Demetrius left me alone to continue admiring our girl. He didn’t like that we made her nervous, but I didn’t care. I wanted her to know I was watching—how hungry I was for her. The others might play it coy, but I’d do no such thing. Iyearned for her body—and the chase. I wanted to see those green eyes light up in surprise when I came after her.
Stop,I reminded myself. Half the day still lay ahead, and I was already worked up. I’d never craved another this badly—they’d always been passing one-night stands. This was the power of the scent-match. It dragged every dark alpha impulse to the surface and made me face them.
Ivy glanced my way, one eyebrow raised, the corner of her mouth curving as if taunting me. She was no longer blushing—that must’ve been for Demetrius. Those looks of hers…I was rubbing my lips with my hand before I could even catch myself to stop, which earned another smirk from her. Apparently, she was a natural-born omega temptress. Did omegas instinctively know what attracted their mates?
At the front of the room, Steven clapped and dismissed the group for lunch. All the corps dancers applauded politely as was customary and began making their way out of the studio, with Ivy trailing at the back. As she passed me, she shot me a little smile, a lifted brow, and the briefest hint of her scent.
I was just about to follow discreetly behind when Nerissa entered the studio and waved to me.
“What’s up, Nerissa?” I asked, slightly annoyed at my pursuit being interrupted.
“I just want the gossip, that’s all,” Nerissa said, leaning in closer to me. I instinctively backed away, avoiding any female touches that weren’t from Ivy.
“And you came to me? I’m almost always the last to know,” I smirked.
“Adrienne said Lukas is hooking up with one of the new corps girls,” she said. “If anyone knew, wouldn’t it be one of his packmates?”
“Which girl?” I asked coolly, trying to figure out where this was going.
“Ivy. You saw them dancing together on Sunday, right?” Nerissa asked. “Pretty steamy if you ask me. He couldn’t keep his hands off her.”
“Lukas can barely keep his hands off me. He’s like that with everyone,” I replied. I didn’t want to lie, but I'd do it for Ivy.
“So you’re pleading the fifth,” she said, looking curiously at me.
“I’m saying I’m still the last to know anything around here,” I shrugged. Maybe I should just say I was dating Ivy. I’d rather the rumor be about me anyway. No, Ivy wouldn’t want that either. “Sorry, you’ll have to find your gossip somewhere else.”
With that, I left the studio, hopefully buying Ivy more time to adjust without the company knowing.
***
Lukas
Each day this week, the car ride home had grown more tense. All of us seemed to be finding moments in the studio with Ivy, and a little competition had developed between me, Isaac, and Preston over who got the most time.
I sat in the back seat, trying my best not to let my imagination run wild with Ivy as I flipped through different pictures on my camera. Of course, she was in half of them—at least I’d have plenty of dance shots when we finally went public.
“Lukas,” Isaac said, looking back at me with narrowed eyes from the front passenger’s seat. “Did you start a rumor that you and Ivy were dating?”
Stunned, I shook my head. “No, why would I? She wants this kept quiet.” I could see Dem’s eyes glancing at me through the rearview mirror as he drove.
“I heard that rumor too,” Preston said next to me. “It wasn’t Lukas, it was Adrienne.”
“Why the hell would she care about Ivy and me?” I asked.
“She caught me casually talking with her in the hallway yesterday, and immediately started asking Ivy about the two of you,” Preston said.
“I see, she wants you away from Ivy,” I said. “Boy, will she be surprised when she learns of our scent-match.” I flipped through a few more pictures on my camera before a thought occurred to me. “Actually, why don’t we lean into the rumor? Say that Ivy and I are dating. It’d give all of us abit more freedom in the building to get to know her better. People would not be suspicious of you three hanging out with my girlfriend.”
“No,” Preston quickly replied as Isaac glared at me through the rearview mirror.
“So is that a no because it’s a bad idea or no because it’s me dating her?” I frowned. Before Preston could reply, Dem silenced us.
“Enough with the competition,” he said, turning the car into our driveway. “We deny all rumors because Ivy doesn’t want us to reveal anything at the moment.”
We all grew silent as the car pulled up to a stop in the garage.
“We’ve almost everything we’ve ever wanted for this pack right here at our fingertips. Pull your heads out of your asses and follow Ivy’s lead,” Dem snapped, the frustration in his tone quite clear.
