Chapter 272

Gavin’s POV

After my phone conversation with Irene, I left the hospital and went straight to the graduation ceremony. Though there were still lingering graduates celebrating with their friends and family, Judy’s scent was long gone. It seemed that she didn’t stick around for the after-party.

I cursed and planned to just go to her house, but I stopped when I saw Beta Taylor approaching. He looked mournful as he stared at me, noticing my tense posture, the regretful look in my eyes.

“I know you care about her, but we have more pressing stuff to address right now, Alpha,” Taylor told me, using his professional tone so I knew he was all business. I knew he was right; that news article is ruining me. Now my entire territory is about to be aware that Rachel is pregnant, and they will assume that the baby is mine, just as the article and video attached to the article insinuate. I felt a rage like never before boiling through me as my fists clenched.

“Judy can’t see that article,” I told him, my tone leaving no room for arguments. “It would destroy her if she thought for a second, I got another woman pregnant. Especially after the night we had a couple of weeks ago. I can’t let that happen. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“And what if you did get her pregnant?” Taylor asked, his brows raising. “We don’t exactly have proof otherwise.”

“The baby isn’t mine,” I said through my teeth. “I didn’t touch her…”

She had markings all over her body, and your scents were intermingled,” Taylor reminded me, stating the obvious.

I let out a low growl, my wolf surging forward as I glared at him.

He took a step away from me, knowing it was not the time to push me. He took a deep breath and held his hands up in defense.

“Look, I’m just saying, you need to be prepared. It’s probably better if you leave Judy alone for right now until you know for sure. The last thing you want is to get her hopes up that the two of you can be something and then break her heart… again. She’s been through enough and doesn’t need any more of this.”

I hated that Taylor was right; Judy didn’t need me courting her right now. She needed security. I needed to get rid of Rachel and her constant presence before I pursue Judy and make a future with her.

The thought came suddenly, and I paused before walking back to my car.

A future with her?

Is that what I wanted?

Even as I thought about it, my wolf rumbled with approval, something that hasn’t happened since meeting Melissa, my fated mate.

“What’s the plan?” Taylor asked before I could leave.

I had no idea what the fucking plan was, and it aggravated me.

“I’m going back to the hospital,” I murmur. “I need to play the part as an expecting father, so Rachel and the pack don’t think anything is amiss. Meanwhile, I need Monty to hurry the fuck up with that security footage. I’m going to schedule a paternity test for the baby on the next ultrasound. I don’t want Rachel knowing about it because she could pull some strings and get the test results manipulated. So, give your mate a heads up about that.”

Taylor nodded.

“Okay, I’ll let her know,” Taylor said thoughtfully.

I left without another word, my head whirling with thoughts. Rachel was asleep when I got to her room. I stared down at her sleeping face; a face that used to mean so much to me… watching her sleep was always something I enjoyed doing back when we were together. But now, it felt like nothing to her. I only felt resentment and a little unsettled. It was clear that I didn’t trust her. I hated that her presence had disturbed my life so deeply that I’m losing someone important to me. I hated that I was hurting Judy for this woman.

“Oh, you’ve returned,” Eliza Pierce said as she walked into the room. “I was just doing my night rounds.”

“Have you spoken to Taylor?” I asked, keeping my tone low so as not to wake up Rachel.

Eliza nodded and glanced at Rachel as well before meeting my eyes.

“I’ll make it happen,” she said simply. “In the meantime, you should get some rest as well. Do you want me to grab you another bed so you can sleep, Alpha?”

I shook my head.

“I’m fine in the chair. I don’t think I can sleep much.”

She nodded, and then her eyes flickered to the clipboard she was holding.

“The news report was taken down,” she informed. “I’m assuming that was your doing?”

Almost immediately after Kelsey left the hospital earlier, I contacted Gamma Derek and had him deal with the news story. I wasn’t surprised that the articles have been taken down, wiped from existence.

“Yes,” I told her.

She nodded, though it looked as if there was something still on her mind.

“Out with it,” I ordered, losing my patience.

“It’s just that I think the damage had been done, Alpha. So many had already seen it… I’ve heard that the alert went off during the graduation ceremony and—”

A low growl escaped me.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked her, my eyes piercing her.

She swallowed, but she stood her ground.

“If you were hoping that you got rid of the story before a certain someone saw it… You are mistaken. She saw it, Alpha.”

