Chapter 212

Judy’s POV

By the time we reached campus, both our minds were reeling with possibilities. Something was up with Sammy, and we were both determined to find out what it was. We didn’t see Sammy all morning, so we didn’t bother traveling to school with her.

I had a morning class, so I had to part ways with Nan pretty early on.

Because we were so wrapped up talking about Sammy, I haven’t told her about my date yet. But I made a mental note to tell her all about it later.

As I reached class, I caught sight of Lukas who met my eyes and froze. His eyes were big and he kept his head down as he passed me and went into the classroom. My brows furrowed at his reaction, and I followed him into the room, saying hello to Professor River’s as I passed.

Lukas sat at his seat, which was beside mine. He rummaged through his backpack, pretending not to notice me taking my seat beside him. My eyes never left his reddened face as he struggled to pull out his notebooks and books, placing them on the table before him. He grabbed his pens as well, his hands trembling as he placed each one down in front of him. It was an unnecessary amount of pens for one class and I knew he was only doing this to keep himself busy.

But my question was… why?

I knew Gavin freaked him out the other night; I should have probably warned Lukas that it was technically Gavin’s mansion and that I was living in it. Lukas had Lycan blood because of his family history, so I should have been a bit more considerate. But I didn’t think it meant that Lukas and I couldn’t be friends.

“Are you mad at me?” I finally asked, breaking through the tension; or at least I attempted to break through the tension, but it seemed to make him more tense.

“Mad?” He squeaked out. “No… why would I be mad?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, though he wasn’t looking at me to see the expression on my face or the look in my eyes.

“Because you are avoiding my eyes,” I tell him, cocking my head to the side.

This was the first time that I’d seen him since our study session at the mansion the other night. I assumed he’s been busy these last few days and that’s why I hadn’t heard much from him. I’ve been busy too, so I didn’t really take his silence as anything other than living our lives. But now I’m beginning to think that his silence was starting to mean more.

“I’m not avoiding your eyes,” he told me, though his actions proved otherwise.

I folded my arms across my chest and leaned back in my seat.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “Then look at me, Lukas.”

When he didn’t make any movements, I leaned closer, assessing the side of his face carefully and watching as his neckline grew redder with each passing second.

“Lukas…” I said again, my tone was low and filled with a hidden warning. “Look at me.”

His eyes finally moved in my direction, and I knew it was painful for him to look at me, though I had no idea why.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, my tone softening as I looked into his eyes. “Why are you having trouble looking at me?”

He pulled his eyes away from me and let out a breath as if it were the most painful thing in the world to look at me. I’m not sure why it hurt a little, but it did.

“Because I was commanded not to,” he admitted, his voice in a low murmur.

I raised my eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

Gavin came to me and ordered me to not look in your direction again. He even called my uncle and let him know of the situation. My uncle reprimanded me and said if I fuck up again while I’m here… he’s pulling my tuition fee and forcing me to return to his territory.”

My heart fell deep into my stomach as a rage like no other boiled inside of me.

“Gavin did what??” I asked, my voice came out much harsher than I intended.

He swallowed; his eyes fixed on his notebook.

“What do you expect? I was close to someone he considers his… and he’s a Lycan. They are possessive creatures, Judy. I would know…”

I shook my head, my rage at an all-time high but I was suppressing it because I was in a classroom right now and it was quickly filling with other students.

“I do not belong to him. He is not my mate…” I tell him in a harsh whisper. “I’m not sure where you got that idea from but—”

So, you didn’t just go on a date with him last night?” Lukas asked, his brows raised, but his eyes still fixed on the table.

I was startled by his knowledge of my date last night. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

“I…” I tried to say.

After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and grabbed his phone. He swiped along the screen for a bit, typed something, and then he turned the screen to face me. That was when I saw today’s headline on Shifter Daily.

Lycan Gavin Landry was spotted with Gamma competitor and winner, Judy Montague, on a romantic date.

There was a picture of Gavin and me at dinner as the featured photo and another photo of the Ferris Wheel.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that photos were captured of us that evening, but still, seeing them in the news article the day after, it was gut-wrenching and stomach-dropping. I sighed and buried my face in my hands so I could let out a groan.

“Just great…” I murmur.

“You went on a date with him,” Lukas said, putting his phone back in his pocket. “He has a claim on you.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I said firmly. “Our relationship is complicated. We never really discussed what any of this means. So, what if I went on a date with him? You probably go on lots of dates with women… doesn’t mean you are in a relationship with all of them.”

I wasn’t blind to the fact that Lukas was a good-looking guy, not to mention he had Lycan blood because he was a Merriweather. I had no doubt in my mind that he got his fair share of women, and I doubt he took all of them seriously.

His face reddened slightly, and he gave me a slight shrug.

“Yeah, so what?” He murmured. “None of them are Lycan’s and none of them are Gavin Landry.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that Gavin had no right to tell you to not look at me. He had no right to command you anything. You not only someone I’m needing paid to tutor, but I also consider you my friend, Lukas. He doesn’t get to tell me who I can and can’t be friends with.”

“Understand where you are coming from… I truly do,” he said, scooting a bit away from me to gain some distance, making me frown. “But you also have to understand where I am coming from. He Alpha commanded me… he’s powerful and he’s scary. One wrong move and he’ll either kill me, or my uncle will pull my tuition and force me to go home. I can’t let that happen. I have dreams that only this school can happen. I need to keep my nose clean… just like my uncle said.”

I stared at him for a bit longer; he refused to look at me but now I knew it wasn’t because he didn’t want to or that he was afraid of me… it was because he literally couldn’t. I felt a rage burn in the pit of my stomach, but I didn’t argue with him. There was no use in arguing with him.

I knew one thing for sure though, I wasn’t going to let Gavin get away with this. I was pissed and I needed answers as soon as possible.

As class came to an end, Lukas was quick to leave. Typically, we would have made plans to study in the library or meet up somewhere, but he didn’t bother with it today and I now understood why.

I met up with Nan in our usual spot by te Oaktree on the quad. She was leaning against the tree with her textbook in hand and her legs crossed in front of her. She smiled when she saw me approaching, but when she saw the disdained look on my face, her smile faltered.

“What happened?” She asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” I told her. “I need to cool off. I might skip our normal study session in the lounge and head to the gym instead.”

She nodded as she stood up.

“I’ll come with,” she said. “I could use a workout before class.”

I nodded and together we headed toward the gym area. As we reached the doors, we heard a familiar voice coming from around the corner. We were outside still, so I knew the voice was coming from behind the building.

I looked at Nan who gave me an equally confused frown, also recognizing the voice. I motioned for her to follow me, and she did. We walked around the building, and I paused when I saw Sammy pacing back and forth. Her phone was glued to her ear, and she had a furrow between her brows.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea… I want out…” she said in a low and harsh tone.

She paused for a moment, her face paling.

“Of course, not but…” she paused again, listening to whatever was being said to her on the other end. She nibbled on her lower lip, and I swear I saw tears filling her eyes. “I don’t want that…”

She paused again, her body resting against the stone building like it physically hurt her to keep standing. She lowered her gaze to the ground, her shoulders slumping slightly, and a long sigh escaped her lips.

“Okay,” she finally said after what felt like a long time. “I’ll do it… I’ll reach out to him…”