Chapter 113

Judy’s POV

Chester stared at me with a shocked expression, his mouth practically on the ground. I could see the horror in his eyes, and it made me look away from him again. I didn’t want him to feel bad for me, but I also wanted to be honest with him about everything. It seemed he was struggling with his own feelings and coming to terms that he found his mate… he didn’t want to say it out loud, but I knew that’s what was bothering him. It’s bothering Nan too and my heart was torn between the two of them.

I wanted them both to be happy and I knew that if they gave one another a proper chance, they could make each other happy. But they both seemed frightened over the idea of having a mate… or maybe Nan was frightened of the idea of having Chester as a mate. Her first couple of impressions of him weren’t great.

The first step was that they both needed to admit that they were mates, if not to me, then to each other. They needed to talk about it and figure out what to do from there.

“Irene?” Chester asked, leaning against the counter again as if he couldn’t support his own weight. “Wait… your mate is Ethan Cash? From the Cash family?”

I wasn’t surprised that he knew Ethan’s name. Everybody knew Ethan’s name. His family was famous around the wolf territory; not as famous as Gavin, but they were well known. Even more, now that he was marrying Irene, the most famous heiress in the world.

I nodded.

“Yes,” I replied. “The one and only. He left me to be with Irene. I can’t really blame him… but it took a toll on me and my wolf.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, he’s your mate. That can’t be easy… seeing him with another and—”

His voice trailed off and I could see the utter horror in his eyes; his face had gone pale again, just as it did last night. I waved my hand in front of his face, trying to bring his attention back to me.

“Hey… what are you thinking about?” I asked him, my voice dropping to a compassionate whisper.

“I…” he started to say, but then he froze.

“Chester?” I asked, urging him to continue.

His eyes finally found mine and I could see the remorse in them.

“I hurt her, Judy,” he told me softly.

I wanted to put him out of his misery, so I sighed and leaned back in my seat.

“She’s your mate, isn’t she?”

He looked shocked that I knew such information, but then he sighed and nodded.

“Yes,” he whispered. “I saw her the other day when I was taking this girl Becky out on a date. I was in such shock that day that I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to ditch Becky, but Nan was standing in front of me with this hurt expression after realizing that I was taking Becky on a date…”

I winced; it was no wonder Nan was so upset and got drunk during that party. I wished she could have told me about this sober. It hurt that she didn’t; I was supposed to be her best friend and yet she couldn’t talk to me about something this important.

“Why didn’t you go after her?” I asked, not wanting to sound accusatory, but I couldn’t help myself. Finding a mate was a big deal and I wanted only the best for my best friend.

Chester looked so defeated as he shrugged one of his shoulders.

“Like I said…I was in shock, and I didn’t want to ditch Becky after being the one to ask her out in the first place. I thought about finding her afterward and explaining myself… but I honestly had no idea who she was or how to even start looking for her. I tried to ask Becky about her, but Becky didn’t really give me much information and she kept changing the subject. Rightfully so… she didn’t want to talk about another woman on our date.”

I nodded as I listened to his story, my heart heavy in my chest.

“And what about now?” I asked. “What about you and Harper yesterday? You already knew you had a mate… you saw her with your own eyes and yet you still chose to make out with Harper out in the open?”

He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the counter in front of us.

“Not my best moment,” he murmured. “I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see her again. I certainly had no idea that you were friends with her and that she’d see that…”

I nodded, understanding what he meant, but I was still upset because Nan was hurting, and she wouldn’t talk to me about it.

“So, what now?” I asked him.

“I’m not really sure…” he murmured. “I messed up and I’m not sure what to do about it. I don’t think she’ll ever talk to me again.”

“She’s your mate… she’s going to want to talk to you again. Her wolf will make sure of it,” I told him. “It’s up to you how that conversation goes through. You need to prepare yourself and not act like a dick.”

He frowned at me.

“When do I act like a dick?” He asked, sounding offended.

“You aren’t a dick… but your actions aren’t the actions a mate would want to see,” I warned him. “If you are serious about this…”

“I don’t know if I’m serious about anything,” he blurted, and I could see the panic in his eyes. “I haven’t even thought about this long enough to know what I actually want. I never thought I’d find my mate, Judy. I never thought I even wanted a mate in the first place.”

