Judgment for Jude: An MM Shifter Mpreg Romance (Wolves of Solara Book 4)

by Charlie Tran

  "I realized that," I said, sucking in my lips as I stared down at the clothes that I was wearing. Jeans, a bit too tight for my liking, but not due to the skinny cut alone. They were just a size too small for me, and the shirt was the same. Too tight against me, but they fit well enough that there wasn't any exposed skin in the back when I sat down. Couldn't have my ass hanging out at a bridal boutique. Or in front of Jude. The hand-me-down tiny clothing Forest had given me was just 'okay' at best.

  "Well, just looking at you made me think you were my size. It's weird how tightly they hug your body."

  "I guess it's a good thing Jude gave you his card then." Silver reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet and flashed the metal card towards me. He had actually given it to Silver and told him to buy me whatever clothing I needed. He probably hadn't given it to me in fear that I'd run away with it. The thought hadn't crossed my mind.

  "I just wanna get a few things that'll at least fit me. Nothing fancy." I folded my arms across my chest and watched Forest step away from the mirrors, heading over to talk more with the boutique attendant who had been helping him pick out different wedding outfits to try on.

  "He said get what you want. I don't think there's a cap to that." Silver moved closer to me on the couch while placing the wallet back into his pocket.

  "Either way, just a few things will be fine. It'll be easier when I have to leave with fewer things than with a mess of clothing I'd have to drag along."

  "It's not like you're gonna leave anytime soon. Jude didn't say anything against you staying there, remember?"

  "No, but he has been acting kinda weird lately," Forest said, approaching us again, his shirt off as he tried to wipe away some glitter still stuck to his chest. Must have come off one of the dress suits he tried on earlier.

  "Weird?" I asked, looking between the both of them.

  "Yeah. I know we keep thinking it's stress that's got him acting so strange, but remember how he snapped on Lucas? That was actually scary." Forest shivered, finally tugging his shirt on over his head.

  "It was. I hadn't seen him act so vicious in a long time."

  "He's vicious?" I blinked. Silver tilted his head back, seeming unsure of how to respond.

  "He's vicious about joining the pack. We all had to prove ourselves, even when it was just him trying to start off a pack on his own. He basically beat us into the ground, and we had to defend ourselves against him before he'd let us join."

  "That sounds more like a gang than a pack." I was surprised to hear that the usually cool and collected one of them all, aside from Jason, could be so brash.

  "Not really. You know, a lot of the older packs did that—battle for Alpha, battle to join the clan."

  "So, he's not a thug, he's just barbaric," I teased, thankful that they laughed instead of getting offended.

  "I guess. But when he thinks you're ready, he'll love you like a brother forever. The only person who didn't really have to prove himself was Jason. But Jude is all about finding mates from outside the pack to bring in and expand our numbers."

  "Yeah. That's why he was so mad when you fucked Lucas. And I was shocked. Shocked I tell you!" Forest wagged a finger in front of Silver's face. The pale haired man waved it away in mock annoyance.

  "We're talking about how he snapped on Lucas, not lecturing me."

  "It's probably his hormones. They're raging like a teen. I haven't seen him bring anyone home since the Club Mega incident." Forest plopped down on the couch on the other side of his pack mate.

  "True. Maybe he just needs to get it in and then he'll be calm again."

  "He is an Alpha." I shrugged, while the other two giggled.

  "Maybe that's why he's so keen on Glenn staying." Silver smiled at me, flashing his pointed teeth. I could feel my face grow warm at his say so.

  "He's handsome and all but, he's not my type."

  "No?" Forest seemed genuinely curious.

  "He likes big bad Alpha types, like Le..."

  I threw him a dirty glare.

  "Sorry! I shouldn't have said anything." Silver quickly shut himself up, and for that I was thankful. His mouth didn't run on and on like his mate's tended to do.

  "I'm more worried about finding my child." I sighed.

  "Hey! I already said we'd help you with that," Silver reassured me, pressing a hand onto my shoulder in a comforting manner.

  "I hope so..."

