Chapter 377

Judy’s POV

The flight home was eerie.

Irene sat in the back of the plane with her earphones on, staring out the window and lost in thought. This was the first moment she hadn’t cried since yesterday, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. I knew she just didn’t want to cry in front of her father, but once she was alone, she would let it all out. Erik and Matt sat together. From the look on Erik’s face, it looked like he wanted to join Irene at the back of the plane, but he was stopping himself.

Matt had fallen asleep about an hour ago, as had Nan, resting her head against Chester’s shoulder. Eliza was reading a book, and Taylor was emailing and getting some work done.

Gavin had been on edge since the masquerade ball yesterday and kept his arm wrapped around me the entire time like he was afraid I would disappear at any moment. I could feel that his wolf was seriously on edge, and I wanted to take away some of that tension, but I knew I couldn’t. Not until we figured out what the hell was going on with me.

“We are going to the hospital when we land,” Gavin said, keeping his voice low and for my ears alone.

I peeked up at him with a frown.

“I told you that’s not necessary. Eliza said I was physically fine and so were the babies,” I reminded him. “I don’t want to waste more of her time with this.”

“You passed out, Judy,” he said, leaving no room for arguments. “Again. I’m not risking you or our baby’s life.”

“But I’m awake now and okay,” I assured him, leaning against him. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

“You have no idea how scary it was for me to see you lying on the ground like that,” Gavin said after a short pause; there was so much emotion in his voice that it tugged at my heart. “And then you wouldn’t wake up… I thought I lost you… Or was losing you.”

“You could never lose me.”

“You know what I mean,” he said sharply. “Your life is not something I’m going to play around with. I already lost one mate to death, I will not lose another. I will not lose you.”

I let out a breath.

“I love you,” I finally settled on, resting my head against his broad shoulder. “I love that you care about and continue to care for me. But I promise you, I’m okay.”

“Something kept you asleep,” he whispered. “Something made you pass out…”

I bit my lip, chewing on it.

He lifted his head from mine and stared at me with furrowed brows.

“What is it?” He asked.

I raised my own brows.

“What?”

“You have that look on your face. Like you’re hiding something.”

“I’m not exactly hiding anything,” I tell him.

“But you aren’t telling me something either,” he said, raising his brows. “What is it? Did you have that dream again?”

“Not exactly,” I say, hesitantly. “I was kind of in a void of darkness and in that void… nothing really mattered. I almost forgot who I was until I heard your voice. I wanted to go to you, but I couldn’t move, I couldn’t open my eyes… all I could say was ‘blood calls to blood.’”

“Is that what you were saying? You were murmuring something, but none of us could figure out what you were saying,” Gavin said, the look of worry crossing his face again.

I nodded.

“Gavin, something is wrong. But I don’t think it’s physical, and I don’t think it’s the baby. It’s me… or something inside of me. I don’t really know how to explain it. But I think the Blackwells have something to do with it.”

“Because of Madam Eloise?”

I nodded, nibbling on my lower lip again.

“She’s been in most of my dreams except for the one last night,” I told him. “And she wouldn’t stop staring at me when we were there. I also swear I heard her say ‘blood calls to blood’, except her mouth wasn’t moving…I have no idea what’s happening, but I want to find out.”

He was quiet for a moment, and his silence made me think that maybe he was the one who was hiding something. My heart lurched at the thought that he could potentially be life-changing for me.

“Gavin,” I say, putting my hand on his, drawing his attention to me. “Do you know something?”

He was still quiet, his eyes finding mine and searching for something on my face, but I wasn’t sure what he was searching for.

“If you know something about me that I don’t, you need to tell me,” I say, my frown deepening.

He let out a breath.

“I don’t know anything,” he said. “If I knew something for sure, of course I would tell you.”

“Then why do you look like you are hiding something?” I asked.

“I was just thinking about something,” he said, shaking his head as if that were enough to shake away the thoughts.

“Thinking about what?”

He sighed.

“You know how I went to see Levi in prison not too long ago?” He asked. When I nodded, he continued. “Well, he might have said something that stuck with me. I played it off like he was lying, but maybe he wasn’t.”

