Chapter 278

Judy’s POV

“Pregnant?!” Both Lucy and I nearly shouted at the same time. It startled the doctor, who looked between us with a frown.

“Y…yes,” he stammered. “You are, in fact, pregnant. Of course, there are options. You don’t need to decide anything right now, but I know you just got here and are a part of the Elite Force. I doubt they’d let you continue working on the force if they knew you were pregnant.”

“Are you saying I could get fired from my job?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “I worked hard to get this position. How would it look if I got fired??”

“Don’t worry, you’re not going to get fired,” Lucy said stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest. “This is a minor setback.”

“As I said, there are options,” the doctor said, his brows pinched together. He rummaged through his stuff and pulled out a brochure. When he handed it to me, I saw the big words on the front of it, and my heart stopped.

Abortion.

Was he seriously suggesting that I abort my baby?

Was that something I was even capable of doing?

I was pregnant… with an actual baby. A living and breathing baby.

I thought back to the last time I had sex; it was over a month ago now. Maybe almost 2 months. It was that night with Gavin…

Oh Goddess… Gavin.

My hands immediately went to my belly, and my entire body trembled.

I was carrying Gavin Landry’s baby.

“As I said, there are options,” the doctor continued as he tried to hand me the brochure; I just stared at it, refusing to move to take it. He was about to say something more, but Lucy grabbed the brochure, her eyes narrowed.

“Really?” She asked, her brows pinched together. “Abortion? That’s the option you’re giving her right now?”

“If she wants to remain on the Elite Force, it’s the best option.”

I knew he was right; if I wanted to continue on this career path, I couldn’t be pregnant. There was no way they’d let me do my job while carrying a baby, and then what about afterwards? How could I commit 100 percent to the force when I have a baby at home? Plus, who would take care of the baby while I’m working?

My nerves were getting the best of me; my heart hammered in my chest.

What was worse… Gavin didn’t want me. There was no way he was going to want this baby. It would ruin his entire life; he was already a father to Irene and Matt; did he even want any more kids?

Who was I kidding? Even if he did want kids… he didn’t want them with me.

I suddenly felt sick tom my stomach again.

I didn’t realize that the doctor had left the room until Lucy was standing in front of me with a concerned look on her face. She must have told the doctor to leave.

“Judy, talk to me,” Lucy said, her voice soft and compassionate. “I had no idea you were seeing someone…”

My cheeks flushed.

“I’m not seeing anyone,” I blurted. “It was a one-night stand.”

“A one-night stand?” Lucy asked slowly, like she was testing the words on her tongue. “That doesn’t seem like you…”

“It was a drunken night,” I said quickly. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Well, it is now,” Lucy said, raising her brows. “You are pregnant with his baby. Are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t even know his name,” I lied, hating that my face was betraying me right now. I could feel how hot my face was, which meant Lucy could see the redness in my cheeks.

“We have some of the best resources in the world, Judy. We can find him easily. He might want to know that he’s going to be a father, and even so, he should be accountable. If not physically here, he should at least be financially. You shouldn’t be expected to do this on your own if this is what you want. You do have options, but ultimately it is your choice. It’s your body.”

“I’m going to lose my job,” I whispered, my hand splaying over my flat belly. “What am I going to do?”

“You don’t lose your job. You might still need to be put on leave for now. You’ll still get paid. I’ll make sure of it. Let me talk to Sampson and—”

“I’m not ready for him to know yet,” I blurted. “Can we just keep this between us for right now?”

She frowned.

“You want me to lie to my mate?” She asked, almost astonished, her eyes wide.

I flushed at her question.

“Not lie… just don’t tell him. I mean it’s not your story to tell. It’s mine. I’ll tell him I’m ready, I promise. Just don’t say anything. Please, Lucy.”

“That’s kind of a big thing though,” she said, cocking her head. “He’s the Alpha. It’s hard to hide something like that from him.”

“You hide things from him all the time,” I remind her. “Like when you leave the packhouse without guards.”

She rolled her eyes.

“But I don’t expect him not to find out. That’s the fun of it. I love it when he gets all possessive and growly. It’s hot, and the makeup sex is incredible. It’s never malicious, though. I’d never keep something from him that he wouldn’t find out immediately.”

