Chapter 118

Erin’s POV

“I’m telling you, Sasha… I heard them in his office. They sounded hot and heavy.”

“I mean, she is quite pretty. But she wears such boring clothing and she’s a waitress. Completely out of Alpha Gavin’s lead.”

“But I hear she’s the mate that rejected him after high school. Now that she’s single… this could be Alpha’s second chance.”

I was walking by the halls when I heard a couple of maids gossiping. I knew I could find gossiping maids somewhere.

As soon as they saw me, they stopped talking immediately and I saw life draining from their faces. They were both beat red and with gaping mouths.

I rose my brows at them, folding my arms across my chest.

“Miss Erin,” one of the maids said, bowing her head. “I’m so sorry. Please excuse us for outspeaking.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” I assured them, keeping my tone even. “I came here knowing that rumors would be started if I stayed. I guess I just wasn’t expecting them to be so soon.”

They both looked at one another, confused.

“It’s hard to hide things around the palace,” one of them said with a nervous chuckle. “Everybody talks. I hope we didn’t offend you.”

“Not at all,” I said with a shrug. “But I assure you, they are just rumors. I’m not the future Luna of Gavin’s pack and I’m certainly not having relations with him.”

They both stared at me with disbelieving looks for a moment.

“Whomever Gavin was with inside of his office, it wasn’t me. I can promise you that,” I continued.

They looked at one another once more before looking back at me.

“We are so sorry; we had no idea.”

“Why would you?” I asked, forcing a laugh. “It’s not like it’s public information.”

“I wonder who that woman Alpha was with,” the other maid said thoughtfully. “She’s a lucky woman.”

“She is indeed,” I agreed. “But I suppose it’s none of our business. However, I’m glad I ran into you ladies. I do have a question; I’m hoping someone would be able to answer.”

“What might that be?”

“I’ve heard something about a woman blackmailing Gavin. Have you heard anything about that?” I asked, peering between the two of them.

They were both quiet for a moment as they thought about how to answer that question.

“Alpha is a very private person,” one of the maids said with a timid frown. “He’s very good at keeping secrets and keeping himself quiet. We wouldn’t have heard much of anything from him.”

“Was there ever a point when you thought his intentions were impure? Maybe he was hiding something?”

“Oh, goddess no,” the maid said, shaking her head quickly. “Alpha Gavin only has the purest intentions. He cares for his pack greatly and we trust him very much.”

“It’s an honor to be able to work for him in his packhouse,” the other said with equal passion.

That was a relief to hear, but it didn’t give me any answers that I needed.

“Miss Erin, may I ask… is Alpha Gavin in some kind of trouble? You mentioned a blackmailer. Is he okay?”

“I’m sure he’s fine. I wouldn’t worry about it. And please, forget this conversation ever happened.”

I went to walk away, but I heard one of them calling after me, which stopped me in my tracks.

“He does a lot of business phone calls while eating his meals in the kitchen. Perhaps you should ask the kitchen staff if they’ve heard anything unusual during one of his phone calls.”

I smiled, but I kept my back toward them.

“That’s a great idea; thank you.”

…

The kitchen staff was in a frenzy to cook a meal for Alpha Gavin and for those who live in the packhouse. The head chef was hard at work, and he was exactly the person I needed to speak to.

He gave me a kind smile as I made my way toward him.

“Dinner isn’t quite ready yet, Miss Erin. But once it is, I’ll let you know. I hope you like stew. Alpha wanted me to cook something delicious for you,” the chef said as he quickly chopped some veggies.

“Do you need any help? I make a really good stew myself,” I said, walking closer to him.

“That’s quite all right. But thank you for offering.”

“Would you mind if I asked you a question, chef?” I asked, leaning across the counter, and peering up at him.

“Sure,” he answered. “What can I do for you?”

“I know Alpha Gavin makes a lot of important phone calls while eating in here. Have you ever heard him saying something unusual on the phone? Maybe an unusual conversation or argument?”

He rose his brows at me, thinking about it for a short moment.

“Alpha Gavin makes a lot of phone calls,” he said slowly, eyeing me carefully. “But they aren’t usually arguments.”

“To women?” I asked.

“Is this about a woman that Alpha Gavin might be seeing?” The chef asked.

“He’s seeing someone?”

“Alpha Gavin is always seeing someone,” the chef shrugged as he continued chopping the veggies. “He doesn’t stay single for long.”

“When was the last time he spoke to a woman on the phone?”

“Maybe a few days ago. He was planning on going to see her…” he paused for a moment just as a tight and uncomfortable knot formed in my stomach. “I suppose that was a strange conversation.”

“Strange how?”

“Well, he was planning on seeing a woman in a hotel room. However, he didn’t particularly seem pleased by it. Based on his portion of the phone call, it seemed like he was given an ultimatum. He stopped eating before he even began and left.”

“An ultimatum?” I asked, raising my brows. “Like he was being blackmailed?”

“I guess you could say that. But he returned after a few hours and he seemed normal,” the chef shrugged. “Alpha Gavin is incredibly strong and powerful. I’m sure it’s nothing he can’t handle.”

“I see…” I breathed. “Thank you for telling me this information.”

I didn’t stick around any longer; I left the kitchen right away.

Later in the evening, Anna brought my dinner to my room.

“Alpha Gavin wants you to meet him in his room tonight,” she said, wiggling her brows. “He’s very busy right now though and isn’t able to eat with you. He apologizes.”

“Thank you,” I said with a small smile.

I wasn’t very hungry because I couldn’t stop thinking about that woman Gavin had gone to see. What was he doing with her? And why?

I forced myself to eat a little of the stew before pushing it aside and going toward the bed. The white box, with the blouse Gavin had gotten me, sat on the bed. I lifted it out of the box and gave it a long look.

“Are we going to put it on and model it for our mate?” Emily asked, eagerly.

“Probably better if we didn’t…” I admitted. “However, I would like to get into his bedroom. If he’s intimately seeing this woman, there’s probably more info in his room.”

“Is that the excuse you are going with?” Emily chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and took my shirt off so I could put this new blouse on.

It must have cost him a fortune; these pearls were real, and it was stitched to perfection.

It was also the perfect fit.

“You look beautiful,” Emily breathed as I took a look at myself in the mirror.

I smiled, pleased.

“We aren’t going there to have sex with him,” I told my wolf. “I’ll convince him to take a shower and then I’ll snoop through his room. I’ll leave before he gets out.”

“Oh, sure. Whatever you say.”

I left the room and went down the hallway to his room; I could feel him on the other side of the door and my hands were growing warm at the thought of touching him.

I had to keep myself focused though. I had to resist every temptation possible.

But as soon as he opened the door and I saw his shirtless body, all thoughts left my mind. Without warning, he wrapped me in his arms and pulled me into his room, shutting the door behind us.