Ivy's POV
"He's changing. I know it," Ruth uttered confidently.
I rolled my eyes at her for the nth time. "No, you're delusional."
"Girl, he stayed home and took care of you like a good husband. You can't tell me that's the same man who talked down to you a few days ago. And don't forget that he apologized too," Ruth gave me a look.
"Don't you find it odd? Like he changed too fast? I still can't wrap my head around it…"
"Honestly, no. See, Alpha Cassian was never someone to talk to women that way. I was shocked when you said that he told you to chase other men. He has always been gentle towards women and children. I remember him taking care of his previous mate, you would think Avery was the dominant in their relationship. He was that soft with her." Ruth looked down. "But time does change people. I never saw that side of him again after she died."
I stared down at my hand as she talked about his previous mate. All these stories make me really jealous of her. She had all his love and she still holds it. Tightly. Not allowing me to get even a bit of it. How cruel…
"Hey," Ruth snapped me out of my thoughts. "You'll see that side of him too. He cares a lot about you and he isn't that heartless. If he was, he would have never apologized."
I gave her a forced smile. I'm unsure. I don't know how long I'll have to wait for him to see me as a mate.
"What do you feel?" Ruth asked suddenly, causing me to look up at her.
"What?"
"I asked you what you feel?" She turned her body to face me, as she sat on the couch crisscrossed. The poor girl couldn't sit on the bed with me because my territorial mate wouldn't allow anyone else on it. "You're obviously having some inner battles. Tell me about it,"
I breathed out a long sigh. "I'm just…. I feel insecure," My fingers picked at the lints of the sweater I was wearing.
"Why?"
I almost laughed at her question. "There are plenty of reasons for me to feel insecure, Ruth. Cassian never looks at me as his mate. He sees me as a kid who's too young for him to accept as a partner. I want him to touch me, hug me, hold me…and-and I crave his lips on mine. But he never seems to think of me that way. Even when I was straddling him half naked, he was only angry…"
I stared down at the floor. "He doesn't see me as his Luna. I don't know if he will ever look at me like he looked at his previous mate."
"Come on," Ruth groaned. "You're being too negative, Ivy. Give him some time. After Avery died, Alpha Cassian put up his walls high. It's not easy to break it down. It'll take time. And you've been saying this ever since I met you. You have to have some confidence," She shook her head as if she was disappointed in me.
I let out a groan. "What do I do? He's too hard to read."
"Learn the language of his soul. Then he'll be easy to read for you," Ruth winked at me.
I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "Why are you suddenly being all poetic?"
She closed her eyes and pursed her lips together. "I read a poetry book yesterday. I think it's rubbing off on me. What do you think?"
"Good, but don't ever do it again."
"Huh? Why? Was it that bad?" She sulked.
"It feels weird hearing you be all poetic. I thought of you as someone who enjoyed murder mysteries and horror stories." I laughed.
"Have you ever heard the phrase don't judge a book by its cover? I'm a very soft girl inside even though I dress like I'm about to do a satanic ritual," Ruth laughed, causing me to smile.
"Anyways, what did your mate say this morning? When is he coming back? It's getting late." Ruth looked at the digital clock on the bedside table.
"Stella told me that he went on patrol today. They are somewhere close to the woods." I said and paused. "Hey, I need to ask you a question."
"What is it?" Ruth tilted her head.
"What's a morning wood?"
I saw her eyes widen for a moment before they narrowed and a crooked smile formed on her face. "Why do you ask?"
"N-Nothing…" I looked away. "Do you know it or not?"
"It's when males get an erection in the morning. It got something to do with their dreams or blood flow or something. I really don't remember. That's grade ten biology,"
"Oh…" I bit inside my cheek. So he dreamt about something? Or do men randomly get an erection when they have increased blood flow? That must be hard for them…
"Does it…um..uhh…"
"Spit it out. We're both women," Ruth rolled her eyes, causing me to pout.
"Does it hurt them? It looks like a rod,"
Ruth almost fell off the couch as she laughed. I poked my cheek with my tongue in annoyance. What's there to laugh so much?
"Oh my god, Ivy…." She took some time to catch her breath. "You really need some sex education or Alpha Cassian is going to have a haarrd time with you," She said before laughing again.
I felt my cheeks turn hot as I flushed red. "Stop making fun of me and tell me, would you?"
She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It does hurt them. I heard that it is extremely uncomfortable to walk around with blue balls."
Blue balls? Does it turn blue when they get excited? That's weird…
"Can't they like…make it go down?"
"They can,"
"How?" I tilted my head. This is all new to me. When I lived in the woods, I never got any books that mentioned this.
