Chapter 341

Judy’s POV

“Where are we going?” I asked as Gavin put his hand on the small of my back and guided me through the crowd.

His face was serious, and I felt the tension rising within him; yet, I felt a twinge of determination as well. Whatever he was planning, I knew it was coming together right now.

“We are going to pay for what we bid for,” he told me, keeping his tone low.

I decided to just trust him and keep my mouth shut; I knew he would never allow Levi to do that with the Moon Gem. That was the whole point of us being here in the first place; if he was confident that he could get it back, then I had to believe him.

I swallowed down the words I wanted to say and followed him into a back room where Edward waited. He was standing behind a counter with a few items on it, including the necklace that Gavin won.

Edward looked up from the papers he was reading and gave Edward a polite smile with a quick bow to his head.

“Alpha, I have the invoices ready for you,” he told him. “Are you ready now?”

“Yes,” Gavin replied.

Not long before, Levi and Lila were joining us as well. Lila looked smug as ever as she clung to Levi’s side.

“I’m ready to pay for my bids now,” Levi announced, holding up a black Amex.

“Yes, Alpha,” Edward said as he readied both invoices for payment.

“You may go first,” Gavin said, his tone cool and collected. I looked up at him, wondering what it was he was doing, but I kept my tongue between my teeth, not wanting to interrupt what was happening.

Levi smirked at Gavin and stepped forward.

“Don’t mind if I do… oh, and if anything happens with your payments, I’ll make sure to pay for yours as well,” Levi said, his smirk only growing across his face.

Gavin didn’t make any remarks in return; his eyes darkened slightly, but that was about it.

Edward looked uncomfortable in the middle of this situation, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. I was uncomfortable, too; I don’t think either of us knew what was going on. Obviously, Edward knew that there was some kind of ulterior motive, considering Gavin asked him to delay the payment process until the end of the banquet. But I doubted he knew the exact reason as to why. I didn’t understand it either, but I trusted Gavin, and I knew he had a good reason.

Edward typed something on the small device he was carrying, which I assumed processed the payments.

He took Levi’s black card and stuck it in the machine. For a moment, I felt Gavin’s tension; he was nervous and hiding it well. I looked up at him and saw that his expression was indifferent, despite the fact that his Adam’s apple bobbed from his swallow.

After a second, Edward’s expression shifted, and he was confused. He removed the card, glanced at it, and then tried the payment again.

I furrowed my brows and then glanced at Levi, who was also staring at him with an intensity so great that it could burn a hole.

“Is there a problem?” Levi asked.

Lila’s smug face shifted as well, and now she was looking a little worried as she glanced between Edward and Levi.

“Must be a connection issue. Just give me a second,” he said, trying the payment one more time.

After another minute, Edward’s face paled.

“The machine must be broken. This isn’t making any sense,” Edward said, a light and nervous laugh escaping his lips.

I thought for a second that I heard his laugh echo, like it was coming from somewhere else, but I quickly brushed the thought out of my head. It was just my nerves talking; I was hearing things.

“Try it again,” Levi said through his teeth, his face reddening with rage.

Once again, it sounded like an echo.

The distant sounds of the party were also silenced. Maybe there was a doorway that closed, and the back room was just soundproof.

I glanced up at Gavin, who was staring at Levi now; his brows raised.

“How about we try it again,” Gavin said, nodding. “There must be some kind of mistake.”

I furrowed my brows at him; did I hear amusement in his tone? Did he do something to Levi’s Amex card that’s making it not work?

Levi, who didn’t notice his change of tone, nodded, his eyes remaining on Edward.

“Yes, try it again!” Levi ordered, his voice booming.

Now I was certain I heard an echo.

Was it the room?

I looked around; it was a fairly small space, but I guess it could echo.

Looking at Gavin again, I saw his attention was shifted in a different direction. I frowned and followed his gaze, my eyes growing large when I saw Taylor around the corner with his phone pointed at Levi.

Was he recording what was happening?

When did he get here?

