"Oh no. So sorry." Her tone was complete mockery. I stood there, so used to her bullshit that I knew better than to give a response. Instead, I swallowed my humiliation, turned, and walked away. By the time I reached the bathroom, I was shaking even more. I managed to clean most of the stain, even though my hands were trembling. I just had to get through this. I had to soldier on.
When I finally walked back out, the first thing I saw was Arabella curled comfortably against Hunter's side. Hunter had one arm around her shoulders while Elias sat beside her. Ronan was next to Elias, and to be honest, they looked like a family already. Like a bonded pack waiting for the last formality to be completed. I should have looked away. But Ronan’s deep, piercing gaze caught mine, pinning me into place. Arabella saw, then tilted her head back and smiled up at Hunter.
"So," she said sweetly. "When are you finally going to bond me?"
My heart stopped. Hunter laughed softly.
"Sooner than you think. In fact, the sooner the better." He replied, and then something inside of me snapped.
For months, I had been forced to stay silent while everyone else decided who I was. I had obeyed my father's bark. I had accepted the insults. I had watched another woman steal my work, my identity, my match, and my future while I stood quietly in the background because I genuinely believed I couldn't fight back. But hearing them talk about a bond - a permanent closure to the match that should have been mine - I finally made a choice.
Screw my family. Screw everyone. I needed to save Pack Vale from Arabella.
Before I could stop myself, or even realize what I was doing, I was running over, the eyes of the pack on me with surprise and wariness. I opened my mouth to speak. The bark that had squeezed my throat wasn't holding me anymore. My father'scommand, which had strangled every attempt to tell the truth, was weakening with every step forward. For once, I didn’t care about my family anymore. I cared about Pack Vale. I cared about myself. I took a breath, fighting like hell against the alpha command that tried to suppress my voice. I pushed through it, the urgency of what I had to say overriding everything else in my mind.
"Stop!"
My voice cut through the room, and the entire pack, plus Arabella, stared at me. “You can’t bond with her!” I said, pointing at Arabella. I could already see Hunter’s brows crease, a look of anger flash across his face.
“How dare you-” He started, but I held a hand up, defying him.
“She’s lying to you!” I yelled. “The compatibility report she submitted wasmine!”
It felt so good, so glorious to finally say those words aloud. All this time, I had tried to find a way to tell them the truth, and I finally managed to get it out. I felt the relief flow through me as I watched their reactions. Elias looked shocked, Ronan looked wary, and Hunter still looked angry.
Arabella's smile vanished, and a look of panic flashed across her face.
"What did you just say?" Elias asked carefully.
"The report," I repeated, my voice trembling. "Pack Vale, I saw your reports. I saw mine. I tried to submit mine to the matching database, but it didn’t let me, it said my ID was already being used. When I compared my report to yours, I saw that we were compatible, a real match. Arabella submitted my profile under her name!” I yelled.
Shock flashed across the room. Now, I had everyone’s attention. But Arabella started laughing, way too loudly.
"Oh, my God." Her hand flew to her chest. "You're serious? Ivy, that’s crazy!” She said, looking at me like I was completely insane.
"I'm telling the truth," I responded, standing my ground. I looked at each of them. “Surely you can feel it? Don’t you? Because I could feel it with each of you. I didn’t need a compatibility report to know!” I spoke freely now, the alpha command no longer affecting me. My care for Pack Vale and my own life had finally broken me free.
My fathers suddenly appeared, running from across the event at the commotion.
"You need to stop!” Phillip ordered. I felt the alpha command hit me, but I didn’t care anymore. Not about him, or any of them. His alpha dominance pressed into me, demanding I submit. He was my father, and I had always, always listened to him. But I fought against it. I’d never submit to him again.
"No." My words shocked even me, and I saw my father's eyes widen at my disobedience. Years of pain erupted out of me all at once.
"No,youneed to stop. Arabella stole my report. You let her! You let her steal everything." I said, turning back to face Arabella. “And you, you know that I was behind every best-selling product we have! You claimed all those as your own. You take everything from me. But I won’t let you take them!” I said, pointing at Pack Vale.
The room suddenly exploded into chaos. Clara rushed forward immediately, pulling me back, her claws scratching at me as one of my fathers stepped between us. People were staring and murmuring, and I looked at Pack Vale. Surely they could feel it, now that I told them what happened. They had to.
Hunter’s face faltered, the first sign that something wasn’t making sense. He glanced down at Arabella, who was looking at him with horror. Elias’s eyes never left me, and Ronan stood, his massive muscles tensed the moment Clara grabbed me, and started crossing the room like he was about to tear my family off of me.
“Let her go!” Ronan roared, and my family froze. Arabella looked at me, and then I saw her quickly move her hand into her purse. She pulled out a small vial. The entire pack was focused on me, their eyes changing as they started to recognize something.Yes, please, please feel it, I willed.
But then, so quickly that it was barely noticeable, Arabella lifted the vial to her neck. Two sprays. That was all it took. The vial disappeared into the purse, and within moments she let out a whine.
Hunter, Elias, and Ronan froze. They were all headed toward me, but now they stopped in their tracks. Their heads slowly turned, their pupils growing large, as a strong scent filled the air around us. My family also stopped, everyone turning to look at Arabella.
Arabella looked distressed, and the air was filling with perfume. But not hers - no, not the overly sweet, cloying scent of Arabella. What hit my nose was something far more familiar. It wasmyscent. My perfume filling the air, surrounding us with my fragrance.
Ronan sucked in a breath as he turned back toward her, drawn to her like a moth to flame. Elias looked like he was starstruck, his jaw dropping open as he stared at Arabella. Hunter’s gaze became reverent as he turned toward her, gently pulling her to him.
