Chapter 17
Gideon's POV
I was getting impatient. How long did I have to wait until Raven brought out my son?
Although I knew that my anger wasn't really directed at her. I was mad at myself. She was just a convenient target.
Everything that she had said had been true. It was completely inconceivable that Leo had managed to slip through the cracks. It was absolutely an oversight on my part, an embarrassing one at that. I could have lost my only child, my heir. How the hell had that happened?
Finally, the front door to Ivan's house opened. Raven and Leo walked out and Leo was beaming up at her. I watched in awe. I had never seen that expression on my son's face. Not even once. Some of my worry dissipated.
But then Leo looked at me and his face fell. A sullen expression replaced his smile and my heart dropped. Guilt began eating away at my stomach. Somehow this was my fault. I just didn't know how.
“Do I really have to go?” I heard Leo whisper to Raveen and my heart clenched. How was he already so attached to this stranger? I understood that she saved his life, but this felt like more than that.
“Yes, little wolf. You have to go, but I'll be there tomorrow. All you have to do is go to sleep and when you wake up, I'll be there. Now, please don't cause any more trouble. If you ever want to see me, you can call me first. No more sneaking out, understood?” she asked and pinched his nose.
Leo giggled and pinky promised that he would call next time.
“Thank you,” I told her stiffly before I loaded Leo and myself into the car. Leo didn't say a single word to me the entire drive back to our house. He'd never not talked to me before. Even when he was little and angry, he'd still say something. His silence was disconcerting, to say the least.
When we pulled into the driveway, Leo still hadn't said a word. We sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. “Leo, I know you're upset and I'm sorry that Daphne is the one who upset you. But running off like that was very dangerous. You could have gotten hurt.”
Leo pursed his lips, arms crossed as he glared at me. “Miss Warrior makes me feel safe.
I think…I think she's what having a mom is supposed to feel like. She's not like Daphne.”
I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
I should have never sent Claire away. I should have never separated them like I did. If I hadn't, maybe Claire would still be alive and Leo wouldn't have to wonder what it would be like to have a mom. He wouldn't feel the need to run away to a complete stranger.
But I couldn't exactly blame him for being drawn to his new bodyguard. If I was being honest with myself, I was extremely curious about her too. I didn't know what she looked like, what she smelled like, or even what her wolf felt like. If I wasn't looking directly at her, she might as well have not existed. She was a ghost.
When I had decided to hire her as a bodyguard, I of course had looked into her as much as I possibly could. However, Prince Ivan's pack was tightly guarded, which made sense given his royal status. My investigators had turned up with very little information. Which meant I was going to have to find out about her straight from the source. But I didn't seem to be making a good impression so far.
“I'm sorry, Leo. I really am. I'll talk to Daphne. Just give her another chance, okay?” I asked and he reluctantly nodded. But I knew that he had already given her a lot of chances. I was going to have to do something about her. Something I had never done before.
When we walked into the house, the familiar sound of Daphne's heels greeted us. My annoyance flared. I wasn't really in the mood to deal with her right now.
“Oh my goodness, Leo! Are you okay? I was so worried about you!” Daphne cooed, but Leo just pushed past her without saying anything. Watching my son treat her so coldly also made my heart harden against her just a little.
“Daphne, for the second time in two days, you have put my son in danger. I am beginning to think that you are unfit to be his mother. Why don't you spend some time in The Tank to think about what you've done?” I said and was satisfied to see her eyes widen in fear.
The Tank was nothing more than a small closet in the basement. An isolation chamber, as it were. I usually only sent young wolves down there as a time out. I'm sure Daphne thought it was beneath her.
“Gideon -”
I raised my hand to cut her off. I didn't want to hear it. I signaled for one of the guards to take her down there, ignoring the sounds of her protest. She should have been grateful that I didn't give her a more severe punishment.
I sighed and sank into a chair. Was I really doing the right thing by marrying her?
Daphne's POV
How dare he put me in that horrible place? And all because his brat of a son ran away? How, exactly, was that my fault? All I did was tell him the truth about his new bodyguard. It's not like I told him to run off like a little bitch.
And why was everyone suddenly all in love with that whore of a bodyguard anyway? We had plenty of strong wolves in our pack. It's not like Gideon needed to seek outside help. We'd fended off all the assassination attempts just fine on our own so far. All she did was save his life once. It wasn't even that special.
I had spent the last six years sucking up to that brat. But no matter what I did, he never warmed up to me. The little shit never even gave me a hug. And because of that, I could feel Gideon slipping away from me.
Maybe I should have killed Claire before she had ever given birth. Then I wouldn't be in this mess. I wouldn't have to deal with Leo and I definitely wouldn't have to deal with mysterious bodyguards that came out of nowhere.
Gideon had never even punished me once before she showed up. It was pretty clear that I would have to get rid of her. Just like I had gotten rid of Claire. Although, she was nothing like Claire. She was violent and had no problem standing up for herself. I would have to come up with a different strategy.
And perhaps that strategy would have to do with the mask the bitch hid behind. Raven had told Gideon that it was because of scars, but I think there's more to it than that. I think she's hiding something. And I'm going to find out what. Because whatever she's hiding would probably get her fired, at the very least. Maybe even get her killed.
I pulled out my phone and dialed a familiar number. When the other person picked up, I said, “Let's put on a show.”
