Chapter 811
Judy’s POV
Irene and I were both still; etiquette lessons were forgotten for the time being, and all either of us could focus on was Irene Blackwell. She was as beautiful as ever in her sleek black dress and her midnight black hair.
Irene was the first one out of her stupor; she blinked and then smiled up at Selene before taking a step in front of me like she was trying to shield Selene from me.
“We were in the middle of our etiquette lessons,” Irene told her, trying hard not to sound rude, but a twinge of it escaped her tone anyway.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Selene said softly. “Perhaps I could offer you some assistance.”
“I think we have it handled,” Irene said sharply. “Is there something we can do for you, Mrs. Blackwell?”
“I was actually hoping to speak with Judy,” Selene said again, her eyes shifting to meet mine. “If you’ll just give me a few minutes of your time.”
“Anything you have to say to Judy, you can say it in front of me, too,” Irene said, folding her arms across her chest.
“Irene—” I start, but Selene beats me to it.
“It concerns a dream that I had last night,” she said, her eyes leveling with mine, and a knowing glint was hidden in them.
A dream.
I felt frozen in my place as I stared back at her; could she mean that she’s been having the same dreams that I had? Or were they something different?
“A dream?” Irene scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re interrupting our lessons because you had a dream?”
“I assure you, I wouldn’t interrupt if it weren’t important.”
“Look, Mrs. Blackwell, that’s great and all. But Judy has limited time to prepare for her Luna ceremony. It’s only a couple of months away, along with her wedding. If we don’t get this down, some of the nasty she-wolves are going to make things very difficult for her and maybe even prevent her from becoming the Luna.”
“Doesn’t your father get the final say?” Selene asked, raising her perfectly trimmed brows.
“He does, of course,” Irene agreed. “But if the entirety of the pack protests their new Luna, it’ll be out of his hands at that point. There would be nothing for him to do in that case. He can’t force them to support her,
or he’ll have nobody left. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.
I knew she was coming from a place of love, but I needed to speak to Selene about the dream she had.
“How about this…” Selene started. “I’ll help you prepare her.”
Irene frowned.
“You’ll help us?” She asked. “Do you not think I’m capable? I’ve been training my whole life for etiquette…”
“I find you more than capable, darling Irene. But I am older and I find myself to be wiser in the subject. I mean no disrespect. I’m are plenty capable of
sure you teaching her etiquette, but can teach her more.
“We are doing Luna training, and the last I checked, you are not a Luna.”
I sucked in a sharp breath at Irene’s harsh words. I turned to her, my mouth hanging open. She sounded just like those mean girls earlier in the day… Liv and her friends.
“Irene, you are being rude,” I said to her before I could stop myself. “There’s no need to be so disrespectful.”
Irene scowled at me.
“I don’t trust her,” she said through her teeth.
“That doesn’t give you the right to be so rude,” I told her.
“You are not my mother… You don’t get to reprimand me like this,” she said, pressing her lips together.
Her words took me aback, but when I saw the swirl of emotions and pain in her eyes, it made me calm down a bit. She was taking out her frustrations and anger on her own situation, on me, and on Selene. This had nothing to do with either of us and everything to do with her heartbreak.
She put a mask on earlier for my benefit, and maybe some of her own benefit as well, but in reality, she was just as broken as she had been these last few days.
“How about you take a seat for a bit?” I told her, trying to keep my tone calm. “I’ll have one of the maids bring you some tea, and then we can continue our lessons. Okay?”
She stared at me, her eyes narrowed. She looked like she wanted to protest, but something on my face must have convinced her not to. She let out a breath and then lowered herself into a nearby chair.