Chapter 10: Chapter 10

IVY:

She had felt strangely tired that morning as she woke up. She linked it to stress from training so hard. Ivy remembered the training grounds yesterday. All the time she had spent with the Alpha in the harsh premises. She couldn't understand her feelings anymore. She wondered if it was more than just intrigue, if there was something else about Alpha Blake that attracted her and tangled her mind in knots.

She dragged herself off the sizeable bed in the small room, and moved towards the window alcove directly beside it. Ivy peered out at the view. She enjoyed the view. The tall trees and hilly grounds. She relished all of it.

Ivy picked up the book she had been reading before she slept the previous night. She had been reading more about what Pike had updated her on the other day in the study. She couldn't get this festival thing off of her mind. There was so much to it. She wanted to know more about the moon goddess. She had even done some research into Greek mythology.

She placed herself onto the nook, letting her head rest against the window casing. She eased off a loud yawn, fumbling with the book. Ivy couldn't tell if she was in the right mind to read more. She glued her eyes to the view for about ten more minutes.

Until the high-pitched cry came.

The sound had shook her from her bones. She jumped right off the nook. The book had fallen to the ground. She was staring hard at the closed door of her room, breathing rapidly. There was a look that had flitted through her face, something distant and dark.

Mady. Ivy registered with her thoughts, realization seeped in. Madeline Baker owned the cry. She could hear other frantic voices from where she stood. She ran out of her room the minute another feminine cry joined the row.

Her room was at the far end of the medium staircase, leading to the second half of the Baker home. Coming out and approaching, her hand covered her mouth as she saw. Fin carried a body in his hands, rushing down the stairs. Angela and her daughter followed behind with teary faces. They were crying with everything they had. The sadness she had witnessed took her off the clock.

Ivy had seen the silver dagger sticking out just before Fin disappeared into the living room. She wanted to follow, then remembered she wasn't that well dressed for the morning hours, where eyes watched from all round. Ivy raced into her room and grabbed a coat over her silk night gown.

Outside, the pack had assembled. It was only seven-forty-five. Everyone was wide awake, staring with horror at the sight of Pike Baker's lifeless body on the ryegrass covered ground.

Fin stood with clenched fists away from his brother. Angela was all over her dead son. She wailed, grabbing his shoulders, trying her best to shake him back to life. Mady was right at her side screaming. "It can't be! Brother, don't leave me."

Her twin was gone.

Elder Baker was the last to arrive. A parting formed through the crowd. He reached the centre with the Alpha and the other elders not far behind. The man with a silver goatee supported his wife first, gazing at his dead son. Ivy saw the tears staining his cheeks.

Alpha Blake edged closer to get a better view. She could feel the anger oozing off him from a mile away. His jaw clenched as a dark look crossed his features.

"What happened?" His tone was so heavy and yet so small. The kind that could cut deep through an iceberg.

Madeline struggled in between tears. "I came to his room and knocked for about fifteen minutes. When he didn't answer, I shoved the lock and found him covered in his own blood just there at the centre—"

She had faltered and silence clung to the crowd like wet silk on skin. Seconds later, murmurings sparked up. Everyone had their own views. Ivy suddenly felt cornered. What if some would suspect her? After all, she had just joined the clan and now, a dead body had turned up.

Someone said from the cluster of people. "I bet it was those meddlesome witches!"

Sounds of approval followed. Ivy couldn't take her eyes of the Alpha. She wondered what his next move would be.

"We should have gouged out their eyes in Norway!" More voices came. Ivy didn't like the violence she heard spreading about. Someone had just died, someone's family. A son.

She felt a hand ease into her back. When she turned, she saw Meredith looking at her with comforting eyes. Ivy didn't realize she had been crying until then. Watching the Baker's mourn, she couldn’t quite wrap her fingers on the cause of the emotions surging through her. Meredith brought her face to her chest, wrapping her in a hug.

"Let's take some men. I say we find them and get our revenge."

A chorus of approvals. A galvanised crowd. The tipping point wasn't far off. "Yeah!"

"Everyone, calm down! This is not the time."

She looked up to see Neil trying to quench their aggravated flames. "We have a fallen brother in our midst and we are a pack. We must mourn him first."

A sharp laugh came, and a bigger looking wolf stood in Neil's face. "Again, the former alpha would have known better. Our chances of survival were much higher with him leading us!"

The beta growled. "Lucien!"

Meredith eased off of her. She approached her brother's side with folded arms. She looked like she was ready to drive out the spear in Pike's heart and drive into the wolf who didn't know when to shut it.

The crowd went silent again. No one seconded Lucien's death mission. He dared challenge their alpha. It was suicide.

Neil had paid him no heed, he looked everywhere else but at him. He said to the velvet moon pack, "The smartest move to make now is to lay low and put up our guards. Everyone must be on the lookout."

"How long till they strike again?" The Omega from before asked, uncertainty in his tone.

Neil paused. Head lowered, his hands were on his hips as he stared off. "They won't. Because we would fish them out first," He gazed back at the crowd, "And then, we will avenge the death of our brother."

Meredith placed a palm on her brother's shoulder and helped him. "As for now, we mourn Pike Baker, and let our Alpha guide us. For only he knows best."

