Ivy’s Point Of View
Although we are both women, and other strangers have already eyed my most intimate nakedness, this still feels weird. Callie doesn’t seem to notice how uncomfortable I am as she reaches inside the tub and plays with the water.
"Oh," I say awkwardly.
"Your skin is gorgeous. Glistening like you were dipped in honey," she confesses.
I’m at a loss for words. I’m just not used to receiving compliments and I’m bad at reacting to them. Having never had many truly close friends, I’m not sure how friends are supposed to interact. Maybe they always hang out in bathrooms together?
I try to relax since I don’t want to make Callie feel bad. I could use an ally and confidant around here. Being alone with my own thoughts in this situation might be bad for my mental health.
"Please pass me the towel," I say and manage to smile at her. Well, so much for the long soak I had been going for.
Callie stands up and moves to a shelf in the corner of the room and retrieves a long blue towel. When she walks back over to me, she doesn’t hand it to me. Instead, she stands, holding it for me to step into. Was she planning to wrap the towel around me? I’m capable of doing that myself, but I decide to just let myself indulge in her kindness as long as she doesn’t pull anything funny.
I stand up and step out of the tub cautiously. Again she is unfazed by my naked body, as she proceeds to help wrap the towel around me before fastening it in a loose knot under my raised arms.
"Thank you," I say, happy her intentions were honest.
"Uh-huh." Callie turns around and walks out of the bathroom into the bedroom. I follow her, feeling a bit relieved to be finally covered.
I walk over to the huge oak dressing table in the room and start moisturizing my body with the intoxicatingly great smelling shimmering citrus lotion from the huge squirt bottle sitting there.
"How have you not yet met your mate? You are gorgeous, and one would think you would have met your fated mate already."
I look at Callie through the reflection of the dressing table mirror. She’s sitting at the edge of the bed watching me.
I shrug. I have no idea how I still hadn’t met my mate and how I was still a virgin. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t find myself here about to give my virginity to four Alphas who I had no deep feelings for.
My mind starts playing different scenarios. What would my first time be like with a man whose only intention was to plant his seed in me? Would he be gentle? Would there be any passion, or would he treat me exactly like what I had been reduced into—a living and breathing incubator?
We walk down the hallways with Callie right by my side. She points at a wall to our right.
"Those are the past rulers who once lived here and ruled in these walls. Some ruled for decades. That is King Aldric, he ruled for almost fifty years. He was a very young lad when he became king. That picture was taken during his heyday. Wasn’t he a sight for sore eyes?"
I keep looking at the wall of fame, wondering which of the dozen pictures she was pointing at belongs to the king who was apparently a sight for sore eyes.
We don’t stop long enough for me to ask any more questions. This castle seems to be rich with history. The décor and armory that stands as decoration along the hallways tell stories without the need for words. If this is the same path we had taken to my room, then it seemed like it had increased in length since, because I don’t remember it having been this long. I am already tired and wonder how much we still have to walk.
I’m hoping I won’t have to stand through a full tour of this monstrous residence in just one day.
As we pass a French door that leads out to a balcony, I catch a glimpse of one of the men I had met earlier. He is flipping through some pages of a book and his head is preoccupied looking down at it.
Callie stops and grabs my wrist. "That there is Grant Stone. He is the Alpha of Ridge pack. He always has his nose in one book or the other. People sometimes nickname him Einstein. Despite his intelligence, don’t mistake him for a weak nerd. He is a very powerful leader and one of the Alphas that you will breed with."
I keep staring at the well-built man through the glass doors. I seem unable to tear my eyes away from the brooding biceps that are quite visible through his starched shirt.
"Is he a sociable person?" I ask before I can stop myself. Was it a good idea to be looking for personal details about their characteristics? Well, if I was going to be sharing a bed with these men, I was definitely on a need-to-know basis now.
It didn’t matter how afraid of this situation I was. I was here—it was happening. I needed to find a way to be practical about it, at the very least.
"Well, he is somewhat quiet. Only choosing to speak when it’s really necessary," Callie replies as she takes my hand and we continue with our tour.
"Can you... uhh tell me more about all the Alphas that I am here for?"
Callie looks at me and gives me a mischievous look. "Umm, you seem to be quite the curious one. I think I would be curious too about anyone I have to get intimate with. You will soon meet all of them though." I see a weird look flash across her face. It looks like pity.
I clear my throat. She probably pities the girl who is going to have sex with four men in succession. Well, I don’t need her pity. I pity myself in bucket loads enough already as it is.
"Tell me, Ivy, why are you doing this?"
Her question catches me off guard. Why does everyone else do this kind of thing? It rarely is just because they have a double-horned uterus. I wonder if I should be fully honest with her. We hardly know each other, but I figure honesty could lead to a solid friendship with her. After all, she has been nothing but nice towards me... a bit weird... but nice.
"My parents could use the money that comes from me actually doing this," I answer simply. Callie gives me a sideways glance. I pray she doesn’t give me that look laced with pity again. Somehow that look pushes me to the brink of a breakdown making me reflect on what I was actually tasked to do here.
"Is your own father not an Alpha?" Callie asks. I chuckle a bit louder than I meant to. It seems she had done a background check on me. Not a very thorough one though, or she would have known that my father’s title was just glorified without the financial success to back it up.
"Yes, he is technically an Alpha, but that’s the end of it. The financial success never seemed to be able to catch up to his title." And now... he’d sold me. I would never be able to forgive him for that. Never.
Callie nods and I think she is going to give me that look again, but instead she smiles gently. As we walk, we enter into a room where two men are sitting, seemingly in a heated debate about whose wolf form was faster than whose.
"Ivy, meet Alpha Adrian Gold of Valley Pack and Alpha Chase Gray of Rivermist Pack. Gentlemen, this is Ivy."
I blush when I realize I had actually run into all these Alphas earlier. I had counted three so far and wondered if I had met the fourth one as well and just hadn’t realized.