“Wait… what?” I asked, my eyes narrowed. “Are you thinking about rejecting her?”

He bit his lip, refusing to meet my eyes. That was all the answer I needed; my heart hurts for Nan.

“Well then if you have to reject her, then I would do it sooner than later,” I told him, almost bitterly. I wasn’t hungry anymore, so I pushed my plate away and stood to my feet. “Put the poor girl out of her misery.”

Without another word, I left the kitchen, leaving him alone with these thoughts.

…..

Gavin’s POV

“So, I know that Irene is claiming her leg hurts… but I’ve done 3 different X-rays, Alpha and there’s nothing physically wrong with her,” Elizabeth Pierce said.

I sighed and leaned against the wall; we stood in the hallway, and we had been in the hospital since yesterday. Irene kept crying that her leg hurt and wouldn’t let me leave. I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling exhausted. I hadn’t been able to sleep; I tried to get a few hours in the hospital chair, but I was uncomfortable, and Irene was whimpering for most of the night. I asked Elizbeth to do numerous tests to find out what was wrong with her leg, but she’s been coming up blank.

I trusted her judgment because she was the best doctor in the world after all.

I nodded.

“Thank you,” I told her. “So, I can take her home?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m sure she could use some rest and her own bed. I’ll prescribe some sugar pills… we can tell her it’s pain medication. It seems her pain is strictly mental and doesn’t actually exist. If she thinks she’s taking medication to help with her pain, then her pain will go away.”

I nodded.

“I appreciate that,” I told her.

“I’ll get that right away,” she said as she retreated from the area.

With a sigh, I walked back into the hospital room. Irene was scrolling through her phone, her brows pinched together.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

She froze when she saw me walking into the room; she put her phone on the bed beside her and grabbed at her leg, tears filling her eyes.

“Yes… my leg just hurt, and Ethan hadn’t come to see me once,” she whimpered.

I sighed again and sat at the edge of her bed, taking her hands in mine.

“I’m sure he’s just busy. I’m going ot take you home and—”

“Take me home??” She gasped. “But what about my leg? Daddy, it hurts!”

I nodded.

“I know,” I told her. “Dr. Pierce is going to prescribe some medication to help with the pain and then we are going to go home to get some rest.”

She bit her lower as more tears spilled out of her eyes.

“O…okay,” she stammered.

“Once we are home, we can try to call Ethan and see if he can come over to see you. I don’t know if anyone even told him you were injured,” I told her.

She nodded and wiped her eyes.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearing afternoon. I told Judy that I would pick her up in a few hours and we could get some dinner and spend the night together. I felt bad that I hadn’t been around her much. I kind of left her high and dry the other day and we really haven’t talked much. I wanted to spend some extra time with her tonight and make up for it.

Elizabeth returned with the medication and gave Irene a tablet right off the bat with some water.

“It’s a powerful medication, so only one a day is needed,” she warned; she then looked up at me and winked.

I mouthed, “Thank you” before turning my attention back to Irene who had swallowed the tablet and drank half the water.

Beta Taylor met us at the hospital and took us back home. I helped Irene into her room and got her settled into bed with her phone.

Once she was settled, I went off into my own room and started to get ready for my evening with Judy. I glanced at the clock; I only had a few minutes before I needed to leave. Just as I left my room and started down the stairs, I heard Irene screaming and crying. My entire body froze, and I rushed into her room.

“What’s going on?” I asked, expecting to find someone in her room, but I found no one. I reeled in my angry wolf and looked at my crying daughter. “Irene? What is it?”

“Ethan won’t answer my calls!” She cried.

I groaned. Then Irene narrowed her eyes at me.

“Are you going somewhere?” She asked me.

I looked down at my suit and then nodded.

“Yeah, I was about to head out…” I started to say, but she only cried harder.

“Please don’t leave, Daddy! I don’t have Ethan and nobody else is here to help and support me. I need you!”

“I can get one of the maids to tend to your needs,” I assured her.

More tears streaked down her cheeks.

“You are never around anymore, and I miss you!” She cried. “Please, don’t leave me again, Daddy! Please!!”