Semua Bab Alpha Mate Chose My Bully, I Left on My Birthday: Bab 1 - Bab 10

When Dom said that, he had no idea I'd end up with his rival.After we made up, Dom had a little PTSD.If I was even slightly cool with him, he'd say I was freezing him out again.So I started bringing him water at his basketball games.The first time Lucian Vance saw me, he froze on the court.Then Dom crashed into him going for a rebound, and Lucian landed wrong on his ankle.Any other day, there would have been claws on that court. They were the heirs to Stonecrest and Northridge, the two biggest packs in the territory, and they'd hated each other since middle school.But then Lucian found out I was Dom's sister.He forced out a smile. "We're good, man. No big deal."Lucian was a lot of energy.Loud, friendly, clingy in a way that should have been annoying and somehow wasn't.He felt clean. Honest.The kind of boy who grew up in a happy house.I turned him down without thinking twice.I didn't know what to do when people were cruel to me. I didn't know what to do when they liked me

Eleven years later, Serena Holt was standing on my front porch.She was dropping off files for Lucian.The second she saw me, her eyes went huge.Then she threw her arms around me like we were long-lost best friends.She actually squealed."Ivy! It's me, Serena! Your best friend from high school!""You transferred out of nowhere! Where did you go?"She still wore the same perfume. Sweet, heavy, too much of it.My body knew it before my brain did. Every muscle I had locked up.Lucian heard the noise and came out of the bedroom.Serena kept her arms around me and turned to him."Alpha! Oh my god, what are the odds? You're Ivy's mate?"Then she slid her feet into my favorite slippers and walked right in.She talked to Lucian about the old days for a long time.It was incredible.Every time she'd turned the whole class against me, it came out of her mouth as something else."I was so jealous of Ivy back then. She was gorgeous and her family was rich.""Ivy had a nickname in high school. Pr

At dinner, Serena and Lucian never stopped talking.They were a boss and an assistant who already got along. Now they had me in common too.Plenty to talk about.Serena did most of the talking. Lucian listened to every word.He was smiling. He looked like he was having a great time.I kept my head down and ate.Near the end, Serena seemed to remember I existed."Ivy, unblock me, okay?""You blocked me after you transferred. I was heartbroken for months."Lucian looked surprised.He glanced at me. Said nothing.Serena held out her phone with her number pulled up, waiting for me to save it.I didn't move. She didn't lower it.Nobody spoke.Then Lucian said, "I'll text you her number later. Try the dessert. I hear it's great here."The dinner finally ended.He didn't say one word on the drive home.At home he changed and sat on the couch scrolling his phone.I spent forever washing my face. Then I finally worked up the nerve, walked over, and sat down next to him."Could you get a differe

I slept on and off.In the morning, Lucian seemed to have forgotten the whole thing.He made pancakes, humming, and called me down to eat.Before he left, he hugged me, kissed me, and told me not to forget to get some sun.At noon, he texted.Babe, you looking at your phone? Accept Serena's request.I didn't know how to answer.So I didn't.A while later, another one.Babe, your birthday's next week. Serena wants to take you to dinner. What do you feel like?I didn't answer that either.Is avoidance shameful? Yes.Does it work? Also yes.He stopped texting.That night he came home from work and didn't say hi.He ate dinner without a word.After dinner, out of nowhere: "Why didn't you answer me?"I kept scrolling and didn't look up. "Didn't see it."Lucian stared at me.He took a few deep breaths, sat on the couch, and turned on the TV without really watching it.A long time later, he said, "I don't know what else I can do to make you feel secure."I went still.I dug my nails into my p

I was shoving clothes into a suitcase with shaking hands when someone knocked on the front door.I nearly jumped out of my skin.Then my phone lit up. Dom.Open up. It's me.I didn't want to face him right now. I didn't answer.Something's been off all day. You fight with Vance?Is he home?I still didn't answer.About an hour later, I carried a bag of clothes I didn't want outside to throw out.Dom was sitting on the cold porch steps, waiting.It was past two in the morning. He was obviously exhausted and fighting to stay awake.The Alpha of Stonecrest, alone on Northridge land in the middle of the night. If anyone from Lucian's pack had found him there, it would have meant war.He hadn't cared.My first instinct was to turn around and go back in.Dom stepped in front of me.He sighed."Come on, Ives. Turn around. Look at me."I turned around."You're leaving, right? Where are you going?"I lied through my teeth. "I'm not, I'm just organizing some stuff..."Dom bent down until we were