Chapter 347

Gavin’s POV

Judy’s speech was incredible and well thought out… though I knew it stirred some deep emotions within her. I could see the look on her face when she spoke about having a joint wedding. There was a nagging feeling inside of me because I couldn’t give that to her. Even if there was time… I wouldn’t have given that to her. Not because I didn’t want to get married, but because when I do marry her, I want our wedding to be all about us and nobody else. I want to look my wife in the eyes and tell her I love her in front of a room full of people who were there to celebrate our joining.

For a long time, I told myself I would never get married again. I said that I would never take another mate again… but that changed after I marked Judy and discovered that she was my second chance mate. Everything changed since that moment; she was the mother of my future baby and the woman I planned to spend the rest of my life with.

I was momentarily stunned with Judy randomly got up and ran out of the room after her speech, so I hadn’t had much time to think about it. I just stared after her… she went in the direction of the bathrooms.

I quickly hurried after my pregnant mate, not bothering to knock on the women’s room door before I entered. I locked the door behind me as I made my way through each stall until I heard her soft sobs and gagging sounds. I paused outside the stall door and leaned against it.

“Judy, unlock the door,” I told her, keeping my tone calm.

“I don’t want you to seem like this way,” she said, before I heard her vomiting again.

“You’re my mate… I want to see you every way that I can,” I told her. “Please, unlock the door.”

After a pause, I heard the soft clicking of the stall door, and I pushed it open. There wasn’t enough room to fit us both comfortably, so I kept the door open as I knelt behind her.

Her hair had loosened from its hold, so I pulled it out of her face to keep it from getting vomit all within it. Her face was pale, and her dress had wet blotches on the front of t from her drool.

“This is so embarrassing,” Judy sobbed, with makeup smears all over her face. “I’m such a mess…”

“You’re beautiful,” I said, before much thought.

She looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes narrowed.

“You’re a fool,” she replied. “Look at me…”

“I am looking at you,” I said to her. “I see you and you are beautiful…”

“Judy?” I heard Irene’s voice coming from the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”

Judy sighed and leaned against the stall wall. I reached around the flushed the toilet, hating that my mate was in this position… I wanted to take away the pain and make her feel better.

“I’m humiliated,” Judy murmured. “I hate this…”

“I don’t think anyone other than the wedding party noticed,” she assured her, stepping closer. “I brought some supplies…. Some makeup… toothbrush and toothpaste, along with mouthwash. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Thank you,” Judy said as she stood to her feet.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“My stomach is empty, so there’s nothing left to vomit,” she said with a slight shrug.

I kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” I assured her.

She nodded, and I left her in the bathroom in the care of my daughter. When I returned to the reception, they were about to cut the cake.

“How’s Judy?” Nan asked as I approached.

“She’s fine. She’ll be out soon,” I told her.

She nodded.

“We should wait to cut the cake,” Nan said, glancing at Chester.

“She wouldn’t want you to put your wedding on hold for her. It might make her feel worse,” I said, looking between the two of them. “Just resume and she will join us soon.”

Judy returned just as they finished cutting the cake; Nan was quick to apologize, but Judy waved off her concern. Judy looked gorgeous, and I was impressed with Irene’s quick handwork.

After a while, I got to talking to Sampson and a few others who were there. Most of the mates were on the dance floor dancing, and that was when I noticed Judy wasn’t amongst them. Frowning, I looked around, not liking that I dind’t know where my mate was. My wolf quickly caught her scent, and we followed it through the reception until we reached the balcony.

Judy stood over the terrace; her eyes fixated on the city below and her hands gently holding the railing. She looked almost peaceful, and it was clear that she was lost in thought.

I thought at that moment, she had never looked more beautiful; even if her hair was still slightly a mess, and despite the makeup, her cheeks were flushed from her earlier vomiting session. Not to mention the stain on her dress that Irene wasn’t able to recover.

She hadn’t noticed me coming… or if she did, she didn’t make it known.

I closed the balcony door behind me, the music and chatter from the reception quieting as the shut door blocked out the sound. I stepped behind her, my fingers grazing her hips, making her jerk slightly.

“Hey…” she said, her voice coming out softer than usual. “I just stepped out here to get some air. I hope I didn’t worry you.”

