Chapter 223

Judy’s POV

“We have to get him outside,” Gavin said, his face twisted with concern as he stared down at Matt.

Matt was about to shift into his wolf for the first time, and he wasn’t even 8 years old yet. No wolf had ever surfaced before the age of 18, so this was something neither of us expected to ever happen… especially not to Matt. He was screaming and growling as his bones broke and snapped into a new place. The pain that was evident on his small face was heartbreaking to see.

I nodded in agreement to Gavin’s words, but moving him wasn’t going to be easy.

The first shift was always the most painful; seeing it happen to someone so young was gut-wrenching.

I helped Gavin lift Matt into his arms; Matt squirmed and screamed in agony as his snapping bones sounded in the room. As we hurried out of the room, Irene was still sobbing and covering her mouth with her hands. Something weird was happening, and I couldn’t help the nasty feeling I was getting in the pit of my stomach. But I pushed it aside for right now and focused my attention on Matt.

Irene followed after us as we made our way down the stairs and towards the back door. As we reached the outside, Gavin placed Matt on the ground and stepped back. I could see the turmoil and worry on his face, his eyes never leaving Matt’s face.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said softly. “He’ll be okay…”

Gavin nodded, swallowing hard. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he did so. Matt’s howl brought my attention back to him, and I saw fur breaking free from his delicate skin. I knew it felt like razors piercing his flesh. The wolf’s fur was sharp, and it hurt during the first shift.

Irene stood off to the side, watching in horror as her brother transformed for the first time.

It felt like an eternity had gone by before Matt was finally fully shifted.

We weren’t really sure what to say or do in that moment; we stared down at his little runt of a wolf, our jaws dropped. He looked like Gavin’s large black wolf, only significantly smaller. The anger and agony that were once in his eyes were completely taken over by shock and realization. Despite his being in his wolf form, I knew Matt was consciously still in there. He looked between Gavin and me, and once his eyes landed on Irene, he snarled at her, making her jump back.

Gavin was quick to block Matt’s view of Irene, and he had a low growl in his throat as well, a warning to the small wolf to back off.

Not before long, Gavin was stripping off his clothes, making me blush wildly. He was naked for a long time, though; he shifted into his wolf form so he could communicate with Matt.

I turned to Irene, who was shaking and crying, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed.

“Irene, what happened?” I asked her, stepping away from Gavin and Matt, giving them some privacy. “How did this happen?”

“It’s all my fault,” she blurted, lifting her head up from her hands. “I opened my big stupid mouth, and it set him off… he was so pissed off, and then he started to shift. I had never seen anything like that before.”

“What exactly do you mean that it was your fault?” I asked her, pulling her over to one of the lounge chairs on the back patio. Gavin and Matt were now running towards the forest; Matt’s wolf was a bit unsteady, but he managed to keep up. He was fully distracted now and learning how to manage his wolf form, thanks to Gavin’s assistance.

“I told him the truth,” she whispered. “I had to… I couldn’t live with this lie anymore. I had to tell him what I had done…”

My heart sank deep into my belly.

“You told him you were the one who poisoned him?” I asked, my voice coming out as a whisper.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she nodded.

“Yes…” She whispered. “I couldn’t live with this lie anymore. He needed to know the truth. Oh, Judy. He hates me.”

My heart broke for her, seeing the anguish on her face… I hated it. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly.

“He’ll be okay, Irene,” I assured her. “Don’t blame yourself for this. He’s going to be fine. He’ll forgive you. He knows you love him…”

“No, he doesn’t,” she cried.

I looked towards the forest where Gavin and Matt had disappeared. I knew they were going to take a while, and even after they returned, I knew they had a lot to discuss. Matt’s transformation changed everything.

“How about we get out of here for a bit?” I suggest. “We could go back to the mansion and hang out for a bit.”

She nodded, her eyes drifting over in the direction her father and brother had disappeared.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “Maybe that’s a good idea.”

