Chapter 138

Erin’s POV

I was staring at my best friend Jessie in the face, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. They must have been playing tricks on me. I was overly exhausted, and I wasn’t fully feeling well; maybe this sickness was making me delusional.

But the look on Gavin’s face said otherwise. I could tell he was just as shocked as I was.

Jessie was alive and she was standing right in front of us with an evil glimmer in her icy eyes. She gave me a smile that sent a chill down my spine.

“How… how are you here…?” I asked in a hoarse whisper.

“I didn’t die,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “I lied. I only pretended that I was dead…”

“You’re the leader of the Slayer organization?” Gavin asked, staring at her in disbelief.

I was at a loss for words; my entire body felt numb, and my brain was hollow. I couldn’t think straight, and I wasn’t even sure if I was standing on my feet.

“I am,” she confirmed, looking between the two of us.

“I don’t understand… you were my best friend… why would you do this?”

“Because I was sick of you getting everything you want. I wanted Gavin for myself. I saw him first and he should have been mine,” she hissed.

“You did this out of jealousy?” I asked.

“Amongst other things,” she shrugged. “Maybe it started off that way.”

“You’re a vampire?” Gavin asked, still in complete shock over these details; not that I could blame him.

“I’m both a wolf and a vampire,” she explained.

This was information I already knew; I found out when I saw her sucking the blood of a human. I was in shock because I had seen her shift into a wolf before, but at that moment, she had the face of a vampire.

I sent a text to Theo and Henry about the hybrid and told them that I wanted to take care of it myself and that I wanted no harm to come to her, but the text got forwarded to others around the kingdom.

I don’t know how I managed to do that, but once word got out about Jessie, she was hunted and supposedly killed.

It was a mistake that would follow me for years after that.

But it ended up being a lie.

“A hybrid?” Gavin asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “I knew they existed, but they are rare. I never thought I would meet one.”

“A hybrid with abilities,” she said with a smile. “I have the ability to not only get into someone’s mind and make them do my bidding, but I can also hide my scent so you never knew what or who I was.”

“So, you were the one who brainwashed Susanna?” I asked.

“Of course, I was,” she said, humor lacing her voice. “Who else would it be?”

“I don’t understand… why… why are you tormenting Gavin if all you wanted was to be with him?”

“Because my parents wanted the abilities of the Pierce family. They were the most powerful family in the werewolf community, and they wanted their power for themselves. But Gavin was way too young, so they had to wait before they took his powers. But now he’s not too young… however, I’m the only one left in my family so now I’m the one who has to get his abilities. But I also wanted to have a little fun with it. I wanted to lure you out of hiding. I wanted to take everything away from you, just like you took everything away from me.”

“What did I take from you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes to her. “I did nothing but be a friend to you.”

“Oh please; You were never a friend to me. You liked me because I made you look good. I was just a pathetic follower, and I was fat. I made your pictures look better and your life look amazing,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“That’s not true…” I said in return, shaking my head. “Jessie, you were my best friend… I hated myself for years after your death. I blamed myself.”

“Good,” she said, pressing her lips firmly together. “You should blame yourself because it was your fault they hunted me. However, I had way more followers than the measly men who came after me. So I was protected fairly well. No thanks to you.”

“So, this was your plan? You wanted to take Gavin’s abilities, but destroy everything I had first?” I asked, hurt surfacing in my voice. “Well, you succeeded. I gave up everything after I thought I got you killed. I no longer live the same lifestyle I did in high school. I left everything behind and became a normal waitress…”

“Oh, Erin. We both know you aren’t a normal waitress,” she said, keeping her eyes on me.

I felt the color draining from my features; my secret was about to come out and I knew it. Gavin was about to find out that I was part of the Moonshadow organization. He was never going to forgive me for keeping his secret from him.

“Why don’t you tell Gavin what you really are,” she urged, staring between the two of us.

Gavin looked at me with concern in his eyes.

“What is she talking about?” He asked, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

“I wanted to tell you…” I said, my voice trembling only slightly.

“Tell me what?” He asked, lowering his tone.

”Go on… tell him the truth. Tell him how you are not only part of the Moonshadow organization, but one of their top agents. Tell him how your supposed husband Henry has been your partner and you’ve been playing him this entire time,” Jessie went on to say.

I could see in Gavin’s eyes that it was like his world had crumbled. He gave me the same look when I broke up with him after high school as well and seeing him look at me like that broke my heart.

My wolf whimpered when she felt his pain.

“Is that true?” He finally asked after a long pause. “Are you really the Moonshadow’s top agent?”

“I’m so sorry…” I said in a whisper. “I’ve been wanting to tell you but I couldn’t compromise the mission.”

“So… all of this…. it was just part of the mission?”

He took a step away from me.

“No! Everything I feel for you is real, Gavin. Don’t listen to her… I was never playing you. I only wanted to protect you and—”

“How can I believe you?” He asked, shaking his head. “You’ve lied to me for so long. You knew I was looking for them this entire time because I needed their help…”

“And I was right here the entire time, helping you,” I told him. “The only thing was you didn’t know about it. But the Moonshadow has been here in your corner, Gavin. I promise you, I wasn’t deceiving. Everything I did was for you.”

“But you kept this from me…”

“I couldn’t compromise the mission. If you found out what I was, it could have ruined everything. My boss wasn’t sure if you could fully be trusted and he didn’t want to risk anything.”

“And Henry? Your marriage to him was part of this too?” He asked, furrowing his brows together.

I nodded once.

“It was part of the disguise…” I admitted. “When I found out Jessie died because of my mistake…I quit the organization for a few years and Henry helped me live a normal life until I was ready to return.”

“Your mistake?” Gavin asked, staring at me intently. “What did you do?”

“I accidentally forwarded a message saying she was a hybrid, and she was hunted because of it. At least, I thought she was.”

“So, you knew she was a hybrid?”

I nodded.

“Yes,” I answered. “I’m so sorry for keeping this from you…”

“I hate to interrupt the party, but I really need to go… I have things to do,” Jessie said as she walked toward the door.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” I growled.

She only laughed and turned back to face me.

“Oh, but I must. You see, my people are wreaking havoc, and I don’t want to miss the fun.”

“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She smiled and turned away again.

“This was nothing more than a distraction; the real fun is back at the convention.”