“Let’s not fight out here,” Preston said. He held his hands up between us, working to calm us both down.
“Everything she interacts with is moving into my office,” I said, turning my back to Isaac. “I want her around me whenever she’s not dancing—I can’t believe we let her get hurt like this.”
“I joined class today, and the atmosphere was pretty tense around her,” Preston said. “There’s a lot of resentment going on within the company ranks.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” I snapped, turning to face Preston. “I’ll fire every dancer who looks at her wrong.”
“And then what? Keep her trapped in your office? Never let her out? I’m surprised you’ll even let her dance as well—she could twist an ankle,” Lukas said. “Ivy won’t want any of this.”
“It’s for her own good,” I said. I really needed to calm down; I could sense Lukas trying to talk some sense into me. I turned to look at him as my heart ached to see Ivy. “She’s my omega, and I let her down.”
“I know,” he softly replied. “Don’t you think we all feel guilty? I was the last to see her before she went to get more pointe shoes. I should have gone with her, but she was having fun with Millie.”
The doctor reappeared from Ivy’s room, holding the door open. “Arco pack? She can see you now.”
As soon as the doctor said that, I immediately rushed through Ivy’s door with the rest of the pack following close behind.
Ivy was lying on the white hospital bed, still dressed in her rehearsal leotard and tights from the day. The leg with her injured toe was elevated, and her big toe was wrapped in bandages. She looked a little pale compared to her normal appearance, but her smile was still on her face.
“Hi guys!” she exclaimed, holding her arms out as we each rushed up to her.
“Ivy…” Lukas exclaimed, rushing to her side. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I should have gone with you.”
Ivy shook her head in reply. “No, you can't follow me around all the time. This was a random fluke.”
“That was not a fluke,” Isaac said, standing next to her bedside with his arms folded. “Someone did this to your shoes. This was malicious.”
Ivy’s eyes dropped down to her fingers as she slowly nodded her head. Quietly, she added, “I know.”
That acknowledgement broke my heart all over again. She just wanted to have friends in the company, to not make any waves, and now her fellow dancers were attacking her for being matched to us.
I reached for her hand, capturing her gaze. “We’re going to find this person, and we’re going to make our company agreat place to be. I never want you to be worried ever again about being in our building.”
Ivy’s eyes connected with mine as a smile returned to her face. “They said I can go home soon. I’m going to need some ice cream as I’ve been told it’ll make my toe feel better.”
Preston laughed as he gently rubbed her leg. “Ice cream it is then.”
“Also foot rubs…” Ivy added, glancing over to Lukas.
“This was all just a ploy to get a foot rub out of me, wasn’t it?” Lukas teased. “Fine, one foot rub it is.”
Ivy continued talking with Preston and Isaac as I pulled Lukas aside. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I quietly leaned in to him. “Can you investigate who might have done this in the building?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “I want to hunt them down and murder them.”
“I’ll settle for watching them being escorted from the building in handcuffs.”
“I’ll start with Millie and see if she noticed anything, then I’ll get a better grasp on who exactly isn’t thrilled with Ivy,” Lukas said.
“Good, I want whoever did this gone, asap.”
Chapter twenty-one
Priorities
Preston
Saturday morning, I woke in the group bedroom next to Ivy and surrounded by the rest of the pack. Last night had been an ordeal—we’d all waited hours for Ivy to receive the full clear to leave from her doctor. Each minute that ticked by was agony, knowing that my omega was in pain, potentially unable to dance. But just like everyone else, I didn’t care about the dancing at this point—I just wanted her to be fine and safe in my arms.
