Chapter 72

Gavin’s POV

The next morning.

Gavin had a secret; something he had never told anyone, including Erin.

Something he didn’t think would surface until this morning.

“A letter came in the mail for you,” Seth said, placing an envelope on Gavin’s desk.

Gavin frowned at the envelope; there was no return address or name indicating whom it was sent by, but Gavin’s name was sprawled out on the front of it. His heart was pounding in his chest once he recognized the handwriting.

Receiving and dealing with this letter was not on his agenda today; what he aspired to do for the day was seek out Bane and make him remember the details of his time as a vessel. He wanted to find out as much information as he could so he could storm the Slayer organization.

Seth didn’t stick around for Gavin to open the letter; once Gavin didn’t speak, he turned away and left the office.

Gavin took a deep breath and grabbed the envelope, opening it slowly until it recovered a piece of paper.

It was a note, and he knew exactly who it was from.

Dear Gavin,

It’s been a couple of months since we have spoken. I hope you are well. The housing you set us up in is very nice and we are treated well. The guards keep us safe from unforeseen dangers. I wish you could tell us more information, so we know what is going on, but we trust you and we know that you know what you are doing.

We also miss you so much. It took a long time for them to agree to allow us to send this letter; I hope it reaches you well.

I am writing to you because I wanted you to know that we love you, but we are being driven crazy being locked away. We miss our old home… we miss our family and friends. Most importantly, we miss you. Our child.

We wish to return home and fight whatever is out there together. As a family.

We love you so much, Gavin.

Please, consider allowing us to return to society.

Love always,

Mom and Dad.

Gavin’s heart tugged painfully in his chest when he read that letter. There were reasons far greater than they knew that put them in danger. He sent them away to protective care only for their own good. If they knew what was after them, they wouldn’t be careless enough to write him letters.

Though, it was good that there were no details of their whereabouts anywhere in this letter. Only that they have been sent away until the unforeseen future.

He was still dealing with keeping them safe, and once they are safe again, he will allow them to return to their old lives. But until then, they needed to stay hidden.

He folded the note and shoved it into his desk drawer. He wasn’t going to write back to them. It would be too dangerous and way too easy to track them if he were to do such a thing.

Without another thought, Gavin left the packhouse and went to the Darkmoon pack to speak with Bane.

As predicted, Bane was anything but pleased to see Gavin again, but Gavin needed to find out information and he wasn’t going to give up until he got what he needed.

“What are you doing here?” Bane demanded to know. “You have no business invading my pack.”

“This isn’t a raid or invasion,” Gavin assured him, keeping his tone calm. “I just want to know if you remember anything about the fire at the hospital.”

“What the hell is with you all?” Bane said, shaking his head with a deepened frown before adding, “I don’t remember anything. Now leave.”

He began to turn away until Gavin spoke firmly, halting him in his tracks.

“Wait,” Gavin said quickly.

Bane turned and met Gavin’s eyes; Gavin used that opportunity to use his abilities. He detangled the mess in Bane’s mind, trying to unlock the memories that have been sealed away by the Slayers.

Gavin’s eyes grew dark as he poured his gaze into Banes.

Bane was completely hypnotized by him; unable to look away.

Gavin had him right where he wanted him.

“Bane, do you remember about the fire?” Gavin asked again.

Bane blinked a few times like he was confused as to where he was, but he nodded his head once.

“It was started by a woman in the hospital. I didn’t know who she was though,” Bane answered, still under Gavin’s trance.

“Was she the leader of the slayers?”

“No,” Bane answered quickly. “She’s not the leader at all. But she is being controlled by the leader. Just like I was.”

Erin was right; she was another vessel.

“And she can manipulate fire? As a power?” Gavin asked, raising his brows.

“Yes,” Bane answered.

“Do you know her name?”

“No,” Bane said, with a timid frown. “I don’t really know her. I just know of her. The leader of the organization has talked about it. But I don’t know who the leader is…. I never met them in person. Only in my mind.”

So, the woman in Bane’s mind and the woman in the red cloak were different people. That was disappointing to hear.

Gavin sighed; he was getting nowhere with this.

“So, you don’t know where I can find the leader?” Gavin asked.

“I didn’t say that,” Bane answered. “I know exactly where you can find the organization. I’ve been there. I just never actually saw the leader. At least, I don’t think I did….”

Finally, information of value.

Gavin stepped closer to him.

“Tell me where the organization is.”

…

Susanna’s POV

Susanna remained in her bed; she was incredibly heartbroken over the conversation with Gavin. She wasn’t expecting him to refuse her altogether.

How stupid could he be?

He was going to need her, and soon, he was going to realize that.

Her plan to get close to him was failing, but she wasn’t planning on giving up. At least, not yet.

“Susanna…”

She tensed at the sound of the female voice; a voice that wasn’t her wolf and wasn’t her own. It’s been a little while since she heard this voice, but she knew only trouble was going to follow; and soon.

Trouble usually appeared around the corner whenever she heard this voice. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest as she waited for the voice to continue.

“I am very disappointed in you, Susanna. You failed your mission and now we might be in even bigger trouble than ever,” the voice continued.

“I didn’t fail at anything,” Susanna argued with a pout. “I did what I was supposed to. Gavin will get blamed for the misfortunes surrounding his pack. Everything will get ripped away from him sooner or later.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” the voice scolded. “There were supposed to be no survivors. You left witnesses.”

“It wasn’t my fault that I was stopped!”

“It’s your fault for not being strong enough,” the voice growled; Susanna could feel and hear the fury behind the voice. “You might have done what was asked of you, but you didn’t complete it. You allowed yourself to be stopped and now you are playing a poor victim. We have given you some leverage and not taken full control of you because we thought you could handle it. But clearly, we were mistaken. I was mistaken.”

“You weren’t mistaken. I can fix this. Just give me a chance to right my wrong…”

“You have had a chance, and now you don’t. Now, we are in control.”

That was the last sound Susanna heard before everything went silent and then her vision went black.