Chapter 619
My phone started to ring, bringing me out of my thoughts. My knuckles were tight as I gripped my phone in my pocket and glared at the screen. I tried to calm myself when I saw that it was Irene calling.
Taking a steady breath, I pressed the talk button and put the phone to my ear.
“Irene,” I greeted as if I were greeting a business partner, but it was the most I could manage right now. I was speaking through gritted teeth and trying to keep my wolf under control. I know better than anyone that if I wanted to find Judy and bring her home with me, I needed to be calm. I needed a calm mentality, and honestly, my daughter was pretty good at keeping me calm most of the time.
Plus, she could be calling for an emergency; ignoring the calls of my children was something I would never do if I could help it.
“Woah,” she said, taken aback by the harsh sound of my tone. “What’s crawled up your butt?”
“I’m not in the mood, Irene. What is it you need?” I asked, my jaw clenched.
“I was just asking if you could send over the adoption paperwork for Nan and Chester,” she told me.
I almost forgot about the adoption paperwork; I told her once I finished reviewing it, I would sign it and send it back to her so they could finalize it. Honestly, I was a bit worried about handing Emalyn over to Nan and Chester because of their unstable relationship. They are unmarried, and I wasn’t really sure if they’d make it as a couple. But these last few weeks have proved me wrong; they have gotten closer, and Chester even went as far as proposing to Nan, who surprisingly said yes.
Plus, they are both really good with the baby, and Irene trusts them.
“I hadn’t gotten around to reviewing them,” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair frustratingly. “I will soon, and I’ll send them to you.”
“Okay, what’s going on with you?” Irene asked, and I could almost see the furrow between her brows. “Forgetting something that serious isn’t you.”
“I didn’t forget, I—”
“Don’t lie to me, Dad,” she said, stopping my lie before it could fully leave my lips. She was right; I was lying. I completely forgot. The second I saw Judy, all my duties left my mind completely. “What’s really going on with you?”
I was quiet for a moment; should I tell her the truth? She was my daughter, and I hated lying to her. She was old enough to know when I was lying now, and I didn’t want to keep her in the dark when it was important.
“I found her,” I said, my tone dropping to barely above a whisper.
There was silence on the other end for a moment before she asked, “Found who?”
I was quiet, her name feeling heavy on my lips as I spoke it.
“Judy.”
Irene gasped.
“What??” She asked. “It’s been 2 weeks, and you’re telling me you found her? Where??”
“She’s been in the Redcliff pack,” I murmured, leaning against the wall; I needed it to support my weight.
“The Redcliff?” She asked. “Isn’t that in the far North? Alpha Levi’s territory?”
“That’s the one,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“Why would she be there?” She asked. “She told me she got an offer in a different territory, but Levi’s?? What was she thinking?”
“She wanted to hurt me,” I sighed.
“Hurt you? Why would she want to-” her voice trailed off, and then she gasped softly. “Because of Rachel. She still thinks you and Rachel are together?”
“No,” I said sharply. “I told her we aren’t, nor will we ever be together. I’m ordering her to come home with me once I’m done with business here.”
Silence.
“Irene?” I asked after she didn’t say anything for a long while.
“Order her?” Irene asked. “You’re going to order Judy to return home with you? Even if it’s against her will?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
asked. “I can’t let her stay here
Levi’s territory,” I spoke Levi’s
I was a bad taste on 9
tongue.
“If you order her around, you will make her run,” Irene said, and I knew she was right, but I couldn’t help myself, knew I was being stupid, 1 was selfish, and it was pushing her further away, not pulling her closer. “Dad… do you want her?”
“Yes,” I replied, it was strange admitting that to my daughter, but it was true. I
wanted Judy so badly that it hurt.
“Then listen to me,” she said, a
determined sound in her voice. “You need to start doing this differently You aren’t going to win her heart by ordering her around. You gotta woo her Make her remember why she fell in love with you…”