Ivy's POV
"Ivy? Come, let's find some clothes for you," Mom said as she hooked her arm with my fourteen year old self before dragging me off to a store.
Me being the moody teenager whined in protest. "But mom, you know I hate changing clothes again and again."
She chuckled in response. "I promise I'll keep the clothes changing to a bare minimum."
I rolled my eyes. It was what she always said whenever we went shopping. I knew from experience it wasn't true but I went with it anyway to appease her. It was the fastest way to get her off my back about this.
Before I knew it, she'd piled on a big chunk of clothes in my arms before guiding me towards the changing rooms in the seemingly empty store.
"Remember Ivy, I will only be back once you find him. And you must find him soon," she whispered lowly in my ear before pushing me into the cha
Chris' POVOnce the three of us had had breakfast in Martha's room, we took our leave with Ivy promising to come see her soon again to see my baby pictures.I briefly wondered how she would feel when she realised said baby pictures were actually more than a hundred years old and in black and white. Probably go hysterical again. I smirked to myself at that, Martha had brought it upon herself so it was her headache now."Where are we going?" Ivy asked, even as she followed behind me.I slowed down a little to match her pace before replying. "To the training grounds behind the palace.""Training grounds?" she parroted."I believe that's what I just said.""I heard you just fine the first time," I knew without having to look at her that she was rolling her eyes at me. It made my lips twitch.
Ivy's POVI'd done it! It had been the most painful thing I'd ever done, but I'd done it. And that wasn't the only thing that made me want to prance around, no. It was the fact that I'd done something to make Chris actually grin at me like that was what had me over the moon.And boy, what a grin it was.It transformed his whole face, making him look much younger, much more carefree than I'd ever seen him. It was almost weird what something as simple as a smile could do to you. He looked youthful, more handsome somehow. Not that he wasn't already handsome enough, but the grin on his face, showing his perfectly aligned pearly whites made him even more so.It was a very selfish thought to have, but somehow I was glad that he didn't grin often, that I was the only one privy to this side of him. It made me feel special, this moment between us feel special. Besides, if he went around gr
Unknown Third Person POV"The woman is getting pretty close to the Alpha," the man in the black cloak commented.His companion nodded. "Yes, she is. But no matter. When she sees who is stronger, she will part with us."The man adjusted his cloak around him as he took a seat next to his companion. "And what if she doesn't?"His companion glared at him. "She will. She has to."The man stared at his companion for a few moments, not saying anything. The possibility that the woman wouldn't agree with them and try to support the Alpha was always there but his companion was not ready to entertain the thought, let alone find a solution if a situation such as that should arise.The woman the Alpha associated himself with was very powerful. It would not bode well for them if she chose him when the time came.And sinc
Ivy's POVI frowned as Chris began to leave, his face stone cold even as his eyes blazed in anger."What's happening?" I asked, running after him."Stay here, I'll be back soon," he ordered.I rolled my eyes. I obviously wasn't going to leave him, not when he was like this. But something told me that being my usual stubborn self wasn't going to let me have my way this time around, so I tried a different tactic. "I want to be more involved. Whatever happened to me standing by your side and taking up my responsibilities as Luna?"Chris growled, not slowing down as he, Mateo, Ryan, Fred and I marched towards the main door. "It is dangerous out there, Ivy."I raised a brow. "I think I can handle myself. Last I checked, it was me who helped you when those rogues attacked."Chris shot me a glare. "I am not going to put
Chris' POVGuilt gnawed away at me as I shushed Ivy. She still didn't know that her father's death wasn't just a death. It had, in fact, been a murder. And it was the members of this pack itself who had killed her. And that I was the one responsible for her father's death, albeit indirectly.I wanted to tell her the truth, I always tried to be honest with her. But this news could have catastrophic consequences. She could actually leave me for this. Ans I didn't want to loose her. Not now, not ever.I'd waited way too long for a mate and I wasn't ready to part with her so soon, or ever for that matter.So, I chose to stay silent, gently rocking her back and forth instead.Our relationship had only just started and I didn't want to jeopardize it right now. I'd be the first to admit that I was selfish when it came to her. As much as I wanted to give h
