Page 45 of The Omega Switch: Part 1
I first noticed it after the scratch incident. Before that, Arabella had rarely spoken about Ivy at all. But once the scratch happened and the pack became protective of her, somethingshifted. Whenever Ivy entered a room, Arabella would subtly tense. Her shoulders would stiffen, and she’d move closer to us. It stirred my protective instinct automatically. Yet there was something in her motions that was wrong - almost like it was reactive, or conscious, rather than instinctual. And the only explanation for that was that she was acting.
Yet, it didn’t make sense. She’d clearly been attacked by Ivy; no one denied that. Ivy even apologized, though it was clear to me and anyone else that the omega hated having to do that. She wasn’t truly apologetic, which made me think that the bad blood between them was worse than I knew. And yet, it was Ivy who was the only one acting truly out of instinct.
Whenever a conversation shifted toward her, Ivy's shoulders would tense before anyone spoke - as if she already knew something negative was coming.
I remembered back before the scratch incident, Arabella had made a joke about Ivy living in the lab. The whole table laughed, and Ivy did too. But she laughed a fraction of a second later than everyone else. She had to wait to give her reaction. That wasn’t the sign of someone with anger issues - that was the reaction of someone who felt that disagreeing wasn't safe.
I ruminated on it, wondering how someone could hold such contradictions inside of her. And as much as I hated to admit it, the vision of the small, dark-haired girl rushing about in her lab coat took up more space in my head than Arabella. I rubbed a hand across my face.
This needed to stop. Arabella was our mate, and no matter how conflicted I was, the data showed that she’d be the end game for us long term. The memory of her scent at the gala was enough to keep me going - I knew once I smelled her perfume that it would settle this growing uncertainty.
One night, we’d taken Arabella to a movie premiere, and I was able to sit with her in the very back of the theater, the VIP section, where we had privacy and catered food. She looked incredible - like an absolute angel, every detail of her outfit and jewelry the picture of perfection. She was polite and charming, leaning into me as the preview started.
I genuinely tried with Arabella. I placed my arm around her, hoping that the magical feeling of belonging would somehow snap into place. “So,” I said, “What are you most excited for after we bond?”
Arabella’s face lit up. She clearly wanted us as her future pack. “Oh, I’ll make the home just right! I can’t wait to put my touch on things.” She said, then placed a hand on my chest. “Especially the nesting room,” She said with a wink. Normally, a comment like that would have me going crazy with desire. But I couldn’t imagine a nest in our house - at least not one she built. I nodded absentmindedly as she went on.
“And of course, blending ownership between my company and Vale Labs.” She said, and I looked down.
“Your family’s company, you mean,” I said, and she blinked once before nodding.
“Yes, of course. But in reality, it will be mine someday.” She said. Something about that sat wrong with me.
“Didn’t it belong to Ivy’s mother originally?” I asked. I’d done my research on the family. I was good at that. Arabell laughed, a tinge of nervousness coming through.
“Yes - but really, it belongs to the ones who do the work. Ivy checked out after her mom passed. She really has no interest or stake in the company. So, my fathers will hand it over to me.” She explained. I scratched my chin. Ivy did a lot of work for the company, at least from what I had seen. They even seemed to fall behind at one point when she’d been out of commission after the whole fight she and Arabella had. But their company politics weren’t my business.
“Speaking of Ivy, was she always this jealous, or is it a new development?” I asked, wanting to know more about their family dynamic. Research into Ivy herself was difficult - she had no real public persona, and was rarely seen out at any events until recently.
Arabella looked down, her body tense. I noted the pause she took before answering, the way she didn’t look directly at me when she answered.
“Well, she’s always been kind of, I don’t know, delusional. She’ll make things up or claim things that are a complete lie. Always to get something of mine, or to make me look bad,” she said, finally looking up through her lashes. “And yeah, she has a temper. She likes to think she’s the mind behind some of our products, whenin reality she only works on improving an idea I throw at her. She gets really mad when I get credit for anything.” Arabella’s words came out choppy, as if she were afraid to speak on the subject. But I didn’t sense any real fear in her.
“And your family, how are they handling her?” I asked, and Arabella’s face showed a brief look of annoyance before the creases in her brow smoothed away.
“They have a way of dealing with her moods. But it would be best if she just stayed in the lab, working on products. Far away from me. That seems to calm her. That’s what she’s meant for.” Arabella said with a sigh, as if she knew the answer to everything. I didn’t like that - someone with mood swings and aggression should be treated professionally, not tucked away in a lab forever. “But all this talk about her is causing me anxiety. I’d like to forget about her, if that’s okay. I’ve been through enough with her.” Arabella said, her bottom lip wavering as she looked at me. A pang of guilt ripped through me. This was my perfect match, the omega we’d pined for after just one hit of the scant perfume we smelled at the gala. And talking about her troubled step-sister was only bringing up her trauma. I nodded and held her close. We had the rest of our lives to go over all that.
Arabella changed the topic to her influencer stats, and I zoned out. When she asked a question, I tried to pretend I had listened. But it was hard. I did all the things that she would need from a mate. I wanted this to work - our packneededit to work. Yet something remained missing, and it bothered me.
Every time I thought that the feeling of closeness should be growing stronger, it somehow did the opposite. I thought back toall the pieces I couldn’t put together. The strangest part was after family events - whenever Ivy was present, my emotions became a mess. My protective nature was off the charts when she was around, yet I somehow felt more in control when she was there. Her presence, despite being a chaotic mess of an omega, was somehow centering me.
Then she would leave, and even with Arabella at my side, the restlessness and frustration would return. I hated it - I liked things to be logical, and this wasn’t. I felt like I was constantly waiting for something. I’d even asked Hunter about it, mentioning the growing feeling of discontent. He was sure that it would go away after we bonded. I just had to wait until that day.
And I supposed that until then, I would stay unsatisfied.
Chapter 29
Ivy
I hated strategy meetings, which was ironic considering strategy meetings were usually where I should have felt most comfortable. The discussions themselves fascinated me. Market projections, product launches, customer behavior reports, future development plans - these were things I genuinely enjoyed. As a matter of fact, most of the products sitting on the conference table had started as ideas in my notebooks. The reports being discussed were built around formulas I had spent months developing. The launch schedules everyone was reviewing had once existed as carefully organized spreadsheets on my laptop.
And yet I sat silently at the very end of the table while everyone else discussed my work like I wasn't there.
It had been several weeks since I was let out of my room, and as long as I could keep it together in public and keep the product development on schedule, my family would allow me to work and go to the occasional public event. Although after the last dinner where Arabella had rubbed my face in her victory, I wasn’t so sure I could bear to attend anything again. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that somehow, I had to get through to Pack Vale. I couldn’t give up - not after I’d given up practically everything else to Arabella. I had to stand up for myself, and for their pack.
As luck would have it, today was a rare day when the Vale pack was over at our house, their collaboration with Arabella turning out to be a success so far. The number of subscribers to the matchmaking database had exploded, especially after word that Arabella had found Pack Vale that way hit the news. It was the best PR story of the year. Too bad it was based on a lie.
My father, Phillip, stood near the presentation screen reviewing campaign numbers with his usual authority, while Ronan occupied a chair near the wall like a massive silent mountain, his tattoos peeking out from his sleeves while he watched everything with an unreadable expression. Hunter was flipping through samples of the latest campaign materials, occasionally offering suggestions that the marketing team eagerly scribbled down. Across from them sat Arabella, looking smug and beautiful in a dress that probably cost more than my monthly salary, accepting praise with fake humility every time someone complimented the success of the latest launch.
