Nothing could have prepared me for it.


    Gavin''s POV


    "What the fuck do you mean she''s hanging out with Lukas Merriweather again??" I asked, my eyes pouring into Taylor''s as he stood in front of my desk in my vi office. "I made sure that jerk stayed away from her."


    "Yeah, that was before Rachel returned and you dropped Judy like old meat," Taylor said, folding his arms across his chest. "She doesn''t think you care anymore, so they became friends again. She''s been staying prettyte after school hours this past week, studying for finals. I think they''ve been studying together. I see his car in the lot often."


    I clenched my fists, my growing aggravation mixed with something else bubbled in the pit of my stomach.


    But I also knew Taylor was right; the fact that I had consumed all my timetely with Rachel, trying to regain the friendship that I had lost over the years, meant my attention to Judy had dwindled. I couldn''t remember thest time I saw her... held her... tasted her.


    My wolf was growing more aggravated by the second, not having her near was messing with him in a way that I couldn''t describe or begin to understand.


    It pissed me off that as of right now, I don''t have a right to tell Lukas to stay away from Judy.


    "Don''t forget, you have the meeting tonight at the Grand Casino Hotel," Taylor reminded me, ncing at his watch. "It''s in a few hours, so you should be more focused on that."


    This meeting was an important business deal that could enhance mypany. It''s been nned out to a T thesest few months, and it all boiled down to this moment. I was initially going to take Judy as my plus one, but with Rachel back, I felt it was only right to take her instead.


    As the evening neared and I finished putting my tie on for the evening, I felt a presence behind me. I turned to see Rachel standing before me, weari a shimmering red dress, her dark curls crowning her face, and herrge eyes peeking up at me through hershes.


    She was gorgeous, I''ll give her that, though my body didn''t have the same reaction to her as it once did. My wolf was still unconvinced of her, which wasn''t surprising.


    "You look lovely," I told her.


    The corners of her lips tipped up into a smile.


    "Not so bad yourself," she said, looking me up and down, almost suggestively.


    Thesest few weeks have been few w odd, to say the least. She''s been living in the guest bedroom, and we''ve pretty much been ying


    house. We have dinner toet


    and


    talk about our days. She''s been helping out with pack matters and keeping herself busy while I''m


    working, and then in the evening, after dinner, we sit and talk about old times. We catch up on all that has happened since west saw one another.


    Our friendship had always been easy; conversation flows smoothly, and I find our old rhythmfortable.


    I''ve appointed Taylor to pick Judy up from school and bring her home daily, mainly so I can keep track of her and make sure she''s still doing well. Taylor provides me with daily updates, and that''s enough to keep my mind focused on the time being.


    The look on her face when she first met Rachel and the pain in her eyes was something I couldn''t unsee. I never meant to hurt her; I didn''t want to keep things from her, but I wasn''t sure how to tell her any of this.


    "Are you ready to go?" Rachel asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. "We are going to bete, and I really need a drink," she teased.


    I nodded and offered her my arm.


    "Yeah, let''s go," I said, the smile on my face feeling tighter than usual.


    My driver, Leroy, drove us to the hotel; it was in human territory, which meant we needed to be careful here. Most of the staff and even the guests were human, though wolves were also known foring here as well. It was a famous casino after all.


    I had a designated suite on the top floor, but I''ve only used it a handful of times, and


    I certainly wasn''t nning on using it tonight.


    "Alpha Landry one of the


    shareholders, Ryan Goldstein, said as we entered the restaurant inside the casino. We shook hands before he led me to the table where the others were waiting. "This is the one I''ve been telling you about. His business is going to soar with what we have nned," Ryan told the others as he took his seat, motioning for our chairs. "This is Alpha Gavin Landry and his Luna... sorry, I didn''t get your name."


    My mouth went dry.


    Did he just say Luna?


    I opened my mouth to correct him, but Rachel''s words stopped me.


    "Rachel Etmen," she said, a glint in her eyes as she reached over and put her hand on top of mine, making my entire body freeze. "And it''s such an honor to meet you, gentlemen."


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