So why couldn't I stop thinking about Ivy?
Chapter 15
Ivy
I looked at the vintage set of lab equipment that Pack Vale sent me, holding a vial up and smiling to myself. These weren’t even something that most people would care about, but they meant everything to me.
No one had given me a gift like this in a long time. It was unique, tailored exactly to what I loved. And it meant something more - a pack giving an omega a gift was one of the first signs that they wanted to potentially court an omega. And despite everything, no matter how impossible or illogical it may seem to anyone else, I felt like Pack Vale might just be perfect for me.
They were way beyond what I could ever hope for in a pack. A group of handsome, successful, sought-after men? They could have their pick of any woman, omega or otherwise. But evenwith Arabella around, they somehow seemed to always look my way. For the first time in years, I felt like maybe, just maybe, something wasn’t wrong with me.
Then, a shriek echoed throughout the house so loud I thought someone had been injured. I rushed downstairs just to see Arabella jumping up and down in the living room, clutching her tablet against her chest. Her hair was bouncing as she flushed with excitement. Clara was right behind her, and my fathers came into the room.
"We matched!" Arabella practically screamed the words. She looked around, elated.
“What? Who matched?” One of my fathers asked, and Arabella just beamed like she’d won the lottery.
“I was matched in the database! My genetics are a near-perfect fit!” She yelled, and I stepped back, confused. I hadn’t realized she’d even sent hers in. Now she had already found a match, it seemed. Well, that figures. They’d probably be some wealthy, high-status pack that would love someone like her around. Maybe she’d bond them quickly and move out so I could finally get some peace.
Clara looked ecstatic, running over to hug her daughter as they jumped up and down. Arabella caught my eye, just for a moment, before turning to our fathers.
“And you will not believe it. We already know them,” she said, turning her tablet around. So, she matched with someone in oursocial circle? I stepped forward, a strange feeling growing inside me. My fathers read the tablet, and the look of shock and then excitement on their faces only had me more on edge.
"I matched withPack Vale. Ninety-eight percent compatibility." She said, each word like a dagger as they hit my brain. There was silence for a moment. Then, the room erupted.
Clara gasped, her hands at her mouth as she stared at Arabella, her eyes wide with shock. My fathers broke out into cheers, rushing to congratulate her. I waited as I processed the words, my world spinning as I tried to make sense of what I just heard.
"Oh my God," Clara breathed. "I knew it. I knew it! Of course they wanted to work with you. They must have sensed your compatibility this whole time!"
"I knew it too!" Arabella laughed, tears gathering in her eyes. "I knew there was no way they were over here all the time for just business."
My stomach lurched, and I felt dizzy. I suddenly felt like I might get sick all over the floor. Sweat beaded along my back and forehead, and I reached for the banister to steady myself.
No.No. It can’t be! She can’t have matched with them! The one pack in the entire world that I actually cared about, the one pack that made me feel like I mattered, like I might have a chance at happiness. The nicest pack I’d ever met. They couldn't possibly be a match for someone like Arabella!
No one noticed my reaction, as they were far too busy congratulating Arabella. My father's face lit up with pride.
"Proud doesn't even begin to cover it," he said, pulling Arabella into a hug. "Pack Vale. Do you understand what this means? This is incredible." The pack surrounded her, all of them talking excitedly about the future and how the match would launch Arabella into a new income bracket.
Arabella laughed against his shoulder, and I felt another pang of pain rip through me. That should be me. I wanted my fathers to care about me, to congratulate me one day when I finally found a pack that wanted me. It was just one more stab of the knife in my back. I started breathing heavily, my body shaking.
Across the room, Arabella’s eyes found mine, and then she smiled. Not kindly, but with triumph. Like she’d won - like she always did. This was the way of the world. How could I have thought any differently?
"Well," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Aren’t you going to congratulate me, Ivy?" She asked.
Suddenly, every set of eyes was on me. I sucked in air, trying to will myself to stop shaking. But something deep inside me was tearing apart at the seams. Something deep in my body was screaming out that this was wrong, that they weren’t hers - that they were mine.
I clenched my teeth to stop them from chattering. Clara looked over at me, her eyes narrowing coolly as she smiled. “Well?What’s wrong, Ivy? This is a momentous occasion. Probably one of the biggest ones of our lives. Congratulate your sister.” She said, and I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.
Clara took a step forward. “Ivy, what’s the matter with you? Are you not happy for her?” She asked, and my father’s pack looked over at me, their eyes judging me as always. I took deep breaths, trying to maintain some semblance of calm. I had to say it. I had to congratulate Arabella, once again, for taking every single thing in my life for herself.
“Congratulations.” I managed to say, though my tone was anything but jovial. Clara looked at her daughter and seemed as triumphant as she was the day she arrived at this doorstep.
"Oh, they had their eyes on Arabella from the beginning, don’t you see? The constant meetings, all the lunch invitations. Honestly, looking back, it seems obvious now. Pack Vale wasn't just interested in a business collaboration. They were courting you." Clara said to Arabella.
I tried to force in another breath. They had come over here quite often… and I foolishly thought it might be because of me.
"That makes sense," one of my fathers said with a chuckle. "I was wondering why the whole pack was spending so much time over here."
