She sighed. "I came to see if you're ready to behave." The words made me feel even more bitter toward her.
"I don’t know how to show you that," I said weakly.
"You attacked your sister. If you want to come out, you need to be able to act like a normal, proper omega. You need to at least look presentable." She said, her lip curling as she looked me over. I knew that Clara would have kept me locked away in here forever if she could have, so there must have been some other reason she needed me out and presentable. After thinking about it for a moment, I guessed that it was because she needed me to meet with the product development team and keep our newest launches on schedule. I leaned up, using my little strength to push myself into a seated position on the bed.
"She stole my future," I growled, my voice hoarse. It was as close as I could get to saying the truth - and even now, my vocal cords trembled at saying anything else, the alpha command still strong. Clara's expression hardened immediately.
"No. She found her match. It was never going to be you." Her words were spoken as if it were a known fact, not a complete lie. I shook my head. I suppose facts had become inconvenient at this point.
"You need to let this go, Ivy," Clara said before turning to leave. I stared at her back as she left, the tears welling up again at the futile nature of my situation.
The days dragged on after that. It was a monotonous time; my emotions were still raw each time I woke up. I realized that my body would likely never get over this - I’d never get over having my mates stolen from me, knowing that they were stuck with someone who may very well be a sociopath. My body was screaming at me to go to them to tell them everything - yet itwas at war with my own father’s command. My very cells felt like they were at war.
The only thing that brought me any comfort was curling up with my scarf, the remnants of Elias’s scent still slightly clinging to it. I held it close at night, breathing it in as the smell calmed my nerves and helped me to sleep. Occasionally, one of my father's packmates would stop by to check on me. George came once and leaned against the doorway while I sat by the window.
"Still upset?" he asked, like I was a child throwing a tantrum and not a grown woman who had everything taken from me. I didn't answer.
"You need to move on." He said, as if you could ever leave your mates. He didn’t understand. At that moment, I realized my mother had never been his mate, but neither was Clara. He wouldn't do this to me if he actually felt, once in his life, like how I felt about Pack Vale.
"I am trying," I admitted quietly.
George looked surprised by the answer. Then, he sighed, acting like it was him who was dealing with something indescribably hard.
"Then try harder. We need you up and about, not wasting away up here. It’s not good for you, or the company, to have a useless omega." His words were thrown out so casually, but they hit me with another realization. My family only kept me around for my work in the labs. If I didn’t provide so many product ideas,I was sure I’d have been forgotten about entirely. After he left, I realized nobody was coming to help me. And now, the only person who could help me was myself.
If I really wanted to get out of here and get back to my rightful pack, then I needed to be able to stand up and do it. George was right - wasting away in here wasn’t helping me. After all these weeks in my room, maybe the pack had decided to bond with Arabella. Maybe they’d even been with her physically. The thought made me sick, but if I didn’t get out of here, I’d have no chance of ever fixing things.
So little by little, I practiced acting normally. I stood up, took a shower, and brushed my hair. I picked out my clothes and even put on makeup. When the staff left meals for me, I stood to take them rather than lie on the bed. After a couple of days, Clara came back up to visit.
“You look like you’re starting to learn.” She said, eyeing me up as I sat at my desk reading a book. I just nodded in response. “Keep this up. It will be much better for you once you know your place.” Her words stung me, but I couldn’t possibly be hurt any worse than I had been. So I stayed quiet and kept trying. I forced myself to eat and set a schedule for waking and sleeping. The pain never quite dulled, but I had a mission now.
One day, I was writing down ideas for formulas when the door opened at mealtime. Instead of hearing the platter against the floor, I heard someone whisper my name.
“Ivy!” The voice called, and I turned around to see Mara gesturing to me. I gasped, quickly standing.
“Mara!” I rushed over to her, and she stepped inside, her hands on my face as she looked at me.
“I’m so sorry, Ivy. I would have come sooner, but they specifically forbid me from visiting.” She whispered, and I closed my eyes. Of course they would ban me from being able to see the only real friend I had here.
“It’s not your fault,” I said as I looked at her. Her face was etched with concern.
“Are you alright? This is beyond cruel, what they’ve done to you.” She said and grasped my hands.
“I’m alright. I just need to be able to act normal, and they’ll let me out.” I said, hoping that they would soon have a business need for me that exceeded their desire to punish me.
“I’ve been sneaking you extra cookies in your meals down from the kitchen.” She said with a wry smile. Of course - there had always been several sweets in each meal that was delivered, which I’d found strange. Normally I wasn’t allowed such luxuries.
“Oh, Mara,” I sighed. She’d been the one person on my side since my mother had passed. She didn’t have any power. But she did whatever she could to help me, and those small actions were going to get me through this.
“I can’t believe they’re doing this. They have to let you out soon - they’re completely bombing with the development team.” Mara said, and I figured as much. “You scratched her up good,” Mara noted, and I cringed at the memory of my hand on Arabella's face. “Although, it was nice to not have to hear her constant yapping around the house for once,” Mara said with a grin. “She didn’t make videos for a whole week! Most peaceful week of my life.” She said, and I shared a quiet laugh with her.
“What on Earth did she do to provoke that out of you?” Mara asked, and I opened my mouth, but the alpha bark felt like a fist as it closed around my throat. Instead, I lowered my head, shaking it as I stood there in silence. Mara’s eyes filled with concern, but there wasn’t a whole lot she could do in her position.
“You’ve got to get out of here, Ivy. You have to get away from them.” She urged. Beyond the hall, Clara’s voice called out from downstairs, and Mara pulled her hands away. “I have to go. Don’t give up, Ivy.” She said with a whisper as she backed out of my room. I nodded, more energized by Mara’s visit than I had been in ages.
Although Mara was right about me needing to leave, it wasn’t as easy as that. My funds were controlled by my father’s pack - everything I earned was in an account that I needed permission to pull anything from. Trying to leave my only source of housing and money as an unbonded omega would be unthinkable.
I took the platter of food and set it on my desk, smiling as I saw the extra two cookies, no doubt from Mara. Slowly, I began to eat.