  "How about some retail therapy? It might not be your thing, but maybe getting some new stuff might take your mind off it," Forest suggested, reaching across Silver, mindful of his large belly, to place a hand onto my knee.

  I looked towards his hand, trailing up it to rest my gaze on his face before turning to Silver as well.

  Not even during my time with the Grey Brotherhood had I felt this type of comradery. I did whatever I had to for my pack to help them out, but these guys... they weren't even asking anything of me.

  That was weak of them, though. That's what Leon had taught me. Being so quick to help so selflessly was just asking for someone to use you. And whatever help you were trying to hand out would be snatched up and then some by a wolf who was smart enough to do so.

  My heart was conflicted.

  I actually liked their small pack. But I'd do whatever I needed to do to get my son back and get the fuck out of here. Even if I needed to use Jude to do it.

  I shook my head, snapping myself out of my thoughts.

  "Yeah, let's go then. I'm dying to get out of these jeans."

  "And we'll find something for the party," Forest chimed in as we stood up.

  IT WAS Jason who greeted us at the penthouse door this time around, all of our hands far too full with bags to turn the handle on our own.

  "Wow. You guys went crazy." He scanned us, greeting Forest with a quick kiss before allowing us all to come inside. We kicked off our shoes near the entrance and almost ran to the living room to drop the hefty sacks down on the floor.

  "Don't tell me that's all on Jude's account." The redhead palmed, seeming to visually count how large and how many bags were now littered about the living space.

  "No, don't worry," Forest said, batting his lashes playfully at his mate. "You paid for my things. I got some nice outfits for the wedding."

  "We only charged Jude's card for the clothing Glenn needed." Silver leaned his head to rest on the back of the couch.

  "We might have gone a bit overboard," I admitted, admiring our haul. Most of what I had was for the defense of the cold of winter, and even though spring was gonna come around soon, it'd still be pretty chilly. But a few things—the more fashionable apparel like the black halter I bought—was just for show. It wasn't a necessity, but damn did I look amazing in it.

  Jason shrugged as he returned to his room, "It's not my problem. I'm gonna keep my nose out of it."

  "Good, now where's my baby? I wanna pinch his cheeks." Forest grinned, getting up from his seat to follow his lover, the door shutting behind the two of them, now leaving Silver and me together.

  "You know, I'm sure we'll find Xander soon. So, don't worry." He spoke quietly, scooting closer towards me. I guess just hearing about Willow made him think I'd fall over in misery and proceed to bawl my eyes out. But I hadn't cried yet.

  I was determined.

  "I know. There's a lot of things on my mind and... what's that?" I leaned closer to the coffee table in the center of the room to see a couple of letters. Two pieces of mail that had my name on it.

  "How would anyone know to send you mail here?"

  "I dunno. Maybe Jude had to tell the jail where I'd be upon release?"

  "Maybe."

  I snatched it up and tore it open with a claw, tossing the empty mail packet to the floor and unfolding the rather official-looking documentation from within. My face fell sallow at the contents. I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes as I breathed out slowly.

  "You okay? You don't look so well," Silver asked as I crushed the paper in my hand and started to shake wi
th anger. "Bad news?"

  I couldn't speak, instead passing the crumpled paper over to Silver. He snatched it up just as quickly as I had passed it and began to scan it for important pieces of information.

  "Oh, this is nice. Someone named Joshua sending you a hello. What's so bad about this?"

  "Keep reading." I gritted my teeth, continuing to take breaths to keep myself calm.

  "Institution... word from the other inmates that... wait. What?!" Silver yelled, tossing the paper to the floor as he did.

  "Yeah, Leon got out."

  "H-he shouldn't be able to do that! He's caused so much harm to others, there shouldn't even be any bail set!"

  "He didn't bail out. He fucking escaped."

  "He's still got connections inside then."

  "My main question is if Joshua could figure out where I'm at now to send me mail, what's stopping Leon from learning that too?"

  "You think that Joshua guy would snitch to Leon though?"

