Chapter 70

Erin’s POV

“Are you out of your mind? You can’t just walk up to the Slayers and start fighting. They will fuck you up,” Henry said shaking his head.

He could see how badly I wanted to do just that.

“We can’t just sit by and let them do more damage. Now that we know that they are back with a new leader, we need to jump into action,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

I hoped he wasn’t going to argue with me on this.

“I get that; I do. But we need to think rationally. We should go to the headquarters and speak with Theo. He wouldn’t want us to go there without a team,” he said in a hushed whisper.

The coffee shop was filling with others at that point and talking out loud about this was starting to get risky. I took a casual sip of my coffee and Henry did the same.

“As your partner, I will back you up no matter what. But what you want to do is a suicide mission if we aren’t prepared,” he said in a mindlink. “You said it yourself that they are much more powerful now. We have to act with intelligence.”

He was right; maybe going to see Theo would be a good idea.

I began to stand.

“Okay, let’s go to the headquarters then.”

…

Per usual, Theo was in his office when we arrived. He glanced up from his computer and rose his brows when we walked into his office side by side.

“Didn’t expect to see you too together,” Theo said, teasingly.

“We have a mutual agreement,” I explained. “We decided to become partners again.”

“I see that,” Theo said, a pleased smile decorating his lips. “I’m glad to hear that. What information do you have for me?”

“The leader of the Slayers is using wolves as their vessels. I also believe it was the leader or one of the vessels that burned down the hospital and committed all those crimes. I want to go find the Slayers and take care of the leader as soon as possible. But finding the Slayer hideout might be difficult if it’s hidden like this,” I explained.

Theo thought about it for a moment.

“Maybe not as hard as you think. What do you know about these vessels?” Theo asked, staring between the two of us.

“The Alpha of the Darkmoon pack, Bane, was one of the vessels. But Gavin was able to break that connection. However, Bane doesn’t seem to remember anything that happened during his time as a vessel. So, I wasn’t able to get any information out of him other than the fact that he heard a woman’s voice in his head. I believe the voice and the woman in the red cloak are the same people. But there’s no way to know for sure.”

“But Gavin has the ability to make him remember. He can manipulate the mind into remembering forgotten information.”

I gasped; I hadn’t even thought about that. But would Gavin do that if I were to ask him?

“I don’t know if he’d help me,” I admit, glancing at my feet. “We have different opinions when it comes to this stuff. He doesn’t want me to get involved.”

“If he knew it would save the world, then he’ll help,” Henry said in return, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt to ask him. Just tell him you aren’t going to get involved any further. You don’t need to physically be there when Bane rehashes everything with Gavin. We can plant a bug and listen to the entire conversation from a different location.”

“Now you are thinking,” Theo said with an approving head nod.

“Once we do find the Slayer hideout, then we can defeat the leader,” I said with finality in my tone.

“Slow it down, Erin,” Theo said, now frowning with a head shake. “You can’t just run up to the leader and take them out. It’s going to take strategy and a team.”

“That’s what I told her,” Henry muttered.

“You should listen to your partner more,” Theo instructed.

“If we know where the hideout is, do you honestly expect me to do nothing but wait?” I asked in disbelief.

“Since when do you act so carelessly?” Theo asked, narrowing his eyes at me. “This isn’t the same Erin as before and this version of Erin is going to get her killed.”

He was right; I was way too wound up, and I needed to tone it down a little bit. But my wolf was being driven crazy by the thought of Gavin being in any kind of danger. I also didn’t want the world to be in danger.

I just wanted to get rid of these Slayers once and for all, but I also knew how powerful they were, and we needed to be rational.

“I’m going to get a team together and once we find the location of the hideout, I will send an entire team in, including both you and Henry. We will have a meeting and discuss the best plan to put into action. Understood?”

“Yes,” both Henry and I said in unison.

“Okay. You are dismissed,” Theo said, turning back to his computer.

I waited a moment longer before turning and going with Henry toward the door.

“Oh, Erin?” Theo said from his desk, without even looking at me. I paused to glance at him though. “I’m glad you decided to come back. But please, try to stay alive.”

That was the last thing he said before I left; I said nothing to him.

I was irritated.

Not with Theo. But with the situation as a whole.

Now I just had to talk to Gavin and find out if he would be willing to help me.

…

Gavin’s POV

There was obvious aggravation when Gavin returned to the packhouse. His conversation with Susanna was anything but pleasant and he just wanted to brush it out of his mind.

He wanted to continue the conversation he was having with Erin before he was rudely interrupted for that nonsense.

Gavin wanted to start thinking about a plan on how to find that woman in the red cloak.

Erin was sitting on her bed when he went back to her room. She was breathing heavily, however, it looked like she hadn’t moved since he left. Telling from the window that was opened slightly, he knew she most likely snuck out again.

Where does she go when she sneaks out like this?

He thought about asking her but didn’t wish to start another argument, so he brushed the thought out of his mind and sat down beside her.

“How’s Susanna?” She asked, tugging at her fingers nervously.

She knew that he was going to see Susanna?

He should have known better than to think he could hide something like that from her.

“She’s fine,” he answered truthfully. “I’m sorry I left as I did. I thought it was an emergency.”

“I understand,” she said, giving him a faint smile. “We should probably talk about things…”

“I agree,” he said, but before he could say anything more, she spoke again.

“I was thinking about moving back home with Henry,” she blurted.

A jab of pain hit his chest at her words, and he stared at her in shock. So, it was Henry that she’s been sneaking out to see.

“That’s what you want?”

“I think that’s what’s best,” she answered, meeting his eyes. “Let’s be honest… we come from two different worlds. There isn’t much of a future here. You deserve to be with someone that fits your standards and your needs as an Alpha.”

“If this is about Susanna, I—”

“It’s not about Susanna,” she said quickly. “It’s about me. I crave a quiet life and what we are doing is anything but quiet. I just want to return to my world and leave you in yours. I rejected you all those years ago… and I still reject you now.”

The pain he felt was unreal, but he kept himself together.

“It’s still too dangerous for you out there,” Gavin reminded her. “You need to be protected until the Slayers are stopped.”

“I’m sure you will think of a way to keep me protected even from far away,” she said giving him a sad smile. “But I can give you some advice. Bane doesn’t remember anything that happened; however, he’s probably been to the Slayer hideout and spoken to the leader in person. He would have had to in order to become a vessel.”

“Right,” Gavin agreed with a head nod.

“Gavin, you have the ability to make him remember everything.”