Chapter : 941

Gavin’s POV

10 years later.

“Ryder! I need you to get your shoes on, right now!” Judy yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

She turned around at that exact moment, her eyes narrowing at our little girl who just walked out of the kitchen.

“Casey, sweetheart. What’s all over your face?” Judy asked, distress clear in her words.

The 5-year-old just grinned and licked her fingers.

“Chocolate,” she answered, a smug smile on her face.

Judy threw her head back and groaned.

“You are going to be the death of me, child,” she murmured. “And you…” she added, turning her head to look directly at me, the lurker in the corner of the room who didn’t think she saw. “Why aren’t you helping?”

I pushed off the wall and strolled towards my beautiful wife and Luna.

“Because you’re so sexy when you’re the big boss,” I teased, wrapping her in my arms and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple.

She scowled up at me.

“Seriously? In front of Casey…?” She asked, narrowing her eyes and pointing her finger at me. “Behave, Mister.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I pretended like I was going to bite her finger off. She pulled it away before I could trap it between my teeth.

“We need to get going,” Judy said, putting her hands on her hips.

I let out a breath.

“Babe, why are you stressing? It’s not even your party,” I reminded her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. “You don’t need to carry the weight of it on your shoulders.”

She frowned up at me.

“She’s my best friend,” Judy said, folding her arms across her chest. “And her twins are turning 9 today. I need to be there for them. I promised her I would be there.”

I know she’s been stressed about her friendship with Nan lately. They both have been living fairly busy lives. Nan, with her 5-star restaurant, taking care of twins, and Judy being a Luna and mother of our children… they barely had enough time to see one another.

I stepped in front of her, trying to get her attention. She finally stopped talking long enough for me to put my hands on her shoulders and keep her grounded.

“It’s going to be okay,” I told her, letting out a breath.

“You’re right,’ she said. “It is.”

She stepped back and closed her eyes; she started to whisper something, and I knew exactly what was about to happen. Suddenly, white orbs left her body and started towards the stairs.

I turned to look at her and saw she was watching the orbs, her eyes fascinated by them.

“What did you do?” I asked her.

“What needed to be done,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

Before I could say anything else to her, I heard Ryder yelling.

“Hey! Not fair!!” He kept yelling, his voice rising. When he was finally in a spot that I could see him, I saw the white orbs on either side of his arms, and they were pulling him down the stairs.

He had his shoes on, though they were untied.

“That wasn’t fair,” Ryder growled. “I tried to undo the magic as you taught me, and it wouldn’t work.”

Judy’s expression softened as she knelt to the ground and helped him tie his shoe.

“It’s because my magic is stronger,” she told him. “You’ll get there someday, Ryder. You have to keep practicing.”

“And you need to start listening to your mother. When she tells you to do something, you do it,” I warned him. “We’ve taught you better than that, der. You are the Alpha Hei and the one taking over my entire empire. What’s gotten into you?”

“Sorry, Dad… sorry Mom,” he murmured, staring down at his shoes. “I just don’t want to go to this stupid party.”

“That’s not very nice,” Judy said, frowning.

“Kenzi isn’t nice,” Ryder said, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t want to celebrate her birthday.”

“But you and Kylie are friends. Shouldn’t you want to celebrate her birthday?” Judy asked, raising her brows.

He sighed.

“I guess so,” he muttered.

“Come on… it won’t be that bad,” I told him. “Besides, your brother will be there.”

This brightened Ryder right up; he adored Matthew. Matthew is currently at the same college Judy attended, but he lives in a dorm, so we don’t get to see him as often.

Once everyone had their shoes on and Casey’s face was cleaned of all chocolate, we were ready to go. Nan and Chester lived in a manor not far from here. When we arrived, I parked the car and we got out, walking towards the front doors with my family.

The butler answered the door before we had the chance to knock.

He stepped aside, bowing his head slightly.

“The Landry’s have arrived,” he announced, motioning for us to enter the house.

Judy put her hands on both of our kids’ shoulders and ushered them inside. I followed after them; we differed in how we walked into goms she was still a bit tentative and shy, like she wasn’t sure if she deserved to be there. Whereas I walk into the room as if I owned the place, and I wasn’t afraid of what people thought.

“What took you so long?” Nan said as she rushed towards Judy. “I don’t have nearly enough food for all of these people, and I’m completely stuck in the kitchen.”

“Let me help you,” Judy said as she took off her coat and handed it to the butler. “Let me just get my family settled first.”