Chapter : 865
Judy’s POV
“You’re not coming.”
Gavin’s words were final as he grabbed a shirt out of his closet. I scrambled out of bed, my heart pounding with anger and my fists clenched. My wolf let out a low growl in our shared mind, not liking our mate’s refusal to discuss this properly. He was supposed to hear us out no matter what, but he wasn’t looking at me, which meant he wasn’t going to listen.
“What do you mean I’m not going?” I said, folding my arms across my chest as I glared at him.
“Just like I said… It’s dangerous. You aren’t coming with me to see Levi.”
His words were like a slap in the face; like he didn’t trust me or something.
“He’s behind bars. What can he possibly do to me?” I asked, my eyes still trained on him as he navigated around the room.
“It’s not a chance I’m willing to take,” he said, finally stopping to look at me. “I’m not taking a chance where you are concerned.”
My heart melted a little at the sincerity in his voice and the lost look in his eyes, as if his entire world was right in front of him.
“Gavin, Levi likes to play games. He’s not going to give you information about me or about anything that has to do with me,” I told him, point-blank. “He might tell me, but it’ll mean I have to play along with his game. I’m going to be a Luna in one of the biggest packs in the world and to the biggest Alpha in the world. I need to be able to handle these kinds of things and for my mate to trust me.”
He stepped closer to me, our bodies only inches apart. He was in the process of getting dressed, so he was shirtless. I swallowed the lump in my throat, my gaze lingering on his chest for a bit longer than necessary. No matter how many times I see him like this, it’ll never get old.
My wolf was practically purring in my mind, also loving the sight of our mate. As if he could read my thoughts, Gavin smirked.
“You get distracted so easily,” he said, cupping my face with his big and strong hands; my heart skipped a beat, and I felt warmth spreading across my body from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.
He was right; I do get distracted easily, but I wasn’t going to let this be one of those times. As much as it pained me to do so, I shook my head, forcing his hands to fall from my face.
“I’m being serious, Gavin,” I told him, proud that my voice didn’t betray me. “I’m already under so much pressure to be this perfect Luna and-“
“Wait, what?” He asked, his brows raised. “What are you talking about?”
I shook my head as tears filled my eyes. I didn’t want to tell Gavin about what that she-wolf Olivia had said to her friends and that they agreed with her. They don’t think I’ll make a good Luna because I was never trained to be one. That I was going to run this entire territory into the ground and that Gavin deserved better than a Luna who would drag him down, too.
Olivia was planning to protest me, and she was gathering others around the pack to do the same.
“Hey…” Gavin said softly as he wiped a stray tear off my cheek with his thumb. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“It isn’t anything,” I said. It didn’t even sound true to my own ears. “I just want to prove to the pack… to you to everyone… that I can be a good Luna and things like this don’t Scare me away I’d never put our baby at risk, if I didn’t think I’d be protected in prison, then I would never go. But I will be protected, and I might be able to get the answers from Levi.”
Gavin sighed, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that his resolve was breaking. I stepped even closer to him, evaporating any lingering space between us as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Please… let me do this.”
He lowered himself so his lips were brushing mine, effectively making my heart skip
a beat.
“You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone,” he said, his voice deep and warm, his gaze softening. “Least of all me. I already believe in you and love you. Nothing will ever change that.”
My cheeks flushed at his sincerity.
Pressing his forehead against mine, he let out a breath.
“You can come,” he finally relented. “But you aren’t to be left alone with him.”
I smiled up at him.
“I wouldn’t dream of being left alone with him,” I said, before I closed the distance and let my lips devour his.
The prison smelled like stone, iron, and regret. I felt it the moment Gavin and I stepped inside this heavy, suffocating pressure that made my chest tighten and my wolf curl inward.