Chapter 43

Judy’s POV

“Judy?” Irene’s voice cut through my thoughts just as we were walking by their table.

I forced a smile in her direction, ignoring Ethan’s gaze.

“Hello, Irene,” I said politely.

“It is you,” she said, her tone sounding a bit strained. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you liked places like this.”

Walter’s arm draped around my shoulders and as if seeing him for the first time, Irene immediately perked up.

“Wallie, are you two on a date?” She asked him.

He grinned at his cousin.

“We are,” he answered.

I felt my cheeks burning; I didn’t think he would be so forward like this; what if Irene told Gavin that she ran into us?

Irene turned to look at me.

“You are a lucky lady,” she told me. “My cousin is very picky when it comes to women he dates. You must be very special. Especially to go against father’s wishes.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said with an awkward laugh.

Walter grinned.

“I would,” he said, making me blush even harder. “If you’ll excuse us, Rena, our table is waiting.”

“Of course,” Irene said, motioning for us to go.

I glanced at Ethan just before we turned to leave, and I could see his eyes burning daggers into me. I swallowed and turned away from him, following Walter and the hostess to the table. We were at a distance from Irene and Ethan, but we could still see them clearly. I sat down in front of Walter as the waitress handed us each a menu.

“Your waitress will be right with you,” she said; her eyes never leaving Walter. When he looked up at her and gave her a polite nod, she blushed and then she winked at him. I pressed my lips together and watched as she swayed her hips back to the hostess stand. I didn’t feel jealous towards the woman, but I couldn’t help but feel disrespected.

“Get anything you want,” Walter told me, bringing my attention back to him. “Don’t worry about the cost.”

I smiled and nodded as I scanned the menu; it was no wonder he brought up the cost, everything on the menu was so expensive. The waitress appeared moments later and like the hostess, she only had eyes for Walter.

“Hello, Mr. Landry,” she said, batting her long lashes at him. “It’s such an honor to serve you.” She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it but kept her hand lingering there. “You are much more handsome in person. I am such a huge fan of yours.”

He frowned up at her, but he didn’t remove her hand from his shoulder, which bothered me a little. It was disrespectful towards me that she was openly flirting with him, and he wasn’t doing anything about it.

“I appreciate that,” he said, turning his frown into a grin. “Can you bring us your best bottle of wine? And what’s the specials for this evening?”

“Our special this evening is Ora King salmon, on green tea soba noodles. Highly recommended. Our soup of the day is Mushroom Agnolotti with sweet potatoes and Kohlrabi.”

“Perfect, I’ll take them both,” he replied before glancing in my direction. “And for my date…”

The waitress glanced in my direction and like the hostess, she immediately frowned. It was as if she was just noticing me for the first time. I swallowed and glanced at the menu once more before settling on my dish.

“I’ll have the soft-shell crab tempura ravioli,” I told her.

She wrote down my order and then ran her long fingers up the back of Walter’s neck.

“I’ll be back with your order handsome,” she said, winking as she walked away.

I frowned at her retreating back before turning my gaze to Walter.

“Are you accustomed to women flirting with you like that?” I asked him.

He frowned at me.

“Yes,” he answered. “I don’t really notice it anymore. Was she that bad?”

I raised my brows.

“Her hands were all over you,” I said in a harsh whisper.

“I guess I just ignore it,” he said. “Did it bother you?”

“I felt a little disrespected if I were to be honest,” I said, staring down at my empty plate.

He reached his hands over and grabbed a hold of mine gently, I lifted my gaze to meet his and I could see the remorse and sincerity behind his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Judy. I never wanted to make you feel like that. Especially tonight. When she returns, I’ll tell her to keep her hands off. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable…”

I could tell he truly meant it and the fact that he really didn’t notice the flirting from both the waitress and the hostess, made my attitude and expression soften.

“You’re a good-looking guy, Walter. Women are bound to flirt with you, and I can’t fault you for that. I just wasn’t a fan of the way they looked at me,” I admitted.

He nodded.

“I can understand that, and I’ll make it clear to them that you are my date, and they need to show you respect,” he assured me.

I blushed and shook my head.

“You don’t need to make a scene,” I told him. “Thank you for listening to my concerns.”