“Lucy, I am asking you as my friend to please let me tell him when I’m ready. That’s all,” I said, my eyes big with worry.

She stared at me for a long while, and then she sighed; I’ve come to know that sigh. She was relenting.

“You have to promise me you’ll tell him soon,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “I’m still Luna, and I worry about you, Judy. I don’t want you putting yourself or your baby at risk by working yourself sick.”

I nodded.

“I promise, I’ll be careful.”

She nodded in return.

After we finished at the doctor’s, we returned to the packhouse with some of the Gammas appointed to keep the Luna safe. Alpha Sampson greeted us; his brows pinched together as he studied me.

“Is everything okay? How was the doctor's appointment?” He asked, folding his arms across his chest as he stared at me.

“It was fine,” I told him a little too quickly. “Just a stomach bug. He gave me some medicine and sent me on my way.”

“So, you’ll be okay to take your post?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

I glanced at Lucy, who kept her eyes averted, before I returned my attention to Sampson’s questioning face.

‘Yes, I’m ready to take my post. I’ll head there now.”

He studied me for a moment longer before nodding, effectively dismissing me.

My post was on the other side of the pack. There was a small wooden perch on top of one of the tallest trees, perfectly hidden in the leaves. That was where my main post was. Before I made the climb, I made sure I had all my supplies. Before entering the forest, I stripped out of my clothes and shifted into my wolf. Her tracking senses were on point, and she could sniff out any lingering threats that may or may not be following or watching. I hadn’t caught anyone yet, but with the threat of the rogues and how they took out so many innocent packmates during the overnight, I wasn’t taking any chances.

I wanted to make sure my post was cleared before I made the climb to my perch. I let my wolf take on full control as we searched the perimeter. Once my wolf deemed the area safe, she relinquished her control back to me. I shifted back into my human form and quickly dressed, putting on my gear as I did so. I stared up at the perch; I was satisfied that I couldn’t see any signs of Spencer, who was currently keeping watch of my post until I relieved him. That meant the perch was still unseen; I couldn’t even smell Spencer, which meant he was using the masking spray.

I sprayed it on myself before I entered the forest to keep myself from being followed. I started to climb the tree with ease; climbing had always been easy for me, even in wolf form, which was a rarity because wolves were not climbers. It was one of the many things that saved me during the competition.

As I broke through the clearing of the treetop, the wooden perch came into view. At first glance, it looked almost empty. But I knew better than that; Spencer wouldn’t just leave the post. I whistled, mimicking a bird, as I neared. It was a soft whistle; it was our secret language.

The whistle returned to me, and I grinned when I saw his hand outstretched for me. I didn’t need his help, but I took it anyway. Spencer, being as strong as he is, pulled me the rest of the way up until I was resting on the wooden perch beside him. He was hidden in the shadows, but his blue eyes, with a hint of gold from his wolf eyes, were shining through.

“Took you long enough,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes as I got myself settled.

“Sorry, I had an incident. Had to go to the pack hospital,” I told him.

His eyes grew wide, and suddenly, he was no longer in the shadow region, but right in front of me.

“Are you okay?” He asked. “What happened?”

Spencer was one of the first guys on the force who actually respected and befriended me. He was kind; he had a large build and shaggy brown hair. He had adorable dimples on his cheeks when he smiled and always had this boyish quality about him, but he was good at his job. He stood up for me when the others rallied around to push me out during their haze. The haze usually lasted a few weeks, but thanks to Spencer and because I proved myself pretty early on, the haze only lasted a few days.

I was grateful to Spencer for his friendship.

“I’m fine. It was just a stomach bug,” I assured him. “But you’re wanted at the packhouse, so you shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

Spencer rolled his eyes.

“They can wait. Seriously, Judy. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded, giving him a bright smile, though I knew it didn’t reach my eyes.

“I’m sure,” I assured him. “Let me get situated. You don’t need to stay any longer. We’ll talk more later.”

He studied me for a long while before he sighed; he draped his fingers through his hair and then gave me a short nod.

“Okay,” he said softly. “I’ll see you later.”

Not before long, I was left alone with my thoughts and a baby in my belly.

What the fuck was I going to do?