Chapter 110

Judy’s POV

Leroy was kind enough to escort me into the mansion and to my room. I knew I would be fine by the morning; my wolf was usually good at healing me fairly quickly. But I couldn’t get what had happened out of my mind. I knew he didn’t mean to hurt me and that he would never forgive himself if he knew the truth, so I decided to keep the information to myself. But still… he cared way more about getting Irene to the hospital than he did about me. Which, I couldn’t even blame him for. Irene was his daughter after all, but couldn’t he tell that he was being played? Telling from the smirk Irene was giving me as they left, she was faking her injury.

For a Lycan chairman, he was certainly fooled very easily, and it bothered me. Chester was kind enough to bring me dinner in bed and I thanked him before he left. I had a feeling he saw the news reports before they were pulled because he didn’t bother flirting with me like he usually does.

I couldn’t help but laugh; maybe some good did come from that after all.

Harper was very attentive to my needs as well and helped take care of me until I was feeling better. I was grateful for them both and glad that they were with me, even if things were weird between the two of them.

By the time I woke up the next morning, I was feeling way better. It was Friday and I was excited to spend the weekend doing nothing. I thought about maybe having a girl’s night with Nan. She had yet to see the mansion and I knew she’d been dying to see it since I told her I was staying here.

Plus, we both needed to just forget about things for a while.

“You know what we are doing this weekend?” I asked her when I saw her at school this morning.

She laughed.

“What’s that?” She asked, intrigued.

“A girl’s night.”

A spread across her face.

Maybe during this girl’s night, I could finally find out what’s been on her mind, I thought to myself.

She’s been a bit closed off lately since the party. I hadn’t asked her about the mate thing since she brought it up that night. I figured if she wanted me to know about it, then she would have told me sober.

But she hadn’t. It kind of hurt a little that she didn’t trust me with this huge secret.

“I can pick up some wine and we can eat junk food,” I continued. “How about tomorrow?”

“At the mansion?” She asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

I chuckled and nodded.

“Yes,” I replied.

She shrieked and hugged me.

Later that night, after I finished my tutoring session with Matt, I thought Gavin would take me home and spend some time with me since we hadn’t really seen each other since yesterday, but I was disappointed to find out that he was still tending to Irene and her fake injury.

He hadn’t even bothered to tell me himself; his Beta did it for him. I sighed and thanked him before letting Leroy take me to the mansion.

I continuously checked my phone the entire night, but I received not a single phone call or text message from him.

……

Third Person POV

What am I thinking? Nan thought to herself as she stood outside the boutique.

She stared up at the familiar sign, her heart in her throat. She had questions, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to answer any of them. But she needed to at least try.

She took a deep breath and stepped into the boutique, the bells on the door chiming as she entered, drawing Becky’s attention.

“Oh, Hey, Nan,” Becky said with a smile. “You’re back so soon.”

Nan bit her lip as she closed the door behind her.

“Yeah, I’m having a girl’s night with my best friend tonight, and I wanted to get something comfortable,” she said. “Maybe some new PJs?” It was a lie; Nan had plenty of Pjs and comfy clothes to wear tonight, but she needed an excuse as to why she was back so soon.

Becky nodded, not picking up on the lie.

“I think I have just the thing,” she said as she walked out from behind the counter. “We got some new Pjs in yesterday, so this is good timing.”

Lucky me… Nan thought to herself.

As she went to the pajama section, Nan watched her. Becky was so beautiful. This was the woman that her mate chose instead of her, and it made Nan’s heart hurt with every beat.

Becky returned with a cute pajama set and Nan forced a smile, barely even looking at the set in her hands.

“It’s perfect,” she said mindlessly.

“Do you want to try it on?” Becky asked, raising her hands.

“No, need. I’m sure they’ll fit fine,” Nan said, nibbling on her lower lip.

Becky chuckled and walked back towards the counter.

“Well okay then,” Becky replied over her shoulder.

“So…” Nan said as she followed her to the counter. “How was your date the other night?”

Becky shrugged.

“The date itself was fine. He was such a gentleman,” Becky answered. “I was he’d invite me to his place… but he didn’t. He dropped me off at home and kissed my cheek.”

Nan’s chest tightened; his lips were on her skin? The thought made Nan feel sick to her stomach and she had to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat.

“But he’s been a little absent-minded lately,” Becky continued. “Like there’s been something on his mind. We’ve seen each other a couple of times since that date, and it was the same… it’s obvious he isn’t telling me something. I think there might be someone else.”

Nan frowned.

