Hunter's POV
Watching her walk into the room and her eyes light up like a child in a candy shop, she looked so happy, but it faded just as quickly as it came about. She suddenly showed a great deal of sadness and fear. And I can't blame her, but she doesn't need to worry so much cause she will not be going back to that horrible place again, and I would put my life on that. "Um, so this is your room for as long as you want it, and if you ever need anything, my room is right across the hall from you; come in whenever you like, um, I hope you like it. My sister helped; there are some clothes in the drawers that she thought you could use, and I also put some of my clothes in the closet if you want to wear anything more comfortable at night." "Thank you, this is very kind of you, and please thank your sister for me as well," Ivory replied with a smile. When she smiles, I swear she could knock me right off my feet. I couldn't be any more grateful to the Moon Goddess for giving me a second chance to be happy again, if that is what this is. "You're welcome. I will give you some time so that you can take a shower if you want or change clothes if you need to. We will have dinner at six. Please join us, just come sit next to me."
I leave Ivory in her room as I head to mine and quickly shower and change. I head to my office. Emery is there, which is great cause I need him fast. "Emery, I need you to go and get my sister for me," I ask him as he stands there looking at me like I am crazy, and I am because right now my sister is training, and she is the best and doesn't like to be interrupted, but I need her. "Ah, okay, I can go get her but do you need her right now?" I know he doesn't want to get her cause then she's going to humiliate him in front of anyone there, which is sad cause he is my Beta. "Yeah, sorry, man
I know it's a tall order, but I promise I will make it up to you. Also, do you have that information that I asked you to collect for me on that patient Alpha James and deceased Luna?" I am not so happy to even talk about that man. "Yes, I placed it on your desk. There was plenty on him but not too much on Luna. It's pretty sad what Ivory had gone through," Emery says as he walks out of my office. I started looking through the files, and he was right. All there was for Luna was basic information and the report of her death. Which matched up with what Ivory was telling me back in the hospital.
As I continued to read on, I finally went on to that so-called Alpha. The report had plenty to say, but it was slightly different when I read about what he had to say about the accident.
"Involving the events of the death of the Luna of the Opal Moon pack, there was a rogue that had killed her while she was busy protecting a useless omega. That omega has been dealt with for causing the death of our great Luna."
Alpha James Thomason
Strange that he wrote such a short report and reference to Ivory as omega and left no trace that she is his child and that the blame was placed on her as this omega. Another strange thing was that there was no mention of Ivory in either file. I was starting to think if there was more behind this "attack," but I will have to dig into this a bit more later cause right now, I need to get ready for dinner. I head downstairs and see if anyone needs help preparing tonight's meal in the kitchen.
"Good evening Jasmine," I greet the head of our kitchen staff as she is cutting what looks like some vegetables. "Good evening, Alpha; how are you this evening?" She asks as she continues to chop away without looking up at me. "I am very well. Is there anything that I can help with tonight?" She looks up and around for a moment before she speaks again, "if it is not too much trouble could you help Mark with placement in the dining hall." "Sure thing. Can I ask what you have prepared for everyone tonight?" She goes back to chopping but continues with a smile, "tonight we have prepared a high protein meal. We have grilled chicken or grilled fish with sides of mixed vegetables, salad, and as a carb, we have made steamed white rice." My stomach grumbles at the sound of what Jasmine and the staff prepared and made for this evening. "Sounds wonderful, and we have one more joining us tonight for dinner, so please make sure that there is an extra plate next to me." "Will do, Alpha, and thank you for your help tonight."
After finishing talking to Jasmine, I walked out into the dining hall. I was shocked to see that Ivory was helping set the tables that lined our halls. She had changed clothes. She's wearing a pair of skinny jeans, and she's wearing a t-shirt. My heart flutters to see it is one of mine. I smell the air, and now her scent has changed from what I smelled this morning when we found her. This time her scent is mixed with mine, and it just drives Ash crazy in my mind, "They smell wonderful Hunter, but I can't connect to her wolf. I need to talk to them soon. I'm so worried," Ash tells me as I try to calm him down while walking over to where Ivory is setting some plates and silverware down in spots.
