Chapter 0496

Dinner felt surreal.

Normally, I ate at my parents' house. But Gregory insisted I join him and Alistair at the packhouse tonight. Which meant I was now seated at the ranked wolves' table. If anyone hadn’t noticed my move to the packhouse before, they definitely would now.

The moment I sat, Luna Penelope and Beta Beatrice turned toward me. "Ivy, darling," Luna Penelope began, "how are you settling into your room? Do you need anything?"

"Alpha Sebastian had my belongings delivered earlier," I replied. "I haven’t checked everything yet, but I should be fine. Thank you."

"If you need anything, let me or Beatrice know. Her room is closer if it's urgent."

"Thank you both. I don’t want to cause any trouble."

Beta Beatrice leaned in, whispering just loud enough for us to hear. "Honestly, it’s refreshing to have another she-wolf at this table. Too much testosterone otherwise." I stifled a laugh. Their kindness was unexpected but welcome.

"What’s so amusing down there?" Alpha Sebastian’s voice cut through our quiet moment. Of course, he’d notice—especially when his mate was involved.

Luna Penelope smiled. "Just discussing how lovely it is to have Ivy join us tonight." She winked at me, and I quickly focused on my plate to hide my grin.

Conversation resumed, but when I glanced up, Gregory was watching me. He smirked before taking another bite.

"Sebastian," Gregory announced, "Alistair and I are joining Ivy and Seraphina for their study session tonight. We’ll use the small meeting room."

Silence fell over the table.

"You two… are studying with Ivy and Seraphina?" Sebastian repeated slowly, as if the words didn’t make sense. Every pair of eyes locked onto Gregory and Alistair.

Alistair shrugged. "Ivy and Seraphina always study together. Now that Ivy’s here, Seraphina will be coming to the packhouse. We figured we’d join them. So, the meeting room, Dad?"

Beta Leopold narrowed his eyes. "And what, exactly, will you be studying?"

"Literature," Gregory said smoothly.

"Anatomy and physiology," Alistair added.

Their expressions were so convincingly innocent that I almost believed them. Around the table, the others looked torn between disbelief and exasperation.

"Door stays open," Sebastian finally said before returning to his meal.

Alistair rolled his eyes. "Obviously. What did you think we were going to do?"

Then it hit me—what everyone had assumed. My face burned.

Luna Penelope turned back to me. "You’re close with Seraphina, aren’t you?"

"Yes, ma’am. We’ve been best friends since we were kids."

"I don’t know her well. Tell me about her."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alistair tense.

"She’s brilliant," I said. "Kind, loyal—unlike me, she doesn’t want to be a warrior. She’s training to be a doctor."

"She sounds wonderful," Beta Beatrice remarked.

"She is."

Luna Penelope exchanged a glance with Beta Beatrice. "We should invite her to dinner tomorrow." She smiled at me. "Would she like that?"

"I think so. I’ll ask her when she comes tonight."

Alistair looked increasingly uncomfortable, while Gregory was clearly fighting a laugh.

Beta Beatrice nodded. "Introduce us when she arrives. We’ll extend the invitation ourselves."

"Of course. That’ll make her more comfortable about coming."

Alistair exhaled sharply, and Gregory’s smirk widened.

This was going to be interesting.