“Someone else?” She asked, raising her brows. Could his mate have yet another woman in his life? Who was this guy? She thought about asking what his name was, but then she thought maybe it would be better if she didn’t know. At least for right now. If she knew his name, then it would make this whole thing real and she wasn’t ready for that yet.

“Yeah,” she said with a frown as she got lost in thought. “He seems preoccupied when we hang out. He kept staring at his phone. And when I tried to make a move on him to distract him, he would brush me off. He hasn’t even kissed my lips yet. It’s always only the cheek.”

“Did you ask him who he was talking to?” Nan found herself asking.

Becky nodded.

“He said it was just a friend. “I don’t know if I believed him though.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that,” Nan replied.

Becky shrugged casually.

“It’s all part of the dating scene,” Becky said with a shrug. “It’s not like he’s my mate or anything. I’ll survive.”

“So, are you going to try and make it work with him… or…?” Nan asked, pressing for more information as Becky rang in the pajama set and told her the total.

Nan dug in her purse for her wallet, her fingers trembling as she waited for Becky’s answer.

“I don’t think so,” Becky finally replied. “I mean, maybe if we had more of a connection. But I honestly think it’s just a physical thing. At least on my end. I wanted to jump his bones, but he could barely touch me, so I doubted he was attracted to me. However, he asked me out again for tonight and I declined him. Probably better if we are just friends; know what I mean?”

Nan nodded as she finally found her wallet and pulled out her credit card, handing it to Becky.

After she charged Nan for the pajamas and then put them in a bag, she handed Nan her card back and gave her a polite smile.

“If you have any cute guy friends, send them my way, I could use a variety myself,” she teased.

Nan let out a laugh and nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Nan was relieved that Becky decided not to go out with her mate again, but who was this other woman in his life that caused him to be so distracted on their date?

She thanked Becky before leaving the boutique with more questions than she had when she entered.

Later that evening, Nan went to the Landry Mansion, using the address Judy had given her.

“Are you Nan?” One of the guards asked as she approached the front gates.

Nan smiled; it was thoughtful that Judy told them of her arrival so they could be prepared.

“Yes,” Nan replied.

“Come with me. Miss Montague is inside waiting for you,” he told her.

Nan nodded and followed the guard towards the front entrance. The guard was cute, and Nan made a mental note to ask him if he was single later. Not for herself but for Becky. She laughed at the thought as she entered the gorgeous mansion.

“Nan!” Judy said as she rushed towards Nan and wrapped her arms around her friend. “I’m so glad you’re here. Come on, let me show you around!”

Nan laughed and the two girls walked around the mansion, looking at all the cool things the mansion had to offer, including the incredible pool in the backyard. Nan had to admit, she was jealous of Judy’s living arrangements. Her bedroom was huge and had such a beautiful view.

It put her one-bedroom apartment to shame.

“I’m going to put my new pjs on,” Nan told her as she walked towards Judy’s bathroom.

“Great; then we will go downstairs and crack open that wine. We can watch Corny Romcoms. I also ordered a pizza,” Judy told her.

Nan laughed at her friend. This was exactly what Nan needed to get her mind off things.

She quickly got changed and pulled her hair into a messy bun. Afterward, the girls went into the living room down the stairs. Judy grabbed a couple of wine glasses and poured them each some wine before taking her seat on the couch next to Nan.

“We needed this,” Judy said, clinking her glass with Nan’s before taking a sip.

“Yeah, we did,” Nan agreed, taking a sip of her own wine.

She thought about telling Judy about her mate but saying it out loud also made it real, so she chose not to say anything. At least not right now. Not until she knew more about him and what she was planning on doing about it.

“Are you burning a candle or something?” Nan asked suddenly as she got a whiff of something sweet. “Something smells really good in here.”

“Could be Chester in the kitchen. He said something about making a dessert for us,” she replied.

Nan raised her brows.

“Who is Chester?” She asked.

“The chef.”

Nan laughed.

“You would have a personal chef,” Nan teased.

Judy shrugged.

“Don’t blame me… blame the Landry’s,” Judy sighed. “But Chester is a good dude. He’s funny. A flirt, but harmless.”

“I want to see what he’s cooking,” Nan said, standing to her feet. “The scent is mouthwatering.”

Judy frowned, sniffing the air.

“I don’t really smell anything. But I’m a little stuffed up,” she said. “The kitchen is around the corner. I’ll stay here and pick out a movie.”

Nan nodded as she took another large sip of her wine and set it back down on the table. She quickly hurried towards the kitchen, the scent growing stronger.

It smelled so familiar, and she was eager to see what it was. Maybe this Chester dude would let her have a taste.

As she stepped into the kitchen, her entire body froze.