Chapter 115

Judy’s POV

I sat on my bed, my heart deep in my stomach and tears filling my eyes. Gavin didn’t need to speak for me to know exactly what he was about to say. I already knew it… we weren’t going out tonight.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, my voice coming out hollow and unfamiliar.

“I’m sorry, Judy. I’m not entirely sure what to do,” he said, sounding defeated. “Irene is really upset that Ethan hasn’t reached out to her since she’s been in the hospital. She still claims ot be in a lot of pain and she doesn’t want to be alone.”

I bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling.

“Did she know you were going out tonight?” I asked the question before I could stop myself. I already knew the answer; of course, Irene knew he was going out with me tonight. That was why she insisted that he stayed behind so that he wouldn’t spend any time with me. It was a manipulative tactic, and he was falling for it because she was his daughter, and she could do no wrong.

I couldn’t compete with his daughter… not that I wanted to in the first place. But it still hurt that he wasn’t even going to try to call her out on her bullshit.

“Yes,” he replied. “What does that have ot do with anything?”

His tone hardened slightly, and I could tell he was getting protective. I shook my head, momentarily forgetting that he couldn’t see me.

“Nothing,” I lied. “So, are you staying home with her instead?”

“Don’t you think I should?” He asked, still sounding a bit defensive.

“Yeah, of course,” I told him. “I mean, it’s not like this was an actual date or anything.”

“We knew what this was,” Gavin said after a brief pause. “It’s a show.”

“I know,” I told him, though his words hurt, I didn’t let him know that they affected me in the way that they did. “I get it… you should stay home with her.”

“Okay,” he said. “Yeah, you’re right.”

He was making it sound like this was my idea, but I knew he made up his mind before he even called me. I swallowed the tough lump in my throat, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

“I’ll make it up to you though,” he assured me. “We can go out another time.”

I bit my lower lip, hating how I was feeling right now. My wolf was so quiet, and it was almost eerie.

“Yeah, sure…” I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.

“Daddy, where did you go?” Irene asked in the background. “Who are you on the phone with?”

“It’s nobody,” he said, making my heart stutter. “Just business. Get back into bed and I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay,” Irene said softly. “I’m going to try and call Ethan again.”

I didn’t bother sticking around to hear his explanation as to why he couldn’t tell Irene who he was speaking to; my heart hurt enough, and I knew I was about to burst into tears at any moment. Without a word, I hung up the phone. I let out a frustrated groan as I stared at myself in the mirror. I hadn’t realized I was already crying until I saw the makeup streaks on my cheeks. All of Harper's hard work had gone out the window; now I was even more a mess than I was when she started.

I slowly stripped off my dress and put my pajamas back on. I threw my hair in a messy bun and went into the bathroom to wash off the streaks of makeup. The tears wouldn’t seem to stop. I shouldn’t be this upset over the fact that Gavin canceled on me.

It’s not like he’s my actual boyfriend or anything. We were only using each other for sex and to get people off our backs. I wanted Ethan off my back, and he wanted his family off his. That was all this relationship was… we both got something out of this deal and that was that. I knew what this was long ago, and I shouldn’t be feeling this kind of disappointment.

Yet, it seemed as if my wolf didn’t get the memo because she was crushed just as she was when Ethan left us for someone else. I told myself I was never going to feel that way again and now I was the one being a fool.

I decided to just stay in my room for the rest of the night. I didn’t want to face Harper and tell her that my plans fell through; I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle her emotions and Chester’s emotions, along with dealing with my own. So, it was better if I just stayed in my room and tried to get some sleep.

I left early the next morning for school, successfully avoiding both Harper and Chester. I didn’t want them asking me how my night was…I didn’t want to talk about it. Leroy was waiting outside for me as he was every morning that I had school.

When he dropped me off at school, I thanked him before getting out of the car. I was grateful to be at school. It meant I was finally going to be able to see Nan and talk to her. I glanced at my phone with a frown; she hadn’t tried to call or text me for the rest of the weekend and I was worried about her. But hopefully, my questions will be cleared up once I saw her today.

