"Of course they were," Clara continued. "When a pack finds their omega, they'll take any excuse they can to spend time around her." Her eyes slid to me. "And they were very gracious aboutincluding everyone else." She looked closer at my pale skin, my clammy hands. Arabella looked over as well, spotting my disposition before making her move.
“What’s wrong, Ivy? You look upset. Is there something you’re not telling us?” She said, scrunching up her face as if she didn’t know. As if she hadn’t seen my excitement every time the pack had come over. “Oh, you didn’t…” She took a step forward, her hand coming to her mouth in mock concern. “You didn’t think they might have been over here for you, did you?” She asked, her voice now dropping to a shocked tone.
The words hit harder than any slap ever could have. I steadied myself, shaking my head as I looked down, denying the very truth of the matter, the one thing that Arabella knew that I wanted. “N-no, I didn’t…” I started, but I had already lost my words.
"It was so kind of them to include Ivy in everything," Clara added with a sympathetic sigh that was anything but sincere. "I can see how you may have been confused. It would have been cruel to make their intentions too obvious." Arabella couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at her mother’s words.
“Ivy, come on,” Arabella said with a look on her face that said she thought I was being ridiculous. “You really didn’t think… between the two of us…” She let her words trail off, but the meaning was clear. There was no way they would have chosen anyone but her. The room went silent, and I closed my eyes to stop the tears from welling up.
Clara sighed dramatically. "Arabella."
"What?" She smiled innocently. "I'm just saying, Ivy gets attached to people who are nice to her."
I felt myself flush with embarrassment. Arabella was right. I did get attached to the pack. Because no one was ever really nice to me. So when I was finally listened to, when people made me feel seen, I latched onto it. And I’d read more into it than what was really there.
My father shook his head. "Well, none of that matters now. You’ve been matched, and to a phenomenal pack. We’re going to celebrate.”
I felt another pang of pain in my chest. Arabella glanced at me and smiled, the one she used every time she inevitably got her way. Only this time it was the one thing I’d truly hoped I might have.
"I guess I should thank you," she said lightly. "If you hadn't kept asking for all those research meetings, they might not have had as many chances to get close to me."
My vision blurred. No one was surprised by this outcome. It was obvious to everyone except for me. Arabella was the star, and I was just the background character meant to support her.
My father wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I always knew you'd find an exceptional pack." The pride in his voice nearly destroyed me.
I couldn't remember the last time he'd sounded that proud about anything I'd done. Not when I'd developed our bestselling products, or made breakfast and cleaned every morning since the day they decided to bring in a new omega. Not even all those years I'd spent helping build the company into something that everyone in this room benefited from. But Arabella found a pack, and she was all that mattered.
I looked around the room one final time at the people who were supposed to be my family. No matter what I accomplished, I would always be standing in Arabella's shadow. And this time, she’d taken the one thing that had given me hope that I might escape this nightmare.
I couldn't stay there for another second. I turned and rushed up the stairs, tears falling down my cheeks as I finally let them fall. Mercifully, no one stopped me or called my name. I could only hear them celebrate from down below as I ran to my room, my legs giving out as soon as I shut the door behind me.
A sob ripped out of me, and I buried my head into my arms, finally letting myself cry over a dream I should have known was never meant for me. My body was wracked with heaves, the self-pity I felt taking over until I felt the sweat break out along my skin. Eventually, I reached into my nightstand and pulled out my suppressants. I didn't want to feel this anymore. The pills slid down my throat.
As the numbness slowly settled over me, I pulled the scarf Elias had scented closer to me and buried my face in the fading scent one last time.
Chapter 16
Ronan
We found her. We finally found our match - that delicious hint of a scent at the gala was Arabella the whole time. And not only that, but it turns out that she was our true match in almost every way possible. She ranked nearly perfect for our pack, and that meant that long-term, courting her would only get better over time. Our match would be lifelong and perfect.
I could already imagine it, and in response, my alpha hormones were begging me to seduce her, get her to let out some of that perfume that made me an insatiable feral beast, and ultimately claim her. My body knew from the first hint of that scent that the woman it belonged to was perfect for me. But I’d be a gentleman. We’d court her properly, and when she was ready, only then would I do all the things I wanted to make her feel incredible.
The problem was, I’d already been imagining those things with someone else.
But Ivy was just a sweet omega who I happened to be drawn to. Maybe because she was around Arabella, I’d confused the two. At least, that's what I told myself as our SUV pulled into the driveway.
The match report had been reviewed a dozen times. The compatibility scores were nearly unprecedented. Vale Labs, under Hunter’s guidance, had spent years building the most advanced matching system in the country. Now it found our omega, the one we’d been looking for since the gala. I looked at the massive house that belonged to the Carrington pack. The woman waiting inside that house was our mate. And eventually, the instincts would catch up to the data.
That was what Hunter kept saying. Anyway, not every bond begins with lightning bolts and destiny. Before our matching system, packs and omegas would still have to go through courtship to determine whether they were a good fit. This system just helped save time by skipping to the results.
“Ready?” Hunter asked, and I nodded. I was ready - so ready to finally be with the one who was right for me, the one who would fit in with our pack like she’d always been a part of it. The one who I scented that night, who I could protect and love with all the feelings I kept locked away. I just didn’t feel the emotions come rushing out like Hunter and Elias did.
As the largest and most protective member of the pack, I'd always been the slowest to trust. It made sense that I'd need more time than the others. But the moment we stepped inside the house, however, I relaxed. The tension I'd been carrying all day seemed to ease from my shoulders almost immediately. This wasn’t my home, yet every time we came here, I felt calmer.
“Welcome, Pack Vale. We’re so excited to have you here, for an entirely new reason now.” Phillip, the head of Pack Carrington, said as the rest of the family waited in anticipation. In the center of all of them, Arabella practically glowed. I looked at her - my perfect match. She certainly looked perfect. Today she wore a dress that highlighted her curves, and her hair was professionally blown out into a perfect style. The smile she gave us was exciting, exactly what you'd expect from an omega meeting her future pack. I should have made a beeline toward her.
But my attention swept the room automatically, the years of military security training ingrained in me. It wasn’t all of their family - someone was missing. Then I spotted Ivy. She stood near the back of the room, slightly behind the group, one arm holding the other and her head down.
