Chapter 613

"You should have told me that you were pregnant," he finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.

I nodded, my eyes shifting to the ground.

"I know. I-"

"It was stupid and dangerous for you to continue working knowing about your pregnancy. If I had known, I would have pulled you from that post," he said, shaking his head. "Did you know that you were pregnant when you were caught up in that explosion?"

I knew he already knew the answer, so lying would be pointless and possibly dangerous.

"Yes," I whispered, tears filling my eyes before I could stop them.

These stupid hormones were out of control.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

His question made me look up at him; there was a hint of hurt and vulnerability behind his tone that made my chest squeeze painfully.

"I was worried you'd fire me," I admitted. "I just got here, and I didn't want to disappoint anyone. I had something to prove.... I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong. I'm so sorry."

He was quiet as he processed my words; he leaned back in his seat and sighed.

“I wouldn't have fired you, Judy. I would have put you on maternity leave until you were capable of resuming your duties. You have been here for a short while, but you are an exceptional addition to the force. You've proved yourself early on, and you're making a name for yourself. It would be a shame to lose you. But I need to be able to trust you, Judy. Lying to me was not the way to go about this."

“I know,” I said softly. "And I'm sorry for that. I was going to tell you... But I was scared. I was a coward."

"Would you have told me before going on patrol with your team?" He asked. "After my meeting... would you have come to me and told me the truth if Lucy hadn't done it for you?"

I was quiet, I wanted to say yes, but

as I thought about the answer, it didn't feel right on my tongue. I think we both knew the true answer to that, as did Lucy, which was why she told him on my behalf.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"That's what I thought,” he said, taking my silence as an answer. I've gotten your medical reports from Dr. Jasper. You're about 2 months pregnant. I'm assuming Gavin is the

baby's father?"

I nodded without hesitation; I didn't want to lie to him anymore. I was in enough trouble.

"Can I trust you, Judy?" He asked, suddenly. "Like really trust you?"

I nodded.

"Yes," I replied. "You can trust me. I won't lie to you again."

He was quiet for a while before he too nodded, looking a bit more relaxed.

"I talked to Lucy about this because she doesn't want to lose a friend, and honestly, I don't want to lose you either. You make a great addition to this pack. But if Gavin wants to force you back, I can't stop him. Though you pledged your allegiance to me, you haven't been officially sworn into this pack and wouldn't be until the next full moon. But now that you're carrying his baby, it's more complicated because he has a blood claim to that baby..." he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "With that being said, I want to extend an invitation to you. Once you give birth, you are more than welcome to rejoin the Gamma Force."

My eyes grow large.

I'm not getting fired?

"Wait..... what?” I asked, not sure I heard him correctly.

"I'm allowing you to stay in this pack," he told me. "And once you give birth, younoveldrama

can resume your job. But only if Gavin allows it. Get him to sign on to that, and the job is yours."