Ivy's POV I made my way into our room. There, on the floor in front of our bed lay a carton made of cardboard. I briefly wondered when I began thinking of this room as ours instead of just his or mine. Probably somewhere between agreeing to share the same bed as him and kissing him. I shook the thought away, focusing on the box instead. I heaved it up onto the bed before sitting cross legged in front of it on the bed. Slowly, I took the tape off of it. I didn't know what I was supposed to feel as I opened the box and looked at it's contents. There wasn't much in there, the box hadn't been very big to begin with so I hadn't hoped for much. Inside, there was a large file, a leather bound journal and a small photo album. I picked up the photo album first, memories floating in the front of my mind's eye in a rush as I flipped through it, stopping on a picture from my eighth b
Chris' POV It was two days after Ivy had gotten the responsibility to handle the preparations for the Imperial Ball and I was making my way towards the meeting room for our everyday run through of things. I was glad that she'd made some friends here in the form of the mates of the council members and someone to talk to.Besides, they were also helping her plan the Ball which was in turn keeping her busy rather than sitting around all day in our room. It was the perfect task for her, overseeing preparations for the Imperial Ball. It wasn't dangerous at all, kept her from going stir crazy sitting idly in her room, and gave her the power and responsibilities befitting of a Luna. It was an all around win win situation. Of course, I'd instructed Martha to keep an eye on the preparations. It wasn't that I didn't trust Ivy to do it properly, I was sure she'd ace it but I didn't want to risk it. I didn'
Ivy's POV I squealed like a little school girl as I bounded down the hallway, hearing Chris' fast approaching footsteps behind me. I knew it was only a matter of time before he would catch up and get ahead of me. But I had won my fair share of races back at school so I was hoping it would at least count for something. Who are you kidding Ivy? You knew you were never going to be able to win against him. That was why you bet what you did. An annoyingly smug voice whispered at the back of my mind. I ignored it. But the annoying voice continued, relentless - And you want to loose after what Chris bet in exchange, don't you? Why did my subconscious have to be so annoying? I huffed to myself. Fine, I liked kissing Chris. There, I admitted it. In fact, it was quickly becoming one of my favourite thi
Ivy's POVMy limbs felt heavy and so did my head. So much so, that something as simple as opening my eyes felt nearly impossible. But I knew I had to try.Ever so slowly, I pried my eyes open, blinking lazily as my vision focused, landing on a figure sitting beside me with their head down.It took me a moment to realise that it was Chris. Oh, Chris.Putting in all the strength I had left and then some, I squeezed his hand which was holding mine, making him jolt up at once. He looked disoriented for a moment before his eyes fell upon me and widened. "You're up," he whispered, seemingly shocked. "Yes," I croaked out, my throat horse.Almost immediately springing into action, he brought a glass of water and lifted my head up a little to help me drink it. The cool water slid down my parched throat and instantly, I felt better. "Goddess, I've been worried sick about you," Chris murmured, pushing my hair behind my ears tenderly as he looked down at me with so much love shining in his stor
Chris' POV It had been nearly an hour since Ivy had lost consciousness. She had on an oxygen mask now since she had been having trouble breathing earlier. Dr Winfield had explained that this was how her body was reacting to the antidote but he would only be able to tell more about what was happening once he had run some tests. He had taken some blood samples and was doing just that. As I paced near the foot of her bed, praying to every deity known to save my mate, Ivy's friends and Martha came rushing in through the door, probably having heard the news of her being infected. They all looked as disheveled and worried as I felt. "What is going on? How is she doing?" Gia asked, all of them taking in her sick form lying on the bed with watery eyes. I explained what had happened in short, quick sentences, not wanting to relive the memory again. The sight of her mother injecting the venom into her was still as clear as day in my mind and thinking about it made my blood boil like no o
Chris' POVI watched as the darts came towards me from either side before coming in contact with the invisible protective shield I'd had the witches put over me and falling down.I smirked to myself. I hadn't come unprepared, that was for sure. These darts could be thrown from a distance which was one of the reasons why all my other soldiers I'd brought in with me were not in plain sight. Only the witches were. Because the venom obviously couldn't affect them. And they would also be able to protect Ivy better should the need arise. After Ivy's warning over the phone, I'd gone straight to Elder Nigel and gotten the entire truth out of him. Then, I'd killed him in cold blood for that was what the bastard deserved after what he had done. None of this would've been happening if not for him.My goal for now was to convince Ivy's mother not to kill any more members of our species or I'd have no choice but to kill her. I didn't particularly want to kill my mate's mother but I wouldn't hesita