“I’m always worried when I don’t have my eyes on you,” I admitted. She leaned back into me, resting her body weight against mine as if she could no longer manage it on her own. I was okay with that, though; I wanted to hold her up when she couldn’t hold herself. I wanted to be her rock… I wanted to be her everything.

The way the moonlight cascaded its rays down on her fair complexion made her shine in a way that took my breath away.

I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear without taking my eyes off hers. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

And yet, I could still see the vulnerability and insecurity behind her gaze.

“You have no idea how beautiful you look right now, do you?” I asked, my voice a low whisper,

She raised her brows at me, and I could see she was about to say something about the stain on her dress or the fact that her hair and makeup were ruined despite Irene’s efforts, but I stopped her before she could.

“Don’t,” I said, a little too sharply. “Don’t do that. Don’t look at me like I’m crazy… like you’re anything less than the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. Tonight, I sat there helplessly and watched you crumble in that bathroom. I held your hair and rubbed your back while you got sick… I watched you sob and shake, thinking you were breaking in front of my eyes. But you weren’t breaking… nothing could ever break you. You’re the strongest woman I have ever known, Judy.”

She turned around my arms, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.

“I don’t feel very strong tonight,” she admitted, her tone coming out weak.

I pressed my forehead against hers.

“That’s okay,” I whispered. “I can be strong for both of us. You give me strength every day… even when I’m not near you, you still give me strength. For once, let me give you strength. Let me be your anchor…”

“Gavin—”

“In your speech earlier, you mentioned that in your childhood, you wanted a joint wedding with your best friend,” I said, cutting off whatever she was about to say. She blinked up at me, surprised, but after a moment, she nodded slowly.

“I did say that, yes,” she confirmed.

“It got me thinking that I could never give you that,” I admitted, hating how her face fell a little and the light dimmed from her eyes. “I could never give you the wedding you wanted as a child…”

She nodded.

“I know…” she said, her voice coming out as a broken whisper.

She was trying to hide away her pain, but I could feel it because of our mate bond. I could feel it as if it were my own. She looked away for a moment; holding my gaze had become too painful.

“I could never give you that wedding because when I marry you, Judy, I want that day to be all about us,” I told her, dipping my head to capture her eyes again. “I would never want to share that moment with anyone else. When I marry you, it won’t be at the tail end of someone else’s vows. It's our day. Just you. Just me. Because you deserve every bit of it.”

Her breathing got caught in her throat as she sucked in sharp breath; realization dawning on her.

“Gavin…” she whispered, her eyes holding mine steady.

I dipped my head lower, capturing her lips with mine, tasting her because I couldn’t stand not tasting her for a second longer. My tongue slid across her bottom lip, and she parted her mouth to let me in, but I didn’t accept the invitation because I wasn’t done yet.

I stopped the kiss, smiling when she made a small, distressed sound from the loss of contact.

“You healed parts of me that I didn’t think could heal. You filled me with something that I thought died a long time ago,” I whispered against her lips. “You filled my house with life and laughter after it’s been empty for so long. You thawed a heart that was kept frozen and turned my house into a home again.”

Tears spilled from her cheeks, and her lips trembled. I kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling back.

I put my hands on her rounded belly, feeling our baby between us.

“And now you are giving me and my family the greatest gift we could ever ask for,” I told her. “You are giving us hope for a better future… You are completing our family.”

“I love you,” she whispered, her tone quivering. “And your children.”

I smiled down at her, my heart swelling with so much love I thought it was going to burst. I pulled away from her even more, my arms dropped from her waist, and she frowned at the loss of contact as her hands fell to her sides as well. I reached into my suit pocket, pulling something out that’s been weighing me down all night.

I wasn’t sure when the right moment for this would be; I had this ring picked out for weeks, and so many times I had wanted to give it to her, but none of those moments felt right.

At least not until now.

Her eyes grew large when she saw the black velvet box in my hands, and when I opened it, her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped.

“Marry me,” I said it as a command, though it was actually a question. “Let me spend every day proving to you that even when you’re a mess, even when life gets hard, and complicated and messy, you’ll never stop being one of the most extraordinary things that’s ever happened to me. I want you as my Luna, my mate, the mother of my children… and as my wife.”