“Right.” Nate says as he turns to face me again. “Thank you for the dance, Ivy.”
“Thank you, Alpha. See you after my last song?” I ask and he nods. I step close and push up on my tip toes to kiss him on the cheek, but I also whisper in his ear.
“Please pay attention to the last song. It’s for you.” I turn then, walking past Nate and Tobias towards the door, and glance back to see Nate’s surprised face. I chuckle and head back inside.
Nathaniel’s POV
I stand on the balcony, completely blindsided.
Mate chose a song for us. We need to listen. Kiba happily says in my head.
I hear Tobias chuckle and I look at him as we walk back inside. Ivy’s already back up on stage and I anxiously wait for the current song to end. When it does moments later, I look at catch Ivy’s gaze as she goes into her final song, and she smiles at me before going into it. I watch her the entire time, enamoured with how she perfectly executes each note, and finally after a few minutes, she’s singing the final lines of the song, and my heart is racing a million miles a minute.
“The love for danger is rushing through my veins
Offer me your world, your thirst for immortality
We are animals.”
My god.
“You really think she doesn’t feel a bond with you?” Tobias says as he stands next to me. I chuckle awkwardly, my emotions running high from hearing her sing that song, clearly understanding what she meant with it.
She has feeling for us, human. Mate feels for us. Kiba’s voice rings in my head. I continue my conversation with Tobias.
“She’s never said anything about it. But her actions seems like she does, doesn’t it?” He nods.
“Maybe she does feel something for you through a bond, but she can’t recognize it as one. Those cuffs could be the culprit for that, though.”
“You could be very right with that.” I look up to see Ivy go backstage, and I quickly follow behind as I see my mother replace her to make final announcements before the real party starts.
I glance around backstage as I see Ivy walk in front of me, and not seeing anyone, I quickly approach her. She turns and gasps as I pull her into me, my hands running down her soft, exposed back in her gown. She looks up at me and I lower my face to hers, our lips meeting for the first time since our limo kiss. She melts into me as I bring one hand up to cup behind her neck, holding her in place as we devour each other. We break away from each other, breathing heavily and she says exactly what I’m thinking.
“What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want it to end. Do you?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“No, I don’t.”
She goes and sits on the couch nearby and grabs her bottle of water from the side table as I sit down beside her. She opens the bottle and the scent I catch has me hitting the bottle from her hands. She gasps and looks at me, seeing my hand sizzle where some of the water has touched me. I growl lowly, scanning the room with Kiba partially in control. When I don’t catch the scent or sound of anyone nearby, I relax slightly, but stay on alert.
“What the?” She says in disbelief as she grabs a cloth from the table and wipes my hand. “What was that for?” I place my other hand over hers.
“Someone put Wolfsbane in your water. Someone tried to poison you.”
Ivy’s POV
“Wolfsbane?” Tobias asks quietly, and Nathaniel nods. Tobias, Kane, and Genevieve have now joined Nathaniel and I back in his wing in the main living area. Nathaniel is pacing back and forth in the open space between the couch and wall-mounted TV, Evie is sitting beside me on the couch and Kane and Tobias are opposite of us on the other couch. Nathaniel had mind-linked Tobias and asked him to grab Kane and Evie to let them know too. The anxiousness and concern filling the room is maddening, but soon the silence is broken.
“You know it’s completely possible that a certain someone did this.” Kane states plainly and I sigh.
“You think Cole did it.” I say, and Kane nods briefly before going into his reasoning. “Ivy, he’s been going after you for years. You coming here away from his abuse and mistreatment? I wouldn’t put it past him to make this kind of move as punishment.”
“There’s no way to prove it. There are at least 150 wolves here from three different packs.” Evie says and I sigh again, feeling defeated.
“The perfect cover.” Nathaniel states and we all turn to look at him as he stops pacing.
“Think about it. There are so many wolves, scents and the whole distraction of wolves finding their mates and doing their mating pairs, no one would really pay much attention to someone going backstage.” He pauses. “But Genevieve is right. There’s no way to prove it right now.”
“So, what should I do? I’ve known for years that Cole has had it in for me, and honestly it doesn’t surprise me that this has happened and could be him, but you all know the moment I go back to Red Moon, it’s going to just continue as usual.”
“You’re not going back. Not yet at least.” Kane says and I look at him, confused.
“The mating ball retreat.” Evie says quietly and my eyes widen, and I turn to Nathaniel, draping my arm over the back of the couch, pulling myself up slightly. “I thought it was cancelled indefinitely?” Nathaniel raises his gaze to me and shakes his head. “We’re still holding it this year.”
“Since you’re not mated, you can go.” Tobias says and I whip my head back to face him. “I’ve already been away from the pack for over a week, you guys really think Cole is going to have that. Away for longer?” I question, desperation creeping up in my voice.
When no one answers me, I sigh loudly and stand up, my gown moving with me and sliding off the couch to the floor. “Look, I appreciate all that you have done. Every single one of you, but I can’t keep living in a pretend fairy-tale land and not realize or recognize the reality of what I’m going back home to.”
“You should have the ability to make decisions for yourself. Cole is not your keeper.” Evie says and I shake my head. “You know I understand that. But after years of pushing and fighting, I don’t have much left in me to keep going. I’m embarrassed to even say it, here in front of my two closest friends and the Alpha King and his Beta, but I cannot keep this up. My resolve is gone.”
I feel tears pricking my eyes and I shut them to try and keep them at bay, but I feel myself failing and with a long exhale, I walk away to my room, closing the door behind me. The tears start to fall as soon as the door clicks shut, and I let them, small sobs racking my body as I try to not cry loudly since the others are still close by.
I know I need to keep pushing. I know. It’s just the hardest thing I’ve had to do, and I’m doing it alone.
Seles was always part of my strength and confidence, helping me push past the boundaries I had set for myself. Making me the best version of myself. Without her, I’m lost, and everything is just taking too much of a toll. I can smile and just fake some type of happiness, but I know I can’t live like that long term.
“I miss you Seles.” I say out loud, hoping that deep down she can still hear me after all these years.
There’s a quiet knock at my door, and I turn, wiping my tears away with my fingers before turning the knob on the door and opening the door a little bit. I see Nathaniel’s large frame and I look up, his blue eyes showcasing his worry.
“Are you okay?” He asks, his deep husky voice filled with concern. I nod, not speaking, but he steps inside, closing the door behind him. Once it’s closed, he steps close to me, cupping my face with his hands, and then pulls me into him, wrapping his strong arms around me and squeezing lightly. He’s warm and comforting and I feel myself calming down, the tears slowing and eventually stopping after a few short minutes.
“I shouldn’t be relying on you like this, Alpha.” I say quietly as he holds me, and I hear a small grunt of disapproval come from him, rumbling in his chest slightly. “You can rely on me all you need and want to Ivy. No questions asked.” More silence passes as he continues to hold me, his pacing heartbeat beating rhythmically like a drum in my ear pressed to his chest.
“You should go to the retreat. I think it would be good for you.” Nathaniel says as he adjusts our stance, pulling my chin up gently to look me in the eyes. I know I probably look like a tear-stained mess and my makeup is probably smeared to all hell, but I keep his gaze, internally contemplating if I want to risk it.