Ivy's POV Hastily, I ducked underneath Chris' arms and stepped out of them. Then, I quickly stepped out the elevator into a hallway of sorts. Clueless as to what to do next, I looked to  behind me at Chris. His face gave nothing away but the way his eyes had narrowed told me that he was annoyed. I hid my smile behind my hand as he stepped out.  "Come," he told me, keeping his hand at the small of my back to guide me down the hallway.  I obliged, letting him lead me towards the double doors at the end of the hallway.  And then we were stepping into a restaurant with tables and chairs littered all around the large space. The restaurant felt as if I had entered a dreamland, the happy chatter, the fragrances, the easy and natural colours, they all relaxed me almost instantly. It was your typical restaurant with beautiful overhead lights, decorative w

  Ivy's POV   "So, did you do it?" Harper asked Ivy, all but bouncing on her bed excitedly.   An hour or so after we had returned to the palace from the cabin, Gia, Harper and Amy had come into our room to drill me about my date last night with Chris under the pretence of preparing for the Ball.   It took me a moment to understand the implications of her words and I blushed despite myself. "God, no. And even if we did, what gives you the idea that I'd tell you guys?"   Amy raised a brow at me. "You just did."    I faltered a little. Even if I pretended in front of them that I wouldn't share anything with them, in all honesty it actually felt good to have someone to talk to other than Chris. Besides, I couldn't quite talk about Chris to him, could I? "Well, I meant I wouldn't share, you know, the bedroom details and all that."   Gia grinned a

 Ivy's POV By the time we were done with training, I was a sweating, panting mess and in dire need of a shower. Chris was brutal when it came to training, working me until I was ready to drop dead out of exhaustion. I'd admit, albeit a bit grudgingly, that Chris was a good teacher. But what had I expected really? He was an Alpha. Of course he was better and more powerful than any other werewolf out there. And it was definitely a privilege to get my training from him.  Besides, somewhere in the back of my mind I realised that I was the soon to be Luna and as a Luna, I was supposed to be strong too. That alone made me give my best in training. I didn't want to let Chris down. Ever. "Still think I'm a bad teacher?"  "No," I mumbled as we made our way back to our room. "What? I didn't quite hear that," he replied, clearly rubbing it in. I r

 Ivy's POV I wondered how Chris had the time to plan all of this. Sure, there weren't any decorations or anything of the sort but boy, was there food. The various dishes ranging from salads to sandwiches to meats of different kinds were brought out to the table and served by the maids. Chris told me that buffets were set outside for the rest of the pack members to feast on.  "Who made all this food? And when did you even have the time to plan all of this?" I asked, both shocked and impressed. There had to be at least five hundred people out there. It was almost as if we were hosting a really large wedding, the only things missing were the decorations. When did he even invite all these people? "The maids did, love. And I didn't have to do much. I simply sent a message through the pack link that at least one member from each household must be present for the ceremony and then I told the maids and chefs to

 Ivy's POV After I pulled back from the kiss, I looked at Chris from underneath my lashes. Tonight, he had been like an open book, every emotion displayed on his face for me to read. He had practically bared his soul to me and more than anything, he had allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of me. He had trusted me enough to tell me something which he probably hadn't ever talked to anyone about. Sure, he had made mistakes, but didn't everyone? What differentiated monsters from the good out there was how we reacted afterwards, what we did to make amends. And according to me, Chris had more than made up for his mistakes.  From what I'd seen so far, he was a tremendous leader, if a little bit too strict sometimes. He took care of his people to the best of his abilities. He took all his responsibilities seriously and made sure to complete each and every one of them. Seeing him so sad and broken, ladled&