Beta Taylor was able to drive us back to the mansion within 30 minutes. The further we got from the villa, the more Irene seemed to relax in her seat. She seemed jumpy and on edge, and I felt for her.

As we pulled up to the mansion, I frowned when I saw an unfamiliar car parked out front.

“Were you expecting someone?” Irene asked, also noticing the car.

“No, I don’t think so,” I murmur as I take off my seatbelt and slide out of the car.

We walked to the front door and pushed it open; I immediately heard voices coming from the living room and something that sounded like laughter. I furrowed my brows and glanced behind me at Irene, who looked equally confused.

We made our way through the front foyer and towards the living room. Once we were through the door, I completely froze.

I wasn’t expecting to see the people sitting on the couch, and apparently neither did Irene because she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Tabby?” I asked, my tone filled with disbelief. To her side, I saw that both Chuck and Sherry were also seated on the couch.

My jaw was practically on the ground.

Sammy sat curled up on one of the love seats, a smile lighting up her face as she talked their ears off about her experiences here since she arrived.

Chuck and Sherry were only half listening.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as Tabby walked towards me and draped me in a tight hug.

I hugged her back without hesitation.

“We wanted to come visit you,” she told me. “I told you, Chuck, Sherry, and I are from the same pack, right? We weren’t very close growing up, but since the competition, we got closer, and we decided we missed you and wanted to see what the Silver Crescent pack was all about. So, here we are.”

“How long are you going to be staying for?” I asked, pulling myself out of her arms. “If I had known, I would have been here to greet you. I would have had the maids make up the guest rooms.”

“Already on it,” Sammy said with a bright smile. “Some of the other maids already got their rooms prepared. They are all settled in. They got here a couple of hours ago, so we had plenty of time for all of that.”

I was grateful to her for that, despite my dwindling trust.

Tabby had a plastered smile on her face as she looked at Sammy, something that piqued my interest.

“And I’m glad that you did. Thank you, Sammy,” Tabby said, her clutch on my arm tightening.

“You remember Irene, don’t you?” I asked, motioning for Irene to step further into the room. Her eyes were darting between Chuck and Sherry and then to me, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

At the sound of Irene’s name, Chuck tensed and turned to look at her; his eyes lingering for a beat longer than necessary. I raised my brows at Irene, but she did what she could to avoid my gaze.

“Yes, of course,” Tabby said, releasing me for a moment to give Irene a quick hug. “Landry, right?”

“Yes,” Irene said softly, a bit too softly for the Irene I knew.

Chuck was quick to stand on his feet, his hand going behind his neck.

“It’s good to see you again, Irene,” he said, giving her a small smile.

Her cheeks blushed even more, and she nibbled her lower lip, nodding slightly at him.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Tabby whispered by my side. “Privately?”

I nodded, wondering what had been clearly bothering her.

She pulled me alongside her until we were in the next room. Once alone, Tabby let out a breath and looked almost relieved.

“We lied; we didn’t come here to just visit you. We came here to warn you,” she said, turning to face me.

“Not sure if I should be hurt or not,” I admitted, my brows raising.

“I didn’t mean it like that; of course, we wanted to see you. Well, at least I did. I missed you terribly,” she told me, hugging me tightly. “Chuck just mainly wanted to see Irene, and Sherry was making sure we stayed on task. But it’s important…”

“Okay, so, what’s going on?”

“It’s about Sammy… she’s been lying to everyone, and we are still trying to figure out what her game plan is… but she’s been in contact with all of Alpha Landry’s enemies… like tight contact.”

My heart dropped into my stomach; I knew she was up to something.

“How do you know this?”

“I thought she was strange when we hung out with her… always with the secret phone calls. Disappearing randomly. After the competition, I had a bit of time to look into it. I requested Sherry’s help as well, and we dug deep. Most of Sammy’s home life has been wiped out. Like someone is trying to keep her life a secret or something… but that’s not the weirdest thing.”

“It gets weirder?” I asked, my brows furrowed.

She nodded.

After a beat of silence, she says, “That boyfriend she kept talking about… I found out he doesn’t exist!”