Chapter 351

Gavin’s POV

I heard the soft, padded footsteps on the marble floor around the same time I was putting on my coat. The kitchen was quiet this evening; most of the staff were off duty until the morning. Taylor had gone home to his mate; Irene was out with Chuck, who was back for the weekend, while Matt was asleep in bed because he had school tomorrow.

I didn’t have to look to know who was behind me.

“You should be resting,” I said, fastening the last button on my coat before turning to face her.

Judy’s tired eyes stared back at me; she was worrying her bottom lip, and her cheeks looked a bit flushed.

My heart squeezed in my chest at the sight. I hated that she was tired, but even more so that she was worried. I didn’t want anything to worry her; I wanted her to be stress-free so she could deliver a healthy baby boy into this world.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said softly, her eyes scanning my face before shifting to the coat. “It’s late. Where are you going at this hour?”

I stepped closer to her, my arms wrapping around her. I couldn’t tell her where I was going without explaining what was going on. I needed to shield her from this as much as possible.

“I have some business I need to tend to,” I tell her. “I’ll be at the office.”

The lie tasted bitter in my mouth; I couldn’t stand lying to her, but I was doing this for her own good.

She frowned, the lines forming on the corner of her pretty lips as she stared up at me. I couldn’t tell if she believed me or not; I had tried to mask my feelings through the mate bond so she couldn’t detect the lie. I had gotten good at masking certain parts of myself, though I knew it drove her crazy.

But if only she knew what was swirling through my mind right now, it would stress her to the max and put our baby in jeopardy.

“Will you be back soon?” She asked, her voice dropping to a whisper like she was afraid to wake the walls.

“Yes,” I assured her, pulling her into my arms and inhaling her sweet honey scent. I allowed the scent to calm me as it so often did. Her soft, wavy hair tickled my nose as I buried my face in it. I kissed her temple, and she let out a breath. I knew she still had anxiety over the fact that I was leaving so late, but she trusted me.

The thought of lying to her and breaking that trust killed me.

I cupped her face and forced her to look at me.

“I love you,” I told her, and as it so often did, my words caused her to melt a little. Neither she nor I would ever get used to this level of love… even without the mate bond, it was overpowering. But since finding out we were second-chance mates and finally marking one another, it only amplified the feelings that were already there.

“I love you too,” she said softly, stepping up on her toes to kiss my lips.

She started to pull back after a peck, but I wouldn’t let her go that easily. I held her tighter, wrapping my arms firmly around her waist and pulling her flush against me, deepening the kiss. My tongue dipped between her lips, tasting what was mine.

She moaned into my mouth, allowing me to explore her for a moment longer before I reluctantly pulled back.

“Save this for later,” I murmured against her mouth before giving her one last peck on the lips and releasing her. “Get some rest, and I’ll be home snuggling you soon enough.”

She looked at me for a moment longer before she relented and nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered before she turned away and left the kitchen.

I stared after her for a moment longer as the door swung shut behind her. My heart was squeezing painfully in my chest; the lie was resting in my mind over and over again. I hated having to do that, but as I said, it was for her own good, and I would do anything to keep Judy and our baby protected. She was part of my family now, and I would never let anything happen to her.

I left the villa, getting into my car. I had no idea what I was doing. This was probably the stupidest thing to do, but I needed answers, and there was only one person I knew who could get me at least some of them.

I started the engine and pulled away from my home; it got smaller in the rearview mirror. I felt my wolf’s tug, wanting to return to our mate and mark her all over again. He’s been adamant about claiming her time and time again. Every time our mark heals on her and it fades into a little pink line, he wants to freshen it and make it brand new.

He’s obsessed with her, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t obsessed with her as well. I wanted to spend all my waking hours with her and even my non-waking hours. I wanted to hold her and mark her and kiss her, … I wanted to make love to her so she would never forget who she belongs to and who I belong to.

I was hers… fully.

I had always been hers.

I couldn’t believe I spent so long without her, and I couldn’t believe even more that my wolf hadn’t recognized her as ours until the moment my teeth sank into her. He had always been drawn to her, but it was nothing in comparison to this.

