“It’s you,” He said, his voice so low that I could barely hear it.
“There it is,” Ronan sighed, his gaze looking hazy and full of desire as he knelt in front of Arabella. “The scent of our mate.” He leaned in and nuzzled her as I watched in utter horror. I felt sick. My mind could hardly understand what was going on. Just when I thought she couldn’t steal any more, she stole my fuckingscent. I had no idea why. But apparently, this perfume was one that Pack Vale thought belonged to their mate.
The perfume belonged to me.
But they didn't know that. They only knew that the scent was coming from Arabella. The last chance I had at saving them seemed to vanish as Arabella immediately burst into tears.
"I didn't want to tell anyone this." She sobbed, her performance flawless. “She’s delusional, now she’s making up lies about me! She’s making me so scared right now!” Her voice pitched to a whine, and the three pack members comforted her immediately, forming a circle around her. "I thought she would move on from this eventually." Arabella sobbed.
I couldn't breathe.
"She’s lying!" I cried out, right before Clara clapped her hand over my mouth.
"She's obsessed with you." Arabella cried out, fanning herself as the pack breathed in her scent,myscent, their faces nearly feral. "Ever since the match happened, she's convinced herself that you're hers."
The family rushed to support her immediately. "We've been worried about this." George said, his voice grave with concern. "She's been struggling with delusions again." I looked over at him with shock, and Clara kept her hand on my mouth as Aaron held my arms to my sides.
"We've done everything we can," Clara said, her voice sounding resigned and scared. “We thought she was doing better, able to be in public again, but clearly we were wrong.”
I looked desperately toward the pack. Towardmypack - my mates. I wanted one of them, just one of them, to stop this insanity, to recognize me. How didn’t they know? I pushed with all my strength, wiggling out of Clara’s grip.
“That’s my perfume!” I cried, and yet everyone looked at me like I was insane. The pack looked at me with disappointment. Hunter's expression hardened first.
“Stop.” He said, his voice loud and resolute. “This is our mate. Her perfume confirms it. We scented her long ago, at the Gala. You, Ivy, are not ours. Accept this and get over your delusions!” He growled.
His words shattered something inside me as I put the pieces together. They’d scented me all those months ago, when I’d accidentally perfumed in the closet of the gala. They knew they had a match way back then. Suddenly, Arabella’s interest in perfume replication came crashing back into my memory, as I finally understood everything.
"Please!" I hated how desperate I sounded. "Please just listen!” I cried, tears streaming down my face as I fought desperately against my family. Ronan shook his head, his hand already stroking Arabella’s head in comfort.
"It’s over, Ivy. You need to stop. We aren’t your pack. We never will be.” He said, and looked back at my step-sister, who was putting on the performance of a lifetime.
"No!" I cried, but Hunter threw a look at me that made me freeze.
"Enough." The alpha bark hit like a physical force. The room spun. The instinct to submit crashed through me so violently that my knees nearly buckled. I stared at him in horror - not because of the bark, but because it came fromhim. Hunter - one of my mates. The man who should have recognized me, should have been protecting me now instead of Arabella. He looked at me like I was a threat.
"Leave, Ivy. You will never come near us, or Arabella, again.” His bark landed like a brand against my skin. My entire world went silent. I looked at Elias, who just shook his head, looking away from me. Then at Ronan, whose jaw was so tight that I thought he might actually crack a tooth.
Nobody defended me. They were choosing her again, even with the truth right in front of them. I felt something inside myself finally give way. All my hope, the fight I had left in me, my belief that my mates would see me - it all disappeared. My body went slack, and I stopped fighting. My fathers pulled me away, my vision so blurry that I could barely see where I was. It wasn’t until I was home, shoved into the entryway, that I felt the first rolling wave of pain course through my body.
Great. Of all the times to start my heat, this had to be the worst.
Chapter 34
Hunter
I held Arabella, her body heaving as she cried into my chest, her whines triggering every instinct in me to protect her. I could barely think straight - that incredible, delicious scent that I’d been dreaming about was filling my nostrils and making me so euphoric that I had to breathe through my mouth to get a handle on myself. Finally, finally I was able to smell her perfume again. It was confirmation that she was the one, that she was our true mate, no matter what doubts we had.
The moment that Ivy disappeared from the ballroom, I vowed Arabella should never have to deal with that again. Her family whisked her away after her insane outburst. Yet instead of feeling calmer and more settled, I somehow felt even worse.
An ache was growing in my chest and wouldn't leave. I chalked it up to the insanity of the day and gathered up Arabella with my pack, pulling her away from the event and into a private lounge where we could have some privacy. I handed her a tissue, murmuring words of comfort while she wiped up her tears, holding her in my arms. The room filled with my low purrs to help soothe her. But it didn’t take long for her to calm down a bit.
“Whew!” She exclaimed, basking in our attention as she checked her face in a compact mirror. “I can’t believe that happened.” She smiled up at me, and Ronan gripped her hand, not willing to leave her side for a moment. Elias was also here, though he lingered a few feet away, a strange look on his face.
“You’re safe now. I won’t let her anywhere near you.” I said. My words were the truth - Ivy had to go. It was unfortunate, but after what she did, I realized I had her all wrong. She was a loose cannon. She freaked out, suddenly claiming to be our mate, and when that didn’t work, she came up with the bizarre assertion that the beautiful scent coming from Arabella was hers. I shook my head. She really was suffering from delusions.
"What if she does it again?" Arabella asked quietly. I tightened my arm around her instinctively.
"She won't," I said, holding her close to me and vowing to myself that no one would hurt my mate.
