Judy’s POV Irene was still seated in the ballroom when I returned; only this time, she was sipping on her tea and looking much calmer. When she saw me, her expression softened a bit, and I could see the apology in her eyes. “Where’s Selene Blackwell?” She asked, glancing behind me at the doorway with a slight frown. “She had to go,” I told her with a shrug. “I let her off the hook.” Irene nodded, though she looked uncertain. I decided not to tell her about Selene’s offer to teach me Etiquette on her own time tomorrow. I would have to come up with an excuse as to why I couldn’t be here tomorrow, so Irene doesn’t feel bad that I’m choosing to learn from someone else over her. It’s not that I don’t find her capable or that I don’t trust her, but something tells me I need to go to the Blackwell manor tomorrow so I can find out the truth about what is going on. I know that I will find the answers to questions I didn’t even know I was asking. She set her tea aside and stood up. “I’m so sorry, Judy. I didn’t mean to be rude earlier…” I shook my head. “It’s okay, I understand,” I told her quickly. “You’re going through a lot.” “It’s still no excuse,” she said, nibbling on her lower lip. “It’s just that… with everything going on—” Before she could finish that sentence, I had her wrapped in a hug. “Don’t even worry about it, Irene,” I told her softly, tightening my hold on her. “It’s okay. I know you’re hurting. I’m here if you want to talk about it.” She was quiet, and I could hear her body relaxing as I held her. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked her, pulling away so I could look her in the face. I could see the tears swirling in her eyes, and it broke my heart completely. “I just don’t understand what’s happening. Why do these guys think they can make such a fool out of me? Is it because I’m a Landry? Do they want money??” I hated that she was hurting like this, but I couldn’t let her think that Erik was anything but genuine in his affections towards her. “Sit down, and we can talk. I might be able to shed some light on you,” I told her, motioning for her to sit at one of the tables. She sat down, and I sat down with her, my eyes remaining on her face. “Erik doesn’t want anything other than you… He’s loved you for a long time, Irene.” She shook her head. “We were friends growing up, and then he was my bodyguard. He never loved me,” she muttered. “That’s not true. He was so in love with you that it hurt,’ I told her, reaching out to grab her hands. “I know you might not believe that because he concealed it well. But it’s the truth. He loved you, but he knew he couldn’t be with you just yet. He had a feeling a long time ago that you were his mate, but he didn’t know for sure until he was 18 and got his wolf. And then when you turned 18…” “I didn’t get my wolf,” she whispered; she stared down at our clasped hands, and I could feel her fingers trembling beneath mine, making me hold them tighter. “Exactly,” I explained. “And then you met Ethan, and you were obsessed with him. In your mind and heart, he was your chosen mate. Your affections with him ran so deep, and Erik was away at his college when you received your wolf. But at that point, your wolf loved Ethan so much that he was her chosen mate. She couldn’t see anyone else other than Ethan. In your heart and mind… it was Ethan. He was it for you, and no one could tell you otherwise. You were pretty much crazy over him, so when Erik returned, you didn’t see him as your mate.” “Crazy is an understatement,” Irene muttered. I ignored her statement and continued. “And when Ethan broke your heart, you were so gutted that you didn’t want to see anything or anyone else. I went to the competition, and Erik was there as well, so he didn’t really get to spend a lot of time with you after your breakup with Ethan. And then by the time he was able to see you again, you were with Chuck.” She let out a desperate laugh as she shook her head. “I don’t understand how Chuck got under my skin so cleverly… he’s not my usual type,” she muttered. “But I loved… I love him so much.” My heart broke at her words. “It wasn’t real,” I said softly. She rolled her tear-filled eyes. “That’s what Erik said, too, but I truly did love Chuck. How could he tell me it wasn’t real?” “Because Chuck is a siren,” I told her gently. “He made you believe that he was your mate. He made you fall in love with him.” She let out a breath. “What? Sirens are still around?” I nodded. “Apparently, yeah. And Chuck is one of them. He made you fall in love with him… we aren’t entirely sure why, but your father is going to figure it out.” “Wait, my dad knows about this?” She asked, her eyes wide with horror. “How long have you all known??” “A couple of days,” I admitted. “We’ve tried to tell you, but you didn’t want to hear us. Erik has tired more than any of us, though, and you shut him out completely.” “How do you even know it’s the truth?” She asked. ‘How do you know he’s a siren?” “Erik went to see a Seer who pretty much told him. It’s the only thing that really makes sense. Only that sirens are usually after something specific, and when they get it or realize they can’t get it from their target, they drop them. Being dropped by a siren is devastating for the victim, and you’ll feel the heartbreak 10x worse than you normally would. It’s as bad a broken mate bond…” She sat silently for a long while, processing all I was telling her. I was relieved that she was finally letting me tell her the entire story because it was something she needed to hear. I wanted her to understand that Erik was not the villain in her story and that he had tried to save her. “Erik was telling me the truth, ‘she said in a whisper; it wasn’t a question, just an observation. I nodded slowly. “He would never lie to you, and he wouldn’t hurt you like the others had, Irene…” She let out a breath before her eyes finally met mine. “How about we continue our lessons for today, and then we can continue them tomorrow?” She suggested. “I need to get off this subject before I lose my mind even more than I already have.” I nodded, but then my chest tightened slightly. “About tomorrow, do you think we can skip it?” I asked. “I just remembered I have an appointment with Eliza tomorrow that I can’t miss.” It was a lie, and I hated myself for it. I made a mental reminder to make an appointment tomorrow with Eliza so I don’t feel like a complete ass. She nodded. “Yeah, of course,” she said without batting an eye. “Day after tomorrow it is then.” I smiled gratefully at her. We continued our lessons as usual, and by the time it was over, we were both exhausted. As we were leaving the packhouse, Gavin appeared at the entrance with a frown. “There you are,” he said, his brows raised. “I went home but didn’t see you. The staff said you left this morning and hadn’t been back. I was worried.” “Sorry,” I said as I stood on my toes to kiss him. “Irene and I spent the day at the packhouse.” He wrapped me in his arms, holding me close to his chest. “I’m glad you two are spending time together,” he murmured against my lips. “Was everything okay today?” I nodded. “Yeah, why do you ask?” “I could feel your variety of emotions,” he admitted. My heart stopped in my chest; how could I have forgotten that he could feel my emotions? I wasn’t going to be able to hide my whereabouts from him tomorrow, and if I blocked my feelings from him, he would find me, and it would start an argument. I was going to have to tell him the truth. “I have to tell you something… but not here,” I tell him. He nodded and glanced around; some packmates were walking by, their eyes, judgmental as ever, lingering on me for a little bit too long, and I felt my cheeks flushing. I’m sure Liv probably spoke to them already, and now I have even more people rooting against me. I doubted Gavin noticed, though. Irene was already gone, probably to gather her thoughts about all we had discussed. Gavin took hold of my hand, entwining his fingers with mine, and he pulled me out of the packhouse and into his car. I'm relieved to see that he drove himself because I want to be alone with him. “Okay, tell me what’s going on,” he said as he started away from the packhouse and towards the villa. “I don’t want you to be mad,” I said to him, biting my lower lip. “But tomorrow… I’m going to the Blackwell Manor…” “You’re what??” He asked, quickly pulling over and putting the car in park so he could glare at me. “Why would you do that??” I let out a breath and finally told him what had been weighing on my mind, something I wasn’t even sure of myself, but saying it out loud almost felt right. “Because I think the Blackwells might be connected to my family… my real family.”