Chapter 277

Judy’s POV

I found Marlo with the rest of the team towards the back of the packhouse. I could see the worried expressions on some of their faces, and it ate away at my stomach. We were a team of Elite Gamma Warriors; nothing was supposed to worry us. But the look they were sporting wasn’t confident.

“Marlo, what is going on?” I asked, approaching my team leader.

Marlo was a tall and bulky man with tattoos, and he constantly wore his armor and weapons. He turned when I approached him, his stern expression never wavering.

“There was a breach in security during the overnight,” he explained. “We lost lives.”

“How many?”

“Enough to raise alarms,” he replied. “Innocent people. Women… children… it was a blood bath in some homes.”

“What?” I gasped. “How did I not hear about this until now? How did I sleep through it?”

“It was in the northern location of the pack, a long way away from your condo,” Marlo explained.

“And nobody thought to page or call me?” I asked.

I hadn’t been sworn into their pack officially yet and couldn’t until the full moon, so I couldn’t mindlink anyone in the pack or on the team yet.

“We did,” one of my teammates, Drew, said, folding his arms across his chest. “Maybe try charging your pager?”

I frowned as I reached into my bag and pulled out the sleek black pager Marlo had given me on my first day. I clicked the button that turned it on, but it didn’t turn on. I had forgotten to charge it last night… again.

I groaned and shoved it back into my bag.

“Sorry,” I murmured. “I’ll make sure to put it on the charger tonight.”

“You better,” Marlo said, narrowing his eyes. “We needed all hands on deck. We could have used you. You proved yourself to us already, your skills are a must on the force. Don’t let us down again.”

“I’ll make sure not to, Commander,” I told her, nodding my head. “So, what can I do now? Put me to work?”

“Right now, we are healing those who survived and putting to rest those who didn’t. There are a lot more who didn’t. We have the tech team investigating how our servers got hacked. Alpha Sampson called in backup as well from someone very powerful. We are keeping their identity under wraps for right now because we don’t want to cause more of a frenzy, but your job will be to get them settled in our pack.”

“Someone important?” I asked, my heart suddenly racing. “Can I ask who they are? I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“Sorry, but the identity is hidden from even me. Only Alpha Sampson knows,” Marlo replied.

“Okay,” I said, not fully processing this information. “When will this important person be arriving?”

“He’s scheduled to land in a couple of days,” Marlo told me. “He’ll be in a private jet. You’ll pick him up at the airport and bring him to the packhouse… safely. Not that he can’t handle himself. If Sampson is calling for his help, I’m sure he can hold his own in a fight, if not defeating all threats himself. But we’d feel better if someone were with him on his journey to the packhouse.”

“I understand,” I said before I could stop myself. “I’ll be there.”

I was about to ask if I should head to my post on the outer coast of the pack, but a strange sense of nausea washed over me. My breathing grew shallow, and the saliva started to build up quickly.

Spencer is at your post right now. He’s scheduled for another hour,” Marlo said, as if he could read my thoughts. “You can start heading there now if you…” His voice trailed off once he saw my face, and he frowned. “Judy?”

“Excuse me for a minute,” I said before he could even get my name out of his mouth. I hurried away from him and through the packhouse. Only a few noticed that I ran through them. I didn’t stop until I reached the bathroom.

I pulled the door open and stumbled over to the toilet. I leaned over and let out all of my dinner from last night. I have no idea what is wrong with me; I don’t ever get sick, at least not like this. It wasn’t making any sense.

My head was spinning.

There was a soft knock on the door. I didn’t want to see anyone right now. But I knew I couldn’t, Lucy. I knew from her scent that it was her before she even spoke.

“Judy?” She spoke softly. “Are you okay?”

I took a deep breath before flushing the toilet and standing up. I unlocked and opened the door, pulling it open only to meet Lucy’s concerned gaze. Without a warning, she’s rushing into the bathroom, a worried glint in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” She asked me, turning to look at me. “I saw you running through the room like something was on fire. What happened?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but then she crinkled her eyes.

