Page 33 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

I heard Evangeline in the back room, checking on Ivy. Once she was satisfied, she came out.

“Well, she has been working nonstop. I told her she needed to take it easy,” Evangeline said, worry on her face.

“She keeps waking and stressing out about her store,” I said, looking around. Evangeline went to the desk and looked at a calendar.

“Well, she has a workshop scheduled for this afternoon. I can call everyone and reschedule it.” Evangeline said. I nodded, glad that someone knew about Ivy’s business.

“Good idea. Are there any more scheduled? She’ll need to rest for at least a few more days.” I said, and Evangeline nodded, jumping into action. She managed to get things sorted in the store while I checked on Ivy, waking her only once to feed her some broth and bread.

As soon as she woke, anxiety tightened her expression. “The store,” she murmured, trying to push herself upright. “What time is it?”

I placed a hand near her shoulder, careful not to restrain her as I guided her back against the cushions. “Evangeline is here. She rescheduled today's workshop and is taking care of everything.”

Ivy blinked at me, fighting through the lingering haze. “Evangeline came?”

“She did. She was very determined to check on you.”

A faint smile touched Ivy’s lips, but it disappeared almost immediately. “Don’t scare her,” she said.

The request caught me off guard. “I won’t.”

“She doesn’t like men she doesn’t know hovering around,” Ivy whispered.

“I understand,” I said. And I did. Evangeline had hidden it well beneath her stubbornness, but I had noticed the way she kept her distance, and how she had pulled the neck of her sweater higher the moment she saw me. Whatever had happened to her had taught her to treat every unfamiliar man as a possible threat.

“I’ll give her space,” I promised. “You don’t need to worry about her or the store. She has everything handled.”

Ivy’s shoulders finally relaxed. Her eyes drifted closed again, and this time she let herself sleep without asking another question.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and Evangeline left once she was satisfied that the store and Ivy were both handled and safe. It was late when I felt the tug coming from my bonds - something happened. In the months since the entire fiasco with Arabella, I’d felt very little from our frayed pack bonds as our pack had started to fall apart. Now, day by day, it seemed to be healing, at least with Ronan. Hunter was still distant - but the pull came from him.

I reached for my phone, but a knock on the door let me know he was here now. I walked to the door, where Hunter stood outside. His suit was wrinkled, and exhaustion had made deep creases across his forehead.

“I have news,” he said.

I stepped into the doorway but kept my voice low.

“What happened?”

A flash of frustration went across his face. “The Carrington pack’s attorneys are preparing a cease-and-desist against Ivy. They’re claiming several of her products use proprietary formulas belonging to the family company.” He said, his voice weary.

I balked at the news. “What? Those are her formulas! They belong to her!” I said, trying not to be too loud.

“I know.” His expression turned cold. “Our attorneys know too. We expected retaliation, but it seems like they are going after her since they can’t do anything to us.” He looked past me, his eyes searching.

“She can’t deal with that right now,” I said, and looked back toward the office. “She’s still healing.”

“I came here to warn you, they might try to serve her. Make sure no one physically comes here and bothers her.” Hunter glanced toward the back room. “Ronan has extra security scheduled to be around when he’s at work.”

Normally, I would have argued that Ivy deserved to know immediately. But she could barely keep her eyes open.

“We tell her when she’s well enough to process it,” I said, and Hunter nodded.

“Is she… is she going to be okay?” he asked, and despite his usual strong front, I could see the panic in his eyes. I nodded.

“I told you, it’s just exhaustion. She’s still going to have to learn her own boundaries when it comes to work, but I promise she’ll be alright.” I said, and Hunter finally let out a breath he’d been holding.

“Alright, here are the latest findings for our lawsuit.” He handed me a file and turned to leave. But then, a faint sound drifted from behind me.