Ivy's POV
By the time we were done with training, I was a sweating, panting mess and in dire need of a shower. Chris was brutal when it came to training, working me until I was ready to drop dead out of exhaustion. I'd admit, albeit a bit grudgingly, that Chris was a good teacher. But what had I expected really? He was an Alpha. Of course he was better and more powerful than any other werewolf out there. And it was definitely a privilege to get my training from him.
Besides, somewhere in the back of my mind I realised that I was the soon to be Luna and as a Luna, I was supposed to be strong too. That alone made me give my best in training. I didn't want to let Chris down. Ever.
"Still think I'm a bad teacher?"
"No," I mumbled as we made our way back to our room.
"What? I didn't quite hear that," he replied, clearly rubbing it in.
I r
Chris' POVAlmost two weeks had passed ever since I started training Ivy. Her wolf was a strong one and was only stronger as the days passed. She was also pretty hard working and I quite enjoyed pushing her to her limits whenever we sparred.I taught her a lot of maneuvers- how to deliver a fatal blow, how to hit where it hurt the most, which were the weak spots you must go for when in a fight, how to defend yourself, how to use your reflexes in the best possible way and much more. I didn't think she would ever need to be in an actual fight, at least not as long as I could have my way, but I wanted her to be prepared should the situation ever arose.She showed keen interest in learning too, it showed in the way she would practice every move I taught her again and again until her wolf had honed it to perfection. I was proud of my mate for all that she had learned in such a short amount of time.&n
Ivy's POVI wondered how Chris had the time to plan all of this. Sure, there weren't any decorations or anything of the sort but boy, was there food. The various dishes ranging from salads to sandwiches to meats of different kinds were brought out to the table and served by the maids. Chris told me that buffets were set outside for the rest of the pack members to feast on."Who made all this food? And when did you even have the time to plan all of this?" I asked, both shocked and impressed. There had to be at least five hundred people out there. It was almost as if we were hosting a really large wedding, the only things missing were the decorations. When did he even invite all these people?"The maids did, love. And I didn't have to do much. I simply sent a message through the pack link that at least one member from each household must be present for the ceremony and then I told the maids and chefs to
Chris' POV I had already planned a small, romantic candle lit dinner out on the balcony in hopes of confessing my feelings to Ivy. But when I mind linked the chef to order him to prepare the dinner, he told me that Ivy had told him that she would be be one preparing dinner for tonight. To say that I was surprised to hear that was an understatement. Obviously, I made my way to the kitchen immediately, ready to tell Ivy that she need not exert herself when there was a whole army of chefs at her disposal. But one look at her beautiful form bustling about the kitchen, and all words had died down in my throat. Pair that with the sweet explanation she gave, it was all I could do to not drag her to bed and have my way with her. Goddess, the woman was such a sweetheart. Sometimes, I didn't even know what I did to deserve her as my mate. Once we were done cooking, I turned to her. "Let'
Ivy's POVAfter I pulled back from the kiss, I looked at Chris from underneath my lashes. Tonight, he had been like an open book, every emotion displayed on his face for me to read. He had practically bared his soul to me and more than anything, he had allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of me. He had trusted me enough to tell me something which he probably hadn't ever talked to anyone about.Sure, he had made mistakes, but didn't everyone? What differentiated monsters from the good out there was how we reacted afterwards, what we did to make amends. And according to me, Chris had more than made up for his mistakes.From what I'd seen so far, he was a tremendous leader, if a little bit too strict sometimes. He took care of his people to the best of his abilities. He took all his responsibilities seriously and made sure to complete each and every one of them. Seeing him so sad and broken, ladled&
Unknown third person POV "Their so called Imperial Ball is approaching. Their pack is hosting it. The Alpha has upped the security. It is becoming difficult to make more attacks," the cloaked figure commented. His companion nodded. "Yes. I have found a way around it and instructed your minions accordingly. Another attack will come soon. We will make big our move soon." The cloaked figure tapped his foot impatiently. "Okay but all this planning, plotting and waiting is making me anxious. Let's just end them all already." His companion looked at him sharply. "No! You know that we must wait. And we have waited so long already, what's a little more?" The cloaked figure rolled his eyes. "That's what you keep telling me. If it were up to me, I'd attack them all and rip them apart until they told me his location and that would be it." &
Ivy's POV I gave myself a mini pep talk internally as we opened the doors to the infirmary and walked inside. "Alpha, Luna," the doctors all greeted us, bowing their heads respectfully. I smiled at them all in reply. "Ivy," Chris said making me look up at him. "I want you to check the samples first and see if what Gwen had said about there being some kind of magic in the venom is true or not." I frowned a little. I didn't think Gwen would lie like that. But then again, from what Chris had told me, we now had reason not to trust them. As much as I didn't like doubting the witches and their actions, this had to be done. If we wanted to create the cure and save us all, we needed to be cautious. So I nodded. "Okay." The doctors then brought a vial of blood from a previously infected person for me to see. I held the vial in my hand, trying to conce
Chris' POVI cursed myself silently for having forgotten to sign the documents as I quickly made my way back to our room so I could finally hold Ivy close to me now that I'd signed and sent the documents. It was when I neared the door that I heard a loud thud. Instantly knowing that Ivy was in trouble, I slammed the doors open.What I saw in there nearly made my heart stop. A large man decked out in all black was holding an unconscious Ivy upright by the neck.My eyes zeroed in on the needle sticking out from her neck.Fuck, no. Not her. Anyone but her.I saw nothing but red as I made my way into the room and to the man holding her. Without thinking or asking for an explanation, I twisted his neck before ripping his head clean off his shoulders and throwing it into the fireplace where a small fire was crackling. As the rest of his body began to fall, Ivy slid to the
Ivy's POVWeak. Utterly and completely weak was what I felt as I fought to open my eyes."Chris?" I croaked out, feeling the tremor in my voice as I moved eyes around the room, realising that I was in the infirmary.What happened? Why was I here? Why was I feeling this way?I couldn't for the life of me remember. The memory seemed just out of reach, a weird, dreamy haze surrounding my brain. As I blinked rapidly in an effort to keep my eyes open, I strained to remember, getting frustrated when I couldn't.What had happened to me?Suddenly, I heard rapid beeps going off all around me followed by rushed footsteps and the sound of a doctor barking orders. Again, I couldn't remember the doctor's name. My brain felt too tired and mushy to do much. It frustrated me to no end."Luna! Please, calm down. Your heart rate is spik
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