Chapter 80

Judy’s POV

My stomach was growling angrily. I hadn’t eaten much other than scraps in days. When Kelsey came to get me and told me to come to the dining hall, I thought I was going to finally get some decent food. But I was sorely disappointed when I saw that they had already eaten and left not even a single morsel.

All that was left were their dirty plates and empty wine glasses.

She gave the maids the night off and she expected me to clean the entire mess by myself, while she watched like some kind of creep.

She ridiculed me the entire time.

I grabbed a large tray and started to pile up some of the glasses and plates on the tray. Just as I walked past her and towards the kitchen, she stuck her foot out, making me fall to the ground and shatter most of the plates and glasses. One of the glass chunks sliced through my finger and I hissed in pain as I saw blood pooling in my palm.

“So, fucking clumsy!” Kelsey hissed. “Look what you did!”

“You were the one who tripped me,” I murmured as I cradled my injured hand. She swung her hand so fast; I didn’t even see it coming. But I felt the sting of the slap and I bit my lip from the force. I tasted blood in my mouth from splitting my lip open.

Why was this happening to me? What had I done to deserve this??

“Awe, are you going to cry now?” Kelsey asked, folding her arms across her chest. “Get over yourself. Nobody is coming to your rescue, especially not your weak ass mother.”

I lifted my gaze and stared at her through my tear-filled eyes.

“Don’t you dare speak about my mother like that,” I said, my tone coming out shaky. I knew if I truly wanted to, I could easily beat the crap out of Kelsey. But I couldn’t because of my mother… she would never forgive me if I ruined this for her.

I felt so helpless at this moment. The pain in my hand stung even worse as Kelsey laughed.

“You are nothing but a useless bitch! Only good for being a slave and cleaning up after my family’s meal. How does it feel to be a nobody?”

Just then, the door of the dining hall burst open, and Kelsey staggered back when she saw the intruder.

“What is the meaning of this?!” A familiar roar echoed through the room. My entire body stilled upon haring his voice.

I lifted my gaze, and I was stunned to see Gavin standing before me. Anger was rolling off him in waves as he glared daggers at Kelsey. His Lycan aura shining brighter than his Alpha aura. He was pissed and he was about to make everyone in this house knows it.

“A… Alpha,” Kesley stammered, suddenly looking like a weak child. “I was just… I was…”

“She’s hurt and you’re ridiculing her,” Gavin hissed; it wasn’t a question, just an observation. “Why is she on the ground with glass all around her?”

“I… uh…” Kelsey stammered, her face growing redder by the second. “She tripped and fell. I was just about to help her up.”

She bent down to grab my arm but stopped suddenly when Gavin roared loudly, shaking the entire manor and nearly knocking her off her feet in the process.

“Do not touch her!” Gavin growled.

Even I was shivering from his anger; he was truly fierce and terrifying when he wanted to be.

“What’s going on in here?” Raymond asked as he ran into the room. When he saw me on the ground, his eyes darkened with fury and he looked as if he was about to say something degrading towards me, but Gavin spoke first.

“Is this how you raise your daughter? To treat your house guests with disrespect??” Gavin growled, turning his anger towards Raymond.

Raymond paled upon hearing Gavin’s question.

“What? No, of course not. I—”

“Tell me why your daughter thinks it’s okay to treat anyone like this!” Gavin said, pointing down at me.

Raymond glanced at me and then at Kesley who was now shaking in the corner. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole.

Once again, the door swung open.

……

Gavin’s POV

“Kelsey?” Meredith asked as she walked into the room.

“Mom!” Kelsey cried as she ran towards her and wrapped her arms around her mother, sobbing. “She pushed me first. I was only cleaning the dishes, and she told me that she could do it better. She grabbed the tray of plates and glasses out of my hands and fell in the process. I didn’t mean for her to get hurt!”

“Of course you didn’t sweetheart,” Meredith cooed her daughter. “All will be okay. Your father will sort it out.”

“See, Alpha. It’s only a misunderstanding.”

I stared down at Judy who had tears in her eyes; she could barely look at me and my stomach tightened. I needed to get her out of here.