"Well, there are many different ways. One of them is obviously waiting for it to go down on its own, which is extremely uncomfortable. Other ways are to have sex or get a hand job or blow job. It will go down when they get release,"
"Hand job?"
"Hand job is using your hand to rub it and blow rob it using your mouth,"
My eyes widened at the information. Mouth? But won't the teeth hurt it? Isn't it sensitive?
Images of me putting his thing in my mouth flashed through my mind, sending a shiver down my spine. No way…. That thing is gigantic. It won't fit.
I put my palms against my reddened cheeks. Enough information for today. It's too much. I feel so dirty talking about it.
"What? Are you thinking of how to give a blow job?" Ruth chuckled.
"Shut up," I glared at her before looking away. I really have no idea about this stuff. How do I learn about it? What if my mate feels disappointed because I don't know things like this?
Even Ruth said that he's going to have a hard time with me…
"What are you thinking about?"
"No, I'm just…." I paused. "Do you hear that sound?"
Ruth looked back at the door and frowned. "What sound?"
"There are people talking in the pack living room,"
"You can hear that? You've got some elite-level hearing skills," Ruth chuckled.
I got off the bed. "Let's go and check it out." It sounded unusual and frantic.
The sounds were clear as we reached the pack's living room. There were a lot of people and a few of them were drenched from head to toe, crying and sniffling as they talked. I placed a hand on Stella's shoulder to catch her attention.
"Oh, Ivy, how are you feeling, dear? Are you alright now?"
"I'm fine but what's happening?" I asked her, my eyes looking at everyone in confusion.
Stella looked at the people before looking back at me. "Three of our pups have gone missing…" She said, causing my eyes to widen.
"What? Three? How?" I looked around. How did that happen?
"They were playing at the open field in the evening. Their older brother was watching them but he accidentally fell asleep. When he woke they were nowhere to be seen." She looked at the family who was being consoled by Cassian's father and the former beta pair.
I looked at them for a long moment before my brows furrowed. It was hard to recognize them in their current state but it was the farmer's family I knew.
That means…
"Stella—"
Cassian burst through the door, causing everyone to fall silent. He was drenched from head to toe, sporting a murderous look on his face. He scanned his dark eyes all around the room before they fell on the farmer's family. "When did it happen?"
"In the evening—"
"Evening? And you're only reporting it now? Were you waiting for the kids to be dead?!" He seethed, causing the man to flinch.
"M-My oldest son was watching them when they were playing in the field but he-he fell asleep. When he woke up at six…he couldn't-couldn't find the kids…We thought they wandered off to the woods to play s-so we searched there for hours but-but we couldn't find them—" He said in between sobs.
"Of course, you couldn't find them. There are rogues lurking in the damn woods. That's why we're patrolling day and night! The first thing you should do when your kids go missing is inform me!" He raked a hand through his hair as he growled. Cassian was trying hard to control his anger.
"A-Alpha…pl-please save my pups…I can't–I'll die without them," The farmer's mate cried, holding on to her mate so she wouldn't fall to her knees.
"What's their name and description?" He sighed.
"T-Two alpha boys and an omega girl. They're only six. I-I have pictures of them," The man fumbled with his coat before taking out a picture.
I nervously dug my fingernails into my palms as I watched his face. Cassian's eyes rose to mine in a second after he saw the pictures. They softened when he saw the terrified look on my face. I bit my lips, begging him to say it was not true.
"Their names are Robin, Ryan, and Christy,"
"Oh no…" I mumbled. "Not Christy…"
I couldn't believe it. She just visited me yesterday too. How can she be–no, no—
I felt cold fingers on my skin and in a second, I was looking into the beautiful hazel eyes of my mate. "Calm down…" He said softly, causing me to pause.
"The hunters…what if the hunters…"
"The hunters won't lay a hand on them. I promise." He gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "We'll get them back, okay? Don't worry." He said before turning towards his mother.
"Mom, take them inside and give them some warm clothes and food. They'll be staying in the packhouse till the pups are found," He told Stella before looking at his beta. "Get the weapons ready. I'll be there shortly,"
"On it!" Ryder said before walking out with the other men.
Cassian turned to me once again. "Go up to our room and rest, understood?"
"Can I come with you? I was in the woods for years. I think I can—"
"That's out of the question. You'll stay here. It's dangerous and hunters aren't kind. Do as I say. We'll come back with the kids." He gave me a stern look before turning away and walking out.
I stood there, staring at his retreating figure. I cannot rest. How could I? If those kids get caught by them….
Memories of what I saw in the captivity of those monsters flooded my mind. I gripped my head tightly and bit my lips till it drew blood in hope that the pain would distract me from those horrible thoughts.
I can't let that happen to the kids. No…not to the pups.