Page 26 of The Omega Switch: Part 1
The sight of her made a pang of pain course through me. I frowned. That feeling shouldn’t happen. I already have a mate, one who I’d been getting to know better these past weeks. The report confirmed it. Yet Ivy looked devastated, and the realization hurt worse than I could imagine.
Ivy cared about us. She had to have - I knew we’d connected, but she didn’t match with us for long-term compatibility, or at all. Now she was going to lose us, permanently. For weeks, we spent time working alongside her. Elias would spend almost all his time in the research wing with her when we were over. Hunter had been secretly spoiling her, and I’d become quite protective of her. But no matter how drawn we were to her, it would never be a true match if we courted her. It would never have worked - if she’d submitted her data to the matching base, as I suspected she had, then she didn’t even meet a 70% match to us. Despite this knowledge, it still hurt me more than it should have to see her there, looking so lost.
“Pack Vale,” Arabella said as she stepped forward, breaking me from my thoughts, “I’m so honored to have you here. Finding out you were my match - well, I can honestly say it was the best moment of my life.” Arabella’s words were so meaningful that I felt another wave of guilt course through me. She had been through more than we realized, according to her file. She wanted us, and I needed to leave behind any feelings toward other omegas and focus on the one meant for me. Arabella took another step forward, tilting her head slightly to show her neck. The movement stirred the possessive alpha nature in me and pulled all my attention toward her.
“I always felt like you were the ones for me. I mean, I couldn’t say it out loud, but from our time together, I just felt something that I knew was deeper.” She said, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked down bashfully. So, she did know - I felt like I really messed up not noticing her as much as I should have. But apparently, she was our diamond in the rough.
Hunter stepped forward, looking every bit the dashing alpha leader that he was. “Thank you, omega.” His words sent out acalming finality to the room as he addressed her, and I could see her fawn as she heard him call her out by her designation. “I have to admit we’ve had our suspicions that we’d find our match after the gala, and when we saw it was you, everything was confirmed.” Her face lit up like a light bulb. I saw Ivy’s lip tremble, even from where I was.
“We’d like to officially ask to court you, Arabella Carrington.”
Arabella let out a squeal, hopping up and down and clapping before running toward us. She practically leaped into our arms, and the sudden feeling of an omega on me should have felt like home. I should have felt like wrapping my arms around her tightly, caring for her, sniffing her neck in search of that incredible perfume, and never letting go.
Instead, I had the strangest gut instinct to push her away.
The feeling jolted in me, and I shook myself out of it. Arabella was my mate - it was confirmed. Over time, everything would work out. It was destined to. She was the one we scented at the gala. She wasours, by all metrics. Yet I glanced over toward the other omega, the enigma that stood in the corner, I could almost feel the aching rejection that she was feeling, seemingly invisible to everyone in the room but me.
Her body let out a shudder, and in a moment, I’d moved away from Arabella and my pack.
“One moment,” I said, crossing the room without thinking. The family looked puzzled as I pushed past them, and I heard Eliascall for me. I didn’t turn around. Ivy’s eyes caught mine, and she looked up, plastering on a smile. I stopped one foot from her.
"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, the question came forward without thinking.
She trembled, her eyes wide as she looked around, no doubt taking in the faces of everyone behind us. She nodded.
"Of course." Her answer came instantly, too quick to be honest. “I’m… I’m so happy that you found each other.” She said, and each word came out like her mouth was sandpaper. It didn’t take years of security work to know she was lying.
"I am, too," I said. Her smile widened, almost like she was in pain. “And I’m glad that I met you, as well,” I said. It was the truth.
Then Arabella laughed from across the room, drawing everyone's attention. “Ivy’s fine. She hates attention and big emotional outbursts. Makes her uncomfortable, doesn’t it, Ivy?” Arabella asked, and I turned to see Arbaella standing next to Hunter, his arm around her shoulder as her hands grasped him, like he had always been hers. I should be there with her in this moment. But I couldn't move. Not until I knew Ivy would be alright.
“Ivy, you can go to your room if it’s too much. Go on,” Arabella said, her voice sweet and suggestive. Ivy didn’t look up from the floor. She just nodded, biting her lip before she turned and practically fled the room. I stared after her, everything in mybody urging me to go after her - yet my mind knew that doing so would be an act of betrayal to my future mate.
“You’ll have to excuse her,” Clara said, breaking the awkward tension. “Two unbonded omegas in one household is already challenging, but when pack dynamics come into play, well. Ivy will get over it. It’s just overwhelming for an omega to see her sister move on in life.” Clara clasped her hands and shrugged, her own pack surrounding her.
I turned toward my pack. Arabella was our mate. And according to her file, she'd spent years overcoming significant emotional trauma - I had to be careful not to traumatize her further or cause any trust issues. I walked back toward my pack, Arabella watching me like a hawk. Once I reached her, I knelt down on my knees, reaching for her hand as her eyes widened.
“Omega, forgive me if I stepped out of line. I know how important your family is to you. I want to make sure we all have a smooth transition during this next step.” I said, my voice low as I looked into her eyes. She nodded, and I could feel her pulse racing as I held her hand. She was small, soft, and vulnerable. It was my job as an alpha, and her match, to never let her doubt my loyalty to her. “From here on out, your happiness is paramount.” I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed it. Arabella’s cheeks turned pink and she looked at me in shock.
“Thank you, alpha,” She answered, her voice a soft purr of happiness. I stood, reaching my arms out in an offer. I rarely hugged people - but I’d seen that Arabella had run toward us, almost instinctually. She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around me in acceptance.
The compatibility report had painted a picture of an omega who hid her struggles behind a brave face. Our match was resilient - and someone who hid their trauma well. Maybe that was what I was seeing now - maybe I had simply projected those concerns onto the wrong sister.
I glanced down at Arabella. She smiled brightly when our eyes met - she was the picture of beauty and perfection. She was my mate - the instinct, the feelings, all the rest would come later. It had to.
Chapter 17
Elias
“Oh my gosh, this is all too much!” Arabella squealed as we brought her to the private table we’d booked. This was our first date with the omega who we found out was our perfect match. The one we’d been looking for - the omega who we’d scented at the ball. No one other than our mate could have a perfume that intoxicating. And it had been Arabella, all along. It surprised me, but I could see why. We’d met omegas before who turned out to be different than we thought, and ultimately, I hadn't tried to get to know her that well. Now that I knew she was our match, I could dedicate all my time to her.
The restaurant was beautiful - Hunter had reserved one of the private dining rooms overlooking the city, the floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the city's lights below. This was a beautiful beginning to the future we'd spent years hoping for.
“It’s not too much. Nothing will be too much to ask when it comes to us.” Hunter said reassuringly, and Arabella gave him a look that would melt even the strongest alpha.
I found myself studying Arabella. She was even more stunning tonight - her dress showing off her perfect figure, and her makeup emphasizing her omega features. She laughed often, her hands frequently falling on the arm of the closest pack member, and she seemed to want to touch us all the time. She asked plenty of questions and paid attention to our responses. Objectively, she was doing everything right.
It wasn’t a huge surprise - I’d spent a little time with her during our work on the collaboration and knew how charming she was. It was hard to resist an omega like her - even though I’d found myself drawn more toward Ivy. But every time I was in their house, something felt right. I was just surprised at which sister ended up being our match. But as I looked around the table, it seemed to make sense. She looked like she fit with our pack.
