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But as I looked out across the street, everything came to a sudden halt. The breath was stolen from my lungs completely, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
The one person I cared about above all else—the only person who saw me for me since day one—was standing in front of me.
My eyes widened at the realization, and her face lit up with joy.
“Ivy!” I cried out, wasting no time rushing over to her. That shock made way for complete and utter relief as I threw my arms around her. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”
She laughed in return, amused by my reaction despite her swelling tears. “It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you,” she said.
“It’s been way too long,” I agreed, sniffling back my emotions as I took in that face I missed so much. “I must be dreaming.”
“I promise you’re not,” she said, smiling so hard that it looked like her cheeks hurt. “But I’m glad you missed me just as much as I missed you.”
“I never thought I’d see you again,” I told her, unable to completely keep the tears at bay as I wiped them away.
“I wish we could’ve at least said goodbye before you were swept away, but I’m here now,” she murmured, offering me a supportive grin.
As the realization clicked, I shook my head in disbelief. “How are you here right now? Wouldn’t Sam throw a fit if he knew you were here?”
Ivy wore a sheepish yet excited expression. “Well, I left his pack.”
I was stunned. “Really?”
Neither of us had known anyone outside of Sam’s pack, which usually made it next to impossible to move on to another group. The transition was usually too difficult to handle, and nobody wanted to put themselves through something like that.
She nodded enthusiastically. “Ever since you left, I realized I had nothing keeping me there. Sam wasn’t exactly the kind of leader I wanted to follow anyway. Fortunately, Levi accepted me into his and somewhere to live.”
The news felt like I had been handed some kind of divine gift, and I could barely form the proper words to express how ecstatic I was. “I’m still trying to grasp the thought of you being here. Are you moving day?”
“I sure am. I was just about to come ask if you’d like to check it out with me.”
“Is that a question? Of course, I would,” I returned easily, already feeling as my cheeks ached from smiling so hard.
Over the moon, Ivy hooked her arm in mine, and we made our way to her new place. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far from the house, and I was excited, thinking I could walk there as often as I wanted to.
When we reached the building bordering the pack’s neighborhood, the storefront beside it snagged my attention. The windows were mostly covered with old paper, but through the fallen corners, I could just barely see shelves lined with dust-covered books.
“What is this place?” I asked, trying to get a better look at the inside.
Ivy shrugged. “I’m not sure, the woman who showed me this place didn’t tell me. I’m sure you could ask Levi about it, though.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll keep it in mind,” I said, somewhat sad to be pulled away from the run-down store as Ivy opened the front door and guided me inside.
She took me to her apartment, which was surprisingly nice despite the location. The interior had been completely redone, and the new appliances looked unused. The kitchen was any renter’s dream, and the living room featured a big bay window that overlooked the street and landscape behind the neighboring buildings.
Even if her things were still boxed up and pushed against the walls, the place looked nice, and I had no doubt Ivy would be happy there.
“So, how does it feel to be Levi’s Luna?” Ivy asked after she wrapped up the short apartment tour and plopped herself onto the navy blue couch.
The reminder still made it feel surreal. “It’s a bit strange, and honestly, I hated the idea at first. But things have been better. I’m slowly getting used to everything, and he has been surprisingly supportive. He’s not what I expected.”
“It must’ve been weird, given your past and how Sam twisted those stories about Levi. It’s nice to know he isn’t the psycho murderer like we were all made to believe.”
I nodded, feeling guilty for even believing Sam, given what I came to learn about Levi after the fact. “Losing the pack was hard on him, but he’s determined to be a better alpha and to help the others. Living here is so different from what we are used to. How was the pack, by the way?”
Ivy sighed and lost the interested glint in her eyes. “A lot worse. Sam has been inciting more fights and rivalries, and it’s starting to get ugly. Nobody knew who they could trust anymore, and it was getting hard to live day-to-day without feeling paranoid. As much as I didn’t want to leave the only home I ever knew, I had to go. It was too much.”
Feeling awful for leaving Ivy behind to deal with that kind of thing, I frowned. “I’m sorry you had to live through that, and I wish things weren’t declining so much, but I’m glad you’re here now.”
