Chapter 24

Erin’s POV

I was surprised the next morning when I woke up and Henry was already gone. I knew he had a meeting at the office today, but I didn’t think it was going to be this early. I was hoping we would be able to finish our conversation from last night.

We stopped arguing, but I felt like there was a lot left unsaid. I felt unsettled after our conversation, and I wanted to make sure we were still on good terms.

I hated fighting with Henry; since Jessie’s death, he had become my best friend. I owed him so much for what he had done for me and the thought of not having him in my corner was painful.

I grabbed my phone and saw there were no messages or missed calls. Usually, if he were to leave early before I woke up, there would be some kind of text message explaining why.

But in this case, there was nothing.

Could it be because he was still so upset with me after our argument last night?

I hoped he didn’t think I was still in love with Gavin because that wasn’t the case at all.

I wasn’t in love with Gavin.

I had stopped loving him a long time ago.

“Who are you trying to convince?” Emily asked, teasingly.

“That’s enough out of you,” I said in return, rolling my eyes at my wolf.

She chuckled in my mind, and I shook my head, silencing her.

I brought up my message feed with Henry and typed out a new message to him.

“Hey… I know we left things on rocky terms last night. I’m sorry that things go so out of hand. You left early this morning without saying anything, so I’m assuming you’re still mad. Can we talk more later?”

I put my phone on my nightstand before going into the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long while. My face was pale and worn out. I certainly wasn’t the same young beautify I was back in high school.

I had age lines under my eyes and smile lines around my cheeks. My breasts were also lower than they were when I was young.

I stripped off my clothing and stepped into the shower. The heat of the shower always felt good to soothe away the problems of the last couple of days. I closed my eyes, breathing in the thick layer of steam.

Once I finished in the shower, I dressed in my uniform for work, tying my hair up in its usual bun. The uniform hung off my body a little looser than it had the day before. I frowned as I stared around at my body.

I was getting thinner; I hadn’t been eating much. I hadn’t really had much of an appetite lately. Not since Gavin came back into my life and started disrupting things.

I shook the thought out of my head before returning to my room, grabbing my phone I saw that I had a text message from Henry.

“Sorry for taking off so early. The meeting got pushed a lot sooner and I didn’t really have much time this morning. Yes, we can talk later. I’m sorry for how out of hand the argument was last night. I can’t wait to see you later; I love you.”

I smiled at his message, but then frowned when I saw there was another missed message.

It was from an unknown number; a knot formed in my stomach as I opened this message.

“I wish to see you soon. – Gavin.”

My frown deepened; Gavin texted me.

“How did you get my number?” I typed it out and sent him.

It didn’t take long before my phone buzzed again.

“Are you really that surprised?” He asked in return. I pressed my lips firmly together; I was going to ignore it before he messaged me again. “You called me awhile back to demand your wedding right back… remember?”

Of course, I was so stupid. I got his phone number from the Alpha directory and called him from work using my personal cell phone. I should have known he would save that number.

“Please, delete this number,” texted him again.

“I don’t think I’ll do that,” he said; I could tell he was mocking me. “I would like to see you though.”

“Gavin, please. I can’t get mixed up with you. I’m married.”

“Are you really though?”

What was that supposed to mean? Did he know something?

No. it was impossible for him to know anything about my marriage. I shook the thought out of my head, grabbing my coat. I needed to get to work.

“I’m heading to work. I don’t have time for this,” I texted him before leaving the house.

As I got into my car, my phone buzzed.

“Perfect. I’ll come in for lunch.”

My face grew warm; I didn’t bother texting him again. Once I got to the restaurant, everyone was already doing their morning tasks before it opened.

I placed my phone and my coat in my locker in the back room before joining the other waitresses on the front grounds. Per usual, they all ignored me, pretending I wasn’t there. which was fine; I didn’t want any altercations today.

I wasn’t in the mood for it anyways.

I started by cleaning my section of the restaurant and making sure everything was stocked for the day.

I paused though when I heard the noise from the TV booming across the restaurant. Everyone’s eyes were fixated on the big screen television.

The news anchor stood on the screen with a fallen face, peering into the camera, she said, “It’s a sad day as another body was found near the river. It’s unclear who the person responsible is, but the condition of the body was unspeakable…”

My mouth nearly dropped open at the sound of that. Somebody was murdered under our noses? How had the Moonshadow organization allowed this to happen? How did Henry allow this to happen?

Suddenly, my heart weighed heavily in my chest.

“Whoever performed this act of violence is said to be long gone. But it’s clear that special powers have been used to commit this crime. The victim hasn’t been announced yet. Their body is so damaged, that they are unrecognizable. But once we know more details, we will make a proper announcement. Until then, we ask that everyone keeps themselves safe and if you know any information, please alert your local authorities.”

Someone with special abilities?

I thought back to when Henry was saying Gavin was dangerous. The thought was ridiculous to me at the time, but now someone has turned up dead.

My breathing had gotten caught in my throat; the murmurs of the waitresses were bringing me a world of worry. I had never seen them look so distraught and worried before. They were whispering amongst one another.

I caught the eyes of Kelsey from across the room; she too looked worried.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I went back to doing my tasks.

Just because Gavin had abilities, didn’t mean it was him.

Right?