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.