Chapter 44

Erin’s POV

I woke up in the middle of the night.

I dreamt of the day I met Gavin, my freshmen year of high school. He was so handsome, and I was in such sweet bliss.

That was the moment that would change the course of my life forever. I thought I was okay; I pretended for so long that I was okay.

But I was only lying to myself.

I sat up in bed, peering around the dark room I lay in.

I was completely alone and in a place that didn’t feel comfortable to me.

Henry wasn’t here and I wasn’t in my usual home.

I was at the Headquarters where my life would forever change.

There was a time I felt safe here; I would stay here during long missions under the protection of my former boss, Theo, and the security team. But now this place felt like a stranger’s home.

I was out of my element.

When I arrived, I was exhausted and requested to be taken to a room right away. Theo was the first to greet me; Henry had warned him that I would be arriving and explained to him the entire story so I wouldn’t have to.

I was grateful to Henry for that.

Theo didn’t ask me any further questions.

I was brought to a guest room and laid down. I don’t even remember falling asleep.

I slid out of bed and went over to a closed window; I needed to provide the room with a little bit of air. I opened the window and instantly regretted opening it; a chill went through my spine as the brisk night air invaded my space.

It wasn’t a normal cold though; it was chilling. Deadly.

I closed the window, no longer able to tolerate the cold air.

I felt Emily’s impatience and I knew she wanted to get out and stretch her legs. I felt bad for keeping her locked away for this long.

I couldn’t remember the last time I shifted.

If there was one thing I remembered about this realm, was its endless forest.

I left the room, roaming through the empty halls. I forgot how big the headquarters was and I was surprised I didn’t get lost.

I made my way outside, stepping into the dark oasis of this realm.

As soon as I shifted into my wolf, I could no longer feel the coldness of the weather around me. Emily’s fur prevented me from feeling that type of chill.

We ran through the quiet forest, running as fast as we could. I howled loudly up at the moonlight that shined down upon us, lighting up the pathway as we ran.

I felt a sense of freedom; I had forgotten what it was like to run this fast and be this free.

I remembered a time that I would run freely with Gavin by my side, and nothing could ever touch us. It was around the first time I had shifted when I first turned 18.

Now, that was just a distant memory, and I was here by myself.

I felt so lonely.

…

Gavin’s POV

Susanna was asleep by the time Gavin returned to her room. He tried to brush the thought of his previous conversation with Henry out of his mind.

As long as Erin was somewhere safe, Gavin shouldn’t be thinking about her right now. If Susanna didn’t do this to herself, then, whoever attacked her could potentially attack Erin next and he wasn’t going to allow that to happen.

There was a knock on the door to Susanna’s room, causing Gavin to stand quickly to his feet. Beta Seth stood at the doorway, staring down at some documents he had in his hand. There was a timid frown on his face.

“What is it?” Gavin asked, narrowing his eyes at his Beta.

“You were right,” Seth said, glancing up at him. “She was faking it. Susanna was never pregnant.”

Gavin rushed toward Seth and grabbed the papers from his hand, scanning them quickly.

The results showed that Susanna never lost a child. In fact, there was never a child to lose.

“And the other results? The one that states she lost a child?”

“They were fake documents,” Seth confirmed.

“She was lying to me,” Gavin said, shaking his head as he crumbled the papers in his fist.

“I’m sorry,” Seth said, lowering his gaze to the ground. “I had no idea she was capable of something like this. I would have never—”

“I don’t blame you,” Gavin said quickly, stopping Seth’s words. “It’s not your fault. I need you to find out what doctor forged the results though.”

“Yes, sir,” Seth said with a head nod.

Gavin turned back to a sleeping Susanna who was beginning to wake from all the commotion.

“Gavin?” She asked groggily, peering at him in the darkened room. “What’s going on?”

Gavin approached her with the papers in hand, tossing them on the bed beside her.

“You tell me, Susanna,’ Gavin said in a low and threatening tone. “You were never pregnant. Why would you deceive me like this?”

“I… I don’t understand…” she said hoarsely, glancing at the papers only briefly. “Those are fake… they have to be fake…”

“Tell me the truth,” he growled. “Those are the actual test results. I made my Beta watch the entire process. You were never pregnant. Why would you lie to me?”

She was quiet for a long while as she stared at the papers; her lip quivering only slightly before she glanced up at him.

“Do you blame me?” She asked in a whisper. “You spend most of your time thinking about that waitress and you never even stop to think about me. How do you think that makes me feel?”

“You shouldn’t have done this,” Gavin said, taking a step away from her. “It was wrong of you and—”

“Maybe if you gave me actual attention!” Susanna yelled, sitting up in bed. “I wouldn’t have to resort to something like this…”

“Did somebody actually stab you, Susanna? Or did you do this to yourself?”

“What?” She gasped. “How could you ask me that?”

“I no longer know what you are capable of. But I know you can’t be trusted.”

“Gavin—”

He didn’t allow her to speak anymore, he stormed out of the hospital room.

…

Erin’s POV

“Erin, do you think we can have a word?”

Theo stood outside the headquarters door as I returned.

“Sure,” I said as I followed him into headquarters.

We went through the main foyer and into his office where he leaned against his desk as he often did when he needed to speak about something serious.

“How have you been?” He asked once we were in the closed compacity of his office. “We haven’t had a real chance to talk since you got here. I hope the room is to your liking.”

“I’ve been fine. Just living a normal life,” I tell him. “Thank you for letting me stay here for a few days. It means a lot.”

“You’re always welcome here. You know that,” he says with a fond smile. “I was honestly surprised when I received a message from Henry on that burner phone. I gave it to him for emergencies to reach me the last time he was here, and I didn’t really think he’d use it. But when I saw his message, I knew it was important.”

“A lot has happened,” I admit. “I’m actually kind of tired; I think I’m going to get some more rest.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said, meeting my eyes. “We miss you at the organization, Erin. There isn’t anyone here like you. Your abilities are incredibly powerful. I was kind of hoping you would reconsider.”

“Reconsider?” I asked, raising my brows.

He nodded his head once.

“Yes. I’m asking you to rejoin the Moonshadow organization.”