Chapter 144

Judy’s POV

Tabby froze when she saw Gavin seated beside me against the tree. Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks were flushed. She immediately averted her eyes to the ground. Gavin jumped away from me in time, so Tabby didn’t actually see anything, but she knew she walked in on something… she just didn’t know what.

“Alpha…” she said softly, her face even redder as she spoke. “I didn’t know you were over here…”

Gavin stood to his feet; his aura was intense. There was no doubt about his status. Tabby’s eyes grew wide, and her body trembled. It was difficult being around this much power up close and personal… especially when you aren’t used to it.

“I came to check on one of the recruits,” he told her, his eyes narrowed.

He was staring daggers at her; I could see the hidden threat in his eyes. I didn’t want him to frighten Tabby. She’s been so kind to me from the start and she’s tough as nails. I can tell she’ll be a fierce competitor. However, right now, in front of Gavin, she seemed like a scared pup. I felt bad… I knew Gavin was intimidating.

“We should go to the medic,” I said quickly. “Before the line gets too long. It’s first come first serve, right?”

Tabby nodded.

“There’s a ton of medics available,” she said softly, her eyes still focused on the ground in front of her. “But they are filling up fast with competitors. Everyone wants to get in and out.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Okay, then let’s go,” I said as I started to walk away and towards the treeline.

I froze for a moment when I felt Gavin’s eyes on the back of my head. I turned and gave him a polite smile with a mock bow. “Thank you for helping me, Alpha Landry,” I said, making sure to slip in a sly grin as I bowed my head again.

He stared at me for a moment, and I could tell he was trying to choose his words carefully.

“I’ll be seeing you,” he settled on.

I nodded my head once and followed Tabby out of the forest. Nan was the first person I saw upon returning outside the locker rooms. She ran to me and wrapped me in her arms.

“You were badass,” Nan squealed. “I totally thought you were going to crash and burn.”

“Honestly, I did too,” I admitted.

“Nice job,” the guy, Tyler said. I hadn’t noticed him standing there until he spoke. He put a hand on Nan’s shoulder and stepped closer to her. He was taller than her with broad shoulders and I could tell he probably had nice abs. I looked at Nan questionably and she looked everywhere but at me. She also seemed tense, like his touch bothered her.

It should bother her; she had a mate. Sure, things were rocky right now, but still…

Then again, who knows what or who Chester was doing right now?

“Thank you,” I said, forcing a smile.

“The second I saw you flying through the sky I knew I had no chance in hell against you,” Tabby laughed. “Like honestly. Anyone who could do that and live to tell the tale is not one to mess with.”

“Yeah, and now everyone else is going to see that too,” Nan said proudly. “You marked your territory. Own it, girl!”

“Might not be a good thing,” Tyler said with a shrug.

“What do you mean?” Nan asked, frowning up at him.

“Now there’s a target on her back. They are only going to try that much harder to eliminate her from the competition… or life.”

“They aren’t allowed to kill me without getting disqualified,” I reminded him.

He shook his head, a frown marring his features.

“Only for the first week. This week is to prove to them that you have what it takes. Next week is when things get real. You win from either two ways… the first way, they surrender.”

“And the second?” Nan asked, her brows pinched together.

“And the second, they die,” he finished. “It’s going to get more dangerous. You just need to be wary.”

I wanted to tell him to back off; he didn’t know me or anything about this. I wanted to tell Nan to send him back to wherever he came from. But before I had the chance to utter a single word, I heard a new voice.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

I turned to see Sammy, the girl from the airport, walking my way. She had a small smile on her lips and her dark hair was tucked behind her ear, showing different colored piercings all along her ear. She was shorter than everyone around her, so she looked up when she spoke to me.

“I wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job,” she said thoughtfully.

“Thank you,” I replied. “That’s really nice of you.”

“Did your boyfriend compete?” Nan asked.

Sammy nodded.

“Yes. He’s at the medic now getting looked at. He should be cleared for the next round.”

“When will we know if we are cleared for the next round?” I asked.

“First the doctors have to clear you,” Tabby explained. “If you have severe injuries that won’t heal on time, obviously you can’t compete. So, the doctors make sure everything is okay with you. Once they clear you, the judges and Lycan chairmen will get together and discuss whether or not they should let you through to the next round. Once the decision is made, you get an alert.”

I thought about that for a moment and then nodded.

“I’m starving,” I murmured as we started to walk towards the resort medical clinic which wasn’t far from the battle zone. “Maybe I can skip the dinner tonight and we can just have an early dinner this afternoon?” I suggested to Nan.

She opened her mouth to reply, but it was Tyler that answered.

“We actually have plans tonight,” he told me, a broad smile on his lips.

“What?” I asked, glancing at Nan who was red in the face.

“Tyler wanted to take me to a concert in the city,” she told me. “It’s some hard rock band and—”

“You hate hard rock, Nan,” I told her, causing her eyes to widen and her mouth to form an “O” shape.

“I do not!” She denied, her nostrils flaring in the way they do when she’s embarrassed. “I love hard rock. But anyways, I promised I’d go with him.”

I couldn’t help the jab of disappointment I had in my chest.

“Oh, that’s okay,” I told her, forcing a smile.

“But hey, how about you go with us?” Nan blurted; her eyes wide with excitement. I knew that she wanted me to go, and this was her way of asking me to do so. I was about to answer, not wanting my friend to experience something she was clearly going to hate by herself. But once again, Tyler butts in.

“I only had the one extra ticket,” he said. “And the seats around us were taken. Her going would be pointless.”

Nan’s shoulders dropped and I saw the disappointment on her face. I tried to keep a positive expression as I smiled at her.

“It’s okay. Have fun tonight,” I told her.

She nibbled on her lower lip and nodded.

We finally reached the clinic, and I hugged Nan goodbye before leaving her with Tyler. I went into the waiting room, which was full of shifters who had just completed. A lot of them had blood spots on their skin, bruises, and gashes… it wasn’t pretty. But there were quite a few without a scratch on them.

The wait didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. There were a ton of medics in the clinic, so they were able to move quickly through the crowd of people waiting to get checked out. The session only lasted about 20 minutes. They did a full body scan, bloodwork, bruise and scratch checking, breathing tests, and eyesight tests. Once they were done, they jotted down some notes on a clipboard and gave me some antibiotics and vitamins.

Once I was done, I left the clinic alone. I wasn’t sure where Tabby or Sammy went, but I was glad to have a bit of alone time. At least for right now. I needed to clear my head of all my thoughts; I was too stuck on Nan right now. I was worried about her; she was spiraling, and I didn’t like what was happening or who she was hanging out with.

I wanted to give her and Tyler the benefit of the doubt, but there was something about him that I didn’t trust. I wanted to tell Chester about him, but I also didn’t want to hurt Chester. He would be devastated.

I walked into the forest, breathing in the fresh pine and feeling the soft breeze on my cheek. I closed my eyes, taking in my surroundings without even looking. I ran my fingers down the nearby Oaktree, allowing it to give me as much strength and energy as it could muster.

Then, I felt a hand on my hip, pulling me into the arms of someone incredibly strong with a scent that made my mouth water. His front was to my back, and even though my eyes were closed, I knew exactly who it was.

And then he whispered, sending my heart into turmoil.

“Don’t move.”