With that, she turned and left. My blood ran cold.

Judy had seen the story… during the graduation ceremony.

That explained why Irene called me frantic, because she, too, had seen the news story. I just didn’t realize it was a public scene during the graduation.

I felt sick to my stomach.

I’m not sure how long I stayed in the hospital room, watching Rachel sleep, but I felt numb. How the fuck was I going to explain myself to Judy? She must be thinking the absolute worst about me right now.

My phone rang, bringing me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the screen to see Derek’s cousin Monty’s number. I stood quickly and rushed out of the room, holding the phone to my ear.

“You better have an update. It’s been 2 days, Monty,” I said through my teeth.

“You should be prepared,” Monty murmured. “I have information for you.”

Before I could return, Eliza returned with the ultrasound machine and a fetal paternity test.

“I’m going to wake her up now,” Eliza said. “It might take a bit for the paternity test results. But hopefully I’ll have something for you by the end of the day. She’s a little over a month pregnant, so it’s still a bit too early. But werewolf babies grow faster than humans, so I might be able to get actual results for you.”

I nodded, my grip on the phone tightening.

Eliza disappeared into the hospital room with the machine, and I turned my back to the door to address Monty, who remained on the other end of the phone.

“Send me over everything you can,” I told him. “I’m staying here and waiting for the paternity results.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

With that, the line went dead.

I walked back into the room to see Eliza setting up the machine and Rachel sitting up in bed with a polite smile on her face.

“Good morning,” Rachel said, her eyes finding mine. “Are you ready to see our baby?”

I forced a smile as I reached her.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” I lied, though she seemed to have bought it.

Once Eliza had everything set up, she performed the ultrasound. The whooshing of the baby's heartbeat brought tears to Rachel’s eyes. I felt nothing; there were no emotional ties with the baby because I knew in my heart, it wasn’t mine. But I had to fake it in order for Rachel to believe me.

“That’s our baby,” Rachel breathed, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

I forced another smile, my eyes glued to the screen.

“Very healthy indeed. That’s a strong heartbeat,” Eliza told her. “It’s too early to tell the gender. But at this rate, I should be able to tell you by next month.”

“Really? That soon?” Rachel gasped.

Eliza nodded.

“Yes, the baby is growing at a quick rate. Must be that Lycan blood,” she said, glancing my way.

My wolf let out a low growl, though I was able to stifle it before it escaped my lips.

“Now, I’ll need to do a little blood work on the baby,” Eliza said, pulling out the syringe. I knew the blood was for the paternity test, but Rachel’s eyes grew wide.

“Bloodwork?” She asked. “Why??”

“It’s just protocol,” Eliza assured her. “There’s no need to be alarmed. It’s how I find out if the baby has any underlying deceased. I also want to know its blood type. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“And this is normal at only a month pregnant?” Rachel asked.

“Typically, I’d wait until you are about two to three months along, but as I said, the baby is growing at a quick rate, and it’s better to get these things out of the way.”

“Is it safe?” She asked, her voice becoming a whisper.

“I would never put either of you in danger like that,” Eliza assured her. “You have nothing to worry about. The baby won’t be hurt.”

Rachel swallowed and then nodded slowly.

“Okay,” she breathed. “Do what you must.”

Eliza smiled, her eyes flickering to me briefly, and I could see the small sense of victory in her eyes before she got to work. She numbed a spot on Rachel’s belly before injecting her with the needle. Rachel couldn’t look at the needle, but she did watch on the ultrasound machine as the needle found the baby. After a moment, Eliza pulled the syringe out of her and held up a small vial of blood.

“Perfect,” Eliza breathed before bandaging the puncture wound. “Would you like me to print photos of the ultrasound?”

“Yes, please,” Rachel said.

Eliza nodded as she pressed print on the machine monitor, and then she packed up the equipment. As she passed me, she murmured.

“I’ll have results as soon as possible.”

I nodded, pretending she didn’t just murmur something to me.

My phone dinged a moment later, and when I looked at the screen, I saw that Monty had sent over a ton of files.

I excused myself and stepped into the hallway to look at what he had sent me. There are a ton of videos, each marked for different times and locations.

I didn’t have time to watch all the videos then, but one caught my eye. It was the one Monty had labeled: DRUGGED??