Chapter 11
Elias
When we pulled into the long driveway of the Carrington estate, Hunter was already reviewing the marketing notes on his tablet while Ronan quietly surveyed the property through the window, no doubt cataloging exits and security cameras without even realizing he was doing it.
I'd volunteered to come before Hunter had even finished explaining the purpose of the meeting, which was primarily to work on the ad campaign with Arabella. I had no interest in the details of the marketing campaign - but I did have an interest in getting to know Ivy better. Hunter knew it, and Ronan definitely knew it. The two of them had exchanged a look the moment I'd mentioned wanting to hear more about her hormone-balancing spray, and I hadn't bothered denying the real reason I wanted to tag along.
Arabella opened the door the moment we set foot on the porch, looking every bit the polished ambassador that we needed. She was beautiful and seemed eager to get to work. And yet my eyes moved past her almost immediately.
We greeted the Carrington Pack, who were all smiles and greetings as we stepped inside. The alphas in the pack started heaping praise on Ronan and Hunter, while Arabella started chatting away, her voice louder than anyone else’s.
“Oh, you simply must have some of the cookies I made earlier!” She said, grabbing a tray and holding it out toward us. I took one, even though I wasn’t hungry at the moment.
“Thank you, Arabella,” I said, and she beamed at us as each of my pack accepted the food from her. I thought it was a bit odd that she was already offering us food - it indicated interest from an omega. Though theoretically, it could have been her scent at the gala that we all smelled. Yet, it didn’t seem to match her personality. And I had my eyes on someone else entirely.
I spotted Ivy standing several feet behind the rest of her family, looking like an afterthought. But she was all I could focus on. She wore a pale green sweater tucked into dark trousers with comfortable flats instead of heels, her hair loosely pulled back into a ponytail. She didn’t wear much jewelry in comparison to the other omegas in the family - just a simple silver necklace.
I found her all the more charming. She dressed for comfort rather than appearances, and somehow that only made me want to smile. She looked like someone who had been interruptedin the middle of an experiment, and I found the image unexpectedly endearing.
The moment she noticed me, she gave me an excited smile that made my heart leap. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever felt this kind of crush on anyone before. I stepped aside, letting Hunter deal with Arabella and her mother - he was the only one who really needed to talk about the marketing campaign anyway. In a few moments, I was next to Ivy, already feeling excited to see her again.
"There you are," I said, hoping I wasn’t being too forward.
"Hi. It’s good to see you again," she said in a soft voice.
"I'm still hoping you want to have that conversation about your ideas on the mood-balancing spray. You do seem like the brains of this operation anyway,” I said, giving a tilt of my head toward her family, who were so absorbed in flattering Hunter that they didn’t notice I’d stepped away.
Whatever nervousness Ivy had been carrying seemed to disappear, turning to genuine excitement at my words. Her eyes seemed to light up whenever we started talking about science.
"I do," she admitted, almost laughing. "I've actually been working on it since we talked."
"I was hoping you'd say that. I have a lot of ideas to bounce off of you - I looked up some studies on mood balancing that I’m sure you’d find very interesting.” I said, and her eyes got bigger.
“I’d love that! Maybe we can go over it together in the lab. I have the beginning formula for a prototype, and I’d love your input!” Her excitement was palpable, and that made me even more invested. I loved a fellow research nerd like myself.
Before she could continue, Clara stepped gracefully between us, a smile plastered on her face and her hands wringing together tightly.
"I'm sure Ivy appreciates your kindness, Dr. Vale," she said smoothly. "But she does have a habit of getting carried away discussing these little projects of hers. I wouldn't want her to take up your afternoon when I'm sure you have many more important things to do." Clara said, shooting a look at her stepdaughter. I noticed Ivy’s shoulders sink ever so slightly, the excitement disappearing from her face almost as quickly as it had appeared. Now she looked almost nervous. That didn't sit well with me.
"It's no trouble at all," I replied with an easy smile. "Actually, hearing about her work is one of the reasons I wanted to come today."
Clara looked confused. "Oh. Well, Ivy hasn’t been to college, so I’m not sure how much she could keep up with your knowledge-” Clara started to say, but I held my hand up.
"Please, Mrs. Vale, I adore speaking to a fellow science enthusiast. Especially one who can actually understand my dissertation," I continued pleasantly, giving Ivy a wink. "The honor is all mine."
The silence that followed was brief, but Clara smiled bigger, her face tight as she looked over at Arabella.
“Alright then. Make sure to grab a few more cookies, Arabella worked on them all morning!” Clara said as she floated back toward Arabella and my pack. I looked back toward Ivy.
"You said you don’t mind showing me your lab? I'd love to see where you've been working on the spray." I said as Ivy finally relaxed.
“Of course! Let me just check, I don’t know if…
She hesitated before glancing uncertainly toward her father, who caught my eye. I smiled reassuringly at him before addressing him directly.
"Mr. Carrington, would it be all right if Ivy showed me her workspace for a little while? I'd love to hear more about the formulation she's been developing." I asked. Her father barely looked away from Hunter.
"Of course. Go ahead." George replied, waving his hand dismissively as though the request couldn't possibly matter. The ease with which they agreed caught me slightly off guard, though after a moment, I suspected why. I was only a beta. They weren't worried. The idea that I might have any interest in courting their omega clearly hadn't crossed their minds. If only they knew.
