Chapter 184

Judy’s POV

I shifted back into human form as I lay on the ground, staring at Sherry who remained unconscious, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. Had I killed her? I wasn’t aiming for her heart, I was aiming to miss her heart, I just wanted to knock her out, to get her away from me and to stop attacking. I didn’t mean to….

My thoughts were interrupted as the medics rushed past me and towards Sherry’s still body. I watched as they examined her, carefully removing the knife and the arrow from her body, attempting to stop the rapid bleeding and injecting her with something, and made her release a shuddering breath. Hearing her breath made my own heartbeat again and I felt the weight of the world crashing down around me.

She was alive.

I hadn’t killed her.

I was too preoccupied in my own breathing and heartbeat that I didn’t hear what the doctors were saying to her. She still seemed out of it, not sure where she was, and the bleeding was constant; her wolf hadn’t started to heal her yet.

As the medics moved around her, trying to get her back on her feet as quickly as possible, the crowd still remained completely quiet; I wasn’t even sure if any of them were breathing.

I stared at Sherry’s pale face; her lip trembling and her eyes void of emotion as she struggled to keep her breath in check.

Another medic came out with supplies; they were trying to get her strong enough to continue the fight, but she looked so broke and weak at that moment.

Just as he knelt beside her and got to work, her eyes flickered to me and for a moment, I saw a hint of vulnerability and defeat in them.

I kept my eyes on her, wanting to tell her that I’m sorry for hurting her, but I couldn’t because this was the competition, and I couldn’t show any signs of weakness. Instead, I clutched the bow and arrow tightly, waiting for any wrong move, waiting for her to suddenly get her second wind and attack me. I wasn’t going to let her catch me off guard; this could be an elaborate show.

It was this type of thinking that Gammas had… the type of thinking that made me a good candidate for any gamma force… or so I’ve been told.

She saw the bow and arrow clutched in my grasp and a swear I saw a small smile twitching the corner of her lips.

It went away as one of the medics started to stitch up her wound, closing it and making it easier for her wolf to heal her. They were going extra hard on healing her quickly because we were down to the final two. They wanted to prolong the fight for as long as possible, even if it meant one of us dies.

My stomach lurched at the thought. My eyes flickered over to Levi who was sitting with the other Lycans, along with his Beta. They were talking amongst themselves, Levi’s eyes showing indifference and no signs of sympathy. When his eyes found mine, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, like he was telling me he was proud of me or something.

I felt sick to my stomach and turned away from him, surprised when I saw them sitting Sherry up, her face still pale and her eyes beginning to waver.

“Are you able to continue?” One of the medics boldly said.

The nerve of that man; was he joking? She could barely sit up, let alone fight. She looked at him for a moment and then she looked back at me, her eyes narrowed. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking or how she was feeling in the moment, but my heart was hammering.

Everyone in the stadium was hanging onto everything being said, listening with keen hearing and their mouths shut completely.

She looked like she wanted to say yes and continue to fight me; I could see the fight and determination etched in her eyes. But then it faded, and she looked at the ground for a moment, contemplating her choice.

Then, with a final breath, she said, “I surrender.”

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath at her barely audible words; my mouth nearly dropped open as I released the bow and arrow, letting them fall to the ground beside me.

The medics looked at one another.

“Final say, are you sure?” One of them asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I surrender.”

They nodded as they retrieved the stretcher, lifting her up. She winced in pain as they got her onto the stretcher, one of her stitches popping open and more blood trickled down her side. She was certainly in no shape to continue fighting; it was a smart choice, though I knew it was killing her.

She still fought bravely and there will definitely be scouts in contact with her soon.

As they started to carry her away, she stopped them just as they were passing me. Her eyes flickered down to me, a show of respect lingering there, and then to my surprise, she gave me a soft smile.

“I knew you’d be a fierce competitor,” she said, holding her hand out to me to grasp. “Congratulations. It was an honor to meet you, Judy Montague.”

I grasped her hand in a firm handshake, my entire body trembling and my eyes wide as I stared at her.

Then she released my hand, and they carried her away, leaving me standing in the middle of the arena, completely alone… and still very naked.

The second she was gone, it was like someone turned on a switch because the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers, rattling my brain, bringing me back to reality.

“And we have a winner!!” The announcer said through the loudspeaker; drones circled me, capturing every angle that they could, making sure to leave nothing out. “Congratulations Judy Montague! You won the Gamma Competition!!!”

The crowd went absolutely nuts as I stood frozen; I won?

I actually won?!

I barely noticed when people ran onto the arena grounds and rushed to me, Nan and Irene being two of them. Nan immediately wrapped me in her arms and squealed loudly.

“Judy! Did you hear them! You won!!”

She was referring to the fact that I hadn’t moved an inch.

“I won…” I whispered, still in disbelief.

I was surrounded by a huge crowd; all trying to get pictures and ask me questions. It was an overwhelming feeling for sure; my heart was in my throat. Paparazzi started to swarm the place and suddenly, I had all these cameras on me.

Before I could open my mouth to speak, there was a loud roar, silencing almost everyone.

I turned in the direction of the roar, and saw that the crowd was parting, making way for the Lycans. Gavin’s eyes were wild as he stared around at everyone. He looked like he was about to fight everyone in the world.

Levi was the one who approached me first.

“Congratulations Miss Montague,” he said, bowing his head respectfully. “How about we go somewhere and talk... away from prying ears. I’m sure you are exhausted and would like to recover your own injuries as well.”

I glanced down at my scratches and cuts, my face reddening. I was hyper aware that I was still very naked; I had no idea where I left my clothes.

I nodded and just before I could turn away and hurry towards the training center, he wrapped a blanket around my body, shielding me from the views of everyone. I was grateful to him for that, and I thanked him with a small smile.

I swear I heard Gavin hiss, but I ignored it. Daisy was still seated in the stadium, watching him carefully and I wasn’t going to be the reason they had trouble in paradise. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of it though, but I swallowed it down.

“We’ll come too,” Nan said, Irene nodding along.

Levi looked like he wanted to refuse but I interrupted him before he could say anything.

“That’d be great,” I said quickly; I really didn’t want to be alone with Levi, especially naked like this.

He looked annoyed, but he bit his tongue and forced a smile, which made me feel even more wary about him.

“Judy!” Matt yelled as he ran into my arms, hugging me tightly. “That was incredible! You were badass! I can’t wait to go back to school and tell everyone that my tutor won the gamma competition.”

I let myself smile, my heart warmed at his eagerness and pride. I rubbed his head thoughtfully.

“I’m glad you were here to see it,” I told him gently.

Irene turned to Chester.

“Can you watch him for a bit? I’m stealing Nan and we are going with Judy.”

Chester nodded, glancing at Nan who surprisingly gave him a small smile, making his body relax slightly.

Chester turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Congrats,” he said proudly. “I knew you could do it. Never doubted you for a second.”

I chuckled, and it felt good to laugh for a second. My heart was momentarily at ease… this was everything I wanted… I actually won.

But then my eyes flickered to Gavin who was watching me, his eyes dark with something unspoken and it was driving me crazy not knowing what he was thinking.

I didn’t bother asking him though; not in front of all these people.

“Come on,” Levi said, urging us forward while the other Lycans kept the crowd back, giving me space.

I finally pulled my eyes away from Gavin and nodded, following Levi with my friends behind me.