Chapter 3: Close Call

Ivy POV

Alpha Maddox went dangerously still. His jaw clenched, and he stared at the housekeeper with such fury that I half expected her to burst into flames.

I stood there, still as a statue, unable to make a move. For a minute I thought I might have misheard, but the expression on the housekeeper's face said otherwise. 

Rosalie was missing, and anything could have happened to her. My chest grew tight, and my hands began to sweat. 

She could be ill, she could be injured, or she could be lost. None of those situations was acceptable.

“What do you mean she’s missing?” Maddox snarled, “I told the omegas to take care of her and not to let Rosalie out of their sight!"

“She snuck out,” the housekeeper choked out. “We’ve done our best, but without somebody as her primary caregiver, it’s impossible to have eyes on her all the time.”

It was the entirely wrong thing to say. The tension in the air grew so thick I felt as though I was choking on air.

Alpha Maddox gave such a roar that the house shook. Without even glancing at me, he pushed past and stormed away, his thoughts clearly on finding his daughter.

I remembered that Rosalie was mute. She couldn't cry out for help or scream. She was entirely helpless, and I could feel my body growing colder by the minute.

I knew I should leave. I knew I should get out before Alpha Maddox realized I was still there, but I couldn’t just leave knowing Rosalie Blackthorn was somewhere alone and possibly frightened. To just walk away and ignore what could potentially turn out fatal for an innocent young girl was monstrous in my eyes. 

I walked outside and slowly surveyed the grounds.

Everyone was rushing around like headless chooks, pack members screaming out Rosalie’s name, even though she couldn’t answer. They were panicked and disorganized. 

I walked slowly across the grounds, blatantly ignored by pack members due to the chaos, and hesitated at the edge of the forest.

Would a little girl have gone in here alone?

I spotted a pink hair clip out of the corner of my eye, half covered by debris, and slowly bent to pick it up. Was it Rosalie's?

I paused and then felt my intuition telling me to move and go deeper inside the forest.

Listening to my intuition constantly got me into trouble, but more often than not, it had also been right on more than one occasion.

Everybody was looking around the grounds and inside the house, but nobody was looking in the forest. They probably assumed that the little girl was obedient enough to stay away. After all, she had probably been warned how dangerous it was.

Perhaps they thought Rosalie would be too frightened to go in there.

Assumptions could prove to be dangerous. 

I stalked forward, my footsteps quiet, my dress flowing softly around my ankles. My ears strained for the sound of little footsteps. 

“Rosalie,” my voice was soft, “Rosalie, if you’re there, give me a sign. Make some noise, throw a rock,” I urged, “or a pinecone.”

Nothing.

I ventured further in, glancing uneasily at the dark shadows of the trees and the sky, which was growing cloudy. The wind picked up, and I shivered from the cold.

It was going to rain soon. I needed to find her before she got drenched or worse.

“Rosalie,” I whispered, my head moving side to side as I continued to search for her.

The sound of a low growl and the smell of rotting flesh reached my nostrils. I gagged, fighting the urge to vomit up what little lunch remained in my stomach. 

Rogue.

The scent was undeniable. It did not belong in this territory, nor so close to the grounds. 

What was one doing so close to the vicinity of the packhouse? Why had patrol failed to pick up that the territory had been breached?

I stepped back and then heard the sound again. Then something rolled across the ground and hit my shoe.

A rock. It hadn't made its way towards me by accident. 

My eyes widened as realization dawned. 

I didn't hesitate. 

I rushed forward in the direction of the putrid scent and saw the two of them. A mangy-looking wolf was pinning a blonde-haired girl down on the ground as she struggled beneath him. I could see the glint in its eyes and his jaw opening wide.

As usual, I did not spare time to consider my options. 

“Oy, you disgusting piece of shit.” I threw a rock at the wolf and watched in satisfaction as it bounced off its forehead.

Bullseye. 

Unfortunately, it failed to damage him at all. It just served to piss him off. 

I should have thrown a larger rock. 

The wolf’s head slowly turned towards me. I sucked in a breath, but my courage did not desert me. 

I gave it the finger with both hands. 

The little girl’s head turned, and I saw her big blue eyes filled with tears and the panic on her face.

She was beautiful. She also had the sense to remain perfectly still and not struggle.

I waved my arms at the rogue, who narrowed his eyes at me, no longer focused on the little girl beneath him.

“You don’t want her!” I pointed at Rosalie. “She’s got no meat on her. I’m the one you want. I’ll make you nice and fat,” I shouted, doing a fabulous job of twerking at him and even patting my ass as he stared at me.

Take the bait, you motherfucker. Come try and take a chunk out of this glorious behind of mine! 

I wiggled my ass at him again. The wolf's eyes gleamed even redder. 

It's working. He can't resist me. 

The rogue slowly climbed off of Rosalie and began to turn directly towards me. 

Time to seal the deal. Come on, Ivy, you got this! 

“That’s it. I’m a tasty morsel,” I encouraged recklessly, shouting without abandon, “a nice bit of tenderness to bite into.”

My body is so plump; he definitely won't be able to keep himself from trying to eat me. 

The little girl slowly stood up and began to nervously back away. I nodded subtly at her to keep moving as the rogue remained fixated on me.

‘Run,’ I mouthed to Rosalie.

But as she stepped back, she stepped on a small branch, and the noise immediately brought back the wolf’s attention.

Shit. He's going to kill her! 

As he growled and went to jump at the trembling little girl, I ran past him and jumped on top of Rosalie, shielding her with my body, my back turned to the rogue who probably thought he had hit the jackpot. 

Two bodies instead of one for the taking. I screamed and held the girl tighter as I felt the rogue so close I could feel his breath on my back. 

Just before the rogue could clamp his jaws around me and bite, a large black wolf came barreling out of the trees and leaped directly into him, sending the rogue flying.