Chapter 679
There was no hint of worry or doubt in Gavin’s voice, and it made my heart swell.
“So, you are going to make things official, then?” Irene asked, looking between us with a skeptical look. “Mating… marriage… the whole deal?”
“Why are you making things difficult?” Matt asked, frowning up at his sister.
“Shouldn’t we be happy? Dad’s finally with someone that isn’t a complete moron…”
“Language,” Gavin scolded, but his tone was lighthearted and held no malice.
“Sorry,” Matt murmured, before his face brightened. “I always Judy as a mom… since I first met her. This is a good thing, right?”
“There’s something else we need to tell you,” Gavin told them, making them freeze.
“There’s more?” Irene asked. “Other than you wanting to date and make things more official?”
“Yes,” Gavin said. He turned his head so they could see his mark… the one I put on him. My wolf was howling with delight at the sight of our mate showing off her mark proudly. “We kind of already made things official.”
Irene let out a squeak as she covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.
“Wait, what?!” She gasped, nearly falling out of her seat. “You already made things official?”
“Are you just going to repeat the things I say to you?” Gavin asked, turning his head back towards her. “Or are you going to say anything else?”
“When did that happen?” She asked.
“Yesterday,” he replied. “I wasn’t going to waste any more time in making Judy mine. She’s carrying my pup, and I wasn’t going to risk losing her again.”
“So, it’s official then?” Irene asked. “You two are really together.”
“Are you upset?” I found myself asking; it was the first time I’ve spoken the entire time since Gavin announced our new relationship status. I wasn’t sure what more to say, but I was worried that they wouldn’t be pleased with this outcome. J
She looked at me; her eyes shining with something I didn’t understand. She looked me up and down and then pressed her lips together.
“Did you wear that just to butter me up?” She asked.
My cheeks flushed, and I bit my lower lip, chewing on it.
“Yes,” I admitted.
Irene was quiet for a moment, staring at me, and then she burst out laughing.
“Holy crap she chuckled. “Judy, you don’t have to butter me up for this. You know all I wanted was my dad to be happy, and you made him happy. I’m so happy that you are officially a part of our family.”
I blinked at her, surprised.
“You don’t think it’s weird?”
She shrugged.
“I mean, I guess in theory, yeah, it’s weird. But honestly, as long as you are both happy, that’s all that really matters.”
“You both matter too,” I say without hesitation. “We want you to be happy and a part of this as well. I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to take your father away.”
“Dad has been away from our lives for a long time,” Matt said, looking up at him I know he’s not my real dad, but he adopted me when I was a baby and let me live in his home. I had nannies and caretakers watching me while he spent his life at work he barely even came home to see Irene. It wasn’t until you showed up in our lives that he started to hang out with us more. We are finally a family, and that’s because of you.”
Irene nodded in agreement.
“You didn’t take away our father,” Irene agreed. “You gave him back to us. For that, we are forever grateful.”
My heart swelled at their sentiment. I looked up at Gavin, who had a soft expression on his face.
“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel as though you weren’t important,” he said to them. “But I promise that will never happen again. You kids and my future pup are my entire world. Never forget that.”
The rest of lunch went by in a breeze; I ate the most incredible fish tacos I had ever had in my life, with a few occasional bites of Gavin’s ribeye. I didn’t know I was craving it until I smelled the delicious food, and then suddenly my craving spiked.
Irene made jokes that it was because she was pregnant, and we all had a chuckle. After lunch, we hugged Irene and Matt goodbye, telling them that we’d see them at the party later.
“That went better than expected,” I told Gavin as we got back into Erik’s waiting car.
“It went exactly how I expected,” he told me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to him.
“So, now what do we do?” I asked him, resting my head against him.
“Now…” he said, pausing for effect. “We pay a visit to the devil herself.”