Chapter 44

Judy’s POV

“This was a lovely evening, Walter,” I say as we walked up to my front door. The porch light was left on, providing us with the light needed to make it from the car to the front door without any issues. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds, and I could already smell the rain in the air.

As we reached the front door, I paused and turned to face him. I wasn’t used to anyone walking me to the front door; not even Ethan showed me that much concern. If he were to drop me off, he’d kiss me in the car and drive away once I reached the door. Gavin drove away after I got inside; not that Gavin needed to walk me to my door; we weren’t dating or anything. He was just my boss and there was nothing more to it.

My cheeks burned as I thought about Gavin walking me to the door. Would he kiss me if he did walk me to the door? Why was I even thinking about this while I was on a date with another man? I shouldn’t be thinking about kissing Gavin at any time of the day, let alone while I was with someone else.

I brushed the thought out of my mind and glanced up at Walter who was smiling down at me.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” he said, taking hold of my hand. “I had quite a good time myself. You’ve truly made my first night here impressionable.”

I beamed at the compliment.

“I’m glad to hear that,” I told him, biting my lower lip.

“Can I take you out again tomorrow?” He asked.

I raised my brows, trying to internally figure out my schedule for tomorrow. I had classes in the morning and then in the evening, I had to tutor Matt.

I sighed.

“I have tutoring tomorrow evening,” I told him.

“We can go after tutoring,” he told me with a bright smile. “There’s a gallery I’d like to take you to.”

I frowned at him.

“At night?”

He nodded.

“It’s an outdoor light gallery,” he explained. “I’ve been curious about it and I figured maybe you’d want to join me?”

I thought about it for a moment before deciding to go for it; Nan would want me to go for it and if I told her I declined him, she would be furious with me. So, I nodded in response.

“Okay,” I answered. “That sounds great.”

He smiled, revealing dimples on his cheeks; just like his uncle, only his uncle had manlier features.

I needed to get a grip. I had to stop thinking about Gavin and comparing Walter to him. Walter was not his uncle.

Before I knew what was happening, Walter was leaning down, his lips only inches from mine.

Holy crap! He was about to kiss me!

Did I want him to kiss me? It wasn’t something I thought about until this very moment. Was I interested in Walter enough to kiss him? Was I ready for something like that?

I decided I wasn’t ready to kiss another man, so I turned my head at the last second. His lips brushed my cheek lightly. He frowned when he realized it wasn’t my lips, he was kissing but he didn’t argue or say anything. He smiled and bowed his head in my direction.

“Until tomorrow,” he said.

I nodded and watched as he walked back to the car. After he got inside the car, I sighed and turned away, unlocking the front door and stepping inside. Just like Gavin would have done, Walter waited until I was securely inside before the car drove away.

These Landry men were going to be the death of me.

…..

Third Person POV

“I found the information you were seeking, sir,” Max said from the front seat as they both watched Judy walk into the house.

“What is it?” Walter asked, not sure if he truly wanted to know, but knowing he had to know. If he wanted to better understand Judy so he could properly quart her, he needed to know everything he could about the woman.

“She and Ethan Cash are fated mates,” Max explained, making Walter’s heart fall into his stomach. “They’ve known each other for some time because they were part of the same pack, but they found out they were mates when Judy turned 18. They have been together for 2 years.”

“So, what happened?” Walter asked. “Why did they break up?”

It wasn’t common for mates to break up with one another; it’s almost never heard of. Wolves would never let their mates go unless something serious had happened that caused a rift between the two… or death.

“He met your cousin,” Max murmured.

Walter raised his brows.

Irene was beautiful, but she didn’t hold a candle over Judy. It was also strange that Ethan’s wolf would willingly be with Irene when his fated mate was right there the entire time.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Walter said, shaking his head.

“I don’t really get it either,” Max agreed. “But he met Irene and the next thing anyone knew; he was proposing to her.”

“You couldn’t find out a reason why?”

“There’s nothing documented about it,” Max answered. “So, if there’s a reason, he’s keeping it locked inside.”

Walter’s frown deepened and he scowled. He didn’t need Max to tell him the reason behind Ethan’s motives; he already knew. It was obvious. Irene was the daughter of Gavin Landry, the most powerful Lycan Chairmen in the world. Ethan wanted to become an Alpha and the best way for him to do that was to get to Gavin through his daughter.

But to leave his fated mate for something like that?

It made Walter sick to his stomach to even think about it.

Did Judy know that Ethan left her to gain power? Was Irene aware that she was only a pawn in her fiancé’s games?

He couldn’t tell her… it would only hurt her. Walter had to remain silent, but he wasn’t going to let Ethan hurt Judy any longer. She needed someone around to protect her and he was determined to be that somebody.

…..

“Matt, you’re done with tutoring already?” Irene asked as Matt walked into the kitchen, sweat caked on his forehead from his sparring lessons.

Irene sat at the counter, munching on some fruit with Ethan seated beside her, scrolling through his phone. They spent most of the night arguing about the date and how he was staring at Judy for most of the evening. He managed to come up with an excuse as to why he was staring at her and after some consideration and more arguing, Irene finally relented and chose to believe him. After all, she did love him more than anything and she would do anything to be with him, even if it meant hurting herself. She was too tired to argue any further, so they dropped the subject.

It was now the next evening, and they spent the entire day wedding planning. It was fast approaching and there was still so much to do.

“Yeah,” Matt said as he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “Judy and Walter are going on another date tonight, so she ended our session early.”

That caught Ethan’s attention.

“They are going on another date?”

Matt nodded.

“Yes,” he answered. “He’s taking her to some night gallery. She just left to get dressed.”

“I’m glad he’s taking a liking to her,” Irene said thoughtfully. “They both could use some good people in their lives. Maybe we could do a double date sometime.”

“Does your father know that Walter is taking Judy out?” Ethan asked, ignoring Irene.

Matt shook his head.

“He isn’t home yet,” Matt answered, opening the water bottle and taking a long sip. When he finished, he recapped the water bottle and turned to look at Ethan. “Walter said he’ll talk to him later about it. But who knows? Dad can be scary.”

“I’ll be right back,” Ethan said, standing to his feet. “I need to use the restroom.”

Irene nodded and fell into a conversation with Matt about Judy and Walter. As soon as Ethan left the room, he went straight into the parlor, trying to get the scent of Judy. Maybe he could stop her before she left so they could talk privately. Her scent was faint though, which gave him the impression she was probably not at the villa anymore.

But she couldn’t have gotten far; she was just here after all.

“Going somewhere?” A deep voice asked from the corner of the parlor.

Ethan froze and turned to face Walter who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

“Where I go isn’t your concern,” Ethan said through his teeth.

“It is when I know who you are looking for,” Walter said, stepping away from the wall and towards Ethan. “Tell me, Ethan, does my cousin know you are ditching her to find another woman?”

“You have no idea what you are talking about,” Ethan said, his eyes blazing with fury.

Walter scoffed.

“Don’t I?” Walter asked. “Irene might not know where you are heading right now… but does she know that Judy is your fated mate and that she’s a pawn in your little game?”