“I will always listen to what you have to say, and I’ll try my best to fix any of your concerns,” he told me, giving me a gentle smile and squeezing my hand. “That’s the kind of man I am.”

Before I could say anything more, the waitress returned with a bottle of red wine and a couple of glasses.

“The best wine we have tonight is the Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac,” she told him, her eyes never leaving his.

He nodded.

“Sounds great,” he said. “Can you poor my date a glass first.”

The waitress frowned and glanced in my direction. I gave her a fake smile, leaning back in my seat. She straightened her posture and poured me a glass of wine; the red elixir glistening from the crystal glass and the illuminating lighting of the chandelier above us.

She turned her attention back to Walter and her expression softened; that flirty smile returned as she poured him a glass.

“Is there anything else I can get for you?” She asked, putting her hand on his bicep.

He glanced at her hand with a frown, and then he took her hand into his, promptly removing her hand from his arm. She frowned at the gesture.

“Let’s try to remain professional, shall we?” He asked, corking his eyebrow up. “There’s no need to be disrespectful towards my date.”

She straightened her posture, and I saw her face turning beat red.

“I… uh…” she stammered.

“Just check on our meals,” he ordered, waving her away dismissively.

She swallowed and then quickly hurried away from the table. He sighed and met my eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice that earlier,” he said with a kind smile. “I promise, the rest of the evening, I’ll try my best to make sure you are comfortable.”

“I truly appreciate that, Walter,” I told him, and I meant that.

“Let’s enjoy the rest of the evening,” he said, lifting his wine glass in the air. I smiled and lifted mine in the air. We clinked the glasses together and we both took a sip.

…..

Third Person POV

Judy was so preoccupied with her date with Walter, that she couldn’t feel Ethan glaring at the back of her head. He was fuming in his seat; Irene was babbling about something that didn’t interest him in the least. All he could think about was Judy and how she could possibly be on a date with another man.

Then again, he was on a date with a woman. The very woman he left his fated mate for; but it was all for good reason. At least, that’s what he told himself. His wolf was still aggravated over the fact that he broke up with their fated mate for another she-wolf, but it was all so Ethan could become the new Alpha of the Redmoon pack.

Once Ethan got everything he wanted, his wolf would be happier.

But that also included Judy; he wanted Judy, and he wasn’t going to stop until he got her in that house he bought for her.

“Are you even listening to me?” Irene asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Ethan blinked a few times, forgetting that Irene was talking to him and not hearing a single thing she had just said.

“Of course I am,” he lied.

“Then, what did I say?” She asked, raising her brows.

He hesitated, which was enough for her to know that he didn’t hear a word of what she said.

“Something about the wedding?” He guessed.

She rolled her eyes and put her napkin on her almost empty plate.

“I think I’ve had enough,” she murmured. “I’d like to go home now.”

He frowned at her.

“Why are you acting like this?” He asked her.

“Acting like what?”

“Immaturely,” he answered. “If there’s a problem, you should tell me.”

“I could say the same to you,” she retorted. “You haven’t been yourself since meeting Judy. Is there something I need to know about? Did something happen between the two of you?”

His eyes grew large; was he being that transparent? He needed to be careful if he wanted to become the Alpha.

“Of course not, Irene. I only have eyes for you,” he assured her.

“Then why haven’t you been able to stop staring at her?” She asked through her teeth.

“I’m not staring at her,” he denied.

“I don’t believe you,” she said, shaking her head; tears glistened in her eyes.

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this here,” he told her, dropping his voice to a whisper. “How about I pay the bill and then we leave here? We can talk more in the car.”

She hesitated, but then gave him a curt nod.

“I’ll be outside waiting,” she said, standing to her feet and walking away, leaving Ethan staring after her trying to figure out how he was going to talk himself out of this.

Meanwhile, Walter had also noticed Ethan staring at Judy during the entire date and it was aggravating him. He knew that Judy and Ethan had some kind of history that she didn’t want disclosed. But his curiosity was getting the best of him, so he opened a mindlink between him and his Beta.

“Max,” he said through the mindlink.

“I’m here,” Max replied almost immediately. “Everything okay?”

“I need you to find out everything you can about Ethan Cash,” Walter ordered. “He and Judy have a past and I need you to dig up all the information you can about it.”