Ivy's POVI disconnected the call when mother shouted at me. Or should I even call her that? Because this monster clearly wasn't my mother. The sweet, compassionate woman I'd known as my mother all my life was no more now. In her place stood a woman so blind with anger that she was ready to kill an entire species because of it.Though, I was glad I had warned Chris about what was going to happen. I hoped to God he had understood some, if not all of it, then enough to not come see me in an hour like I'd asked him to.When I didn't say anything to mom, she held her hand out. "Give me the phone now so I can send the address to the Alpha. We will end him first so that his entire pack is in disarray. They'll be easier to take down without anyone to guide them. We'll work on taking down the other packs afterwards. This one should go down first for the main culprits belong to this pack," my mom said, t
Chris' POV"You all may go. We'll continue looking tomorrow," I said, sighing a little before letting my small team go. It was pretty late at night anyway and they'd all been hard at work all day long. They deserved the rest.It had been five very long, painful days and there was still no sign of Ivy. It was as frustrating as it was saddening. I wasn't about to give up, not any time soon but I really hoped I'd be able to find her soon. There was only so much time I could spend without her before I went crazy.Just as I got up from my seat in the office, a soldier posted at the pack borders mind linked me. 'Alpha, it's Elder Nigel, we believe he has been injected with the venom.'Shit.'Bring him to the palace right away,' I instructed before I mind linked Dr Winfield, cursing myself internally as I did so.'Elder Nigel has been
Ivy's POV"I'm here to get you out.""Mom?" I gasped. I'd know that voice even in my dreams. How did she even find us?"Yes, dear, just a second though while I take care of this imbecile," I heard her voice reply but I couldn't see her just yet.Then, within seconds something whizzed past my head before embedding itself into Elder Nigel's midriff. It took me a moment to realise the rather familiar looking dart injection. It was the same one I'd seen with which the venom had been injected into the victims, only this one could be used as a dart and could hence be injected from a distance.I gasped as Elder Nigel fell to the floor at once, both shocked and terrified over what was happening."Oh, my boy, my beautiful, beautiful boy," I heard my mom all but coo behind me.Evan. So she had known that Evan w
Ivy's POVIt had been five days since I'd been brought here. I knew because that was how many times those good for nothing goons had taken Evan with them to his bed to sleep. So far, they had injected me twice more, which meant that whatever drug they had come up with stayed active for forty eight hours at the most. And I'd been fed a total of four times since I'd been here.But none of these things had been as frustrating as the fact that their master hadn't been here to see me once ever since I'd arrived. Worse still was that he had trained his minions well. They never said more than what was strictly necessary no matter how much I shouted at or insulted them."Ivy?" Evan called out to me.It had been at least a day since I'd been injected so I could at least speak now. "Yes, Evan?""Where is your mate? You said that he would come get us. But it has be
Chris' POV It had been three days since Ivy had gone missing but there was still no sign of her. After having thought long and hard about that warning, I had stopped searching for her openly, calling back all the people who I'd ordered to do various different things in an effort to find her. Then, I'd set up a small team consisting of me, Beta Ryan, Mateo, Julian and two of my most trusted warriors, Trent and Dave. These were the only people I trusted enough to say that they were without a doubt on my side and wouldn't betray me. I'd told them to keep looking for Ivy, only a lot more secretly than we had been doing before. The other Alphas had offered to help but I'd declined their help, telling them to go back and look after their packs instead. They all might not have liked Ivy too much but they knew what it was like to loose your mate, even if it was temporarily and had been more than willin
Ivy's POV Whatever they had injected me with seemed pretty strong this time around. A few hours in, I could speak almost normally but I couldn't do any magic or move even a single muscle. It was as frustrating as it was scary. I didn't know what these people, whoever they were, had planned for me. They could end me once and for all for all I knew. Given the state I was in, I wouldn't be able to do anything. Or they could keep me imprisoned in here forever like Evan. Neither possibility seemed particularly appealing to me. I sighed to myself, feeling completely useless. This drug, whatever they had given me didn't seem like it was going to wear off any time soon. And no one had come in after that one time even though I'd shouted myself hoarse at least three times already. I wondered what Chris would be doing. Probably going crazy trying to find me. And Fred, was he dead already? I'd been here at