“What did he say?”

“He insinuated that the Moon Gem didn’t belong to Lila,” he told me. “As we found out, the purpose of the gem was to lock away Lila’s birth powers because it was too much for an infant to handle. It was supposed to be given to her when she came of age… her blood would activate the gem and her powers would be restored. However, the gem was stolen by my father years ago and kept locked away in a box that blocked all magic. He lied and said it was a family heirloom passed down for generations and that one day it would be given to me once I took the Alpha title. However, he died before it was ever passed to me, and my mother had kept it this whole time.”

I nodded, already knowing this story.

“But Levi mentioned that the stone hadn’t found its rightful owner yet, despite it being with Lila,” Gavin continued, his frown deepening. “Which would mean that she’s not actually the Blackwell heiress. But that doesn’t make much sense because they all treat her like a daughter.”

“Levi didn’t tell you anything else?” I asked. “Does he suspect that someone else is the heiress?”

He shrugged.

“I’m not sure. Getting that little bit out of him was like pulling teeth,” Gavin murmured. “He won’t tell me anything else.”

“Of course he won’t,” I muttered. “Then maybe we should go directly to the Blackwells and speak with them.”

“No,” Gavin said sharply. “That’s the last thing we are going to do. I don’t want you getting too involved in that family, Judy. I don’t trust them.”

“If they are truly connected to these dreams I’m having, then I’m already involved,” I told him, folding my arms across my chest. “I need to know what’s happening to me, Gavin. I need to fix it so I can stop passing out.”

He was quiet for a long moment.

“I have a meeting with Zachary Blackwell later this week. I’ll see if I can get any information out of him, and I’ll let you know,” he said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. “But you aren’t to return to that manor until I say it’s safe.”

“Okay,” I said, leaning back in my seat.

I knew that was as good as I would get, so I decided not to say anything more about the subject. Besides, a low growl coming from behind me jolted my attention elsewhere. I glanced a few rows back and saw Erik struggling against his wolf; his eyes were flashing between gold and black, not like the normal brown eyes he normally has.

My brows furrowed. Matt was looking up at him worriedly; I knew Matt could handle his own if something were to happen, but I wasn’t going to let it get to that point.

“Matt, come sit here,” I say to him as I quickly stand.

Gavin grabbed my arm.

“Stay here as well, I’ll deal with him,” Gavin said, about to stand up.

I worried what “dealing with him” would entail on Gavin’s part, so I shook my head nd stood up quickly.

“No, let me talk to him. I can see what’s wrong. He won’t hurt me.”

“His wolf is out of control, it looks like… or about to be. I don’t trust him near you or our unborn baby.”

“He’s controlling himself,” I say in return. “Trust me, he won’t hurt me… let me find out what’s wrong and if it’s something I can’t handle or if he tries anything, you’ll be right here to intervene.”

He didn’t look happy about it, but he knew I wouldn’t sit down and let him handle things himself, so he relented, releasing his hold on my arm.

By the time I slipped out of the seat, Matt was standing beside me. He took my place next to his father, and I went straight to Erik, who was catching the seat so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

I sat beside him, hoping my sudden presence would calm him.

“Hey,” I say, touching his arm; he flinched at the touch as if I had hurt him. “What’s going on, Erik?”

“You should go away,” he murmured. “I’m having trouble controlling him. He wants to shift.”

“Why?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

I glanced out the window and could almost see the outline of the Silver Crescent pack. Thankfully, we would be landing soon.

“Just go away, Judy.”

His voice came out cruel and unlike himself.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” I say stubbornly, refusing to move from this seat.

He clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding together so hard I was surprised they didn’t shatter in his mouth. He finally looked at me, like really looked at me. The brown of his eyes returned momentarily before more flashes of gold could be seen.

“My wolf is pissed because I won’t do anything about it…” he muttered. “He’s sick of my delaying to…”

“Delaying what?” I asked, raising my brows.

He was quiet for a long while, so I didn’t think he would answer my question.

But he finally spoke, and I wasn’t prepared for what he would say.

“Claiming our mate.”