(Olivia’s POV)

    I sat at a booth by the window at The Sovereign’s Table, checking my watch for the third time in five minutes. The mysterious caller who imed to know Matthew’s secrets was already twenty minuteste.

    A tall shadow fell across my table. I looked up to see Can Mooncrest standing there, his pale features twisted in what he probably thought was a charming smile.

    “Check, please,” I called to the waiter, raising my hand.

    Can pressed his palm down on the bill before the waiter could reach it. “From now on, Miss ckwood’s meals at this restaurant areplimentary.”

    I stood immediately, unwilling to get entangled with him. “That won’t be necessary.”

    Before I could take a step, another figure blocked my path.

    She pulled out her phone and searched for her contact before she reached the familiar name she knew too well. She pressed the call button and put the phone to her cheek.

    “Please tell me you have something for me,” her friend said, sounding bored out of his mind. “I’ve hit a dry spell, and I might lose my job if I don’te up with a good enough story to keep the attention of literally everyone.”

    “Oh, I might have just the story you need,” Irene told him with a smile lighting her face; she loved his enthusiasm, and she knew he would do whatever it took to milk this story. “Hold on, I’m sending you something.”

    She sent him the photo and waited for him to receive it.

    “What is this?” He asked. “Is that your father?”

    “Yes,” Irene answered. “That’s my father in the arms of his lover. My brother’s tutor. She is literally my age and she’s only after him to get close to my fiancé. It’s so obvious. I wanted her exposed for the fraud that she is. Find out what you can about her and publish this story.”

    “I don’t take orders from you,” her friend teased.

    “Do you want the story or not?” Irene asked, rolling her eyes.

    “Oh, I want the story,” her friend chuckled. “Give me one day and I’ll have this baby published everywhere.”

    “I was hoping you might,” Irene said with a smile spreading across her lips. “I’m counting on you.”

    With those words left in the air, Irene hung up the phone and waited for her handy work to unfold.

    Judy’s POV

    “So why are we having a tutoring session here?” Matt asked after Gavin left to take a shower in the bathroom upstairs. “Why not? Do you not like it here?” I asked him from across the living room table.

    He shrugged.

    “I mean it’s fine, but it’s kind of far. Did you have to travel far to get here?” He asked thoughtfully.

    “It’s a lot closer than you might think,” I told him. “You don’t need to worry about it. But we are going to be meeting here for the next unforeseen future. At least until the film crew is done at the vi.”

    He nodded.

    “It’s overwhelming there with so many people,” he admitted. “I’m d to get out of there. It’s nice here. It’s peaceful.”

    I smiled.

    “Well, maybe we can spend more time here even after they leave them,” I suggested. “I’m sure your father won’t mind.” He nodded eagerly. Harper walked into the room with a tter of treats and when she saw Matt, her smile widened.

    “I thought I heard your voice,” she said to him as she ced the food down on the table and opened her arms for him to hug her. “It’s been so long. You nevere to visit anymore.”

    “I know. Dad never lets mee here,” Matt told her.

    “Well shame on him,” Harper teased. “I’ll make sure to yell at him for that.”

    Mattughed.

    “Please do.”

    I’ve never seen Matt sofortable with anyone other than family and me. It was nice to see that he wasn’t a bother to others like he was to his former tutors.

    Just as Harper turned to leave, I saw a red mark on her neck, and I raised my brows. She had arge hickey on the nape of her neck. I bet I knew where she got that from. I didn’t want to embarrass her though, so I kept my mouth shut.

    Matt and I spent the next couple of hours tutoring and training. At one point, Gavin trained with us, and it was fun to see him interacting with Matt. Matt enjoyed his time with his father, that much was clear.

    I was surprised that Gavin chose to spend the night at the mansion, even after he sent Matt home with Beta Taylor. I wasn’t expecting him to want to spend more time here with me, but he did, and we certainly enjoyed our time together as well.

    By the next morning, while Gavin was showering, I received a text from Nan.

    All it said was: 911.

    I decided to call her, worried that something might be wrong with her.

    “Nan? Are you okay?” I asked as soon as she answered the phone.

    “I’m fine… but you might not be,” she murmured.

    “What are you talking about?”

    “You are all over the news, Judy,” she told me, much to my horror.

    My heart fell into my stomach as I brought up the news app on my phone.

    Sure enough, there was arge photo of Gavin and me hugging on the front porch of the mansion. My breathing hitched at the sight and then I read the headline and first sentence of the article: Gavin Landry’s Mystery’s Lover Revealed!

    Gavin Landry was found hugging mystery lover, Judy Montague, on the front porch of his mansiontest night!

    I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my waste. By the time I left the bathroom, Judy wasn’t in bed anymore. I frowned at the messy bed and nced around the room; my brows furrowed. I hadn’t even realized she was awake.

    I grabbed my clothes and quickly put them on, not bothering to do anything with my wet hair. I left the bedroom and went down the stairs, only to see Harper walking around the corner.

    “Is Judy in the kitchen?” I asked as I adjusted my shirt into my pants.

    Harper nced up at me with a frown.

    “No, Alpha. She said she had to get to school early this morning and left,” Harper exined, halting my steps.

    I turned to look at her, my eyes narrowed.

    “She left?”

    “Yes, sir,” Harper answered before she turned and hurried away. A low growl escaped my throat; how could Judy just leave like that? She didn’t even say anything to me about it. I wondered if she mentioned something to that Chester character. I couldn’t stand Chester; I’m not sure why I’ve kept him around. He’s always been like this… a flirt. He cares more about making the women around him melt than he does his actual job.

    Even though I had to admit, he was pretty good at his job too. His food was always delicious, and it was the one thing I looked forward to when I came to this section of the pack. Well, it wasn’t until Judy started to live here.

    The kitchen smelled amazing when I walked in and I wasn’t surprised to see Chester behind the counter, cooking away and making his kitchen aids chuckle with his witty banter and smooth words.

    I rolled my eyes.

    When he nced over his shoulder at me, he shed me a smile.

    “Sorry, Alpha. I can’t help myself. Maybe you shouldn’t have hired such beautiful women to work for you,” he said, winking.