Ivy never liked me, but the news of her disappearance deeply affected me. The woods were a harsh environment, especially for someone like her who had grown up sheltered within the pack.
As a tribe-born individual, her situation was dire. Despite her past actions against me, I still felt compelled to help, even though her brother harbored animosity towards me, as I did towards me.
One day, I will surely get my revenge after clearing my name for what they did to me.
My heart softened towards Ivy when I saw how much Alpha Zion cared for and loved her, especially after he had saved my life. As I found myself alone for the first time in a while, my curiosity drew me to explore my new surroundings.
The house exuded elegance, prompting me to wonder if all the pack's homes were as luxurious. The living room, though not as grand as the packhouse, was still adorned with opulence beyond my wildest dreams.
My excitement led me to the bathroom, where I was delighted to find both a hot and cold-water shower, a bathtub, and a jacuzzi.
Despite Alpha Zion's indication that this would be my permanent residence, the lavishness of it all made me hesitant to fully embrace this newfound luxury.
The backyard, as he had described, exuded all the glamour I had seen earlier, leaving me pondering what to do with it all. A pool? No, I was more accustomed to lakes and streams, but why was it raining only on one side?
Before I could investigate further, the doorbell chimed, and I hurried to answer it. It was Beta Madai and Apphia.
"Bella, we've come to apologize for earlier. Alpha is currently out searching for Ivy. If you need anything, just mindlink us," Beta Madai smiled and said, adding, "the Alpha prefers to personally introduce you to the pack before you start training."
Although Alpha Zach had already mentioned this, I was unfamiliar with such luxuries and unsure how to take advantage of them.
"Could you give me a tour?" I inquired, noticing the excitement in Apphia's eyes, even though my question was not directed at her.
"Allow me to show her around," she said as she brushed past Beta Madai and entered, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "My parents always wanted to visit this place when we were part of the tribe, but never had the chance."
Her gaze wandered to the kitchen, and I could tell from her words what she was looking for. "I heard there's a swimming pool in the backyard and some barbecue stands too."
Excitement lit up her face as she hurried through the kitchen's back door to the backyard, leaving me a moment to voice my concerns to Beta Madai.
"It looks like it's raining on one side of the backyard," I pointed out.
He chuckled at my observation and clarified, "You must be referring to the rain curtains."
"Rain curtains? What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled. After a moment of laughter, he took my hand and said, "Let me show you."
His calm tone brought me warmth, and I was happy to be treated without disdain, as I was usually accustomed to. "Over here," he pointed to the side of the rainfall.
"Rain curtains typically involve a closed-loop system where water is collected at the bottom of the feature, recycled, and then pumped to the top of the curtain, where it falls back down, thanks to gravity."
I could feel my face heating up from embarrassment, and I let out an awkward smile. "I thought it was rain."
"Well, the former Luna loves the sound of rain, so our former Alpha had this done for her, but she got used to the new pack house and never made good use of it. These features aren't in the pack house, but there are more interesting things there..." He was saying when a splash of water dominated the rain sound.
"Hoo, hoo, Madai, you never told me the pool was heated," Apphia said excitedly. I felt like I wasn't the only one new to all this. However, this was like the best day of my life, as Beta Madai taught me how to make barbecues, and Apphia insisted that I join her to swim.
No matter how much she tried to persuade me to wear a bikini, I couldn't bring myself to expose so much skin in front of beta Madai. Instead, I chose to swim in the dress I was already wearing.
They stayed until late at night before heading back to the pack house. Thankfully, the bed was so inviting that I fell asleep as soon as I lay down.
My life had changed so quickly, especially considering how I used to be tossed from one tribe to another. There were times when I had to sleep on the bare floor because I didn't have materials to make a bed.
Now, I was enjoying luxuries that I had only ever had the opportunity to clean before. The sound of the doorbell woke me from my sleep, and assuming it was Apphia or Beta Madai, I hurried to answer the door.
To my surprise, I was greeted by a stranger, a woman with a bright smile, holding freshly baked pastries.
"Hi, you must be Bella Ann. Beta Madai told us about a new tribe member, but we haven't had the chance to meet you yet," she said, extending her hand for a handshake while holding the pastries in her other hand. "I'm Moon."
"Yes, I'm Bella Ann," I replied with a smile, reaching out to shake her hand. However, she pulled her hand back and offered me the pastries instead. I thought this was the start of a good relationship until things took a turn for the worse.