When the Past Shows Up

Ivy’s POV

Years had passed since I left behind the life of Aria Carrington, the downtrodden twin who had been blamed, shamed, and all but erased from memory by my own pack.

I had become Ivy Blackwood, a woman who now walked with a different air—graceful, assured, someone who had conquered the ruins of her past and forged a new life with dignity.

The girl who had been nothing more than a shadow in the Full Moon pack now glimmered like a rare jewel in New Orleans’ elite society, my mysterious aura drawing those who sought to know me.

Tonight was my engagement party, and the grand hall was alive with music, lights, and elegantly dressed guests. Beside me stood Leo Ashton, the man I’d come to love with a depth I’d never thought possible.

Leo’s strong hand around my waist was both a comfort and a quiet assertion to the crowd. I was his, and he was mine. His eyes held an admiration and tenderness only I knew, and when he looked at me, I felt as though I were the center of his entire world.

“Mrs. Ivy Ashton,” Leo murmured into my ears, his voice low and teasing. “I like the sound of that.”

I laughed, the warmth of his gaze filling me with a sense of safety I rarely felt. “So do I,” I replied, my eyes twinkling as I scanned the room.

Just then, it happened—a prickling at the back of my neck, as if I were being watched, dissected. I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Turning slowly, my gaze landed on a hauntingly familiar face across the hall, and my blood ran cold.

It was him. Connor.

The past I had so carefully buried surged up, ripping through me as raw as the day it had happened. My mind raced back to the rejection, the humiliation, the piercing words that had once shattered my spirit.

I could still hear his voice, cold and dismissive, tearing down the fragile hope I’d carried for so long.

Connor’s expression was unreadable, a mix of shock, regret, and disbelief. He stood in stunned silence, his eyes locking with mine as if I were a ghost coming back to haunt him.

I fought to steady my breathing, my heart hammering in my chest. I had imagined this moment a thousand times—where I was free, strong, and beyond the reach of those who’d tried to break me. And yet, here he was, and the weight of our past pressed on me like a chain I thought I’d shattered.

“Ivy?” Leo’s gentle voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. His hand tightened around my waist, his keen eyes catching my sudden shift in demeanor. “Is something wrong?”

Before I could answer, another figure emerged from behind Connor—a face that twisted my gut with a more potent dread than I’d thought possible. My mother, with that familiar calculating look, stood beside him. Lila and my father followed close behind, each gaze heavier and more damning than the last.

How are they here?

I felt Leo’s grip stiffen as he, too, noticed the strangers watching me with an intensity that went beyond mere curiosity. He looked at me, a silent question in his eyes, his protective instincts flaring.

My mind raced as the memories I’d buried deep inside resurfaced—years of blame, of silent suffering, of whispered accusations. It was as if they had come to claim me, to drag me back into the darkness I had fought so hard to escape.

I knew I shouldn’t be worried, not with Leo and my father by my side. I was no longer the helpless girl they’d once discarded. But I also knew that facing them would take every ounce of strength I had.

At least, I’m not alone.

Leo’s eyes sharpened, his stance subtly shifting into that of an Alpha assessing a potential threat. Good thing he is a human.

I despise my kind.

“Do you know them?” he asked, his voice soft but edged with steel.

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “They used to be my family.”

The word felt foreign, bitter on my tongue, and Leo’s jaw clenched as he pieced together the gravity of the situation. “Do you want me to handle this?”

I shook my head, my gaze still locked on my mother’s piercing eyes. “No. I need to do this.”

Before he could say another word, my parents approached, flanked by Lila. My mother’s eyes, so much like my own, burned with a mix of disdain and anger. She took me in, from my expensive gown to the jewels that adorned me, and sneered as if I had no right to wear them.

“Look at you,” she spat, her voice low but no less venomous. “You think you can wash away your shame with luxury? Do you think this life makes you any different? Underneath it all, you’re still the same filthy, worthless maid who disgraced her family and pack.”

Leo moved to say something but I held him back. This was my fight. I could feel the old wounds reopening, each syllable she spoke slicing through me. Lila stepped forward then, her smile cruel, her words even crueler.

“It’s amusing, really,” she said, her gaze flicking to Leo and back to me. “We thought you died. But here you are, parading around as if you belong in the land of the living. As if these clothes, this status, could ever hide what you truly are. Pathetic.”

The sting of their words ignited a flicker of the old shame, but it didn’t last. Because at that moment, Leo stepped between me and them, his expression darkening with fury.

“If you think you can speak to her like that and walk away unscathed,” Leo said, his words sharp enough to draw blood, “you’re mistaken.”

The air in the room seemed to crackle with energy as my parents exchanged wary glances. But while my parents faltered, Connor did not. His eyes never left mine, a storm of emotion raging beneath the surface.

I hated how my heart responded to that gaze, the way it made every nerve in my body come alive. It was a pull I despised, a connection I had sworn to sever. But I was no longer an eighteen year old girl, desperate for his approval.

“Come to me, mate,” he said suddenly, the words low and filled with a dark, possessive hunger that sent shivers down my spine.

The audacity of it all—the gall to call me that after everything—-made me laugh, though the sound was harsh and bitter.

“Mate?” I spat, my eyes blazing with fury. “Didn’t you reject me years ago, Connor?”

He seemed relaxed, which made me more angry. “I made a mistake,” he said, voice thick with something that might have been regret. “I see that now.”

“Go to hell Connor,” I replied, my voice cold as the winter wind. Yet as I looked at his direction, I felt the weight of every emotion I’d tried to bury. Anger, hatred…and something else I refused to name.

“Come to me,” he said one more time, his voice a deep growl.

I swear to the moon, I would kill him. Who the hell does he think he is?

“Wait,” I whispered to myself, the room spinning as past and present collided. “How did I get here?” I muttered as I found myself standing in front of Connor, staring into his dark-brown eyes.

“Good girl.”