  I shook my head. I hadn't known Joshua that long, and as insufferable as he was, he was the only one I had to rely on in jail.

  "Well, what are we going to do?"

  "About what?" Jude stepped out of his room, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands tiredly. Silver and I looked to one another, wordlessly exchanging a look that meant we knew to keep quiet for now.

  "It's not important. Here, let me give you your card back," Silver spoke up quickly.

  "Oh, I almost forgot I even gave it to you. You guys sure bought a lot."

  "Sorry, is it too much?" I asked, turning around on the couch to give Jude a pout.

  "No, I'm more happy than anything. You can finally get out of those tiny clothes and give them back to Forest."

  "Right..."

  Jude stopped as he retrieved his card, his eyes narrowing on me specifically.

  "Something else is going on. What is it? Tell me. Now."

  "Have you heard anything about Xander? We're worried about finding him soon."

  The Alpha scratched at the back of his head, bringing up his smartphone to scroll through it for a moment.

  "Actually, I found a thing or two."

  "Is there anything we can do?" I asked pitifully.

  "It's more a matter of money than anything. I found a few places he could have gone, one of the five separate orphanages in Solara. But these things take time. And to lessen that time, I'd have to go through the trouble of hiring a private detective and have my lawyer draw up a contract with them. Then there's the business of paying them..." Jude said, gesturing with his other hand, rubbing his thumb and middle finger together.

  "You've got lots of money, though. Plus, it's to help Glenn!" Silver frowned. "Can't you do something?"

  I saw his gaze turn contemplative as his eyes drifted downward to stare at the floor.

  "I have to look at my investments right now. I also like making sure that we all still have a roof over our heads."

  "We understand," I said before Silver could speak further on my behalf. I almost thought he'd fall over with how fast he spun around, looking at me with a 'what the fuck?' expression on his face.

  "We do?"

  "Yes. Thanks for your help so far, though. And for letting me stay here." I smiled, tilting my head to the side and fluttering my lashes as Forest had done to his mate earlier.

  "Y-yeah. Sure," Jude mumbled, as he headed back into his cave of a room.

  I bit on my tongue to keep myself from divulging anything further, but I had a good idea in mind to make sure Jude would dig deeper into his pockets.

  For Xander, I'd do anything.

  8

  JUDE

  I found myself constantly glancing over my shoulder to watch Glenn, who was sitting in the kitchen at the island looking at another letter in his hand.

  He was stuck in his own world, reading over the same piece of mail he had received earlier. It remained unopened, but the front of it said it was something from the justice system. I could only assume that it was related to his sentencing, probably a court date. As far as I knew, he was in no position to afford a lawyer, so a public one would be appointed to him. Unfortunately so in my opinion.

  "Hey, you're drooling all over my shirt!" I frowned, pulling Willow away as he had the silk fabric firmly grasped in his hand and was persistent on giving it a chew. He was teething as badly as any pup I'd ever seen, and was having a weird time trying to handle his shifts. His nails and baby teeth especially sharp during this stage.

  "At least he isn't trying to nibble on you. He wants to put his mouth on everything. Thank the Gods I switched to bottle feeding a while ago." Forest reached over to take his baby out of my grasp and switch him to Jason's lap.

  "He should be focusing on the television. Hey, isn't that—" Jason began, leaning forward and squinting his eyes at the screen, a familiar dark-haired wolf with a smirk appearing. Or rather, his mugshot. Leon's stare on the screen was piercing and menacing, as much so as it was when we ran into him that first night he assaulted Forest.

  "Why's it on mute? Turn the volume up!" Forest said, taking up the remote control from my side. Guess he wanted to hear what was being said rather than reading the closed captioning.

  "Leon?" Glenn said, his voice barely above a whisper. The squeak of the metal legs of the stool he sat on made my ears ache, and I turned to lecture him about it, but the horror on his face made me change my mind. Letter in hand, he slowly approached the four of us in the living room, his eyes glued to the television.

  "If you've seen him, please contact authorities immediately. The police are still investigating how he got out of his cell without anyone noticing."