Ivory's POV
Alpha Hunter left me in this beautiful room that he and his sister were generous enough to set up for me, and this room was huge. This room was on the top floor, and there have to be about four floors. The room had a bedroom to the left of the door, a king-size bed against the far left wall across a gorgeous bay window with a view of the pond facing the back of the packhouse. There are also substantial walk-in clothes and a full bathroom with a full standing shower and separate tub next. There is a small kitchenette not too far right of the door. To the right of the kitchenette, there is a vast living room sitting area with a giant couch that faces a tv; around the tv are built-in bookshelves and cubbies. I was surprised that we walked in this room and not some quarters that omega will stay in when working in the packhouse overnight, so if they need to, they have a place to rest. I was happy at first, but then I remembered about having to go home back sooner or later and returning to my room which was a small hall closet that fit a busted twin mattress and a few boxes that had what little clothes I had in them and a pair or two of shoes. Thinking about it made me sad, and I hope that Alpha Hunter didn't see it beforehand. That's more weakness that I show.
After standing in shock, I head to the bedroom and look through the clothes Hunter and his sister had placed here for me to use. I found this t-shirt I was drawn to right away. I wanted to wear it and never take it off. Once I found something to wear, I found some skinny jeans that fit and headed to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and looked over some of the bruises and scars that I still have. I knew that Hunter had seen them when they caught me. I wondered if they would heal before I got home or if there would be more soon. I get out, dry off, and get dressed. The bathroom was stocked with hair products and hygiene items, so I quickly brushed my hair and teeth. Afterward, I place my hair up in a loose bun. I throw my converses back on and leave. I knock on Hunter's door cause I still don't know where I am going, and I'd hate to get lost and cause any problems, but as I stand there waiting, no one answers the door, so I head off in the way that we had come up and probably after about five minutes and a few wrong turns I find the stairs. As I get down to the bottom floor, I smell something unique coming through this large dining hall.
As I stand in this hall and a young man taps me on the shoulders, I see he has an arm in a sling and is having some trouble. "Hi there, would you be able to help me set these tables? It's a lot to do with one arm and myself," he asks me with a small yet shy smile. "Of course, I can, but I'm not from here, so could you show me how your pack does it?" I ask him. He brightens up when he hears that I am not from the pack, and he beams with excitement. "Yeah, and welcome to our pack. I hope you love it here. My name is Mark." He extends his other hand out to me. I shake his hand, "Thank you, yes, your pack and its ground are beautiful. My name is Ivory Sterling. I am from the Opal Moon pack." After talking with Mark for a bit, he showed me how they set the tables, and I started helping him. We were working on settling the tables when I noticed Hunter walk up to me after coming from the kitchen. "I see you beat me here," He chuckles as he says it. He starts helping set tables and talks to Mark for a moment asking him how he is healing and feeling. I have never seen such kindness in an Alpha, but I have only seen how my pack interacts with each other, and it is nowhere as nice as this. After Hunter and Mark finish talking, I finish setting the last table. I don't notice that Hunter comes back towards me and is watching me. He is staring at me when I finally finish and turn around, almost smacking right into him. I drop my head slightly and apologize, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were right there. I should have been watching where I was going." As if it was some natural reaction, I spit out whatever apology fit for the "crime." I feel Hunter raise his hand. I cringe, but he pats my head, "everything is fine no one is hurt, plus it was my fault that I didn't announce myself being right behind you in the first place," he says as he takes his hand away from me and I feel sad for a moment that I no longer felt his touch in some way. This is weird. I have never had any feelings about anything, especially towards someone else. What is going on with me? It is the same with the sense of electricity that travels between us when we touch too. Hunter sits down and places his hand at a spot to his right where Lunas would sit. So I am confused about why he wants me to sit there since I am one, a guest, and two, an omega. I'm supposed to sit at the end of the last table or stand during meal times. I cautiously took a seat where he had placed his hand. I'm shaking cause I am so nervous that someone will get mad at me for sitting where I don't belong.
