Chapter 6 Five

IVY:

Angela Baker sat there and delivered news that made bile rise to her throat. Ivy was seconds away from a panic attack. She didn't think it was going to be this soon-being put under the spotlight. Who was she kidding? She became famous the minute they found her in the Norwegian woods.

"I think I'll ask to stay out."

Her palms were suddenly sweaty and the room was spinning. She couldn't go to the hunting game or whatever. She just couldn't. Were these the first signs of panic? She tried to calm her breathing by counting odd, random numbers.

When she could speak, she said, "I can't go!" She had sounded a bit panic stricken. She cleared her throat again. "I'm sorry, I can't go tonight."

"Why?" Mrs Baker stared at her strangely, trying to deduce what was up with her, she could tell.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not ready yet. I can't attend the hunt."

Madeline Baker, the youngest of the twins in their home, stopped in her tracks as she heard. She had been about to climb the stairs of their home when their conversation reached her ears. Ivy didn't have any wrong feelings for any of them, but her favourite as of that moment was Fin. He was the eldest twin and the eldest son of the family. He also enjoyed minding his business.

"Wait. You are not attending the moon hunt? It's a pack thing, there's no way." The surprise in her voice shot through.

Angela and Ivy looked up from their seats to see her approach. Eyes narrowed. She walked with an eager gait, like she was aiming for a catch. The study room was directly under the stairs and Angela had left the door open.

Ivy felt uneasy under their stares. It didn't help her nerves. She would have loved to keep her plans a secret for longer, at least until the time of the hunt, then she would break the ice. Now, all of this was breaking her.

Pike said from inside the room, "It's tradition. The moon hunt has gone on for centuries in our pack."

The second son and third child of the family had been in the antique room on the ground floor of their apartment all along. He sat at a desk in the corner, reading some old books. Pike had a hidden side to him. The historian who enjoyed books as much as he loved winter.

She still couldn't set her mind on the fact that they had a unique connection with the icy cold demeanour. It made her wonder more about the pack that had accepted her. There was more to it that met the eye.

"Ivy was newly turned, Mady. She wouldn't be able to shift. Let's give her some time to breathe. She just got here." Angela helped her out, sipping from a glass of water. She didn't understand, but she understood what it felt like to be ambushed with questions.

Ivy noticed what the woman had done.

The glass had tightened underneath her hold. The water within was expanding. It wasn't magic, though. She had shifted under control and cooled the water under her skin. It was attention catching. She didn't know how she felt about it. If she stayed with the Bakers, she wondered if they expected her to shift later on as one of them.

"I'm only looking out for her because Alpha Blake might not like the sound of that," Madeline said, taking her leave after a shrug.

She immediately remembered the wolf that had saved her from her captors.

The charming stranger that had given her a home. Since that day, Ivy could have sworn she had not been the same again. She would think of him from time to time. The way he sat with the five elders of the pack, playing the role of their Alpha, their king. She loved men who knew exactly what they were doing. Blake had a confident aura about him. Maybe it was a thing with leading, but he commanded respect.

Ivy found all of that intriguing. She wanted to know more. Get deep and understand what the real alpha King looked like underneath his title. She had heard he had lost his father, too and was returning from avenging his death.

This pack had adopted her in a time of war.

Angela looked after her daughter as she disappeared up the stairs next to the big door.

"Do not worry. The Baker family would stand in for you," she said, creasing her eyes into a smile.

Relief came, but it was short-lived. There were other things still bugging her peace. She wouldn't be calm yet. Alpha Blake's reaction mattered. But for now, she will stick with training.

A whisper of silence fell over the room. The sun rose high and burned in the sky. Ivy could see everything through the fixed windows of the study. They were long, ceiling-to-floor, and as grand as the room.

Pike said, "Hey, mom. What theme should our family represent this year at the moon festival? I want it to be the best. It must..."

She turned to him. This was a first; there was more. A nervous expression filled with dread crossed her face. What was it about the moon this time?

Angela stood to meet her son. The heels she wore kissed the marble ground, creating a soft clip-clap sound through the space. Ivy listened in.

"Is this why you had set out to turn the Baker study upside down this afternoon?"

"These things need careful thought. Once the hunt is done, the moon goddess will come for all of us."

This one Ivy knew. Everyone knew the moon goddess. As there were supernatural beings that governed humans, the moon goddess was the centre of wolves in Greek mythology. She had never seen the goddess herself, but then, Pike had said she would come for the velvet moon pack. Fear gripped her for some strange reason.

"It is a special day, but it's still not about any of us. We celebrate our protector, Pike. Or, is this what I think this is about?" Angela asked, placing a hand on her hip, looking over her son at his side.

"What?"

She gave him a knowing look. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"But I'm not following. I'm lost here," Pike said.

Angela sighed. "Sure, we all believe that."

She moved away from him. Ivy could see disappointment riding on her features. The woman clearly didn't like where this was going. Ivy was sure she was about to witness a problem that had lingered in the Baker family for years. A problem Angela was running from, but Pike was so quick to address.

"Mom."

"Pike, stop talking." She snapped back at him, then continued on her way. "Your father would never allow this conversation."

"I see how they treat him!"

He suddenly growled.

Even Ivy hadn't seen it coming. She sat wide eyed at the drama playing out. She felt uncomfortable. Ivy didn't know what step to take from there. But then, as petty as it was, she wanted to hear it all.

