Chapter 126

Judy’s POV

“So, are you ever going to tell me what happened?” Nan asked, eyeing me carefully from across the room.

I was helping her finish packing and then we were heading straight to the airport. It was so early, the sun hadn’t even woken yet. I finished packing my things last night and then went straight to Nan’s apartment. Thankfully, Nan came to pick me up, so I didn’t have to tell Leroy where I was going.

“Nope,” I said, not bothering to look at her. I knew if I did, I would fold like a lawn chair.

“At some point, you have to tell me what happened, Judy,” Nan said, stepping around me so she could look at my face. “You were devasted when I picked you up last night.”

I nibbled on my lower lip.

The problem was, that I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed about my mistake; I was embarrassed that I put Matt in harm’s way. I was embarrassed that Gavin kicked me out without hearing my explanation. He Alpha commanded me to leave, and my body wouldn’t be satisfied until we were far away.

Irene finally got what she wanted; I was leaving.

“Not right now,” I finally conceded. “We have to go, or we are going to miss our flight,” I told her.

She sighed but said nothing more.

Nan drove to the airport in her car. The further we got away from the pack, the better. I felt more at ease as she parked the car, and we shuffled our belongings inside the airport.

It was a busy morning at the airport; most everyone in business attire, rushed towards their terminals to catch their last-minute flights. Nan and I seemed out of place in our yoga pants and sweatshirts. I looked up at her and she gave me an identical look back, knowing we were both thinking just about the same thing.

We walked over to the bag-checking station and got our backs checked. I kept my backpack as a carry-on and Nan had a small duffle bag as hers. We thanked the woman at the counter and then I grabbed my plane ticket from my bag, glancing at the terminal number.

“I think we are upstairs,” I told her.

Nan nodded and after we went through security, we rushed up the stairs and towards our terminal number.

“We have some time; can we get coffee?” Nan asked, eyeing the coffee station as we passed.

“Sure,” I said, digging in my bag for my wallet.

Nan and I ordered our usual coffees before we headed towards our terminal. I glanced at the time. We weren’t scheduled to board for another 30 minutes, so at least we can relax now. We sat down in one of the seats.

As we were sitting and waiting to be called, my eyes wandered over to a young girl who seemed slightly younger than me. She had short blonde hair and pale green eyes. She was thin and looked incredibly nervous. The one thing that drew my attention was her Gamma sweatshirt.

Without saying a word to Nan, I stood up and walked over to her.

Nan followed after me.

“Where are you going?” She asked, a frown decorating her lips.

I stopped in front of the girl and gave her a warm smile as she startled and glanced up at me.

“Hi,” I said to her.

“Uh… hi… “she said back, hesitantly, as she glanced between Nan and me.

“Are you going to the Gamma Competition too?” I asked her.

She blinked.

“What?”

I pointed at her sweatshirt.

“That’s a Gamma sweatshirt,” I told her.

She glanced down at her sweatshirt and her cheeks reddened.

“Oh, uh… yeah. I’m heading to the competition,” she replied.

“Us too,” I said, sitting down beside her. “I’m Judy by the way and this is my friend, Nan.”

Nan gave the girl a small wave.

“Hello,” she replied, still looking uneasy. “I’m Sammy.”

“What pack are you from?” Nan asked.

“Moonshine.”

“Oh, that’s a bit away from our pack,” I said, nodding thoughtfully. “Maybe about an hour's drive.”

“Where are you from?” She asked, her tone soft and wouldn’t be audible if I weren’t sitting right next to her.

“Redmoon,” I replied.

“Oh,” she breathed. “I heard you just lost your Alpha.”

“A while ago, yes,” I replied. “He died in a battle. We have quite a few competing for the new role.”

She nodded.

“There’s a few male wolves in my pack who also wanted that position,” she admitted. “But I told them if they were to make anyone an Alpha for the Redmoon pack, it would be someone from that pack.”

“Not necessarily,” I shrugged. “It could be anyone at this point.”

“So, who’s running your pack currently while you wait for a new Alpha to be appointed?” Sammy asked.

“The Cash family kind of runs everything,” Nan murmured, rolling her eyes. “They are like the It family of Redmoon.”

“I’ve heard of them,” Sammy said. “They are the Beta’s right? And very rich.”

I nodded.

“Yes,” I replied. “Raymond Cash was the Alpha’s Beta. “My father was the Delta.”

Her eyes grew wide.

“Wow,” she breathed. “So, you’re kind of a big deal too, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” I murmured.

