Chapter 34

Gavin’s POV

“Remind me again why we are rushing to your Villa, Alpha?” Taylor asked, peering at me through the rearview mirror with a pointed look.

I ignored his look and kept my gaze fixed out the window.

“We aren’t rushing,” I murmured.

“As soon as the meeting was over, you ran out of the packhouse,” he reminded me, his brows raised.

“Just focus on the road and not on my business, Beta,” I said through my teeth, my Alpha aura shining brightly.

Taylor looked at me for a second longer before smirking and staring out the front window.

“Yes, sir,” he murmured. The humor in his tone did not go unnoticed by me though. I scowled, but I said nothing more as we reached the villa.

Taylor parked the car outside of the front entrance and I quickly got out. I straightened my suit before clearing my throat and nodding my thanks to Taylor. I could see him through the window, corking his brow at me, but I ignored him. I turned and walked into the villa. Adam stood at the doorway, bowing his greeting as he often did when I returned home.

He was still being punished for his actions of spreading that lie about Judy, so he wasn’t authorized to speak in my presence right now. It would do him well to remember that.

I ignored him and walked straight into the villa, walking down the hallway until I reached the parlor where I knew Matt would be working on his homework. I paused outside of the door when I heard a breathy whisper and what almost sounded like a panicked whimper. My brows furrowed; I could smell Judy from the other side of the door, but I couldn’t smell Matt in the room with her. In fact, it seemed his scent was so faint, that he hadn’t been in this room for some time.

But there was a familiar scent that I knew all too well. I scowled and I felt a low growl emerging from my throat as I burst through the doorway, only to find Judy pressed against the wall, pinned between the wall and Ethan’s body.

His lips were pressed against the nape of her neck and her eyes were closed for only a brief moment. When she heard the door opening, her eyes swung open, and I watched as the color drained from her face.

“What the hell is going on here?” I asked, my voice booming across the parlor.

Ethan’s entire body froze when he heard my voice, and he immediately released his hold on Judy. Her cheeks were burning red, and the second Ethan released her, she had her arms wrapped around her body like she was trying to hold herself together.

Ethan looked as if he was about to say something, but I didn’t give him the chance; I grabbed his collar and shoved him against the wall, hard. The wall cracked from the force and Ethan winced in pain. He might have Alpha blood, but he was no match for a Lycan.

“How dare you betray my daughter's trust like that. Betraying her is the same as betraying me and you won’t like what I do to those who betray me,” I threatened through my teeth.

He was visibly shaking now, and I got sick satisfaction knowing I was making him sweat.

“I swear… nothing happened, Alpha,” Ethan said as his entire body trembled.

I gripped his throat and squeezed; his face turned a bright shade of red as he struggled to breathe. “It didn’t look like nothing,” I hissed. “Do you take me as a fool??!”

“N… no sir,” he stammered.

“Gavin, it’s not what it looked like,” I heard Judy saying from behind me.

“And you think I’m going to take your word for it?” I asked, my eyes burning into Ethan’s face. “You promised you wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize this pending marriage, and I catch you pressed against the wall with my daughter's fiancé.”

I kept my voice low, knowing my daughter was only in the kitchen; I could smell her scent from here.

“Irene would be crushed if she found out about this,” I said through my teeth.

I felt Judy’s hand on my back, a spark of some kind shot through my body, and I almost released Ethan. He was still struggling to breathe and silently begging for some kind of relief.

“It didn’t mean anything,” Judy said, her voice soft. “Please, let him go. Irene would be upset if anything were to happen to him.”

I knew she was right; regardless of the situation, I knew Irene would never forgive me if I hurt Ethan. I thought about the last time I told her I didn’t approve of her relationship with him, and she threatened her own life. She held a knife to her own throat, and I could see the fire and passion burning in her eyes; she would have done it if I hadn’t intervened and accepted Ethan as her lover.

The effect this asshole had on her made me sick; I didn’t know what she saw in him, and I don’t know what Judy saw in him either.

I released Ethan and he fell to the ground, coughing and rubbing his aching throat. I knew the red marks on his neck wouldn’t last; he had Alpha blood, which meant he could heal faster than common werewolves.

“Leave my sight,” I told him, motioning with my head towards the kitchen. “And stay away from Miss Montague going forward; do I make myself clear?”