Edward swallowed as he stuck the card into the machine again; I could tell he was praying to the moon goddess that it worked, but once again, his face grew even whiter if that was possible.

He pulled the card out and stared at it with disbelief.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha. I suppose we are having technical problems,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Try mine,” Gavin said, handing over his own black Amex card.

Edward looked panicked for a moment; his eyes on the card and then at Gavin’s cool expression. He was worried about pissing off more than one Lycan; I could practically see his anxiety rolling off him in waves.

But Gavin’s expression was almost calming despite the situation, and Edward took in a deep breath before nodding.

“Okay,” he relented, taking a hold of Gavin’s card.

Levi scoffed, his hold on Lila getting firmer, and she wiggled out of his grip.

“Ouch,” she huffed. “What the hell is going on?” I heard her asking him.

“Shut up,” he said through his teeth. He was trying to be quiet and not cause a scene, but I could tell he was furious about what was going on.

Edward told Gavin the grand total before hesitantly and nervously putting the card in the same machine.

Just then, Edward’s eyes lit up, and a relieved look washed over him as the receipt printed out.

“Well, that worked,” Edward said, ripping the receipt off and stepping forward.

“W…what?” Levi asked, his eyes narrowed and anger flaring in them. “How is that possible?”

I wasn’t sure if he meant to say that part out loud, but he did, and it made Edward raise his brows.

“Well, he’s incredibly wealthy,” Edward explained.

“Check my card again,” Levi growled, his face red with rage.

This time, Gavin was smirking.

I knew he did something, but I was confused as to what and how he managed to pull this off so quickly.

Edward cleared his throat.

“Very well, Alpha,” Edward said, this time, less nervous because now he knew whatever happened next, it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t the machine… it was Levi.

He stuck the card in the machine once again and waited for a moment. Then his eyes shifted to Levi’s face.

“Sorry, Alpha. Your card is being declined.”

I hadn’t realized Taylor had walked out of the corner of the room; his phone was still pointed at Levi. But when he spoke, it was menacingly.

“Alpha Gavin, there have been some strange transactions being attempted on your account,” Taylor said, his eyes finding Gavin’s, a knowing glint in his eyes. “I have received reports of fragrant transactions. The card is being declined for your safety.”

Gavin nodded at Taylor.

“Thank you… I’ll have to look into it.”

“W…what the hell is going on?” Levi asked, his eyes shifting from Gavin to Taylor.

Ignoring Levi, Taylor continued.

“There’s no need, Alpha. I took the liberty of looking into it already. It seems your account has been tied to a different card, and some of your funds have been transferred to an account that wasn’t in your name. Thankfully, we caught it soon enough and were able to stop any transactions from going through.”

“And what card was attached to my account?” Gavin asked.

At that point, I saw a couple of other figures standing where Taylor had just come from. They hadn’t made themselves known yet, but my eyes grew large when I recognized them.

Alpha Mica and Alpha Jeremy, the other two lycans. I remember meeting them at the Gamma competitions.

Holy shit.

I looked up at Gavin and realized he was playing a part right now. He clearly knew this information, and they were performing for what? An audience? The echo made sense now… were they livestreaming this for the entire banquet??

Taylor read the last 4 digits of the card that was in the file.

“Give me my Amex back now,” Levi said, gesturing for Edward. Now he was sweating and nervous; he even looked incredibly pale.

Edward glanced back down at the card, his eyes growing wide.

“That’s… this card?” Edward said, his eyes shifting from Levi to Gavin.

“You don’t say…” Gavin murmured; his eyes narrowed at Levi. “Now… why would Levi’s card be on my account?”

Without warning, Levi snatched the card from Edward and was about to make a run for it, but the only exit was blocked by large gammas that I hadn’t noticed before, and Levi’s face paled completely when he saw Mica and Jeremy approaching.

“I guess there will be time for questions later,” Mica said, folding his arms across his chest. “But for right now… Alpha Levi Churchill… you are under arrest. “