Chapter 96

Judy’s POV

I didn’t realize what I was doing until everybody turned to stare at me. My wolf was furious at the sight of Skyla all over Gavin and I could hardly contain her. She wanted blood and I wasn’t sure if I could hold her back fully. She had never acted like this before and I had to admit, I was a bit worried.

I felt Matt’s hand wrap around my wrist and that was the only thing that started to calm me. Even my wolf knew she couldn’t lose control with a child present. I took a steady deep breath and released it shakily. My eyes found Gavin’s and he didn’t look pleased with my outburst. He said something to Skyla who stepped away from him, her hands tucked in at her sides, and her eyes never left mine. She didn’t look pleased either; the others just looked at me curiously and were a little amused. I’m sure they lived for this kind of drama, and they were hoping something exciting would happen sooner or later.

Before I could grasp what was happening, Gavin was beside me. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me along with him and into the villa. I nearly stumbled over my feet in the process. I could feel his anger rolling off him in waves and it made me that much more nervous. I had never felt this type of anger coming off him before and it made it that much worse knowing it was directed at me.

When we were far enough away, he finally stopped walking and released his hold on me. He turned to face me, and I could see the anger crossing his face.

“Is this arrangement of ours too much for you?”

I was stunned by his question.

“W…what?” I asked him, my resolve fading.

“Is this going to be an issue? Are other women being around me? Because if it is, we should stop with this arrangement and just be boss and employer again. You can still remain in the mansion but—”

“I don’t know what happened,” I said quickly. “My wolf momentarily lost her mind, but she’s fine now.”

He was quiet for a moment as he scanned my face.

“You made a fool out of yourself out there. You knew they were shooting today and shouldn’t have come out there. Didn’t Irene give you the notice?”

I frowned and grabbed my phone from my pocket. Irene hadn’t texted me at all. I knew she was upset with me about something, but why would she sabotage me like that? I glanced at Gavin and bit my lower lip.

“I must have missed her text,” I mumbled, not wanting to pin him against his daughter. I didn’t want to cause issues with the Landry family.

“I have to do damage. If you are going to act like a child, then you can leave. Do your tutoring sessions elsewhere,” he snapped before he turned his back on me.

His words were harsh, and they felt like a slap in the face. I wasn’t sure what to say or do, so I stood there, watching him walk away. A moment later, Matt joined me. He had a concerned frown on his lips.

“Are you okay, Judy?” He asked.

I didn’t want him to think that I was upset, so I forced a smile and nodded.

“Yeah,” I told him. “Let’s do some training in the villa’s gym today,” I suggested.

He nodded and we headed to the back of the villa and into the gym. We spent the next hour training and by the time we were done, we were both exhausted.

As I was leaving, I got a glimpse of Irene who was walking out of the kitchen. She froze when she spotted me, and her frown was evident.

“Why didn’t you tell me that they were filming on the training grounds today?” I asked her, folding her arms across my chest.

“It must have slipped my mind,” she said, shrugging one of her shoulders as she started to walk towards the stairs.

“Is there a problem between us, Irene?” I asked her, stopping her from getting too far.

“Why would you think there’s a problem?” She asked, a little too innocently.

Her tone spoke volumes, and I realized she had been planning against me. She was angry with me and for reasons I wasn’t sure of. My frown deepened as my cheeks grew hot.

“What had I done wrong to make you dislike me? I thought you wanted to be friends, but you aren’t acting like a friend, Irene,” I told her.

She was silent for a moment before she let out a bitter laugh. She spun on her heel and glared at me, her eyes icy and sending a chill down my spine.

“You want to talk about friendship?” She asked, stepping closer to me. “You are the one who wasn’t acting like a friend. You lied to me from the beginning and now you are angry because I’m the one who has the upper hand? You are pathetic and my father deserves better than to be played by you!”

My blood went cold.

“What are you talking about?” I asked her. “I never lied to you…”

Even as I spoke those words, I knew they weren’t true. But Irene couldn’t possibly know the truth about Ethan and me… could she?

Telling from the crazed look in her eyes… it was a possibility.

“You have been lying to me since the second we met!” Irene hissed; her eyes filled with a fire I had never seen before. “You told me nothing was going on between you and Ethan, but you lied ot me, Judy! You didn’t tell me you were his fated mate!”

I was stunned that she knew this information.

How did she find out?? I wasn’t sure what to say, so I stared at her, dumbstruck.

“Nothing to say now, huh?” She murmured, shaking her head, her eyes filling with pity and disgust. “Have you been sleeping with him this entire time? Is that why you never said anything? Am I the fool here? Are you and Ethan screwing—”

“No!” I said sharply, cutting off her words. “Ethan and I are no longer together.”

“Don’t bullshit me,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “You don’t just break up with a fated mate. It’s not possible. Either you did something so terrible that it made him walk away from you, or you are still screwing each other, and this is some kind of sick plan to get close to my father. I don’t know what your game plan is, but it’s not going to work!”

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” I said, shaking my own head. “I’m not playing you, Irene. I’m not the one you need to be worried about!”

“I can’t believe a single thing that you say!” She hissed, stepping closer to me. “You are a liar, and I thought you were my friend. But that was a lie too. You were never my friend. You were plotting against me from the beginning. You were after my fiancé.!”

“Ethan is not the saint you think he is…” I tried to reason with her; I wanted her to see that she was engaged to a monster. He was the one she needed to be mad at.

Tears streaked down her cheeks.

“No, you are the mastermind,” she said. “Ethan would never deliberately lie to me.”

Was she serious?

“Irene—”

“Just shut the hell up!” She growled and before I knew what was happening, she grabbed my hair and yanked me to the ground. It was all so sudden that I had barely enough time to react. I didn’t want to hurt her, even though I knew I could take her down quickly. I just wanted to defend myself, so I used my defense mechanisms to avoid her punches.

I couldn’t imagine how I must have looked in the villa foyer; two girls screaming and rolling around the ground. I’m sure it was pathetic. The second Gavin appeared in front of us, I knew it before I even saw him. His aura was strong, and it washed over the both of us immediately.

Irene only coward a little at the force of his Alpha powers, probably because they were of the same blood, so it didn’t have as strong an effect on her. But for me, it hurt badly. I screamed in pain as my head felt like it was about to explode. The force of his Alpha powers pushed me into the ground so hard that I felt my nose bleeding from the pressure.

“Irene, tell me what is going on here?” Gavin ordered his daughter, his wolf close to the surface.

“She betrayed me,” Irene whimpered, her bottom lip trembling. “She’s been with Ethan the entire time… she’s his fated mate!”

Gavin released me from his Alpha power, and I let out a breath of air from the relief. I didn’t dare move from the ground though. I was a mess; my nose was bleeding and apparently, I had been crying without even realizing it.

“What did you just say?” Gavin asked Irene, his eyes narrowed.

Irene sniffled and wiped her eyes.

“I said, she’s been sleeping with my fiancé!”

At that moment, the front door shut, and we all turned our attention to the person standing before us.

I was faced with a wide-eyed Ethan.