“Did you throw up?” She suddenly asked, looking around before her eyes landed on the toilet. “You got sick? Have you been sick this whole time?”

“No… I mean… kind of,” I told her, my cheeks flushing. “I’m not really sure what’s wrong. I think it’s just a stomach bug. It’s nothing to be too worried about. I think I just need to drink some water or something.”

“Nonsense. I’ll talk to Sampson. I want to take you to the pack hospital.”

My face paled at the mention of a hospital.

“No, that’s not necessary. The doctors of this pack have enough to worry about right now. With the new threat out there and the lives that are at risk, they don’t need to worry about me over a stomach bug.”

Lucy defiantly folded her arms across her chest.

“You can’t go on post with a stomach bug, Judy,” she told me. “You know this, as does Marlo and Sampson.”

I knew she was right, and I hated that she was. I took a deep breath and let my shoulders slump.

“Okay,” I breathed. “But I really don’t want to make a big deal out of this. Maybe they can give me something for the stomach bug, and I’ll be on my way.”

She nodded, holding up her hand.

“I promise,” she assured me. “We’ll be in and out if it’s nothing.”

Not before long, we were standing in front of Sampson and asking him for a short leave so I could go to the hospital. He granted it, agreeing with Lucy.

Of course, he didn’t allow us to just go to the hospital unprotected; a few of his Gammas accompanied us. I was grateful that Lucy was with me the entire time. She refused to let me go through this alone. She could tell I was nervous, and it made me feel better that she was standing by my side.

The nurse walked into the waiting room after what felt like an eternity of us waiting.

“Judy Montague,” the nurse called out.

I stood to my feet, though I felt numb. I could barely feel my legs as I walked through the waiting room and towards the waiting nurse. Her smile widened when she noticed me, and she motioned for me to walk with her.

Lucy stayed closely behind me as we stepped through the doors and down the long hallway. Not before long after, we were stepping into the hospital room.

“Put that gown on and pee in this cup,” The nurse instructed, handing me a cup.

I frowned at it.

“What for?” I asked, glancing at her.

“It’s procedure, ‘she replied without hesitation.

Soon, the nurse was leaving, and my heart was racing. Lucy found a comfortable seat in the corner of the room. I stepped into the attached bathroom, locking the door behind me.

Once I peed in the cup, I put the cap on and stepped out of the bathroom, my body almost trembling as I placed it on the nightstand beside the bed.

The nurse returned a moment later to collect the pee sample. She said a few words and then left. I stayed seated on the bed with a racing heart. Lucy reached over and gripped my hand, a small smile lighting up her face.

“You’re going to he okay,” she assured me. “Just breathe.”

“Am I that obvious?” I asked, trying my best at a laugh, but she could see right through me.

“Kind of,” she admitted. “It’s all over your face.”

There were no words left to speak; I wanted to say something, but I wasn’t sure what. We stayed in a comfortable silence for a long while. It didn’t take long for Lucy to continue her normal banter as if nothing was wrong. Not long after, a doctor was walking into the room.

He greeted me and introduced himself as Dr. Oliver. I wasn’t sure if that was his first name or last name, but he seemed kind enough. He had a chart in his hands, and he scanned it briefly before his gaze lifted to mine.

“Well, I have results for you, and I have good news. It’s not a stomach bug,” he told me. I let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness, because there was no way I would be able to work with a stomach bug. Now, I just need some medicine to fix whatever is wrong with me so I can get back to work.

“Great,” I said, my voice coming out breathy as I slid down from the table. “Just prescribe me something that’ll help, and I’ll be on my way.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that either,” he said, holding up his hand. “You may not be ill, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an underlying issue.”

I frowned, not sure what he meant.

“I don’t understand.”

“It might be hard to uphold your job in your current position,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me, his eyes scanning me from head to toe.

“My position?” I asked, my voice coming out as barely a whisper.

He nodded.

“Yes,” he replied. “Your condition. Miss Montague… you’re pregnant.”