Kelsey clearly had them wrapped around her finger, but I wasn’t a fool. I knew she was lying. I sent a mindlink to Beta Taylor and ordered him to get me the security footage of the dining hall. I shoved my way through the dining hall and stopped when I reached Judy.

She was trembling and keeping her eyes on her open wound. I wrapped my arms around her, hating how tense she was from my touch. I pulled her into me and lifted her into my arms. She sucked in a sharp breath as she held onto me with her good hand and carefully positioned her injured hand away so she wouldn’t get any blood on me.

“Take me to your bathroom,” I ordered Raymond.

“Yes, Alpha,” he said quickly as he rushed out of the dining hall. I followed after him, not bothering to spare the mother and daughter duo another look. As we walked down the hallway, I heard a loud gasp from nearby.

“Judy??” Michele exclaimed. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, Mom,” she said weakly. “Just a little cut.”

“She’s losing a lot of blood. I need to patch it before she loses anymore,” I said as I continued to follow Raymond down the hall.

We entered the bathroom and just as Raymond was about to say something more, I slammed the door in his face.

I let out a breath of air. Judy was still tense, and her eyes were fixed on her wound. I set her down on the counter as I searched the bathroom for a first aid kit. It didn’t take long to find one under the sink.

“You don’t have to do this,” Judy said, breaking the silence.

I glanced up at her briefly before I rummaged through the first aid kit, uncovering bandages and ointment.

“Do you expect me to let you bleed out?” I asked her in return.

She shrugged her shoulder, but she said nothing. I grabbed her hand and turned on the water to the sink.

The moment my hand wrapped around her wrist, she tensed and made it impossible for me to move her.

I frowned at her.

“Just let me take care of you,” I breathed, my body becoming so aware of hers that I was practically on fire. She stared into my eyes for a moment longer before relaxing herself. I brought her hand to the warm water and started to rinse out her wound. She winced from the sting and her body tensed once again, but it only lasted a moment. Soon, she was relaxing again, and she was releasing a breath of relief.

I ran circles with my thumb around her wrist, soothing her, as I cleaned her wound. With each stroke of my thumb, she relaxed even more and I notice she was now looking at me periodically. I tried to pretend I didn’t notice, but I could feel the heat of her stare on the side of my face, and I had to fight the smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

“Why are you here?” She asked, breaking the thick silence that started to consume us.

I grabbed the bandages, along with some ointment that will keep her wound from getting infected.

“I came here for you.”

I don’t think she was expecting that reply because she sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes grew wide.

“You what?”

I paused and looked up at her, meeting her eyes.

“I was wrong,” I told her, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “About everything. I shouldn’t have accused you of hurting my son. I know you aren’t capable of something so sinister like that. I should have listened to you instead of kicking you out. I’m here to apologize to you.”

She was quiet for a long while as she continued to stare into my eyes.

I broke eye contact so I could continue tending to her wound. I applied the ointment, and she winced at the sting as she too refocused her attention on her injury. I wrapped her hand tightly, making sure her wound was closed.

I sent a link to Taylor to have his mate check over Judy’s wound in the morning.

When I finished, I released my hold on her, but I did so reluctantly.

“Thank you,” she finally said, breaking the silence once again. “For wrapping my hand and for apologizing…”

“I should have done so sooner,” I told her, meeting her eyes. “Apologize I mean. Sending Taylor to you was stupid and a cowardly thing to do.”

She bit back a smile, but I could see it forming on her lips as her cheeks turned red.

“Yes, it was,” she agreed. “But you did the right thing. And it’s a good thing you came when you did. Kelsey is crazy. Who knows what more she would have done if you hadn’t entered.”

I didn’t want to think about such a thing.

“Good thing she’ll never get the chance to hurt you again,” I muttered as I caged her in with my arms, staring back into her eyes.

She furrowed her brows.

“What are you talking about?” She asked. “She has all the opportunity in the world. I kind of live with her now if you hadn’t noticed.”

I smirked and leaned in closer to her, our lips only inches apart. I could feel her warm breath cascading across my mouth and warming my features.

“Not anymore you don’t,” I murmured before brushing my lips, featherlike, against hers. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as she sighed in contentment from the chaste kiss. “Because from now on you are going to live with me.”