Chapter 2: New beginnings

Ivy’s Point of View

THE past few weeks since mom had told me that she is dating— engaged— with someone, has been pleasantly blissful.

Two days after that, mom introduced the man to me. And all I could think the moment I caught a glimpse of the man’s look was ‘wow, my mother really has such a great taste in men’, most especially when it comes to looks. Despite my own feelings for the man, I can admit that my sperm donor is extremely good-looking. But this man— Dante— was on another level.

He has this aristocratic features and aura around him that couldn’t be ignored. His presence alone screams for attention without even lifting a finger, but I figured it’s because he is an Alpha. His eyes were cold and his voice was deep, yet the way he spoke to my mom and me was so gentle it left me speechless for a moment. It was nothing like any of the Alphas I’d met before.

I enjoyed talking to him so much because he was genuinely curious about me. There were people who ask for the sake of having conversations, but Dante doesn’t look like the no-nonsense type of person, and he certainly didn’t seem like the type to feign interest just to be polite. So when he kept asking about me, the sincerity in his voice moved me and it got me so excited that my usual shyness around new people vanished.

After that, I was always looking forward to seeing him again. Especially because I love seeing my mother smile so genuinely wide. I ignored how she blushed sometimes like a teenage girl. I just focused on watching her interact with her fiance.

Then, three months after mom introduced Dante and me to each other, Dante asked us to live with him. Despite liking him, I had my own reservations about him. So I asked him about my condition.

The she-wolves in our pack had this certain condition where we experience heat every month. During our heat, our body emits scents that attract unmated Alphas. Mom said our scents are thrice more alluring than the usual Omega scents. It was said to be intoxicating and addicting that I had to wear inhibitors and have some suppressants to avoid attracting unnecessary attraction and unwanted advancements from unmated Alphas. 

Though our heats can be relieved when we have our fated mates to help us with it— which I haven’t found yet. Not that I’m in a hurry; I just really wanted to relieve myself from the stress of my condition. I’d be healthier and safer that way after all.

Dante’s response to me with regards to my condition is what made me start liking him a lot more than I planned to.

“Our house has a lot of rooms. I am currently renovating one of them, which is located at the farthest part of the house, quite isolated from the rest, which I think would be perfect for your heat. Your mother already explained to me that unmated Alphas are the ones most affected by your scent during this time, so I had my men install ventilation to let out some of your scent. I also ordered all the inhibitors and suppressants you need, according to your family doctor’s prescription, as well as any medication you might require. There will also be a refrigerator in the room that I will stock with food and drinks so you won’t have to leave during your heat. Did I forget anything else?”

Dante had said it so casually but with utmost care, as if he had thought so carefully about it. His face was serious and he looked like he would immediately buy everything that I’d ask him for during that moment.

Words couldn’t express how grateful I am upon hearing that, because I’ve always dreamed of having a father that would care and dote for me like that during my most vulnerable moments. My mother had so much on her plate that I couldn’t ask her to do all those things for me, not when my suppressants and inhibitors are already taking so much from her salary. I also hate the fact I need to leave my room whenever I’m hungry. It’s already too much legwork and my energy is quick to deplete when I’m in heat.

Hearing him say he was already working on my heat room, even though he wasn’t sure we’d agree to live with him, made my heart flutter with delight.

For a moment, I wondered if this is what it feels like to have a father.

I quickly set aside those thoughts, deciding not to look too much into it at the moment. It’s too early to go into that train of thought.

A month after that conversation with Dante where mom and I agreed to live with him after the house renovation, we finally moved to Dante’s house.

To my surprise, Dante lives in a freaking mansion! Not a simple house like what I imagined, but a mansion! It’s located in a fancy subdivision where all houses looked the same, just different colors and sizes. Dante’s house is the largest of them all.

It’s humongous, almost like two dozen are living there when in fact, there’s only nine of us. The three of us, five maids and a driver. It’s only three days later that I learned Dante is the alpha of their pack— the Stone freaking Edge pack!

That was the most surprising thing I’ve ever found out. Stone Edge pack is one of the Elite packs in our country. They’re the third largest pack, second wealthiest, and the most powerful. With just their inventions of weapons, they’re already deadly. Their strength and power as wolves is even deadlier.

I didn’t recognise Dante because Stone Edge’s Alpha never agrees to show himself in the media. His men work fast whenever there’s a leak of his photo online. It would be deleted and shut down, and I’m too slow to see it before then. All his released photos were blurred, so there is no way to know how he looked.

So imagine my surprise when I asked Dante what is the weird logo on the gate of the subdivision and on every house inside of it, and Dante casually responded, “It’s just the Stone Edge pack’s logo.”

My jaw literally dropped and it rendered me speechless for a few minutes before Dante noticed my silence. It took him a few moments to realise why I wasn’t able to respond and he just shrugged like he just told me it was another Tuesday!

My mother—who had always been picky with men since she was a teenager, met her mate at twenty, got pregnant with me at twenty-one, and lost her mate when I was six, never entertaining anyone else after that—bagged one of the most handsome, wealthy, and powerful Alphas in the country!

And she did not even deign to tell me about it. 

I was so awkward with Dante after that. I didn’t know how to act after finding out he’s an Alpha of an Elite pack. I get shy whenever our eyes meet, I stutter when talking to him, and I try to avoid him whenever mom’s not around.

He noticed it and eventually called me out about it with mom, who bonked my head and called me stupid for acting so awkwardly. She drilled to me that in our house, Dante is not the Stone Edge’s Alpha. He’s just Dante— mom’s fiance and my soon-to-be-stepfather. 

I understand it, but it still took me quite a while to stop acting awkwardly around him. But then one time when I was trying to say goodnight to him when he sat beside me in the living room while I was watching, he actually looked genuinely hurt that I was avoiding him.

Guilt struck my heart at that moment, and there I realised how stupid I was acting. So I stayed to watch with him until I fell asleep on the couch, curling like a kitten on his side.

The next day, I acted the same way I did before I found out he’s the Alpha of Stone Edge pack. Despite looking so awkwardly while doing so, eventually, it just became natural.

And living with Dante was incredible. The heat remained unbearable and stressful, but the heat room designed specifically for me helped a lot. All my needs were provided. My cravings were satisfied without having to worry about the expenses, because Dante stubbornly insisted on spoiling me to death.

Before moving in with Dante, we talked about my studies because Dante’s place is located in a different city far from where mom and I lived. I didn’t mind transferring schools since I have no attachments with the current school I had. I’ll be a college student for the next academic year anyway. I didn’t care about graduation or the year-end party. As long as I get my high school diploma, it doesn’t matter to me.

So Dante enrolled me in my highschool’s online course where I could finish my studies in order to get my diploma. Then he will register me to the most prestigious college university in their city, the one which I can only dream of before finding out mom’s dating a millionaire Alpha.

All in all, it was a sudden and surprising change in our lives, but most definitely not an unwelcome one. 

For better or for worse, mom and Dante dating change the course of my life.

And then on the day I moved to my dorm, the beginning of my life as a college student, that’s when my life drastically changed, more so than when mom revealed to me her secret.

That’s when I met my mates.