The Beta's Redemption.

1.

Chapter One.

Ivy-

I frowned at the outfit my friend Maria had produced for me to wear to our high school dance. Knowing her style, I was aware of her plans to drag me there, but I was not aware of her plans to dress me up. Especially not in that outfit. “No.”

“Yes,” she immediately replied, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“No. Definitely no.”

“Yes. Definitely yes.”

I sat on the edge of my bed and folded my arms, before glaring at her. “I’m not going to the dance, Maria. And I’m definitely not wearing that ridiculous costume. I’m also not asking Darrel out, and I’m definitely not-”

Maria groaned and waved her hand, cutting me off midway, then smirked when I narrowed my eyes to convey my emotions, unable to open my mouth due to the spell she’d just placed on me. “That’s enough no’s for a lifetime, Ivy. Loosen up a bit, would you?”

I was about to remind her about one of her classmates, Kristoff, who had a permanent scowl and a ready reply of “No” to anyone who had a question to ask him, when the door swung open and my mom stepped in.

“Ah. Maria,” she said, walking towards us. Maria quickly undid her spell on me and manufactured a multi-million dollar smile before plastering said smile on her face. My mom responded in like manner, only hers was a genuine smile while Maria looked as though her facial muscles looked as though they were going to suffer from over-exertion.

“Luna Jacqueline,” my best friend replied with a curtsy. “I’m honored to be in your presence.”

Mom laughed. “Alright, Maria. That’s enough. How many times will I tell you that I’m Ivy’s mother to you in private, hm?”

Maria stood straight again, an embarrassed expression on her face. “I just…I’m sorry, Luna. I’m just so used to it.”

“That’s alright,” my mom replied and turned to me with a gentle smile on her face, the one that usually calmed me when I was little and let me know that everything would be okay. When dad died in a war with another pack, I’d withdrawn into a shell, shrouded in misery and pain and a thirst for vengeance.

But Mom had come to me with that gentle smile on her face, hugging and cuddling with me as I bawled my eyes out for the first time in two years since he kicked the bucket.

“Look at my baby,” she cooed, staring at me with so much love in her eyes. “Getting ready for the Halloween dance. I'm so happy she has you, Maria. She would never have accepted to go for any function if you weren't there to drag her.”

Maria stuck her tongue out at me as I rolled my eyes. “Actually, I'm still considering the offer.”

“She means she's still being a spoilsport,” my best friend said cheekily, turning to my mother and placing on the most innocent act I'd ever seen. “Please, Luna Jacqueline, help me convince my best friend to go with me. Without her, I'd feel so lonely and out of place. And she'll finally have a lot of fun if she steps out of that shell of hers.”

I blinked at her act. “How exactly are you -“

My mom looked at me in surprise and a bit of sadness that caused my heart to wrench in pain. “You’re not going? But I thought- please tell me this isn't because of your father, Ivy.”

At the mention of my dad, my mood partially dimmed, but I shook off the feeling. Knowing her, she was probably worried that I felt guilty for going to parties while his body was in the grave. I could be weird like that at times, but that moment wasn't one of those times. I just genuinely didn't want to attend the party. “Mom-”

She blinked at me, her expression pleading. “Please, Ivy. These are your last days in high school. Why not enjoy them?”

“I can’t enjoy them if I’m wearing a stupid costume and going to join those bas-“ I paused when I saw her warning gaze. “- nitwits. Those nitwits.”

Maria snickered, and I pledged within me to later tie her up and chuck her into my wardrobe. “Go and socialize, Ivy.”

“Shut up-”

“You really should go, my darling.”

I looked up at my mother with a ‘Really?’ look and deflated when she nodded. “It's the experience of a lifetime, my darling. You've been cooped up in here for too long. Please, step into the light, you-” She stopped talking, but I knew she wanted to add something about my father and had stopped halfway because she couldn't continue.

That was enough to convince me. Sighing, I turned to Maria. “I’m not wearing that Harley Quinn costume though.”

My best friend's eyes beamed even as she pouted. “But it looks so cute on you, Ivy! It's beautiful!”

My mother laughed at us and left the room at that moment, saying she was leaving us to our drama. “Why not give her a Poison Ivy costume?” she said as she stepped out of the room. “It will go very nicely with her skin tone, and you can give her a glamour. Besides, it fits perfectly with her name.”

Of course my mother would pick the character that had my name in it. I resisted the urge to groan and placed my hands on my head instead, watching Maria debate over how to make the outfit. Then she beamed.

“It’d be the most beautiful costume ever!” she cried. “Darrel wouldn’t even dare to stare at any other girl during the dance, Ivy! I promise you-”

“Shh!” I yelled, rushing to shut her mouth with my fingers. My crush on the former Beta's son, Darrel Steel, was no news to Maria, who'd heard all there was to know about his routine that I knew firsthand since his house was right next to mine. Her screaming like that frightened me, because what if he could hear.

After a few moments, I sighed in defeat and lifted my hands in surrender. “Well, do what you must. I shall not be your human mannequin, however.”

“This time, I’m not using the tape rule,” my extremely fashionista friend replied, smirking at me and taking her wand out.

I raised a brow. My best friend rarely made use of her magic to one of days your magic? Why’s that?”

“Because,” she replied, looking at the stick-like object clearly (why, I sincerely do not know), “I want it to be perfect, and me sewing it like a mundane will cause imperfections.”

“Blah blah blah. I guess I don’t have to worry anymore about you accidentally sticking needles into my waist when you’re trying to get my perfect measurement.” I flopped on my bed. “So, what’s your idea for the outfit?”

“Close your eyes and you’ll know.”

I rolled my eyes at her constant clamor for suspense but obeyed, wrinkling my nose when the strong smell of magic permeated the air.

After about five minutes, I sighed. “Aren’t you done, you slow witch?”

“I am now, impatient she-wolf. Open your eyes.”

I did as she said, and when I saw the outfit she’d created, my mouth dropped in shock.

“Oh. My. Luna.”

I wish I could describe the dress. But I can’t. All I can say is that the dress looked like something even Poison Ivy would call heavenly designed.

Maria smiled warmly at my exclamation.

“I want to believe that means you agree with me that Darrel is going to stare at only you throughout the party. I’m glad you see it from my point of view now.”

So saying, she dropped the glamoured dress on my bed. “Come on, have a bath and get ready. I’d be back in about fifteen minutes.”

“Twenty,” I replied with a flourish.

“Nineteen.”

“Twenty.”

“Nineteen.”

“Sheesh. Twenty, young lady. It wouldn’t kill to add one minute!”

“Actually, it would. Time travel in witchery has to be extremely accurate, else, it could disrupt the normal flow of -“

“Do not even start,” I groaned and threw a pillow at her, interrupting the beginning of her fifteen-minute long lecture on how fragile the time frames of different universes were and how it was dangerous to mess with them. “I’ll start getting ready.”

“That’s a much better attitude, Ivy Gertrude Ferdinand,” she said, snickering when I shot her an annoyed look. “Alright, alright. I’m outta here. Be back in a bit.”

I picked the outfit when she disappeared from the room and bit my lip in anticipation of the evening. If things went according to plan, I planned to end up with a super hot vampire and a terrible, alcohol-induced headache.