to believe my daughter chose to live in a house with four men and call it love,” Justin leaned forward.
“Justin, stop!” Jonah loudly whispered, swatting her husband’s arm.
“I understand it might look strange from the outside. I can guarantee Ivy is not only loved here, but she’s also respected, supported, and cherished.” Dem continued to calmly respond. “We all patiently waited for her to decide to live here.”
Justin sat back on the couch as Jonah leaned forward. “What happens when one of you gets jealous?”
“Jealousy happens.” I reached for Ivy’s thigh again before reminding myself not to and tucking my hands in my lap instead.
“We’re all alphas here, so the competition can get especially intense some days.
However, Ivy is a master at finding the balance between us.
It’s one of the reasons why packs seek out an omega. ”
Lukas and Dem nodded in agreement as Preston set down a tray of sandwiches.
“So you rely on Ivy to balance you all out…” Justin added, crossing his arms.
“We don’t rely on her; she’s just naturally very good at it,” Preston answered, picking up a sandwich.
“Do you make her do all the chores too?” Justin asked with raised eyebrows.
“Why would we possibly want Ivy to clean anything? Chores would make her miserable,” I scoffed. Maybe I should have answered that better.
“We hire a cleaning company twice a week to help us out with chores,” Dem replied, shooting me a look to behave.
“So tell me what nesting means exactly,” Jonah said as she leaned forward and picked out a sandwich.
All four of us looked to Ivy to answer this one. Surely, she’d be the judge of what her mom could handle.
“Mom, really. I know you’ve looked this up on the internet,” Ivy shook her head.
“I’m just curious. Do you all have a nest here? Can I see it?” she replied. Again, all our eyes turned to Ivy.
“I do have a nest in this house. You may not see it,” Ivy gestured no. “The boys haven’t even been allowed in yet. It’s a secret so far.”
“But you all sleep together…” Jonah started.
“Mom!” Ivy turned bright red as she shifted uncomfortably on the couch next to me.
Absent-mindedly, I reached for her waist to pick her up, wanting to put her on my lap and comfort her. Her eyes grew big at me as I paused, trying to hide my intentions by brushing invisible dirt off her shirt. Lukas laughed at me from the other couch.
“So what happens if Ivy changes her mind and wants to leave?” Justin asked as he picked up a sandwich and sniffed it.
“No one is keeping her here against her will,” Dem replied, folding his fingers together. “We respect anything she wants to do, including leaving if she wants to.”
“It would break our hearts, though,” Preston replied quietly as he held Ivy’s hand.
“Awe,” Jonah sighed, smiling at Preston’s gesture.
“But what if she outgrows this company and wants something bigger?” Justin asked. “You four are clearly not going to follow her.”
All four of our words collided as we tried to answer at the same time.
“I’d follow her anywhere she wants to go,” Preston replied.
“Same,” Lukas added.
I laughed. “There’s not going to be a company bigger than us soon.”
Dem finished quietly, “And I’d fold this company if that’s what she needed.”
Ivy held up her hands with a laugh. “You’re all very sweet,” she said as she glanced between each of us with a smile.
“But I’m all in on Arco Ballet Company. Plus, we found out pretty quickly that we can’t dance with non-scent-matched partners anymore.
There would be nowhere for me to go unless I wanted to do corps work again. ”
“You can’t dance with other partners?” Jonah asked.
“No, it causes extreme emotional distress in me to see one of my packmates touch another girl. We found that out the hard way a few weeks ago when Preston was cast to dance with a different partner,” Ivy replied, looking at Preston.
“Do you feel the same thing would happen to you all if a different guy tried to partner with me?”
“Yes,” all four of us answered in unison. I didn’t even want to entertain the idea of someone else touching Ivy.
Jonah held her hands up to her mouth. “That’s so fascinating and just weird. I can’t imagine what all this feels like.”
“What about kids? Marriage? Demetrius, you seem a bit older than the others—what’s your long-term plan?” Justin asked as he finished the last of his sandwich.
“I’m not that old,” Dem frowned. It was the first time one of Justin’s questions seemed to have affected him.
“I’m just older than these clowns.” Regaining his composure, he continued, “We actually just discussed kids recently. We agreed we all want kids eventually, but not right now while Ivy is still young and has her performance career ahead of her.”
“How does a marriage proposal work?” Jonah asked as she fiddled with her own wedding ring. “Do you all coordinate a proposal to Ivy together? What if she wants one of you but not the other?”
“Actually, marriage proposals work a bit differently in omega packs. We don’t really do a marriage but more of a commitment ceremony, and it’s usually the omega who proposes to the entire pack,” Lukas replied absentmindedly, grabbing his third sandwich.
I immediately felt Ivy tense next to me as I smiled and playfully shook my head at Lukas.