Chapter 218

Judy’s POV

My heart weighed heavy in my chest as I stared up at Gavin. He had a scowl on his face and he looked like he wanted to punch something at the thought of his sister. Gavin hadn’t told me much about her, but I knew she fell on hard times. She wasn’t like the rest of the Landry’s. She cut ties with them a long time ago though from what I hear; nobody knows what truly happened to Cassandra Landry. She stopped appearing in newspapers and magazines. It was almost like she never existed and everybody kind of just moved on with their lives.

Matthew was only 1 year old when he went to live with Gavin and his family and nobody questioned it. They all assumed he had a kid with someone if they saw glimpses of Matt, but for the most part, Gavin tried hard to keep him out of the limelight because of that.

“Why does she want to see Matthew?” Gavin finally asked as he worked to compose himself.

“Because she’s his mother and she hasn’t seen him in years,” Donna replied, narrowing her eyes at Gavin, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and she was shocked he would even ask such a thing.

“Matthew barely even knows who she is,” Gavin said, his lip curling up in disgust. “This would disrupt his life and I’m not going to put him through that.”

“Or maybe it won’t,” Donna said with a shrug. “He knows his mother is your sister; he’s a smart kid, Gavin. He knows his mother had fallen on hard times and that she’s working to get better.”

“Is she though?” Gavin asked, folding his arms across his chest. “Because you know I keep regular tabs on her progress and her doctors are saying she’s not willing to work with them. She’s erratic and has manic episodes. I’m not letting Matt get hurt… not again.”

“I visited with her and she was really heartfelt when she spoke about Matthew,” Donna said, a frown marring her lips. “She’s sorry for what she put him through when he was a baby.”

Gavin growled, stopping his mother’s words. She stared at him with wide eyes, shocked that he had the audacity to growl at his own mother.

“Did you just growl at me?” She asked, not sure she heard him correctly.

His wolf was on edge, I could feel it. I’m not sure what provoked me to do this, making it the high tension, or maybe it was having a nervous breakdown, but I reached over and touched his hand. He tensed for a second as his yellow-glowing eyes glared at my hand. I entwined my fingers with his and leaned into him, my wolf surging forward like too wanted to comfort him. It was something that I would do for a mate… not for Gavin. I’ve done this for Ethan many times when we first found out we were mates… back when things were easy and my fated mate actually wanted me. that was the last time I tried something like this… I’m not sure what I was thinking would happen at this moment, but I wasn’t expecting it to actually work.

With a shuddering breath, Gavin’s body relaxed and the glow of his eyes simmered, replaced with a gentle vulnerability that I had never seen before. My breath hitched in my throat as I stared up at him, our eyes locking for the briefest moment before he turned back to his mother, fully charged.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to growl, Mother,” he said to her.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared between the two of us, her face turning almost thoughtful for a moment.

“Interesting,” she whispered as she took in the scene that unfolded before her eyes.

“I won’t let her have any access to him. He is no longer her son… she signed away all rights and I signed the adoption certificate years ago. He is legally my son, and I know what’s best for him.”

I was surprised by this information; I had no idea that Gavin actually adopted his own nephew, making him not his nephew, but his real son. It made sense; he wouldn't be able to keep the fact that Matthew wasn’t his son a secret if he didn’t have actual proof that he was his son.

Donna opened her mouth to say something more, maybe to argue with him further, or to give up and cut her losses. However, one of the maids entered the parlor and bowed her head to Donna.

“Dinner is being served in the dining hall,” she announced.

Donna sighed, tossing aside what she was going to say a moment ago and then she stood to her feet.

“I guess we should go eat then,” she said as she eyed us both carefully.

Gavin stood; his hand still entwined with mine. It was almost like he was afraid of letting me go and I found my heart skipping a beat at the feel of his closeness. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze before he pulled me alongside him and towards the dining hall.

Once we were seated in the dining hall, the food was served almost right away. My mouth was practically watering at the sight of all the delicious meats that were being placed on the table by various different maids.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Donna said, eyeing me carefully. “We have plenty of food.”

I could definitely see that; food was still coming out as we spoke. I was starving; I hadn’t had the time to eat today. I was planning on making something in the kitchen once I got to the villa, before my tutoring session with Matt, but then Gavin announced the dinner plans. Once I knew where we were having dinner, my stomach had been in a knot for the rest of the evening.

So to say I didn’t eat a thing today, was an understatement.

“Enjoy,” one of the maids said once they finished. She turned and scurried away with the others.

Gavin lifted his wine glass and took a long sip of the red elixir. I could tell he could use the drink. I was afraid to drink mine knowing that wine could make me foggy-headed and at least one of us needed to have a clear head if we wanted to get through this evening.

We added food to our plates before we started to eat. The food was delicious and cooked to perfection, or maybe I was just hungry.

“I’m not sure what the doctors had been telling you, but she looks really good.”

“We aren’t going to continue this conversation, Mother,” he said through his teeth.

She sighed and relented.

“Fine, we don’t need to talk about it anymore,” she finally said after a short pause. She then glanced in my direction as I was taking a bite of the lamb. “So, Judy. Tell me about your family. Are they well off?”

I didn’t miss the glare Gavin sent his mother, and it was kind of cute. I mean, Gavin was a big bad Alpha Lycan Chairman, and his mother still found a way to get under his skin.

“My father is the Delta of the Redmoon Pack,” I told her as I swallowed the food in my mouth.

She nodded.

“That’s a pretty small pack, if remember correctly. Is that the pack that has no Alpha?”

I nodded.

“The Beta’s had been running it. But Gavin is technically the one in charge right now,” I told her. “They are still trying to get good candidates for the role.”

“I see,” she said, cutting into her food and bringing it to her lips on the fork. As she chewed, she watched me.

“Have you ever been mated before?”

I froze at her question and Gavin growled deep in his throat.

“Mother,” he warned; she shot him a playful glance.

“It’s only a question. What? Is it some big bad secret?” She asked a hint of humor in her eyes.

I wasn’t sure what to say; do I tell her the truth? It almost felt like she knew the truth already and she was just testing me. I decided it was better not to lie because she was Donna Landry. She could easily found out this information for herself if she hadn’t already.

“Yes,” I answered. “I was mated before. It didn’t work out though.”

“He rejected you?” She asked, her brows shooting up.

I flushed; it was bold of her to assume that it was him who rejected me and not the other way around.

“Why would he do something like that? Rejected a fated mate wasn’t something that commonly happened,” Donna pressed as she bit into her food.

“That’s enough,” Gavin said through his teeth. “You’ve asked enough questions.”

“I’m sorry, I’m only trying to get to know your little girlfriend,” Donna said; something about her tone screamed mockery.

Was this dinner a joke?

Was she trying to prove a point?

Donna turned to look at me again, her eyes narrowed, and I could see the devious side of her desperate to surface.

“So, tell me, Judy. Why were you not good enough for your own fated mate?”