Chapter 136

Judy’s POV

“Oh, Judy. There you are,” Alpha Levi said as I approached. I smiled at him, feeling a bit awkward and frazzled after my conversation with Gavin. I could feel that my cheeks were incredibly hot and I touched them lightly, hoping they weren’t as red as they felt.

If Levi noticed, he didn’t say anything, or stare at them.

“I heard you wanted to speak with me?” I asked.

He nodded and glanced down at my foot.

“How is your ankle?” He asked.

“It’s healing,” I assured him. “By tomorrow morning it’ll be completely healed.”

“Good,” He said thoughtfully. “Make sure you ice it tonight and try to stay off it as much as you can,” he told me. “Your table is right over there.”

He pointed to one of the clothed tables and in one of the empty seats was a small nameplate that read: Judy.

“Thank you, Alpha,” I said; I started towards the table, but he stopped me.

“Actually, I wanted to introduce you to someone,” he told me, stopping me in my tracks.

I turned to look at him, plastering a polite smile. All I really wanted to do was sit down and get this dinner over with.

“Sure,” I agreed.

He motioned for me to follow him, so I did. I ignored Gavin’s penetrating gaze; I noticed him while I was talking to Alpha Levi. His eyes were dark, and his lips were pressed in a thin line. If he was going get rid of me talking to his enemy, perhaps this would be more fun than I thought. A grin spread across my lips, but I stifled it with a cough as I passed by Gavin. We stopped in front of a young man, no older than me, speaking with a few people.

His back was turned, but he was tall and had a good head of black; it was sleek and went down to his shoulders. The kind of hair that made a woman want to run her fingers through it… or braid it.

I stood beside Alpha Levi and to my surprise, he placed his hand on the small of my back and he kept a tight grip on my hip. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but I remained frozen beside him.

“Theo,” Alpha Levi said, getting the man’s attention. When he turned, I met his forest-green eyes and a dimpled smile. He had a pretty boy’s face, and I knew right away that he had no trouble finding women. Keeping women though… well… he looked like a typical womanizer. The way his smile grew when he saw me, I knew he was going ot be an issue for the next couple of weeks.

“Alpha Levi,” Theo said, glancing up at the Alpha and bowing his head slightly. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to introduce you to Judy Montague. She’s from the Redmoon pack,” Levi introduced. “Judy, this is Theodore Humphry, he’s from the Darkmoon pack… my pack.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Judy,” Theo said, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips. It felt weird to have his lips on my skin, but I gave him a polite smile in return.

“You as well,” I said to him.

I wasn’t entirely sure why Levi was introducing us, but I figured I would find out soon.

“Theo is one of my top students,” Levi continued to explain. “He’s going to be a tough one to beat.”

Theo looked proud of himself; was this some kind of sike out?

I forced another smile, trying not to look bothered.

“Is that so?” I asked him.

“I had a good teacher,” he told me. “Are you here alone?”

It was a quick subject change that took me by surprise. I blinked at him, but then I nodded.

“Uh, yeah. My friend went elsewhere for dinner,” I told him.

“You are here with just a friend?” He asked.

“Yes,” I said as I studied him. I studied his many facial expressions and his stance while speaking to me. He was easy to read, and I wondered if he was just as easy to read on the battle friend. No doubt I would have to fight him at some point; I needed to do some research on this guy and find out his fighting techniques.

Before I could say anything more, the food started to be served. I turned back to Theo who was watching me with an expression that I couldn’t quite read, and it made me unsettled.

“I’m going to take a seat,” I told him, pointing at the table. “It was nice to meet you.”

I looked at Alph Levi and bowed my head slightly to him before departing and heading toward my table. Everybody was already seated at their tables except for one seat that was empty. It was right next to mine.

I wondered if they decided not to come to this dinner; I probably should have just gone with Nan. I wasn’t really finding out much information about anyone. They were all being careful not to show their weaknesses, knowing that they would be scoped out.

I caught wind of a couple of girls speaking at the table next to mine. I took note of how the girls interacted with one another. The way one of them had her leg bouncing and the other kept tapping her fingers on the table. Every little detail mattered because it could help when it counted the more. The competition didn’t start in the pit, it started the second the plane landed in this country.

Every moment was part of the competition, and I had to be careful with what I did and who I spoke to.

I felt a presence beside me and when I turned, I froze.

Theo was seated beside me. He had a grin on his face as he looked down at me and my stomach twisted. I knew he was going to be a problem these next few weeks.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a whisper.

He grabbed the nameplate off the seat and showed it to me; my eyes grew wide when I realized that was his seat. Of course, it was; I shouldn’t have been surprised that this was my luck.

“So, are you seeing anyone?” He asked against my ear, making me instinctively pull away.

“That’s not any of your concern,” I told him, avoiding his gaze.

“Well, what if I wanted to take you out?” He asked, that grin never leaves his face.

He was so full of himself.

“I don’t date the competition,” I told him, my eyes narrowed as I finally looked up to meet his eyes. He was sitting way too close to me for my comfort.

I heard something slamming and shattering across the room, making much of the room, including me, jump. I turned to see Gavin standing with the eyes of his wolf shining. He smashed his plate. Food was everywhere on the table; even the other Lycans were staring at him, their mouths agape.

The only one who wasn’t looking at him was Alpha Levi. He was sipping on his wine with a smug look on his face. Had he said something to Gavin to make him angry? The room had fallen so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

“What’s going on?” Theo asked.

“I’m not sure,” I replied, my heart in my throat. Gavin wasn’t looking at me, more like staring at the room as a whole. He looked down at his plate and muttered something, keeping his tone low enough that not even I could hear him.

He turned and stormed out of the room without a single look. My chest tightened. I had a strange urge to follow him to make sure he was okay or didn’t get himself in any trouble. He was clearly mad about something, and it disrupted the entire room.

A couple of staff members came to clean up the mess and replace his food. The other Lycans started to talk amongst themselves at Gavin’s outburst. Shortly after, the food for the rest of us started to get served, making the entire room smell delicious.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to eat… at least not until I made sure Gavin was okay.

“Excuse me a moment,” I said to the table as I stood. “I need to use the restroom.”

They nodded as I walked away. Once I got near the door, I started to speed up. I pushed through the door and stumbled into the hallway. I looked around, frowning. Where could he have gone?

As I walked down the hallway, the silence started to feel eerie. It was deliberate.

It made me freeze all together; was someone watching me?

Before I could speak, I felt a hand grabbing my wrist. I spun around, my heart in my throat as I pulled into the nearby closet and pressed against the wall. I not only recognized the scent but also the body pressed up against me.

“G…Gavin?” I asked.

“Oh, you remembered my name,” he sneered, his lips brushing gross my earlobe as he nipped at it. I wiggled beneath him, trying to get myself free, but it only made him press into me that much stronger.

“Gavin, let me go,” I demanded.

“Why should? So, you can go off with my Mr. Boy?” He seethed; I could hear the anger and hatred in his tone, and it made me freeze.

Was that why he was upset? Because Theo was talking to me? Was Gavin actually jealous?

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill him right then and there,” he growled; his tone was low and deadly, sending a chill up my spine.

He brushed his lips across the nape of my neck; I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest with how fast it was beating.

“If I ever see his hands on you again…” he started to say, his voice raspy as he brushed his lips across mine. “I’ll make sure it’s the last thing he does.”