Ethan nodded, his eyes dark and I could see that he was pissed, but he was biting his tongue.

“Yes, Alpha,” he rasped out.

He quickly left the parlor and went into the kitchen. Judy stood her ground, her eyes finding mine, searching for something … but I wasn’t sure what.

“Are you proud of yourself?” I asked her; I couldn’t help but look at her with disgust. “Was that your goal? To prove that you still had him in the palm of your hand?”

She blinked at me.

“Are you serious?” She asked, raising her brows. “I didn’t ask for that to happen. He attacked me; he kept me pressed against the wall despite my efforts to get him to release me. He wouldn’t let me go.”

“And you expect me to believe that?” I asked, shaking my head. “It seems every time I turn my back, you and Ethan find your way back to each other. Is that a coincidence?”

She pressed her lips together and stared into my eyes.

“I didn’t ask for that to happen, nor did I want it to happen,” she said slowly. “But you can think what you want.”

She started to walk away but I grabbed her arm.

“We aren’t done here—”

Just as I was about to say more, the door swung open, and Irene walked in with Ethan and Matt behind her. She paused when she saw us and she frowned, staring between the two of us before her eyes landed on my hand still wrapped around Judy’s forearm.

“Am I interrupting something?” She asked, raising her brows.

I released Judy’s arm as if she had just burned me.

“No,” I said sharply. “We were just talking. Is everything okay?”

Irene bit her lip and then nodded.

“The dinner was burnt pretty badly,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “The maids said they can cook another meal for us, but it’ll take some time to prepare.”

“Tell them not to bother. We can just go out to dinner tonight,” I told her.

Her eyes grew large, and she glanced over her shoulder at Matt who was bouncing in his shoes excitedly.

“Like a family dinner?” Matt asked.

I nodded; it’s been a while since I took my family out to a meal in public. It would be a nice change; I suppose by default, I’d have to take Ethan as well though.

“That’s a great idea,” Irene said, a sweet smile on her lips. “Judy, you should come too. You haven’t eaten all day, and you must be hungry.”

Judy frowned as she looked at each of us; we all stared back at her, waiting on a response. I knew she was going to try and get out of this though. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck at a dinner table with the Landry family and her ex.

“No, it—”

“Yes, Judy will come along as well,” I said, interrupting her before she could decline the invitation. Judy gawked at me.

“I should be getting home…”

“You need to eat,” I told her firmly. “It’s just dinner, Judy.”

She looked as if she wanted to protest, but Matt eagerly ran to Judy and wrapped his arms around her legs. He immediately started to babble about how excited he was about this outing.

We went to an Italian restaurant in the Silver Crescent pack; Irene gave Judy one of her dresses to wear so she wasn’t underdressed. I hated how much skin she was showing, but I hated even more how beautiful she was. Her long slender legs drew my attention when she walked and when she leaned forward in her seat, her cleavage nearly spilled out of the gown. I swallowed the lump in my throat, my Adam’s apple moving slightly.

She was seated beside me, and Matt was seated on the other side of me. Irene and Ethan were seated in front of us, and Ethan was directly in front of Judy. I couldn’t help but notice him looking in her direction periodically and Judy did everything she could t avoid his eyes. Curiosity got the better of me and I wondered what was truly going on between the two of them.

Irene was completely oblivious of the tension between her fiancé and his ex. She kept sipping on her wine and nibbling on the breadsticks, mindlessly listening to Matt talk about what a badass Judy was during their sparring practice.

The waiter soon arrived with our meals, which silenced Matt.

Judy slowly started to eat her chicken parm and she let out a soft moan as she tasted the food. The sound immediately went straight to my cock, and I cursed under my breath.

Damn her!

“Dad, are you okay?” Irene observed from across the table. “You seem off.”

I forced a smile and said, “I’m fine. Just eat your food.”

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, and then her attention was taken off me when Ethan brought a meatball to her lips. She smiled at him and bit into the meatball off his fork, chuckling as sauce got on her cheek. He wiped off the sauce with his finger and then licked it off.

I glanced at Judy who was watching them as well, her jaw tight. I couldn’t help myself, I leaned toward her and whispered, “Don’t they make such a nice couple? Let’s not ruin it for them, okay?”