Chapter 306

Judy’s POV

“Do you trust me?”

A seemingly simple question, and the answer came out of my mouth without hesitation. Because everything, despite our uprise and downfall… I did trust him. My entire being trusted him.

When I told him as such, he closed the gap between us and kissed me so deeply that it took my entire breath away. I was putty in his hands, and he knew he had me exactly where he wanted me. As he kissed me, he put his hands on my belly, caressing it gently, and I melted even more against him. If it wasn’t for his arm being wrapped around my waist, I probably would have fallen to the ground from how weak my knees suddenly got.

He smiled against my lips, nipping at my bottom lip, and the sound of a throat clearing brought us back to the present moment. I was flushed and red in the face when we finally pulled apart. I was aware we still had a lot to talk about; I mean, Gavin did say some things that hurt my feelings and made me wary about whatever future he saw between us… If he even saw a future with me outside of this baby… those wounds he opened couldn’t be healed this quickly. Though I was grateful that he was here and he saved me… I was also eager to get home, especially knowing that the remaining packmates were coming with us.

“We should get back to the pack,” I told them, touching my swollen lips and fighting the smile that threatened to spread across my face.

Lucy nodded in agreement, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Or what’s left of the pack,” she whispered brokenly. “It’s so bad there, Judy…”

My heart broke for my new friends; I hated that they had lost their home, and we had no idea why.

“Are there any leads about who started this? An attack like this doesn’t just happen,” I told them, looking between Gavin and Sampson. Surely one of them knows something.

“We aren’t sure,” Sampson said. “But clearly it was an inside job. I have someone coming to take care of Spencer’s body.”

“He left the coordinates around rogue territories, and word traveled around to different regions of the world,” Gavin explained. “I got the information out of him just before I killed him. Apparently, Beta Ron is his uncle.”

My mouth dropped.

“His uncle??” I gasped. “I don’t understand…”

“He played you, baby girl,” Gavin said, his eyes finding mine. “He was never your friend. He was working with the enemy. I’m not entirely sure what their game plan is, but it’s clear that both Ron and Levi are involved. In that case, this pack is no longer safe for anybody.”

My heart shattered.

“Alpha Levi?” I asked, my head still trying to wrap around this new information. “Why would he want to destroy this pack after he just brought me here?”

Gavin looked at me for a long while, and I could see the questions in his own eyes.

“That’s what I want to figure out, too,” he admitted. “But we do need to get back. The planes will be here shortly to gather us. I got word from Taylor earlier that there’s a security breach in the Silver Crescent pack, and he’s blind to the borders. He’s worried there will be an attack or takeover. Our personal information has been leaked, and he’s in the process of trying to track it.”

I raised my brows.

“A security breach? That never happens in our territory,” I said, my brows furrowed.

“Do you think it’s related?” Sampson asked, his brows also furrowed. “It’s odd that we’d be having issues, requesting your assistance, and then suddenly your pack is having issues while you and most of your gammas are away… it was almost this whole thing here has been…” His voice trailed off as he thought more about what he was saying.

“A distraction,” Gavin finished for him, a growl to his words.

Sampson nodded.

“Yeah,” he replied.

I could see the fury and anger in Gavin’s eyes, and it made me take a step back for a minute.

“Let’s go,” Gavin said through his teeth as he walked from the Cabin.

Lucy sniffled and wiped at her red and puffy eyes, her bottom lip trembling as Sampson wrapped his arms around her protectively. It made my heart squeeze; sure, I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, and these people have become part of my heart. But for Lucy, this was everything she knew… it was everything she was. She grew up here, she found love and flourished… she had best friends and family… this was her entire life. This pack was her home, and she lost it today. I felt awful that she was so upset, and I wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but I knew it would only be a lie. Nothing would be okay for her again, and we were all aware of that fact.

We got into Sampson’s car and drove back to the pack… or what was left of the pack. They weren’t joking; the entire pack was in ruins. The only thing left was the packhouse, which was surprisingly untouched. I spotted Gavin’s gamma patrolling the area, and Greggor jumped out to join them. There were a couple of Sampson’s gammas as well, and I feared that was all that was left.

My heart thudded against my chest, breaking with each thud. I had to choke back a sob as I looked at it all; it might have been a small pack, but it was a gorgeous one.

Because there was no pack, the planes that Taylor sent to us didn’t bother using the launch pad at the air station. They landed directly in the center of the pack grounds, waiting for us to board.

We pulled into the packhouse and got out. Gavin was already on the phone with Taylor as we entered the packhouse. There was a group of packmates, most I recognized from my couple of weeks here. They all looked so sad and miserable. They were crying and hanging onto each other like their lives depended, because maybe it did.

Lucy went to join them, despite her own turmoil; she was trying hard to keep them calm and give them reassuring words. I admired her for that; she was a great Luna, and Sampson was lucky to have her by his side.

Gavin returned a few minutes later after he ended the phone call with Taylor.

“Let’s get everyone on the planes,” he told Sampson, who nodded in agreement.

“I need to pack some stuff,” Lucy said, wrapping her arms around her body.

Sampson nodded.

“Me too; we’ll go upstairs together. I don’t want you out of my sight,” he told her.

He took her hand and together, they disappeared up the spiral staircase to their bedroom.

I looked at Gavin, who was checking something on his phone, with a crease between his brows.

“Is everything okay?” I asked him, my voice coming out a bit weaker than intended.

“Rogues have been spotted outside of the Silver Crescent pack,” he told me, making my heart drop into my stomach. “There’s no attack yet, but there might be in the near future. Rogue spotting is a rarity in our region, and it has everyone on edge.”

I thought about my own family and friends suffering the way that this pack had suffered, and a sense of dread fell upon me. I placed my hand on my belly; a protective instinct argued with the gamma in me. I wanted to do what I could to protect my friends and family, but I would also do anything to protect my baby.

“Is it safe to go back?” I asked.

“It’s safer there than it is here for right now,” he told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I’m not going to let anything happen to my pack, or to you, Judy. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

I nodded, though, that didn’t ease the dread that I felt.

Within the hour, Lucy and Sampson were walking down the stairs with their bags, their gammas quickly taking them and bringing them to the planes, which were almost completely boarded with packmates and Gammas.

“I can’t believe we are leaving the only home we’ve ever known,” she whispered. “What’s going to happen to us?”

I looked at Gavin, wondering if he had a solution, and the calmness that played on his face showed me that he did have a solution.

“Actually, it was something I wanted to talk to Sampson about,” Gavin said, his eyes finding Sampson. “But we have a pack that is in need of an Alpha. Their last Alpha passed away a few years ago, and I’ve been the active Alpha since. We’ve basically combined my home pack with this pack.”

“It hasn’t had an Alpha in a few years?” Sampson asked, his brows furrowed.

I thought it was strange as well that Gavin never appointed another Alpha. Of course, there had been candidates and Alphas all over who didn’t already have packs and had gone to Gavin, requesting a chance to take over the Redmoon pack. He entertains them for a bit, but at the end of the day, they get rejected. Ethan was the longest one he’s entertained, and that was only because Ethan was engaged to Irene.

Nobody seemed good enough to be the sole Alpha of the Redmoon pack, so Gavin combined the two packs, making the Redmoon pack part of the Silver Crescent pack.

I looked up at Gavin as he nodded at Sampson.

“I haven’t had anyone worthy of being one of my Alphas,” he explained. “Until now. What do you say? I know it’s not a replacement for what you had lost, but it’s a start. If you pledge yourself to me and break ties with Alpha Levi, you are more than welcome to come to the Redmoon pack and be their Alpha.”