Chapter 69

Gavin’s POV

“I’m afraid you have mistaken me for someone incapable and weak, Susanna,” Gavin said with an unbothered tone. “I’m quite the opposite. I don’t need your followers and I certainly don’t need your family’s support.”

“With everything going on right now, I beg to differ,” Susanna argued. “Look around, Gavin. You might have bought yourself time, but I hear the whispers around the hospital. You are losing your pack’s support and respect. If you don’t have their support and respect, then you can forget about making something of yourself during this Alpha convention. Your pack will crumble before your eyes. You need me more than ever.”

“I will manage just fine,” Gavin said, his tone hardening. “The status of my pack is not your concern. I can assure you that I have things handled. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Her mouth was gaping open as he turned away; he left without another word.

.

…

Erin’s POV

I heard a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone when Gavin answered it. I knew it was Susanna and I knew she was requesting to see him before he even left. The fact that he lied to me about it hurt, but I didn’t blame him for keeping it from me.

I tried not to think too much about it as I watched him walk out of the room. My main focus was on the fact that there was a huge possibility that the woman of fire is actually the leader of the Slayers or a vessel.

With all the damage she had already done, I could tell she was fierce. The Slayers this time around were not playing around. They were returning with a vengeance.

I had my doubts that Gavin would be able to handle this one on his own; without the help of the Moonshadow.

“He’s suspicious of us,” Emily pointed out earlier in the day. “He knows we are keeping something from him.”

“He thinks we are part of the Moonshadow organization,” I say in return. “Which, he’s not wrong. Not anymore.”

“We should tell him the truth.”

“And risk compromising the mission? Not to mention every contract the organization has….? No, thank you. Gavin can never know about this.”

She fell silent as she processed my words; she knew I was right. Besides, telling Gavin the truth would put him in even more danger and that’s not something I wanted to risk.

My cell phone began to ring on my bedside table, and I grabbed it quickly. I saw Henry’s name on the screen and my heart grew heavy in my chest.

“Henry?” I said into the phone.

“Can we talk?”

“Whatever you need to say, you can say it over the phone,” I tell him.

“I was wrong,” he breathed, and he sounded almost defeated.

“About what?”

“About Gavin… I’ve been watching him, and I don’t think he has any ties with the Slayers. But Bane…”

“I know,” I said quickly. “He was being controlled by them.”

“Gavin saved him.”

“You saw that?” I asked, raising my brows.

“Yes. That’s when I realized I was wrong about him. I’m so sorry Erin. I never meant to cause you any trouble. It was an honest mistake. You have to understand that I was only worried…”

I knew he meant well, and I felt for him.

“I know…” I said, a small smile playing on my lips. It was nice having a civil conversation for once; I had missed him as my partner, but most importantly, I had missed him as my friend. “Let’s meet and talk,” I finally said after a beat of silence.

“Are you sure?” He asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes,” I answered. “I think it would be good if we talked. Let’s meet at the coffee shop near the restaurant.”

“I’ll see you there.”

…

Henry was waiting for me at a booth when I entered the coffee shop. He looked genuinely pleased to see me and waved me over as soon as I entered.

He already had my coffee of choice waiting for me as well; I thanked him as I sat down.

“I think I might have a lead,” I say to him, keeping my tone low.

He rose his brows, surprised by my words.

“Seriously? Does it have anything to do with the woman at the hospital?"

I shouldn’t have been surprised; Henry was incredible at his job.

“You know about the woman of fire?”

He laughed, and it was nice to see him smile for once. It’s been a long time since he’s laughed.

“That’s what you call her?” He asked, raising his brows.

“She created the fire with her abilities, Henry. Yes, that’s what I’m calling her. Or the woman in the red cloak.”

“I did a little digging and found out some things. The security team was able to salvage some footage. It’s not a lot, and the angles are kind of crappy. It’s mainly footage of the doors and windows. But nobody had entered the hospital for hours before the fire started.”

“Which means she was already inside the building,” I breathed. “You think she was a patient?”

“It’s a possibility,” he said. “She could have also been transferred to the other hospital.”

“Or she could have escaped.”

“That’s a possibility too,” he agreed. “Do you know any information about this woman?”

“I have a reason to believe that she’s either the leader of the Slayers or a vessel,” I said in a hushed whisper, worried that others might hear us.

“To be the leader of the Slayers, you’d have to be a vampire. How would she get into a werewolf hospital?” Henry asked, which is something I hadn’t thought about. “But a vessel is an interesting thought. What makes you think she has any ties with the vampires though?”

“Because I spoke to Bane after he got his mind back in control,” I started to explain. “He said he remembered a woman’s voice… Everything was happening at once; Bane and that woman appeared around the same time. It’s only a suspicion, no hard evidence yet.”

“Right,” Henry said reluctantly. “Did you bring any of this up to Gavin?”

I wasn’t sure why that mattered, but I answered him anyway.

“Yes,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “He doesn’t want me to get involved.”

A crooked grin appeared on Henry’s lips.

“He doesn’t know what you are capable of,” Henry said in return. “That’s kind of why I called you in the first place. Once I realized you were right, I thought maybe we should be working together. Like old times? I heard you returned to the organization… I was hurt you didn’t tell me yourself. But I guess I understand why…”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t trust you with how things were. But I would like us to work together again. Gavin is refusing to work with me, and I think this leader might be more powerful than the last.”

“I was kind of thinking the same thing,” Henry said, meeting my eyes. “I think working together again would be a good idea.”

I couldn’t help but smile; I had my partner back. I had my friend back.

I lifted my cup of coffee in the air, chuckling.

“To starting over,” I said, motioning for him to do the same.

He looked at me for a moment longer before laughing and lifting his own cup.

“To starting over,” he repeated, clinking his cup with mine.

We both took a sip before placing our cups back down.

“So…” he began, searching my face with his eyes. “What are you thinking we should do?”

I thought about it for a moment, I knew what I wanted to do, but saying it out loud was difficult.

I met his eyes and leaned toward him so only he could hear my words.

“I want to find the Slayer organization and kill their leader. Tonight.”