“Are you kidding me? Judy is the best deal,” Nan said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “She’s been training for years to be a Gamma warrior and Levi Churchill nominated her to compete in the competition.”

At the mention of Alpha Levi’s name, Sammy tensed, and her cheeks grew red.

“Oh, I see,” she murmured. “Then you must be very special.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Aren’t you competing?”

She looked down at her sweatshirt again and her shoulders slumped slightly.

“No,” she said softly. “But I’m required to be there to support my gamma.”

“Oh?” I asked.

She sighed and then looked up at me.

“He’s kind of my boyfriend.”

My eyes grew wide.

“You’re dating your gamma?”

She nodded, nibbling her lower lip. Nan looked around with a frown.

“Then where is he?” She asked.

“He took an earlier flight with a group of his friends,” she murmured. “I was left behind. But I’m going anyways.”

Over the loudspeaker, I heard our section of the plane being called. I glanced at Nan who gave me a head nod, indicating that she too heard it.

“We have to go,” I told her, standing to my feet. “But maybe we will see you there?”

She nodded, giving me a small smile.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “Maybe.”

On that note, Nan and I walked towards the terminal gates and handed our tickets to the stewardess before we boarded the plane.

“Next stop, tropical paradise!” Nan announced, tugging me along with her.

…….

Third Person POV

Back at the villa, Irene went to her brother’s room to check on him.

She had just got off the phone with Ethan and he was about to come over. She needed to speak to him about that woman she saw at his house. She wasn’t going to feel better until she got to the bottom of it. However, she took her father’s words to heart. She can’t just be mad at Judy; Ethan also lied to her.

He was just as guilty if not more.

She knocked on Matt’s door and when there was no answer, she pushed the door open. Matt was seated in his bed, playing video games. Of course, that’s what he was doing.

“Hey,” she said, stepping into his room.

“What do you want?” He asked without even looking up.

The bitterness of his tone took Irene by surprise, and she froze.

“What’s with the attitude?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest as she stared down at him.

“I heard what you said to Judy yesterday,” he muttered, shaking his head as he finally pulled his eyes away from his video games to glare up at her. “You were horrible and blamed her for my accident.”

“Because she shot you,” Irene said, pointing to his healing leg. In another day or so, it would be completely healed thankfully. “It was her fault.”

“It was my fault. I moved in front of the target because I saw something on the ground I wanted to pick up,” Matt surprised her by saying. “Judy always told me never to move from my current location if someone is shooting because they aim according to placement. I threw her off balance by moving my position. I wasn’t thinking straight. It was a rookie mistake.”

Irene was stunned, speechless. She did see Matt moving from his current position, but Judy still should have seen him before releasing the bow.

“She wasn’t even aiming for me,” Matt continued. “She was showing me a trick shot. The arrow happened to be going in the same direction I moved to.”

“A trick shot?” Irene asked, furrowing her brows.

“You know nothing about what Judy can do,” Matt said through his teeth. “She’s an incredible archer and combater and can do things you could only dream of. This accident was not her fault. I wanted to tell her that last night, but everyone was yelling and then Dad listened to you and kicked her out. He Alpha commanded her, Irene and it’s your fault.”

Irene was shocked.

“I… uh…” she stammered.

Gavin knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation.

“Everything okay?” He asked, stepping into the room.

“The accident wasn’t Judy’s fault,” Matt repeated. “I moved from my original location after she told me countless times not to do that. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. But please, don’t be mad at Judy anymore. I don’t want her to quit or get fired… I don’t want her to leave.”

Tears welled up in Matt’s eyes and Irene felt a ping of guilt in her chest. This was her fault completely; what kind of monster had she become? And for what? All for Ethan? Was he even worth it?

“Thank you for telling me that,” Gavin said, placing a hand on Matt’s shoulder.

“Dad… you aren’t going to fire her, are you?”

Gavin shook his head.

“No, I’ve been trying to get a hold of her though. Her phone’s off. It’ll have to wait until I come back. I was coming in here to tell you that I’m leaving now, and I’ll be gone for a few weeks.”

“Are you going straight to the Gamma competition?”

“It doesn’t start for another couple of days. I’m going to check in at the resort and then possibly meet some of the competitors for dinner this evening,” he explained. “Behave while I’m gone. Both of you. Call if you need anything. Be good for Beta Taylor.”

“Okay…” they both said at the same time.

Gavin left and Irene glanced back at Matt who still had tears in his eyes.

It was at that moment that Irene knew she messed up.