Chapter 168

Judy’s POV

I stared at Nan dumbfounded for a long moment.

“Like a second fated mate?” I asked her.

She nodded and met my eyes.

“Yes, like a second fated mate. Do you think I could have another fated mate if I reject this one… or if he rejects me?” She asked, nibbling on her lip. “I always only saw myself with a mate and now I’m not sure if this is the right one for me. I’m not sure if I should bother waiting for a second, or if it’s pointless.”

I hadn’t thought much about second chance mates, though I have heard of some instances where it happened. I’ve heard it takes a while for a wolf to recognize a second chance mate and if she’s marked by another, even after rejection, her wolf won’t feel any other mate at all until that mark is gone.

In Nan’s case, she wasn’t marked, so her wolf would recognize her second chance mate sooner rather than later.

It was a rarity to even get a second chance mate at all.

The Moon Goddess would have to think of you as a special blessing or something.

“I believe in them,” I admitted. “But they are a rarity. I wouldn’t count on receiving one.”

She nodded; her eyes clouded for a moment.

I knew she was conflicted about what to do and I couldn’t blame her. I wished I could make this decision for her, but the only one who could decide on what to do was Chester and Nan. They just needed to actually talk to each other and Chester needed to get his head out of his ass.

“I’m scared, Judy. I don’t know what to do,” she admitted softly.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close.

“And you have plenty of time to figure it out, Nan,” I assured her. “Just take your time. But if I may say, Chester isn’t a bad guy. Give him a chance to prove that to you. Just talk to him.”

She sniffled, wiping the remainder of her tears on the back of her hand, and then forced a smile at me.

“Enough about my pathetic love life,” she said, draping her arms through mine. “Tell me about the competition. I’m sorry I wasn’t at the arena when you arrived. How did it go You’re a few hours early so I’m assuming it went well?”

“We won this round,” I told her with a grin.

“What?? I knew you could do it! That’s incredible.”

I chuckled at her response.

“Yup,” I told her. “I even fought a black bear.”

“Yeah, I totally heard. I’ve been watching the livestream. Girl, we got a lot to talk about, starting with who the hell is Chuck and why was he such eye candy.”

I laughed at Nan’s antics; it was nice hearing it again.

We continued our typical banter as we walked back to Chester who was waiting by the fountain where we left him. He looked uneasy and when we approached, he quickly stood.

“I have to go,” I told them. “I promised Gavin, I’d meet him in his room and then I have watch duties tonight.”

I hugged them both goodbyes, telling Chester that I was glad he came, and added that he’s more than welcome to stay on our pull-out couch, but no funny business.

Then I quickly hurried back to the suites.

I noticed that Sammy had already gone back without saying anything.

I went back to my suite first so I could quickly change before heading to Gavin’s room. Though I had a key still to his room, I knocked anyway, not wanting to intrude if he was doing something. When he didn’t respond, I knocked again. After another beat of silence, I decided to just let myself into his room.

Unlocking the door, I stepped inside, peeking around for any signs of Gavin. His scent was faint, so he hadn’t been here in a while. I remembered the last time I wanted to surprise him naked in bed, he wasn’t alone when he returned. Mica was there and I had to hide under the bed before he saw me.

I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

It was almost 8 pm. I only had a couple of hours before I needed to go on watch duty at 10.

Taking a deep breath, I sat on his bed and waited.

……..

Gavin’s POV

I stood at the airport, glancing at my watch.

It was just after 9 pm and Irene and Matt’s plane should be landing soon.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I reached to grab it. I glanced at the screen, seeing Mica’s name flash across.

Sighing, I opened the text message.

Mica: You watchling tonight?

Me: Yes.

Mica: What time? The Lycans are gathering around now, and you aren’t here yet.

Me: I have something important to do right now. I’ll be there when I get there.

Before he could respond, I closed the messaging app and shoved my phone back into my pocket. It didn’t matter what time I arrived because there was only one competitor, I was planning on taking on the watch duty tonight.