The Silver Crescent Prison was about 20 minutes away from the villa. It was the largest prison in the world and the strongest. I only allowed the Elite force to guard it, and no criminal, no matter their strength, had ever been able to escape.

It was so well-known and strong that I allowed prisoners from outside of my territory to be held there as well. One prisoner in particular happened to be the one I was seeing this evening.

“Alpha,” Gerald, one of the guards, greeted, giving me a nod as I passed through the gates.

I nodded back but said nothing as I continued to walk through the security. A few other guards also nodded at me, murmuring their greetings.

I stepped through the doors, where I greeted some of the Silver Crescent Police Force.

I contacted them already when I was on my way, to let them know of my visit and who I was there to see. I was led through a variety of doors, not that I didn’t know where I was going, but I wasn’t there as their Alpha; I was there as a visitor.

We stepped into the visitor center and sat in one of the seats.

“He’ll be here in a second,” the officer said before he stepped back.

“Give us some privacy,” I said without even looking at him.

“Yes, Alpha,” the officer replied before retreating from the room.

The visiting center was set up, so the guests were on one side, and the prisoners were on the other, separated by clear, soundproof, and bulletproof glass. They could communicate by phone, which was set up at each visiting station.

The doors swung open on the other side of the glass, and a couple of guards walked through, pulling a prisoner along with them. My back straightened when I saw the tired and worn-out face of Levi Churchill.

He also looked a bit beaten.

The cuffs around his arms and legs made it so none of his abilities worked; he was as weak as a human. Easy to beat.

His eyes narrowed when he saw me, and he lowered himself into the seat. He slowly grabbed the phone to the best of his ability and brought it to his ear while the guards stepped back, refusing to take their eyes off him for a second.

I picked up the phone on my end and brought it to my own ears.

“What honor do I have for this visit, Alpha?” He drew out the word Alpha like it was a bitter taste on his tongue.

“Did you know Lila was a Blackwell?” I asked, straight to the point. I wasn’t there to have a mindless conversation or beat around the bush; I was there to get answers and then get the fuck out so I can go home and spend time with my mate.

He raised his brows, and the corner of his lips twitched.

“Why do you ask?”

“Answer the question, Churchill.”

He leaned back in his seat, his eyes narrowed.

“You’ve been busy—”

I slammed my fists on the table in front of me, rattling the phone receiver in the process.

“I am not playing around, Levi. Tell me the truth. Who the fuck is Lila?” I was at my wits' end, and I was seconds away from tearing through this glass and ripping him apart.

This was my fucking prison; I could do just that if I wanted to.

Levi let out a belt of laughter.

“You are more stupid than I gave you credit for, Gavin,” he said, shaking his head, humor clear in his eyes. “Did you really think it was going to be that easy? Did you honestly think it was over? I might be locked up here, but I’m not the one you need to watch out for. That precious Moon Gem that you fought so desperately to get back… it was never yours to begin with.”

My blood boiled at his words. He had no idea what he was talking about; it belonged to my father, and then his before that. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

“Does Lila have it?” I asked.

I assumed she was the one who stole it and replaced it at the auction, unless Daisy ran away with it when she stole it from my mother.

“She does,” Levi said, cocking his head to the side like he was searching for something on my face. “Though it doesn’t really belong to her either. However, it’s back in the family it came from.”

Was he saying the Moon Gem belonged to the Blackwells?

“Impossible,” I said through my teeth.

“Is it?” He asked, raising his brows. “You only know what your father told you. But your father lies.”

“He’s not the liar,” I growled. “You are.”

“Then why did you come to see me if you think I’m such a liar?”

I clenched my fists; my silence spoke volumes.

Levi leaned forward, his eye icy and filled with dark humor.

“Now that the right family has their thing back… they are going to come after you, Landry. I’d watch my back if I were you.”

With that, he hung up the phone and stood.

I stared after him as he left; I came for answers, but I’m leaving with even more questions.