  "Motherfucker," Glenn spoke up again. I was more focused on turning my attention to him than what the reporter was saying. "The cat was right."

  "Are you okay?" Jason asked Forest, who nodded slowly, given his history with the wolf.

  "I'll be fine. I hope they catch that bastard soon. They should just shoot him down like the dog he is."

  "No. This can't be happening." Glenn shuddered, wrapping his arms around his body as he took a step away from the television.

  "Hey. You'll be fine here. There's security all over the place, and the elevator attendant won't even think of bringing him up here if he ever managed to find out where you're staying. As long as you're in the house, you'll be safe." I smiled, hoping to cheer him up. But he didn't return that grin, instead giving me a heartbreaking, pitiful look.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Of course. You have nothing to worry about."

  "Yeah, Jude keeps all of us safe with this place," Forest added.

  Jason took the remote from his mate, turning the television off and tossing the control to the side.

  "You don't have to turn it off because of me," Glenn continued, but Forest and Jason stood up, hastily making a retreat to their bedroom.

  "Good night!" They shouted as the door shut behind them. Now leaving me in an awkward situation. Would it be rude if I got up and just slowly snuck into my own room as well?

  As much as I'd imagined being alone in a room with Glenn, this was definitely not the set up for that. And I wasn't too sure whether it would be appropriate to comfort him right now. He hadn't been here that long.

  "This is weird," Glenn said, laughing uncomfortably at the other two leaving.

  "Are you sure you're alright?"

  The wolf looked away, sighing as he stared at the letter he had resting on the table top.

  "I'm fine."

  "I like the clothes you got, by the way. I don't think I've said anything yet," I continued, rising from my seat and taking a few strides towards him, careful of crossing any further boundaries. "They really suit you."

  I wasn't just saying that only to make him feel better. He had on nicely fitting jeans, and a white button down shirt that was halfway undone, the right half tucked into the pants and the other hanging free. It suited his lithe frame.

  That weird urge from before started to form in the pit of
my stomach as I evaluated his appearance. His wild, long hair that hung over his shoulders, the thin silver chain with a small lion's head at the end hanging around his neck. I had to grit my teeth and stop myself from moving closer as a spark began to pulse in my lower stomach, slowly traveling downwards... No. Now wasn't the time for that.

  "You, uh, really like it?" He grinned, admiring his clothing as well, his somber tone fading away with the drop of a dime. It was like he could switch into being a totally different person with no problem at all, and as the more awkward tone settling on the room dissipated, so did that grin. Instead, the corner of his mouth tightened, pulling back into a smirk as he came closer.

  It was kinda creepy seeing him switch emotions that fast.

  He stared at me, his eyelids lowering halfway.

  I actually gulped, curious as to what he could possibly be thinking. His eyes flashed once more towards the mail he'd received on the table before walking past me.

  "If you like this, maybe I could show you the other things I've got. You did buy them after all."

  I swallowed hard again, nodding, dumbfounded. "Uh... Sure."

  "I'll bring them to your room."

  With that, he snatched up the letter and moved past me, off to Silver's room.

  I shook my head, mentally slapping myself out of the stupor he had put me in. With just his eyes, he had made me melt. I couldn't let any wolf do that to me. I was Alpha, damn it. Not being able to control myself in that manner was embarrassing and weak. I wasn't weak... But I was keen on seeing whatever else he was going to model for me.

  I SAT ON THE BED, nervous. The stress of my stock business disappearing from my mind as the door to my room opened again. Glenn peeked his head in, smiling at me and entering. I thought my eyes were going to fall from my skull as my mouth fell open, blatantly ogling Glenn and what he was wearing—or wasn't wearing.

  While it was reminiscent of what he had worn before at the sex club, this was much more appealing to me. A velvet choker clung loosely on his neck, tied at the back with a gold chain that was long enough to be pulled forward and over his shoulder. Looking lower, a gold body chain, the color complimenting his tanned skin tone. And lower still was a leather thong with multiple straps at various heights over his hips. I gulped, watching him approach me even closer.