Chapter 336

Gavin’s POV

I was almost at the hospital when I felt her fear level increase. Though I had blocked her from my feelings, I still felt hers. My wolf nearly burst out of me the second he sensed that our mate wasn’t okay. Thankfully, I was able to hold him back. I ran through the hospital doors, and that was when I smelled her blood. A sense of dread washed over and things around me began to grow hazy as I rushed through the hospital and towards her room.

I heard banging and slamming when I reached her door, and I nearly ripped the door right off its hinges as I burst through. My eyes scanned the room, and I knew my wolf was at the surface; a snarl left my lips when I saw Ethan.

Judy was on the other side of the room, blood dripping down her arm from what looked like the IV. She must have ripped it out of her arm when she got out of bed. Ethan didn’t notice me at first; he lunged at her, holding a knife, and it was aimed at her belly. Judy ducked out of the way, kicking Ethan, before she punched him in the face. She grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. I knew she could handle herself, especially when it came to Ethan Cash. But something inside of me snapped at the sight of the potential danger.

A roar left my lips, and that was when Ethan finally noticed me. Once he got his footing, he spun around to look at me. His eyes widened. I didn’t even give him a chance to say a single word to me. I lunged towards him, punching him in the face so hard that his nose practically shattered. The knife clattered to the floor, along with his body, as he screamed out in pain.

I didn’t stop there, though. I continued to punch him, my knuckles growing red with each force, painting my skin crimson from his blood. I punched him until he became unrecognizable, until it was clear that Ethan was no more.

Judy stood on the other side of the room, covering her face as she cried. Her body was turned away like she was protecting our unborn pup from the sight.

I didn’t notice Taylor had entered the room until I felt his hand on my back. He was calm and didn’t intervene while I got all my anger out, but I knew it was time that I stopped.

“He’s gone,” Taylor told me, keeping his tone low.

My breathing was heavy as I stared down at Ethan’s body. Nobody would be able to tell that it was him, not even his family.

“Get cleaned up; I’ll take care of the body,” he told me.

I stood up, my eyes darting over to Judy. Her eyes found mine, and I could see them filling with moisture. Her lip was trembling as she stared at me. I was so wrapped up in my anger and settling my wolf that I couldn’t figure out her emotions. I couldn’t tell if she was afraid of me or not, and the thought killed me.

She had seen a side of me that I tried desperately to hide from her. I didn’t want her to see the murderous man in front of her; and yet I couldn’t keep that side of me at bay when it came to Ethan, threatening her and our unborn pup with a goddamn knife.

I didn’t say anything to her when I turned and went into the bathroom. When I looked into the mirror, I cringed.

I was covered in Ethan’s blood.

I wasn’t recognizable to myself. My clothes were completely ruined as well; it was no wonder Judy stared at me like I was some kind of monster. She was never going to look at me the same again. I hated that I had to show her this side of me; I hated that it was her ex that brought it out of me.

Then I remembered that Ethan was once her fated mate…. Did it hurt her to see him die?

I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the shower. I closed my eyes and allowed the water to rinse me of the blood that stained my flesh. The water around my feet started as dark red but then started to grow lighter and lighter until it was completely cleared. I used the generic shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair and the body wash that the hospital supplies.

I realized my hands were shaking with suppressed rage and fear that Judy would never look at me the same again. My wolf was practically whimpering at the thought.

I heard the bathroom door opening; I already knew it was Taylor before he said anything.

“I brought you a change of clothes,” he said, his voice low as he placed the clothes on the countertop.

“How is she?” I asked, my voice coming out rougher than intended.

“Eliza is doing a quick ultrasound now to make sure the baby is okay; she’s a little distraught, but overall, she’s fine.”

I closed my eyes again, letting his words wash over me. She was fine… that was all that mattered. He didn’t succeed in hurting her or the baby.

But I wanted to know how she was emotional. I realized now that she’s blocking me from feeling anything, and I hated that she had to resort to that. Then again, I’m blocking her as well. But it’s only because I didn’t want her to worry about me while she was recovering. I wanted to save her from the unnecessary stress and protect the baby from further harm.

