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
Chris' POVAfter lunch, I made my way towards the dungeons in the basement, leaving Ivy to go continue her preparations for the Imperial Ball. I hadn't particularly wanted to force Ivy for the Luna ceremony, but it was essential. The pack needed to officially meet their Luna and the sooner it was done, the better. I could've delayed it if she'd been a normal werewolf, but she wasn't. She was a hybrid and from what I'd heard so far through my sources, the pack members were vary, unsure and apprehensive about her.They didn't know what to make of the introduction of a hybrid to the pack. I figured once she was formally introduced to the pack as their Luna, their apprehensions would die down.Fred mind linking me pulled me out of my thoughts. 'The table is set, Alpha. We're waiting for you.''I'm on my way,' I told him before cutting off the link. Fred had found and brought the two werewol
Ivy's POVIt was no surprise when Chris won the race. Again. But only because he had gotten a headstart. Or at least that was what I argued with when he called me a 'rotten tomato', trotting around me like a smug little shit.Sometimes he was so childish, it was difficult to believe he was the same Chris who ripped through more than a dozen rogues.'Turn around, I need to change,' I told him through the mind link once he was done gloating.He nodded his large head before pushing the bag towards me with a paw and turning around obediently.Quickly, and a lot less painfully, I managed to turn into my human form before I quickly pulled on the plain grey t shirt and black track pants I'd gotten with me. And if the colour of the t shirt matched that of his, then it was merely a coincidence.Once I was done, I called out to him. "Oka
Chris' POVIvy looked lost in thought as we made out way back to our room. The fact that two different elements backed her magic seemed to trouble her. I knew she was trying to adjust to her being a hybrid to the best of her abilities, but things such as this seemed to put her off a lot.I decided to do something to cheer her up a little. Recalling I hadn't taken her on a proper date yet, I decided to do just that.Once we had entered our room, Ivy turned to me. "Let me just freshen up a bit and then we can go have dinner."I shook my head at her. "No."She frowned. "What do you mean no? Do you not want to have dinner?""I do, but not here. Go get ready, I'm taking you out on a date."Her eyes widened in surprise. "Date?" she parroted.I smirked. "And Miss Parrot makes her return."
Ivy's POVHastily, I ducked underneath Chris' arms and stepped out of them. Then, I quickly stepped out the elevator into a hallway of sorts.Clueless as to what to do next, I looked to behind me at Chris. His face gave nothing away but the way his eyes had narrowed told me that he was annoyed. I hid my smile behind my hand as he stepped out."Come," he told me, keeping his hand at the small of my back to guide me down the hallway.I obliged, letting him lead me towards the double doors at the end of the hallway.And then we were stepping into a restaurant with tables and chairs littered all around the large space. The restaurant felt as if I had entered a dreamland, the happy chatter, the fragrances, the easy and natural colours, they all relaxed me almost instantly. It was your typical restaurant with beautiful overhead lights, decorative w
Chris' POVI drove towards our next destination in silence, ignoring Ivy's attempts to ask me where we were going.Admittedly, I had been a little worried about whether or not Ivy would like what I planned or not. I'd never felt self doubt while leading a pack as large as mine but when it came to her, I was seldom sure about anything. I still hadn't decided if it was a good thing or a bad one. Though something told me she wouldn't have said anything even if she hadn't like it because she was sweet like that.But with the way she had chatted away happily, and praised the food, I knew that she had. I could only hope she would like what I had planned next as well."For the last time Chris, tell me where it is that we're going. You've practically crossed the entire town now," Ivy huffed, settling back in her seat with a cute little frown.She was
Ivy's POV "So, did you do it?" Harper asked Ivy, all but bouncing on her bed excitedly. An hour or so after we had returned to the palace from the cabin, Gia, Harper and Amy had come into our room to drill me about my date last night with Chris under the pretence of preparing for the Ball. It took me a moment to understand the implications of her words and I blushed despite myself. "God, no. And even if we did, what gives you the idea that I'd tell you guys?" Amy raised a brow at me. "You just did." I faltered a little. Even if I pretended in front of them that I wouldn't share anything with them, in all honesty it actually felt good to have someone to talk to other than Chris. Besides, I couldn't quite talk about Chris to him, could I? "Well, I meant I wouldn't share, you know, the bedroom details and all that." Gia grinned a
Chris' POVIvy fell silent after I told her that we hadn't been able to find her mother yet. I didn't like it when she was worried like that. In an effort to cheer her up, I said, "By the way, that was me collecting the reward for our bet. I still have one more to cash in for the day."Much to my relief, Ivy sat up and gave me half a smile in return. "If its going to be anything like this one, I'll be looking forward to it."I sat up too, smirking at her. "Does that mean you like my kisses then?"She giggled, getting up from the bed before flashing me a mischievous smile. "Not so much, but with some practice, I'm sure you'll get there."I raised a brow at her. "Oh, I need more practice now, do I?"She giggled again, walking backwards towards the door. "Yes."And then I sprang.She squealed, t
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