Chapter 268

Gavin’s POV

“Are you seriously avoiding her?” Taylor asked, folding his arms across his chest. “It’s been almost 2 weeks since you found out about Rachel’s pregnancy, and you haven’t talked to Judy yet?”

I ran my fingers through my hair, my frustration levels growing with each passing second. It’s been a hell of a two weeks, too. I had barely slept, and I’ve only eaten scraps, my appetite was shit. My thoughts were overwhelming me, and my investigation work had been exhausting.

If Rachel truly was playing a con like I suspected, she was good at her job. Every security footage, every scrap of fucking evidence… everything ounce of proof I could possibly get my hands on, it’s all been void and deleted. She’s good at covering her prints, I will give her that.

“I can’t face her until I know the truth,” I said, feeling a headache forming at my temple. The thought of Judy made my heart ache. I couldn’t look her in the eyes and see the hurt when she found out about Rachel’s pregnancy. I couldn’t let this terrible thing get to her because I knew with certainty that it would destroy her. I couldn’t be the reason for her heart to break… not again.

And yet, I craved her touch. I craved her taste. Every second that Judy isn’t in my arms drives both me and my wolf even crazier. I’ve been more temperamental than usual, snapping at everyone, including my Beta and Head Gamma.

Rachel has been trying to cling to me, and though I’ve been entertaining her to keep her close and unaware, her touch disgusts me.

I’ve been careful not to mention anything to Matt or Irene about the pregnancy because I didn’t want it getting back to Judy. I needed to find evidence that this baby wasn’t mine… or that Rachel wasn’t truly pregnant, and then I could face Judy again.

“What if you don’t like the truth when you find it?” Taylor asked, raising his brows. “What if Rachel isn’t playing some kind of game and she’s telling the truth. What if this baby is—”

“Don’t fucking say it,” I growl, my wolf on edge.

He held up his hands in surrender.

“I’m just saying, you should be prepared for bad news,” Taylor said. “You don’t know what happened that night.”

“I didn’t sleep with her,” I said with sharp conviction. “That night might have been blurry, and yes, we were both marked up, and I was covered in her scent. Yes, I woke up naked next to her… but I didn’t fuck her. I know I didn’t. She wasn’t the one I tasted on my tongue when I woke up. She wasn’t the one I saw when I closed my eyes. It wasn’t Rachel I thought of as soon as I woke up.”

Taylor watched me for a while as I got lost in my own thoughts.

“You have it bad,” Taylor concluded. “Have you even told her how you felt?”

I was quiet; how do I explain to someone how I feel when I don’t even know myself? I’ve sworn off serious relationships long ago. I told myself I would never allow myself to fall in love for a third time. Not only would it disrupt my life, but the lives of my children as well. I didn’t want to put them through that, despite how much they like Judy.

I mean, she was the same age as my daughter; a line has to be drawn. Boundaries needed to be made.

And yet, whenever I’m around her, it seems as though none of that matters. My wolf wanted her more than he’s ever wanted anyone. I don’t remember a time when he was ever this possessive over Melissa, and she was my fated mate.

But there was something about Judy that was… different.

Taylor sighed and stepped closer to my desk as I pondered my thoughts, my silence stretching on for a while.

“Look, Judy is a smart girl. She’s not going to wait around for you to get your head out of your ass forever,” he told me. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. I knew he was right; if I didn’t make my move on her, she would soon walk away officially, and I wouldn’t be able to get her back. “Erik told me she’s graduating top of her class. She’s making a speech during the ceremony on Friday. You’re going to be there, right?”

“Of course,” I said without hesitation. “I wouldn’t miss her graduation for anything.”

I had it planned out. I was going to show up with the biggest bouquet of flowers I can get my hands on. I even bought a diamond necklace for her, which I’ve been keeping in the top drawer of my office desk for the past week.

Then afterwards, I plan to take her to dinner.

The door to my office opened, and my head Gamma, Derek, walked in.

“You better have good news,” I said, my eyes narrowed.

“My cousin from the Redcliff pack is on his way. He’ll be here by tomorrow night at the latest,” Derek announced.

I nodded, though I’m not happy it’ll take him a day to arrive, but as long as he gets here, that’s all I can hope for.

Derek’s cousin, Monty, is a known cyber hacker and a technology genius. If anyone could recover erased security footage, it was him.

The rest of the evening went by torturously slowly. I hated pretending to be there for Rachel, tending to her needs, making sure she remained happy and oblivious. As far as she knew, we were expecting a baby, I had accepted the fact that I had gotten her pregnant during that night together, and I was almost thrilled to be a father again. However, little did she know, I had my own plans at play.

I didn’t buy the fact that I had sex with her, let alone got her pregnant. I knew she was up to something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

That evening, Matt sat in his room, his head down. He’s been fairly avoidant lately, and though I’ve also been busy, I wasn’t too busy to not notice his mood change.

“Can we talk?” I asked, leaning against his doorframe.

Matt looked up from his pillow and nodded, making room for me on his bed.

I stepped into his room, making sure to shut the door behind me before sitting on the edge of his bed.

“I just wanted to check in and make sure you were okay,” I told him. “We hadn’t really talked in a while.”

“You’ve been too busy with Rachel,” Matthew said, and I could almost hear the bitterness in her voice.

I frowned.

“But I’m never too busy for you, Matthew,” I told him. “Is my spending time with Rachel bothering you?”

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Matthew said, sitting up in bed and folding his arms across his chest. “Why are you hanging out with her, Dad? Why is she here?”

I wasn’t sure what to tell my 8-year-old kid. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

‘It’s complicated, Matthew…”

“Do you still care about Judy?”

His question came as a surprise to me.

“Of course I care about her. She’s your tutor and—”

“That’s not what I meant,” Matt snapped. “I miss Irene because I get to talk to her about this stuff all the time. When are you going to let her come home? I’m not mad at her anymore. My wolf doesn’t want to kill her, and if he does, I’m strong enough to keep him under control.”

My head was spinning.

“Just calm down for a second and talk to me,” I told him, trying to keep my tone calm. “What’s going on in your head?”

He sighed, looking frustrated.

“I don’t like Rachel… I thought you and Judy were going to be together. Both Irene and I thought you liked her.”

I was stunned by his words; there was a lot to dissect, but for right now, I needed to choose only one element to focus on.

“What do you mean you don’t like Rachel? Had she said or done something to displease you?”

He was quiet for a long while, nibbling on his lower lip, a nervous look in his eyes.

“Matthew, tell me what happened,” I urged, my temper rising.

“I just get a bad vibe from her,” he muttered. “I think she’s hiding something. My wolf doesn’t trust her… more than he doesn’t trust Irene. I’m able to keep him under control, though. But I haven’t been staying around her because I worry that I might lose control one of these days. Something is off about her, Dad.”

I couldn’t deny that I felt the same way. I nodded, though I didn’t want to confirm his suspicions. I didn’t want to worry about him.

“I promise, I’m not going to let her hurt you or anyone. I need you to trust me,” I told him, putting my hand on his shoulder. “Can you do that?”

He nodded without much hesitation.

“Of course I can,” he replied. “There’s something else, too, though…”

I raised my brows.

“What is it?”

“Whenever I do talk to her… or rather whenever she talks to me… she tries to convince me to see my mother…”