Taylor left a moment later, not lingering in the bathroom, which I was grateful for.

Once I finished in the shower, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my waist. The clothes Taylor grabbed for me weren’t anything special, but they didn’t need to be.

I brushed out my hair using the brush that was on the counter and took another look at myself in the mirror. Though the blood was gone, I still looked unrecognizable. I had dark circles under my eyes as if I hadn’t slept in a long time.

I guess I didn’t.

With everything that happened since the party yesterday, I hadn’t had a moment to myself to just rest. I was on the go since yesterday, and I hadn’t stopped moving. I was fucking exhausted.

I quickly got dressed after the rest of my body dried. The bloodied clothes were gone, so I knew Taylor had taken them. When I stepped out of the bathroom, the scent of Ethan only slightly lingered.

His body was gone, and the blood that stained the ground was no more. I was relieved to see that.

My eyes shifted to Judy, who was lying in the hospital bed, a bandage covering her wrist and an IV drip in her other wrist.

Elizabeth was giving her an ultrasound and saying something that wasn’t registering in my head because all I could think about was how beautiful my mate was. Judy’s eyes were on me as I approached her.

Elizabeth finally noticed me.

“The baby is okay,” she assured me. “A strong heartbeat. There’s nothing to worry about.”

I nodded, relieved to hear that. My eyes never left Judy’s. Elizabeth cleared her throat as she turned off the machine.

“I’ll let you two rest,” she told me as she stood. “I’ll come to check on her later.”

Without another word, Elizabeth left.

“Hey…” I said, slowly approaching the bed like I would a wild animal.

“Hey,” Judy replied, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. “You look exhausted. Have you slept at all?”

I shook my head, beads of water from my shoulder dripping onto my forehead. I wiped it away and gave her a small shrug.

“I don’t need the sleep,” I told her.

“Everyone needs sleep,” she retorted. “Even someone as powerful as you.”

I reached my hand out to touch her, but hesitated; did she want me to touch her? Would she recoil away from me after what I had done in front of her? I don’t think I could handle it if she flinched away from my touch.

She stared at my hesitant, outstretched hand, and tears filled her eyes.

It broke my heart into a million pieces.

“Why are you blocking me?” She whispered.

I furrowed my brows.

“What?”

“I can’t feel you,” she said, wiping away her tears that spilled onto her cheeks. “I hadn’t been able to feel you since I woke up this morning, and I hate it…” Her heart broke at that last part.

“Oh, baby girl, I didn’t want to stress you and the baby out… if you only knew the kind of things I was feeling today…” I told her.

“It stressed me out not being able to feel my mate…” she whispered.

“You’re blocking me too…” I told her, not that I was justified or anything. She had every right to block me from the fear she was feeling towards me.

“I didn’t want to distract you…” she said, her eyes shifting to her lap.

“Unblock me, Judy,” I said before I could stop myself. I stepped closer to her, cupping her face in my hands and making her look at me. I ran my thumbs across her cheeks as I looked into her eyes. “I want to feel everything.”

Suddenly, the shield lifted, and I could feel all her emotions again. They poured into me as if they were my own. I realized at that moment that I was wrong; she was not afraid of me. Out of all the emotions she was feeling at that moment, fear of me was not one of them.

She felt safe and protected in my presence; she felt a sense of comfort and love…she felt passion and worry… but mostly, she was feeling hurt that I was blocking her.

I unblocked her as well so she could feel how much I truly love her, and I would do anything to keep her and our pup safe. She sucked in a sharp breath as my emotions poured into her.

Her eyes filled with even more touch, and she closed her eyes, soaking in everything I was giving her.

“Kiss me…” she whispered.

She didn’t have to tell me twice. Without another word spoken between us, I closed the gap and kissed my mate as if my entire life depended on it… because it did. Judy Montague was my life, and I’ll never let her forget that.