“Dad?” I heard Irene saying as she approached.

It was 9:30 now.

When I looked at her, I saw that her eyes were puffy, and her bottom lip was quivering. I stood from my seat and walked towards her. She had her luggage in hand, and Matt was standing behind her with his own luggage.

Whoever hurt her my little girl was going to die.

“What happened?” I asked her as she wrapped herself in my arms, moisture from her tears soaking into my shirt.

“Can we talk on the way to the resort,” she sniffled.

I nodded, reeling in my temper.

Matt smiled at me as I rubbed his hair with my hand.

“Do I get to see Judy in action?” He asked, his eyes filled with excitement.

I chuckled.

“Yes,” I told him.

He fist-pumped in the air, excitement consuming him. He went on and on about how he’s been watching her on TV through the streaming service and he’s excited to see it in person.

The entire time, Irene was lost in thought, staring out the window as we drove towards the resort.

“So, tell me what’s going on?” I asked after a long wait, and once Matt finally started to drift off to sleep in the backseat. I was trying to keep myself calm, but my worry and frustrations were evident.

“My engagement ended,” she whispered.

“What?” I asked, my fists clenched around the steering wheel, my knuckles growing white.

The last thing I expected was for her to say that; she was head over heels in love with Ethan. I still remember when they met and I refused to let her date him, she was devasted and threatened her own life. I had no choice but to let her be with him despite my own dislike of the guy.

I could see right through him; he only wanted the title of Alpha for the Redmoon pack and he thought if he got close to my daughter, he would get close to me. I deal with guys like that all the time; I mean, he cheated on his own fated mate with my daughter so he could become an Alpha. The only reason I allowed him to date Irene was because she threatened her own life. I couldn’t let anything happen to my daughter.

“He was using me,” she continued as tears spilled down her cheeks. “He cheated on me… or he’s been cheating on me.”

I reached over and grabbed a hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly.

“I’m sorry,” was all I could think to say to her. But really, I was plotting the many ways I was going to kill Ethan.

“I really loved him, and I thought he loved me. I thought…” her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered out the window again. “I believed everything he said to me.” That last sentence was more to herself than to me; it was barely a whisper.

“None of it is your fault, Irene. I won’t let him get away with hurting you,” I told her, my tone turning icy as I thought about Ethan’s antics.

She turned to look at me, her eyes red with unshed tears.

“I said and did some awful thing because of him,” she said hoarsely. “A lot of things were to Judy… he made me believe the worst about her. Like she was trying to steal him and that she was obsessed with him. I treated her like an enemy. Yes, I was manipulated, but I still made a choice. That’s on me.”

My heart twisted from her words. I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure what to say at that moment.

“Do you think Judy would ever forgive me?” She asked in a whisper.

I nodded without much thought. Judy wasn’t the type to hold a grudge like that. Once Irene explained the situation, I was certain Judy would incite her back into her friendship circle.

“I think if you talk to her and explain what happened, then yes, she will forgive you.”

She nibbled on her lower lip and fixed her attention out the window again.

“I’m sorry, Dad. Sorry I brought him into our lives,” she whispered as more tears fell down her cheeks. “I don’t know what to do…”

“It’ll be okay,” I assured her. “I’ll make sure of it.” My words held a threat.

She nodded but she didn’t say anything more. It broke my heart to see her like this. Once we reached the resort, Matt, though tired, was back to talking my ear off about the upcoming competition and how excited he was to see the finals next week.

We finally reached my hotel suite, and I was late for watch duties. I needed to go before Judy went off with a different Lycan. I planned to just drop Irene and Matt off so they could get settled in the room, and then I was going to leave. But the second I opened the door to my room, I froze.

The air… it smelled like her.

Judy was recently here. But she’s not anymore…

Then I remembered I had told her to meet me here before her watch duty.

Fuck!