Ivy’s Point Of View
Beta Owen offers me his hand, and I take it. He helps guide me down the stairs as I hold up my gown with the other hand.
"Hello, Miss Ivy," he says to me in a kind voice. He is quite good-looking himself, though not as handsome as the men I met in the hallway. He’s tall and strong with reddish-blond hair and kind green eyes. My body doesn’t feel a spark when I’m around him, but I’m happy to at least have another friendly face to add to my circle seeing as I might be stuck here for a while.
"Hello," I say to him, realizing I’m shaking a bit. I’m so nervous about all of this. I can hardly even wrap my mind around what’s happening.
Am I really going to be the Breeder for four men??
"This is my wife, Callie," he says, and the woman who was standing near him earlier walks over. She’s adorable, with a button nose and apple cheeks. Her hair is a bit more brunette than his but still with shades of red. She has a smattering of freckles across her nose. I think she is probably just a few years older than me.
"Hello," I greet her. "It’s nice to meet you."
"You, too," she says with a smile, and instead of shaking my hand, she loosely wraps her arms around me, like we are already long-time friends. "I’m so excited to get to know you!"
Dr. Whitfield pats my back and says, "I shall see you soon, dear," before she heads off to the exit.
I hear Owen mutter to Callie, "Calm down, honey. Don’t overwhelm her."
"I’m sorry," Callie apologizes. "It’s just... there aren’t a lot of women here around our age. Except for the maids, and the king prefers that we don’t fraternize with them if we can help it."
"I understand," I sympathize, forcing a smile. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate the fact that she wants to be my friend. I don’t have a lot of friends, none that I’m even going to miss, so it would be great to have a friend here. But I am so nervous, I can’t even think, let alone try to be happy.
"Shall we?" Beta Owen says, and I nod, following him.
Callie walks beside me, and as we go, she asks me questions about my family and my life back home. I can only give her short answers. Words seem to stick in my throat. It might be a condition I need to ask Dr. Whitfield about later, but I self-diagnose it as my mind still trying to compute that this is my home now—for the moment anyway.
We walk down long winding hallways that seem to all look the same, and I wonder how in the world I’ll ever figure out how to make my way around here on a daily basis.
"Don’t worry, you’ll figure out the hallways," Callie assures, as if reading my mind.
"I—I hope so," I say, but I’m not sure, and a bit frightened that she knew my thoughts so easily.
We turn down another hallway, and Beta Owen pulls up.
There’s a man there, coming toward us from down the narrow hall, walking rather quickly. He has dark hair and a muscular build—that seems to be a theme around here—much like the other two men I ran into earlier. His chiseled jaw is set, and he looks annoyed. His dark eyes are glued to the floor, and he only looks up in time to step around us.
"Beg your pardon, Owen," he says.
"No problem, sir," the Beta replies, and then I find the attractive man staring at me.
He scans me up and down for a second as we stop in the hallway, the four of us just standing there.
Finally, he greets, "Hi," and I manage to feign a smile at him, but I don’t know what to say.
"Congratulations. You must be excited."
"Uh... yeah," I choke out. I guess he knows who I am then. I have no idea who he is, but judging by his suit and his overall appearance, I’m guessing he is important.
"Thousands of girls wanted the job you just won," he continues, his tone becoming friendly the more he talks. Maybe he wasn’t in such a hurry after all.
I am not sure what to say to that, so I just stand there... like an idiot.
He chuckles at me. "Well, I hope that you can get over your nervousness soon. You have no reason to be scared." He pats me on the arm, and the touch of his hand sends electrical impulses all up and down my skin.
"Th-thanks," I stutter.
"See you later."
I’m not sure if he’s talking to me or Owen or all three of us, so I say nothing, but when he withdraws his hand to carry along on his way, my arm feels cold, like it’s meant to have his hand on it.
Callie giggles. "Isn’t he dreamy?"
Before I can respond, Beta Owen clears his throat. "You know I can hear you, right?"
"Oh, Owen!" she says, rushing up to grab his hand. "You know I think you’re the dreamiest of all!"
Poor Beta Owen. He looks over to me for backup, but I don’t want to lie. I remain silent.
By the time Callie returns her attention to me, I feel it’s too late for me to speak. So I say nothing.
But yes... I do think that man was dreamy.
Whoever he was.
A few minutes later, we arrive at a large wooden double door, carved with flowers and filled with gold inlay.
It’s beautiful.
"Here we are," Beta Owen announces, pushing the door open.
I stand outside and stare for a moment, first at the door... and then at the room.
It’s gorgeous—and huge. I think most of my house back home would fit in there.
There’s a living room area with a large plush red sofa set before an expansive television set.
The sitting area is nice and inviting, despite the bold colors. The rug on the rich wooden floor is also red with gold accents. My eyes follow it over to the bedroom area where a huge four-poster bed with a red canopy and matching silky red bedspread invites me to collapse and take a nap.
All of the woods are a rich brown color with red tints.
Behind Beta Owen, there are three huge floor-to-ceiling windows with matching red and gold drapes. I can’t see outside just yet because of the angle, other than the bright azure sky. I can’t wait to rush over and see if there’s a garden view. That would be lovely.
"This is great, isn’t it?" Callie asks. "The king had it done up as a second Luna suite. Oh, and in there is your bathroom! All white marble with a jetted tub big enough for at least two! Who will be the lucky man?" Callie giggles coquettishly.
My eyebrows arch. I would love to sit in it... alone if possible.
I notice that the room matches my dress and wonder if that’s just a coincidence. It would have to be, I suppose.
"It’s beautiful," I tell them.
She walks over to an armoire and pulls it open. "There’s a ton of clothes in here. I think you will find that everything is in your size, but if not, let us know, and we’ll get you the right fit."
All I can say is, "Thank you." It probably makes me seem unappreciative given the room that was just offered to me, but, you know, I didn’t ask for any of this.
She smiles at me and closes the armoire door.
"Well... I’m sure you’re probably tired," Beta Owen says. "We’ll get your luggage from your escort and make sure that you have your things from home."
I haven’t brought much, but I would like to have the little I did pack. "Thank you." That seems to be all I can say.
"Of course. You’ll have some servants, but we’ll give you a chance to rest before we bring them in to meet you. If you do require anything, just pick up the phone and dial nine." He gestures to the gold antique-style telephone on the nightstand.
"Thank you..."
He smiles at me and then gestures for Callie. "Come on, honey."
She walks back over to me first. Wrapping me up in another hug, she squeezes tighter this time.
"I’m so glad you’re here," she says before the two of them give me a little wave and leave the room.
I am alone—and I feel it. Even though Callie is nice, and I’ve met some very attractive men who seem to be interested in me, it doesn’t matter because I have no idea who they are. And I still haven’t met the four men I’m meant to bed.
My eyes go to that piece of furniture. All I want to do is fall asleep and wake up back at home.
I sit down on the edge and take off my shoes, but I’m too afraid to change clothes since I have no idea when I might be summoned. I lay down on top of the blanket that matches my dress and close my eyes, wondering what will happen next.