I knew she had an early morning class and would most likely be in the student lounge after her class. I arrived towards the end of that early morning class, so I’d be able to catch her before I had to get to my first class of the day.

I walked into the student lounge and waited in our usual spot. I ordered us both a coffee and had it waiting for her when she arrived.

After what felt like an eternity, I glanced at my watch with a frown. It was almost time for my first class of the day. A girl I recognized walked by; I knew she was in Nan’s early morning class because they had done homework together in the past.

“Hey, Stasia,” I said, stopping her in her tracks.

She froze and looked at me, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed.

“Oh, uh… hi Judy,” she said, staring at the ground and avoiding my eyes.

I furrowed my brows; it was a strange reaction that I never received from her before. Actually, the more I noticed it, the more I realized she wasn’t the only one staring at me weirdly. I frowned as I glanced around the student lounge; almost all of them were glancing in my direction and then looking away once they saw me noticing. They were whispering amongst one another and I realized they were all talking about me.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t noticed what was going on around me.

Could it be because of the headlines I was featured in last week? I knew Gavin had taken down the pictures and then eventually the new story, but I guess word traveled quickly and some people were still able to see the headlines. My heart hammered in my chest as I looked up at Stasia who suffered awkwardly in her shoes.

“Did you need something?” She asked after I hadn’t said anything.

“Oh, uh…” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Was Nan in class today?”

She shook her head.

“She emailed the teacher and said she was going to be absent for a few days,” Stasia explained.

My heart cracked.

She was taking time off school, and she hadn’t told me about it. I let out a shaky breath and nodded.

“Okay, thanks,” I said softly.

Stasia nodded and hurried away. I glanced around at everyone else who quickly looked away from me. I furrowed my brows and stood up, grabbing all my things and shoving them in my backpack. I grabbed my coffee cup and the one I grabbed for Nan; I walked to the trash and threw them into the bin.

I’ve had enough; I was going to Nan’s apartment later and finding out where exactly my best friend had gone.

I left the student lounge, not sparing anyone else another glance. I only had a few minutes to get to my first class. As I walked across the campus, I saw some students on the committee putting up banners and signs for the annual Gamma Competition. I completely forgot about this competition. Only the chosen were able to compete in the competition. The best combat-trained students around the world traveled to a specific location and they competed for the Gamma Cup. The last one standing not only wins the cup but also secures a position in the Elite Gamma force.

The Elite Gamma Force is the best of the best and they often travel around and protect not just one specific pack, but all the packs around the werewolf territory. But they could also be chosen to protect one specific pack as well.

Being a part of this Elite Force was everything and it was always a dream. But I doubted I would ever be chosen. Signs indicated that the Head Gammas in charge of the Elites, along with another Lycan Chairmen, were going to be arriving at the school to patiently pick some students to join the competition.

Just as I reached the door of the building I was walking into, the door swung open, and out came a tall force to be reckoned, I stumbled backward taken by surprise by the man who stood before me. He had a powerful aura and without thinking, I immediately bowed to him. His Alpha power washed over me, making it impossible for me to look him in his eyes.

There were a couple of other men by his side as well with strong auras as well, but not nearly as strong. They were strong and war the armor of Gammas.

“Oh, Judy…” I heard a familiar voice.

I lifted my gaze to meet my combat professor's startled expression.

“Professor…” I breathed, still unable to look at the Alpha in front of me.

“We were just talking about you,” he told me, giving a nervous chuckle; he couldn’t look at the Alpha and he kept his eyes on me. “I want to introduce you to Alpha Levi Churchill.”

My mind nearly burst in my head. Alpha Levi Churchill was one of the powerful Lycan Chairmen and the one going around with the Elite Gamma force to recruit students for the competition.

He was also known to be Gavin’s arch enemy…