Adele rushed to her son and sent a hard slap across his face. Ivy had never seen this woman so angry. She was boiling over a hundred degrees. For someone akin to ice, Ivy didn't think that should be possible.

"Your father is a grown man. He can handle himself and lead this family, but you, you need to know your place. The sooner, the better for all of us."

Pike scoffed. He was not ready to let this go. Pain was his fuel.

"I think being the least amongst the five doesn't make him count?"

"Every elder here is an equal, Pike. You should be thankful the pack still recognises your father as a leader; not complaining."

"They treat us like dirt! Have you forgotten how it used to be?"

Adele gripped his shoulders. Her claws dug into his skin, drawing blood. "I have not forgotten, son. I remember it all as clear as day!"

They stared at each other wistfully. Ivy knew the moment was too personal. She had averted her gaze to the glossy marbles below her feet.

He said, "I want to reclaim our family's glory, mother. Those bastards took our place. I do not want to settle for the lies."

She grew silent, then said, "Never speak of this again."

Adele walked out, leaving a rattled Pike standing in the middle of the room. The shoulders of his tee were shredded. He was wounded, and before long, Ivy watched him heal in silence. He breathed hard, like a pump in use.

With hung shoulders, Pike walked to the back of the room. He slumped into his seat and shuffled through the papers in front of him, disinterested. He had cast a defeated gaze on the mess he created on the table. Ivy knew when to come in.

She cleared her throat and rose to her feet, bubbly and aiming to ease off the past minutes' tension spree.

"I was a fashion major in college. Let's see, maybe I could help you choose a theme."

Ivy reached the desk at the far end, picked up some papers, and looked through with interest. But right after, worry filled her gaze. Putting two aged papers in line with her eyes to get a better view, she wasn't so sure what Pike Baker meant had anything to do with fashion. In fact, she realised she had just uttered something really stupid.

"Do you see it now?"

She gulped and said in a small voice, "Yes."

"The five elders must involve themselves in a rite. The Dixon theme is what our family must aim for."

She stared at ancient handwritings in Old American English with sketches of a ritual being performed. The full moon hung high and crystal bright in the sky. Beneath it, a pyre burned with flames. She saw it. Ivy pictured herself at the scene. The scorching flames grew as the elders surrounded the heap at the centre. The moon goddess walked in dressed in a sparkling regalia, looking like an apparition. Everyone seemed to notice the body perishing within the flames, but they did nothing.

"What is this ritual?" Ivy asked, lost in her head. Accusations tore through her words. Her disgust was palpable.

Pike had called her attention. "Look. Do you see the picture on the wall?"

Oh, she was looking alright. It was the first thing she noticed when they had introduced this part of the Baker home to her.

"That is Dixon Baker. In twelve-fifty, he encountered the curse and began what we know today as the velvet moon pack."

"Are you talking about a founding father?"

"He was the first wolf, Ivy. He was a Baker."

Ivy gazed hard at the rare monochrome picture of the man on the wall. His eyes didn't appear lifeless to her. She could feel him staring back, looking right through her as if she was glass. It had given her the creeps. She quickly averted her eyes back to Pike.

"I don't know this story."

He eased into his chair and sighed. "Let me enlighten you, little wolf. In Greek mythology before Selene, the moon goddess, found her eternal love Endymion, she had crossed paths with Dixon. But he was human and she was not."

"So she did the unthinkable. She cursed him?"

Pike had paused, stared off, then said. "Before the conclave, do you ever wonder why vampires are the wolves' greatest enemy?"

Ivy shrugged. "A power struggle?"

"The curse of the moon gave rise to more evils. Supernaturals were born, and it wasn't long before Dixon was murdered."

Clarity keyed in. Her eyes widened in realization.

"A vampire was his murderer?" It hadn't been a question. "You mean to say the repercussions of her actions stole Dixon from her-the moon goddess wouldn't have taken that likely? I am certain."

"You're right, she didn't. It was hell from there on. But the conclave happened, and all known supernaturals reached an agreement."

Ivy drew the corner of her lips in scorn. "A life for a life."

"To appease the ghost of the beast, Dixon Baker, and the moon goddess' anger, the blood of a doppelgänger must be spilled under the sixth full moon every year."

"They're humans, aren't they? Those things." Ivy asked and when Pike said nothing, she fired back. "It is wrong. The Vampires should pay, not them."

"For peace to reign, someone must sacrifice. Humans are nothing like us!"

Ivy sunk it all in for a minute. She later folded her arms and rested her hip against the side edge of the desk. She decided on a different approach.

"Something tells me there's more, Pike."

"The family playing the Dixon role gets to choose the lamb for slaughter. It's the limelight, the closest to the moon goddess during the festival."

"And what do you plan to do with such a position?"

"Restore my family's glory."

Panic seized her, but she played it staid. "Wait a minute, you want to sabotage the Alpha?"

Pike laughed at her question. "The Alpha's title isn't my struggle." He rose to his feet. "There are broken wounds that need to heal first."

His humour had been short-lived, but it was clear the Bakers were in on something that no one else knew.

Pike moved away, taking his leave. Ivy had looked over her shoulder and found Fin standing by the door with his hands tucked in his pocket. He had pale skin like the rest of them, but sometimes she felt he was lighter, like dough. He looked more like Elder Baker.

Fin's eyes gauged her for a second. Then he turned and left with his brother.

There were stranger things happening beneath the surface. She knew she had heard only a piece of the pie.