Chapter 86

Erin’s POV

“Where are you going?” Henry asked, following me as I reached the front door of our home.

“I need to warn Gavin that Susanna is still dangerous,” I told him; my heart was racing in my chest, and I could hardly think straight.

“He knows that she’s a danger,” Henry said, grabbing onto my arm.

Theo was watching from the doorway of our bedroom with a timid frown on his face. He wasn’t going to try and stop me like Henry was. He knew I was going to do what I wanted regardless of what he said.

“He suspects that she’s still a danger,” I said in return, snapping my eyes in his direction. “There’s a difference. He doesn’t actually know anything. But if Susanna is still a vessel, the Slayers will probably try to break her out. They are powerful Henry. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“What do you expect Gavin to do about it?” Henry asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

He was adamant that I didn’t go see Gavin and I understood why. But this went beyond any feelings he or I might have. This was life or death and I needed Gavin to know that he was in serious danger.

“I have to go,” I said firmly, pulling my arms away from him.

He looked defeated by my harsh tone, but at that moment, I didn’t care.

This was too important to wait.

I turned and left the house without another word.

It took me less than 30 minutes to get to Gavin’s packhouse in my wolf form. I was nervous, unsure of what to expect upon entering.

But I froze when I saw a familiar face standing in the center of the main room.

Tyler looked at me with large and wary eyes as I stood before him.

I hadn’t seen Tyler since Jessie’s funeral and I couldn’t believe he was standing before me. I didn’t even think he was close to town. I thought he had moved to another part of the kingdom a long time ago and was only back for Jessie’s funeral.

I always assumed that Gavin and Tyler were still in communication. In high school, they were best friends. There were always the four of us in our little friend group.

But seeing him before me at this moment, I was at a loss for words.

“Erin?” He gasped, staring around my face with the same awe I was showing him. “Is that really you?”

“Tyler…” I said in return.

Before I knew what was happening, I ran at him.

Tears sprang from my eyes, and I jumped up, wrapping both my arms and legs around his body. He held me tightly, spinning me around and laughing as I basically attacked him with a giant hug.

“I can’t believe it’s actually you,” he cried in return. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you and Gavin were still tight!”

He probably doesn’t know a lot about what has happened these last few weeks and I wanted to keep it that way.

“I could say the same about you!” I said in return as I jumped back down to my feet. “You two are still friends?”

“Best friends,” he said with a proud smile. “You know you can’t break us up. We’ve been friends our whole lives.”

“I thought you moved,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on his.

“I did for a while. But it wasn’t for me, so I moved back. I returned a little after Jessie’s funeral…” his voice trailed off and we both grew silent.

It’s been 3 years since her death; 3 years since her funeral. Every time it was brought up, I would feel a jab of pain in my chest.

The memory was still fresh and hurt just as badly as the day it happened.

I shook my head, brushing the thought out of my head.

It was either that, or I started crying on the spot and I refused to do that, especially in front of Tyler.

“What have you been up to since I last saw you?” I asked, peering up at him with a fond look.

“Actually, I was traveling for a little bit. I have a lot of pictures from the places I went around the world. But I recently decided to return home. I was a little homesick while traveling and I missed my best friend.”

“I would love to see those pictures someday,” I say in return.

He looked pleased by my response.

“What about you? What have you been up to? You and Gavin back together?”

I shook my head.

“No, we are just friends,” I told him. “I’m actually married now.”

He rose his brows.

“You married someone other than Gavin?” He gasped. “I never saw that one coming.”

“He’s a well-known lawyer,” I tell him with a pleased grin. “He’s very kind and handsome. I love him very much.”

I couldn’t tell Tyler that the marriage wasn’t real and that it was only a disguise because I’m a part of the Moonshadow organization.

What he wouldn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

In this case, if he knew the truth, it would most definitely hurt him.

“That’s incredible, Erin. I’m so happy for you. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for Gavin to see though. He really loved you in high school.”

I frowned; my heart weighed heavily in my chest. Of course, I knew that Gavin really loved me in high school. I hated that I hurt him; but in my young mind, I thought I had a good reason to reject him and walk away.

But now the reason I’m staying clear of him is much greater than just a threat my father had made.

Now it seems like the world is depending on it.

“Like I said, we are just friends,” I said with a shrug; trying not to look as uncomfortable as I felt. “He seems to be fine now.”

Tyler frowned and I knew he was thinking about something intently. There was a small crease between his brows as he thought about his next words.

But just as he was about to speak, Gavin walked into the room.

His face was of concern, but it wasn’t because of me. In fact, I wasn’t sure he even noticed me there at first.

He paused when he saw me and then he glanced at Tyler who was also looking between the two of us awkwardly.

“What are you doing here?” Gavin asked me, narrowing his eyes in my direction.

“I need to speak with you…” I said, trying to remain confident and remember why I was there in the first place. I glanced at Tyler awkwardly. “Alone…” I added.

Tyler took that as his cue to leave. He gave me another hug; I noticed Gavin tensing as I continued the embrace with Tyler.

Then, he was gone. Leaving only Gavin and me.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Gavin muttered. “You should go.”

“I need to warn you that Susanna is dangerous,” I told him quickly.

He rose his brows.

“I already knew that,” he said in return.

He went toward the door to open it.

He was kicking me out.

“If Bane is still a vessel, that means Susanna is too,” I said quickly. “There’s no telling what they are doing.”

“I have it handled, Erin,” Gavin said, motioning for me to walk through the door. “I don’t have time for this right now. I’m incredibly busy.”

I stared at him for a moment longer; dumbfounded by his urgency for me to leave. I decided not to argue anymore with him, and I nodded.

“Understood,” I muttered as I turned away. “I’ll be leaving then.”

…

Gavin’s POV

Gavin watched as Erin left; she was confused and clearly hurt by his dismissing tone, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered at that moment.

Nothing except for the picture that Tyler was sent to bring him.

A picture that someone, presumably a slayer, had given him.

A picture of Gavin’s parents; along with their exact location.