Chapter 56

Gavin’s POV

Gavin’s entire body froze at Bane’s words. Bane only laughed from behind him. It was taking everything Gavin had to not tear his throat out with his wolf’s fangs. But he held himself back.

“What do you know about her?” Gavin found himself asking, his tone was dark and threatening.

There was a moment of pause while Bane thought about how to answer his question.

“I know that she’s a dangerous individual and could get herself in a lot of trouble if she’s not careful,” Bane said, sounding almost bored.

Gavin whipped around, baring his sharp teeth in Bane’s direction, his eyes flashing with anger. Bane didn’t look frightened by it though. He looked more excited than anything.

“How long do expect to hide her?” Bane asked, turning away. “It won’t be long before she’s found out.”

He was gone without another word, leaving Gavin alone with his thoughts.

“You should have let me tear his throat out,” his wolf hissed furiously. “I could have taken care of the problem easily and quickly.”

“We need to get home to Erin. Now.”

…

Erin’s POV

It felt strange returning to Gavin’s packhouse after a long day at work. I was so used to returning to my home that I started to head in that direction before I stopped myself.

I called Henry a couple more times as I made my way to Gavin’s pack, but per usual his phone went straight to voicemail.

There was a part of me that wanted to return to our home and see if he was there. But if his phone was off, I was assuming he just didn’t want to speak with me.

The thought made me feel sad; he was once someone I trusted so deeply. I cared about him as a best friend. He was supposed to be my partner; my husband. But now it felt like he was nothing more than a stranger.

I sighed and returned to Gavin’s packhouse.

I was honestly surprised he wasn’t there yet, but there was a part of me that was relieved that I could have a few minutes alone with my thoughts.

“Good evening, Erin,” Beta Seth said as he came into the living room.

I was curled up on the couch with a book on my lap when he arrived. I gave him a faint smile, trying not to think about our previous conversation when he basically told me that I wasn’t good enough for Gavin.

I hadn’t even brought that up to Gavin and I don’t think I’m going to.

“The kitchen staff cooked a delicious meal. You are welcome to have some if you’d like some.”

I raised my brows at him; it was odd that he was being nice to me all of a sudden. Maybe Gavin had said something to him.

“Thank you,” I said to him.

He waited a moment longer before leaving the living room.

That was odd.

“Maybe he’s coming around?” Emily suggested.

“Perhaps,” I said in return, shaking my head as I looked back down at my book.

I wasn’t even that hungry. In fact, I was feeling a little uneasy in my stomach. I was hoping that reading a book would put my mind at ease, but I was finding myself growing even more distracted at the moments went on.

It felt like hours had gone by before Gavin returned to the packhouse.

My heart started to beat quickly when he made his way into the living room; he knew exactly where I was located and for some reason, that excited my wolf.

His eyes landed on me instantly and I saw them darkening.

“You need to call out of work for the next few days,” Gavin said, folding his arms across my chest.

My face instantly grew warm as I closed the book and placed it beside me.

“Excuse me?” I asked, raising my brows.

“Somebody out there knows that you are the one who stopped the fire at the hospital. You aren’t safe.”

Bane.

“You spoke to Alpha Bane.”

It wasn’t a question.

“You should have called me as soon as he made an appearance at your work,” he scolded. “He’s not a good wolf.”

“I can fight my own battles,” I protested.

“Not when it comes to Bane. He’s my battle to fight. He’s after you to get to me,” Gavin argued.

“I don’t think that’s true. Granted, he didn’t tell me what he wanted. But he left me a note…”

“A note?” Gavin asked, narrowing his dark eyes at me. “What did it say?”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the note that Bane had left for me, handing it to him.

“He’s just trying to scare me,” I said, trying to sound unbothered but the note itself was giving me a lot of anxiety. But I didn’t want Gavin to know that.

“I don’t want you going back there,” Gavin said, shaking his head as he crumbled the note into his fist.

I stood to my feet quickly.

“I work there, Gavin. It’s not your place to tell me what I can and can’t do,” I told him, a little harsher than I intended, but I needed to get the point across.

He shook his head; it seemed his mind was already made up.

“I won’t allow it, Erin. It’s dangerous and until I figure out what Bane wants from you; I want you to stay in this packhouse.”

“Like a prisoner?” I scoffed.

“Like someone who needs protecting.”

“I don’t need protection. If you hadn’t noticed, I am more than capable of taking care of myself,” I told him with finality.

“I had noticed. I also noticed that you are capable of getting yourself into trouble as well. I want you to stay in this house going froward and let me do my job.”

“Your job isn’t to keep me locked away,” I said angrily. “Don’t you see how unfair you are being?”

He was acting like my father once had when I was young. I didn’t need to be protected; he needed to understand that.

“I mean it, Erin. Don’t you think about leaving this house. I need to make sure it is safe for you and until I can be sure of your safety, you are on lockdown.”

“Lockdown?” I gasped; he started to turn away but I grabbed onto his arm to stop him from leaving. I was fighting the tears that were threatening my eyes. I wouldn’t cry right now; I wouldn’t give him that kind of weakness. “You can’t be serious.”

‘It’s for your own good,” he said, lowering his tone. He kept his eyes locked on mine. “I’m sorry… but I can’t have you in danger. Bane made it clear that he was after you and he wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted. And what he wants, Erin, is you.”

My whole world felt like it was crumbling around me at that moment; he pulled away from me and went toward the door of the living room.

“And to be sure that you don’t leave the packhouse, I’m appointing some gammas to keep watch around the packhouse.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “And Beta Seth isn’t allowed to leave your side.”

Before I could protest against his unfairness, he was gone.