Chapter 359

Judy’s POV

The chatter from the dining hall faded the further we walked. Leaving Gavin behind was difficult, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to what secrets his manor held. This whole place was like an urban legend to most, so being here piqued my interest more than anything.

Esme, the grandmother, had recently come to me in my dreams. She kept staring at me throughout the dinner, and she spoke no words. Apparently, she hadn’t spoken in years, and yet she spoke to me in my sleep. I knew without a doubt that it wasn’t just a dream, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to explain this to Gavin.

I knew whatever was happening, whatever it meant, I would find the answers somewhere in this manor.

“You carry yourself well, my dear,” Selen’s voice, low and smooth, brought me out of my head and into the present moment. “Mot would tremble under so many eyes. But not you.”

I forced a smile.

“I’ve faced worse.”

Her lips curved.

She was very beautiful, more so than her pictures. It was almost intimidating to look at her. I felt like I should bow or curtsy in her presence. I dismissed the thought because it’s not like she was royalty or anything. Even if that were the case, Gavin held more power than the Blackwell family, despite the literal power in the Blackwell blood.

Her expression grew thoughtful for a moment.

“You seem almost familiar,” she suddenly said. “Like a name I should remember, but it’s just beyond reach.”

Something in me stirred—not my wolf, not the mate bond, but something older, stranger. It was the same pull I had felt when Esme’s pale eyes refused to leave me. It was as though threads I couldn’t see tightened around my ribs, binding me closer to this family… to this manor.

“Perhaps we met in another life,” I tried to joke, though the words fell flat on my lips.

Selene’s fingers grazed my arm, deliberately.

“Perhaps,” she murmured, her smile never fading, but her eyes glowed with something sharper than fondness. “Blood remembers, even when the mind does not.”

I held her gaze for what felt like an eternity; a familiarity in them that not only called to me, but my wolf as well. I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Lila, who appeared around the corner, wheeling Esme.

“Am I missing a girl chat?” Lila asked, a glimmer of something in her eyes. “I must say, Judy, you are much prettier in person.”

She was pretending she didn’t know me; she didn’t want her family to know that we’d met before. Which means, they weren’t the ones who sent her to Gavin. I wondered what her involvement with Levi entailed and how they ended up together. I wondered if they were still in contact or if the Blackwells even knew about it.

Lila’s connection to the Blackwells confused me; she didn’t look a thing like them. While they all had dark hair, Lila had blonde hair. She also had bright blue eyes, while Selene had bright green eyes, and the others had dark blue eyes. Of course, I knew how genetics worked, but something about it all seemed off.

It wasn’t just their looks; it was also their scent. My wolf felt uneasy, and I couldn’t blame her.

I stared down at Esme, her eyes never wavering. It was as if she were peeling back my skin and seeing something I couldn’t. My wolf shifted uneasily, ears flattening. I had the strangest sensation that she knew me better than I knew myself.

Her lips didn’t move. She made no sound. Yet, in that silence of that corridor, her presence read.

Blood calls to blood.

The words weren’t spoken, but I felt them. Inside me. Around me.

Lila leaned casually against the wall, but I noticed the way her fingers drummed against the handle of Esme’s chair. Restless and uneasy.

“You’ll get used to her staring,” she said lightly. “Grandma doesn’t blink much anymore. It’s unnerving if you’re not family.”

Selene’s gaze softened as she turned to her daughter.

“How about you take Esme to the patio for some fresh air?” she suggested. “It’s not good for her to be cooped up inside all day.”

“Of course, Mother,” Lila said with a smile of her own. “It’s truly good to be home again. I’ve missed you dearly.”

Lila pecked her mother on the cheek before she turned and walked off, wheeling Esme away as well.

I couldn’t seem to pull my gaze away, my heart thrumming violently in my chest.

“Are you all right?” Selene asked, drawing my attention back to her.

“Yeah, sorry,” I said, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. “Esme… she’s Zachary’s mother?”

Selene nodded, her eyes thoughtful.

“She is.”

“What happened to her if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Honestly, we aren’t sure,” Selene said as she started towards the corridor. I followed after her. “It happened shortly after Lila’s birth. She used to be so vocal… her voice was the most soothing thing I had ever heard. But then she just stopped…”

“And you never figured out why?” I didn’t mean for my tone to sound accusatory, and I wished I could swallow it back down. Selene didn’t seem to take any offence over it, though.

She just shook her head, a sad expression on her face.

“We tried all we could… eventually, it learned to live with the new normal,” she explained. “Come on… let me show you around further so we can give the men some time to talk further.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the closed dining hall door. Biting my lip, I nodded and followed Selene further away.

……

Gavin’s POV

The dining hall was empty without the others, but it didn’t feel any lighter. If anything, the silence pressed harder now that I was alone with Zachary Backwell. The man hadn’t moved from his seat at the head of the table, posture straight, hands folded neatly before him as though the entire evening had been nothing more than a prelude.

I suppose it was.

“Your father would have stormed out by now,” Zachary said at last, his voice calm, almost conversational. “He never had much patience for theatre.”

I knew he was right; my father was too serious at times, and if he found his time was being wasted, he would have been gone. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt before I make my judgments. He always said that would be one downfall one day, and it made me wonder at this moment if he was right.

“Then it’s a good thing you didn’t invite him to dinner.”

This earned a slight chuckle from Zachary.

“Believe me, if ghosts could dine, he’d be here,” Zachary said. “But seriously, Gavin. I’m impressed with you. I might have been off the radar for a long time, but I wasn’t living under a rock. I had been keeping updates on you, and you’ve built quite a reputation. You’ve taken the Landry Foundation further than I had ever seen it and all without the help of your father. It's something to be proud of.”

I didn’t like speaking of my father with a man who turned his back on him.

“Get to the point,” I said, my voice coming out gruffer than I meant it.

Zachary leaned back in his chair, studying me.

“The point is simple, Gavin. The past is over. The Moon Gem is back where it belongs. I’m not entirely sure the details of how my daughter received it, but I’m not going ot complain now that it’s back in our family. I know it wasn’t your fault as to how it ended up in your family. You were a teenager when it happened. The feud that formed between our families died with your father, and now that the gem has returned, I’m ready to put the past where it belongs… in the past.”

I wasn’t sure if I could trust him, but his words were sincere, so I relaxed a little.

“Is this why you came out of hiding? To reconcile with the Landry family?” I asked.

“That and because my family deserves more than being stuck in the… shadow region… as you call it. I wanted to make a business plan, and I wanted you to be involved in that plan.”

“You want to involve me in Blackwell business?” I asked. “After years of silence?”

“You’ve proven yourself more capable, Gavin. The Landry name holds weight, even beyond these walls. With my family stepping back into the light, I want an ally that the world already trusts.”

“An ally,” I repeated, my voice flat. “Or a pawn.”

His gaze sharpened, but he didn’t rise to the bait.

“That depends entirely on you.” He leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. “Think on it. The Blackwells are back, and this time, we will not be content with shadows. The question, Gavin, is whether you intend to and beside us… or in our way.”

I held his stare, refusing to look away. My wolf pressed against my skin, restless, already deciding for me.

But I said nothing. Because the weight of his words wasn’t just about me, through the body, I could feel Judy, unsettled, shaken—somewhere deeper in the manor, her presence tugging at me like a thread I couldn’t afford to lose.

And I knew, whatever Zachary Blackwell was planning, it would rage us both straight into the fire.