Chapter 185

Judy’s POV

“My wolf will heal, a medic isn’t necessary,” I assured them as we walked into the resort health clinic. It was crowded with all the competitors getting medical attention; some in worse shape than others. “Save the staff for someone who needs it.”

“It’s required amongst all participants,” Alpha Levi told me as he stared aimlessly at his phone, as if he had no other care in the world. I sat on the medical bed, staring up at the ceiling, feeling way more exposed than I wanted to feel. I still wore a blanket draped over my shoulders, covering my naked body, but I still felt odd without any clothing. It shouldn’t be a big deal because we are shifters after all and shifters are naturally comfortable in the nude. But I’ve never been one of them.

I still had a little thing called modesty. Kk

“You’ll be recruited by several packs,” Levi told me, his eyes never leaving his phone. “I hope you choose wisely. You are now a part of the Elite Force.”

“Do I have to choose right now?” I asked, nibbling my lip. “I’m still in school for another half a year and I’d like to finish it.”

Levi nodded, his eyes still fixed on his phone, as if he wasn’t interested in a thing I was saying. I pressed my lips together, biting my tongue.

“Yes, of course. Finish school and when you make a decision on where you want to be, reach out to me.”

“You?” I asked, raising my brows.

No offense to him, and I knew he was a Lycan, but I had access to Gavin Landry, who was the most powerful of the Lycan chairmen, so having gone to Levi seemed pointless.

He finally looked up from his phone, his eyes narrowed.

“When it comes to the Gamma Elite Force, I’m in charge,” he told me, his eyes darkening with something I couldn’t figure out. It gave me an uneasy feeling though. I wanted to question him about that; just because they appointed him in charge of this competition, doesn’t mean he was solely in charge of the Gamma Elite Force.

Before I could say another word, the door swung open. I was relieved to see Nan and Irene returning; they left so they could find me some clothes. When I saw the shorts and tank top in Irene’s hand, I let out a breath of relief.

“I got clothes,” she sang as she approached my bedside.

Nan was frowning when she noticed the look on Alpha Levi’s face.

“I hope we aren’t interrupting,” she said, his brows pinched together.

“Not at all,” I say, grabbing the clothes from Irene and sliding off the bed. “I’m just going to change in the bathroom.”

I walked into the bathroom on the far side of the room and quickly changed. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I sighed. I had scratches and bites all over my face and neck. They weren’t mating marks, but marks indicating that I was just in a fight. I reached my hand, wincing at the tender flesh.

Some of the weapons were laced in wolfbane, that much was clear to me now. I wondered how many of them were and what the purpose of that was.

I left the bathroom to find Levi seated in the corner still on his phone. Nan and Irene were seated near my bed, waiting for me.

“How are you feeling?” Nan asked as I got back into the medical bed.

“My face hurts,” I told her. “I think some of the weapons used had wolfsbane.”

Levi looked up from his phone, a smirk on his face.

“Not everyone noticed,” he replied. “Some of the competitors also had wolfsbane laced claws.”

“What?” I gasped.

He nodded, a light chuckle escaping his lips.

“There were no rules this round,” he reminded me. “They could do whatever they wanted. As could you.”

That could have been seriously dangerous, but I guess that was kind of the point. Soon, one of the medics came into the room and assessed my injuries. He gave me a cream that helps heal my cuts and scratches and then checked over the rest of my body before sending me on my way.

As soon as I left the health clinic, I was bombarded by even more paparazzi, thankfully, Levi was there to get me through the crowd, leaving questions unanswered. He guided me into a private area where there were a few men waiting for me, including the other Lycans, which also meant Gavin was there too.

“Judy Montague,” One of the men I didn’t recognize said as he stepped forward, offering me his hand, which I took and shook. “You are quite impressive. I’ve been watching you and from day one I knew you were going to make it far.”

“Thank you,” I replied as sweetly as I could.

“We are the top commanders for some of the Elite forces around the world; we have gathered here to scope recruits and to meet with the victor of the competition. With that being said, we are interested in working with you and making you one of our Elite Gammas. Of course you can only choose one of us. We have put together a packet of the details for each of our forces that you can look over on your own time. But I just wanted to introduce myself properly.”

He handed me a thick folder with his territory logo printed on the front.

“Thank you,” I said again.

He stepped aside and allowed for the others to introduce themselves as well, pretty much the same way, and then hand me their folders as well. They were such thick folders that I knew it was going to take some time to go through. I was already overwhelmed as is.

“Thank you for stopping by gentlemen, she’ll be in touch,” Gavin said, shaking each of their hands and dismissing them.

They nodded and said their farewells before leaving.

“Now that that’s out of the way, they are the Top Elite forces in the world, but they aren’t the only ones. You were sent an email with the listing of each force around the world. As the winner of the competition, you can choose any of them. Also, there’s a 5 million prize money as well and a trophy. The money is being wired to your account as we speak,” Levi continued to explain, my heart pounding in my chest when I thought about that money.

I could do a lot with that money.

Mica stepped around the corner with a large trophy and a grin on his face.

“Congrats Miss Montague,” Alpha Mica said thoughtfully as he handed me the heavy trophy. Nan and Irene had to help me hold it.

“Thank you,” I said with a proud smile. “It’s surreal; I still can’t believe I won.”

“Believe it,” Nan said, patting me on the shoulder. “You did incredible.”

“Truly,” Irene agreed.

“Tomorrow is the ceremony to celebrate your victory and the competition as a whole,” Alpha Levi said, his eyes on me. “It’s formal attire and obviously you are expected to be there. It’ll be held in the resort's entertainment center ballroom. Your friends are invited as well.”

“Okay, I’ll be there,” I told him.

My flight home wasn’t until the day after tomorrow anyways, so that worked out fine. He nodded and without another word, he turned and left. Alpha Mica and Alpha Jeremy left after him, but Gavin remained.

“Where’s Matthew?” He asked Irene.

“With Chester,” Irene replied.

He nodded and then glanced at me; I tried hard not to meet his eyes because every time I did, I felt the same familiar ache in my chest that I always feel.

“Congratulations,” he finally said, breaking the heavy tension for a moment.

I nodded.

“Thanks,” I said, my tone almost indifferent.

After another beat of silence, he finally left.

…..

Third Person POV

As soon as Levi was out of view of any others, he grabbed his cellphone from his pocket and brought up a specific name in his contact. He pushed the call button and then pressed the phone to his cheek, waiting for the contact to answer the phone.

After a few rings, the other line was picked up.

“You did well during this competition; she doesn’t suspect a thing,” Levi said to his contact. “We move onto the next phase. Are you ready?”

“I feel kind of bad playing her like this…” the contact’s soft voice said on the other end. “It’s not right.”

“It’s necessary,” Levi snapped, speaking through his teeth. “We made an agreement; you aren’t backing down on me now, because I can get your sister to do this instead.”

“Are you kidding me? Chrissy would crack under the first sign of pressure,” his contact hissed, her rage clear. “You can’t be serious.”

“Don’t test me,” Levi murmured. “Now, are you able to handle this next task?”

There was a pause for a moment before a heavy sigh could be heard on the other end.

“Yes… I can handle this task. I won’t let you down… father.”