After about ten minutes, people start to come into the dining hall and take their seats, Emery comes in and takes a seat next to Hunter to his left, and Doctor Lilian sits next to Emery. Emery gives Lilian a quick kiss as she sits down, guessing that they are mated. Then I see Shyane come in, taking a seat next to Lilian. As I was watching Emery and Shayne talk and interact, a young girl pulled out the chair next to me, and this petite, young brunette with the most beautiful hazel eyes took a seat next to me, and she was smiling and staring at me; then, she looks at Hunter. I see his eyes fog up, which means that he is receiving a mind link from someone, and I probably could have guessed it was from the girl sitting next to me. I felt something or someone touching my hand, which pulled me out of my hard train of thought. When I finally noticed and looked to see what it was, Hunter had placed his hand over my small one. I could feel these small shocks where our hands were touching.
Hunter's Pov
After my sister sat down next to Ivory and looked at her and me, she mind-linked me, wondering when I would introduce them. I tell her that I will introduce her to the pack first, and then afterward, they could meet; we finish talking, and I end the conversation. I noticed that Ivory was lost in deep thought, and she looked super nervous sitting there; she had her head cast down. I saw one of her hands on the table, and without even thinking about it, I gently placed my hand over hers. I could feel her turn her attention toward me while talking to Emery and Shayne. I smile a little, not knowing if she sees it or not, but I know that she is feeling the electricity where our hands are hardly even meeting, and that makes me happy that I am one step closer to getting to know her.
After about five minutes, the rest of the pack joins. I stand up regretfully, taking my hand away from Ivory's, even a second. I clear my throat, and I get ready to use my Alpha voice so that everyone can hear me since we have about twelve to fifteen long tables that line and fill our dining hall. "Good evening, everyone. Thank the Moon Goddess for another beautiful and wonderful day. I would also like to thank the Goddess for our lovely and kind guest joining us for a while. Ivory Sterling, as I told everyone earlier, will be joining our pack and us for the time being while she is here recovering. She is from the Opal Moon pack, so I would hope that we show her the kindness that she has already started to show us by helping Mark set up the dining hall. As everyone is aware, Mark was injured and a monthly hurt and had his arm in a sling while he heals; he still does what he can to help us as a pack. He volunteered to help with kitchen duties, and when struggling, he asked Ivory to help, not knowing she was our guest. She had gone out of her way to help and even learn our customs and traditions, and so Miss Sterling. I, Alpha Hunter John Price Jr. of the Moon Stone pack, welcome you to our pack." I retake my seat, and then everyone enjoys the lovely meal. I look over at Ivory, and she hasn't touched her plate yet. She hasn't moved yet just has her head down as if she is waiting for something. I take a bite of fish from my plate, and not until after I take my first bite do I see that Ivory moves and starts to eat slowly. I wonder what is going through her head right now. After dinner, she could talk for a bit, but my sister also wants to meet her after dinner. I'll figure it out. I finish my plate, and Ivory stands up, takes it from before me, and takes hers. Before taking her out of my view, I saw that she had only taken a few bites off her plate.
After finishing whatever she is doing, she returns and sits down again with her head down and hands neatly folded in her lap. Roxie links me again, and I feel the same concern from her that I am feeling as well, "Hunter, is she okay I'm worried it's like she's here, but she's not here at the same time," Roxie's voice is shaking with worry and concern. "I'm not sure I can't leave yet, but I wondered if you would take her back up to her room and try to talk to her and see where her mind is right now. Just until I can leave, I'll come straight up afterward," I ask Roxie to do a big thing for me by seeing if she can find anything out for me. My father wants to have a talk about today's events and why Ivory is still here. "I got you, your brother. I can see what I can do." I smile and end the link between us again, finding Ivory's hand in her lap. I place it inside my hand, and she looks at our hands, then her head tilts up to mine. "Ivory, you look a bit uncomfortable. The young lady next to you is my sister Roxie. If you want, she said she would take you back upstairs and sit with you until I can come to talk to you. But I think you should relax for a moment. You're still healing, and meeting a whole new pack can be stressful sometimes." She smiles softly at me, but I am too busy to notice it due to the emotions and fear staring back at me in her eyes. It's the same look I saw when Alpha James talked to her in the hospital room; she wasn't shanking as much this time. I link Jasmine to me before my father comes and sits next to the boys and me, Emery kisses his mate, and she goes off in her direction as Shayne moves down a seat next to Emery since I include them in everything I want them here for this talk.