Oops! Still Your Mate

Chapter Eighteen

Ivy woke up the next morning to chants of Darius taking over the pack. Everyone whispered his name in reverence. The pack settings changed. Flowers decorated the gate of the pack house like a new Alpha was being welcomed.

Ribbons floated in all corners of the pack house. Fresh, watering food was being rolled out from the kitchen into the royal dinning room. Only dignitaries wined and dined there. Ivy shrugged and continued walking, but not with her eyes not catching the huge boards of his pictures that had been set up all over the pack.

Stoneheart went too far. That was all she could think of. Really really far.

Well, she would see this man soon enough and know if he was worth everything. Darius. Zeke's Uncle. It didn't sound right to her. She didn't want to see him. Not like she have seen him before. Probably have not but his name and the efforts put in place for the decorations were so much and off the bar. His name leaving a bad taste in her mouth and an horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach didn't help matters.

Efforts were made in the decoration, kitchen staffs were extra careful and even the children couldn't wait to see him.

When Ivy walked into the clinic that morning, brilliant smiles decorated the pups faces. Not only were they excited to see her, they were looking forward to Darius coming.

It was there that she heard for the first time that Darius was arriving the pack house that morning.

Sooner had she taken breakfast has Tessa arrived. Her lips was slightly pouted as she caught sight of Ivy.

“What's wrong?” Ivy asked, already walking up to her.

“Nothing. Just wanting to throw a tantrum,” Tessa said and pulled her lips into a pout again. “I'm hungry girl, let's hit the cafeteria,” She added after few minutes and held Ivy by her hands, pulling her away.

When they finally settled down into their chair, Tessa released a deep breath before digging into the food. Ivy watched her for only a minute before shaking her head with a smile. “Not eaten since morning?” Ivy asked, more of a statement than question.

“Yeah girl, I'm starved literally,” She said in between mouthfuls of food and rolled her eyes.

“Girl, what's wrong with you?” Ivy asked, leaning against the table into Tessa's space.

“I said nothing, just throwing a tantrum, I'm fine.” Tessa said, waving her hand dismissively.

“You aren't.” Ivy insisted. “You're trying to hide it?” She chuckled. “From who? Me? Come on girl, what's wrong with you?” She asked again.

Tessa dropped the cutleries which she held, slowly on the plate before turning her attention to Ivy. “Alright, it's Darius or whatever. I'm having a bad feeling about him,” Tessa said.

“About him?” Ivy winced, her stomach making a twist.

Tessa nodded slowly. “He seems to have more influence in the pack than Zeke,” She muttered.

Ivy laughed softly at that, her eyes crinked at the corner. “That's not much of a bad thing,” She sighed.

“Except he doesn't like you,” Tessa muttered.

“What do you mean by that?” Ivy asked as she leaned in.

“Lucas said something in that line,” She breathed out.

“Don't act like you don't expect that, he was the acting Alpha and he had your parents killed,” Tessa said.

“Well, they were at fault,” Ivy clicked her tongue over her teeth and looked away.

“Without thorough investigation, don't tell me I'm the only one that thinks something was fishy,” She shook her head.

Ivy placed her hands over Tessa's eyes and stroked it softly. “I know you're trying to care for me but I'm fine. Really,” She assured.

Tessa rolled her eyes and nodded, albeit reluctantly. “If you say so,” She added. They stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other's eyes.

The chants of Darius grew louder by the second, coming in the direction of the cafeteria. “f**k,” Tessa spat out. “Don't tell he's here already,” She grumbled.

“I think he's here.” Ivy chuckled. They watched as the crowd walked in. Then they realized to their dismay that they were the only ones present in the cafeteria. “f**k,” Tessa cursed again, eliciting another laughter from Ivy.

“He's not going to bite our head off,” Ivy muttered.

“Who knows?” Tessa grumbled.

When the crowd finally settled into the cafeteria, they turned towards them and crunched their nose up in disgust.

“What was that?” Tessa looked around.

“Darius has been around for an hour and he has been asking about me, I wasn't there to welcome him and Zeke is angry,” Ivy supplied.

“Oh s**t,” Tessa ran her fingers over her hair. “Hold up, how did you know that,”A small smirk was beginning to form at the edge of her lips.

“I heard it from there,” Ivy waved her hands towards a direction where two girls stood.

“That's Luna powers, you know. You're not in anyway within hearing spot from them and they were definitely whispering,” She said.

“Luna powers? I wish,” Ivy snorted.

Someone stepped into the cafeteria, all smiles and the cheering continued. “Here he comes,” Ivy rolled her eyes dramatically which made Tessa chuckle.

Darius's eyes swept over the cafeteria before stopping at their table. “He's got eyes on you,” Tessa shrieked quietly in expectation.

“I can see dumbass,” Ivy groaned.

He was already crossing the hall towards them when Ivy raised her head again. “Are we supposed to stand up?” Tessa asked.

“I don't even stand up for Zeke,” Ivy shrugged.

Darius was already standing across them with a smile on his face. He was silver haired which was very rare for werewolves. His hair was sitting loosely on his shoulders. His hazel eyes catching the sunlight. In all ramifications, he was handsome and ungodly handsome.

“Hi Ivy,” Darius smiled at her and she found herself reciprocating his smile. His beautiful smile, showing his light dimples was contagious.

“Hello Darius,” She said and stretched out her hands to shake him.

“Have a seat,” Tessa offered but he shook his head.

“I'm actually on my way to see the pups and I wanted to drop and check on you as you weren't at the gate,” He said.

“Zeke didn't inform me of your coming,” Ivy defended herself almost immediately.

“That nephew of mine,” He groaned and they all erupted into laughter. The sound of his laughter were like dancing bells in her ears.

“How's he treating you?” Darius asked and Ivy couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“He's just there…”

“Pressuring you to reject the bond,” He completed and Ivy's eyes went wide. “I heard,” he smiled. “But don't reject it. He should learn how to love. How's the pack treating their new Luna?” He asked.

“I'm not yet a Luna but they're doing quite well,” She said and Darius nodded.

“This must be your best friend and Lucas's girl.” He turned his attention to Tessa who was blushing hard. Warning bells went loose in her head and she looked away. “He told me about you,” He added before turning his attention to Ivy.

“Alright, we would be seeing more often, probably at dinner. I would go check on the pups,” He said and the girls nodded, as they watched him leave.

The air seemed more lighter as he walked away and Ivy took in a deep breath. And that was when it crashed on her. “Hold up, what was that?” Her eyes widened instantly. “I don't like him,” She turned towards Tessa.

“What?” Tessa yelled like she had been possessed. “He's perfectly nice,” She said.

“That's the problem.” She replied. “It made us release too much information,”

“I don't see the much information we released.” Tessa shrugged.

“Lucas's girl.” Ivy teased.