Ivy latched her eyes onto Alpha Blake. She saw right through him. He wasn't doing well. This news didn't sit well with him. For the first time, the aura of control about him was no where to be seen. He looked like a man who wanted to flee from everything around him.

But just as soon, that wall drew back in place.

The Alpha turned to his pack. His eyes were empty and distant.

He dished out orders like the over-seeing officer he was. Ivy watched only him in that moment. She liked what she saw.

"Neil, you're in charge. I want answers before dark. My Beta, ensure the Baker's are catered for. We bury him. Now."

He took his leave. The crowd had parted from him, but he stopped in his tracks just as soon, turning back to the circle.

Ivy's breath caught in her throat the minute his smoldering stare caught hers. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. She hadn't seen it coming. His eyes read through her like a sermon, worshipping in those strange few seconds.

"Meredith, bring her to the Woodson household."

She appeared stunned. Meredith Woodson was the only person she was really close to, but she felt petty abandoning the Baker's at a crucial time like this. It wouldn't look good on her part, but then again, it was the Alpha's wish. He called the shots here.

She still felt defiant.

"I didn't ask for that," she said from nowhere and her voice pitched loud enough.

All eyes trained on her, making her feel small, like a pimple on the pack's ass.

Ivy continued. "I have no problem staying with the Baker's."

Alpha Blake turned a fraction of an inch over his shoulders. His gaze didn't hold any remnants of the softness from yesterday's training.

"Poison Ivy, you will do as I say."

•••

The Woodson home was a lovely three-story house on the other side of the Velvet moon pack's home. It was larger and not in any way as simple as the Baker home. The Alpha was a Woodson but he had his own home, befitting for a King. The former Luna, his mother, and he lived elsewhere, away from Neil and Meredith, his cousins.

She didn't know what to think of living here. It stood on a hill. The path down from it was steep and windy. She would live in a new household with Meredith at her side. Ivy gulped. She recalled how the Alpha was becoming more and more constant in her daily life, and that proved a problem. A problem she wouldn't be able to handle when the time came.

The burial of Pike Baker had been a sad one to behold. The Baker family's tears flooded like the ocean's depths. It was heart wrenching to watch them lay their son to rest. Ivy made sure to comfort Angela in the littlest way she could. She knew the woman was kind. She didn't deserve any of it.

For some reason, she had found herself in the company of Neil Woodson instead. She wondered where Meredith was and why she had left her off in the hands of her brother, another character in this pack that had caught her interest.

"This would be your room," he said.

They had walked down a long hallway and cornered left to find the door they were at now.

Neil pushed the door open and welcomed her inside. She loved the fragrance that met her. She could wear Lilies any day but Ivy's were her favourite. The room was large too, and just like her previous room, it had a window alcove in the best spot.

The centre rug beneath her bare-feet was warm and fluffy to feel.

"I love it. Thank you."

Neil spared a warm smile, and set her box of clothes on her bed. He wasn't regarding her strangely like all the other times. Meredith had shopped for everything she had now, a few days after she had arrived at Boston. She was grateful for her as a friend. She was the one thing that felt right about this place.

"I guess I'll leave you to it."

The smile he had on infected her. She couldn't understand it. "You have a lovely home, Neil."

He chuckled. "The Alpha deserves the credit."

They smiled at each other again. Then he seemed to snap out of it. He was acting a different kind of strange.

"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to tell me." He reached for the door, pointing. "My room is only four doors apart from yours."

Ivy noticed there was one directly beside hers. She was curious about who she was going to be living next to.

She tipped a brow. "And whose is that?"

Neil looked at the door beside hers and then back at her.

"Oh, Meredith."

He gave a cryptic smile, flashing his coconut white teeth for the last time before leaving the room.

•••

That night, when all her stuff had gone into the small-sized walk-in closet, Ivy had finally settled into the Woodson home fully. Meredith had stopped by in the early evening to see how she was doing and kept her company. For the rest of the day, only both of them were home. Neil wasn't anywhere to be seen. They both had pressing matters that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

It was a full moon. She could hear the howling of wolves in the distance. Many still mourned Pike Baker. She couldn't sleep. The thought of that morning filled her mind. Ivy slipped out from her bed, and wandered off outside her bedroom, deep into the dark house. She managed stealth as she made her way to the kitchen on the ground floor. She had thought she could find herself a glass of water to calm her thoughts.

The living room and foyer were empty, even the kitchen. Without a sound, she slipped into the kitchen, picked a glass and poured herself a glass from the full jug. She had almost let the glass cup fall from her hands when she heard the sound of something crashing in the opposite room.

She dropped the glass and tip-toed to the door of the kitchen. Ivy saw Neil and Ian talking, shards of glass were scattered on the ground between them. She knew it was only a matter of time till they sensed her.

"How could you?" Ian whisper-yelled.

"Bring your voice down, someone will hear you," Neil said, putting a finger to his lips.

Ian flung his hands in the air, pacing, and then, pointing back at him. "Just wait until Blake hears about this."

"He won't."

Ian laughed. The sound had been muffled. He was trying his best to keep it down.

"Unless, you tell on me." Neil added.

"Of course, I will! I can't keep this a secret."

"We are helping each other here, Ian."

"No! You did thi—"

Neil held a hand to his mouth. Ian's voice broke off.

Neil found the kitchen door with his eyes immediately.