CHAPTER FOUR

The thought of Shelby betraying me is something I can barely even fathom. She’s been my best friend for so long. I thought that telling her was safe.

I thought that telling anyone would be safe. I did have that weird sense that I should keep it from some people, but I figured that was just because it was a new thing. I didn't think I had good reason to keep it safe. No one has ever cared about who I interacted with before.

Why wouldn't they want me to go see him again? What's wrong with Gavin?

He seems really nice to me. He seems like he just wants to get along with our pack. Why would they fight against him? Why am I not allowed to see him?

“Why am I in here?” I call out.

No one answers me though. It's just me down here. I yell a few more times, trying to get anyone’s attention.

This is a nightmare. I have no idea what's going on. I have no idea why this is happening to me.

Eventually, I give up. I stop crying, I stop yelling, and I stand. I look around the room.

The room is rather barren, but it's not like a dungeon. It's not like they're torturing me down here.

There's a twin size bed with a gray blanket and a few pillows, a desk with some paper and pens, a bookshelf, and a small TV with a love seat in front of it.

I go to the door at the end of the cell and open it. In there is a small bathroom with anything that I might need. Nothing fancy of course. Just the essentials.

It worries me though. This room is set up to hold someone for a while. It has the essentials. Someone could live in here.

They could keep me in here for as long as they want to. And I suspect that they will. They will keep me in here until they decide they want to let me out.

What if they don't let me out? What is going on? When will I...

“Nicole,” my mother calls out.

I run over to her as she's brought into my cell. I'm hoping she’s here to let me out. I hope that means I can go home.

“Mom, what's going on? Why am I here? Do I get to go home now?”

I hate the way she looks at me. She looks at me sadly. Like she has bad news to deliver.

“You don't get to go home quite yet,” she says. “I'm sorry, but the alpha wants to keep you here for now. Not forever, but for now.”

“Why?” I ask. “Why does he want me to stay here? I haven't done anything wrong.”

I'm not sure if I should tell her about my run in with the new alpha. I'm not sure what she would think.

Normally, I wouldn't mind telling her about things small things like that. But my interaction with Gavin seems special. And it seems like maybe these people don't like him very much anyway.

“You know why,” mom whispers. “It's because you talked to that other alpha. You weren't supposed to talk to him. You weren't supposed to have anything to do with him.”

“Why though?” I ask. “No one said we had to stay away from him. No one said we weren't allowed to talk to him. So, why am I getting in trouble for it now? Why am I not allowed to talk to him?”

“It's for your own safety,” she claims. “This alpha is just trying to use you. He's just trying to convince you to come with him for his own gain. He wants to take you from this pack. He has so many dangerous plans in mind, and you've unfortunately become part of it.”

I don't think my mother has reason to lie about something like this. Still, I don't quite believe her. Gavin doesn’t seem like that kind of person. He doesn’t seem like a threat at all. He seems like the safest person I could be around.

“How so?” I ask. “If he's a threat, how does he threaten me? What did I do wrong? Why am I being held here?”

“I can’t tell you all of that yet,” she says. “But someday you will understand. You just have to wait until then.

“For now all you need to know is you're staying in here until you realize that you can only find safety in our pack. You don’t belong anywhere but right here with us. The alpha wants to make sure you're loyal to him. You have to forsake this other alpha. You have to know where your loyalty lies.”

None of this makes any sense. I've never been disloyal to the pack. I don't know why I'm being tested for my loyalty now. I don't know why this is happening and I wish I someone would just tell me what’s going on.

“I am loyal to our alpha,” I insist. “I've never been disloyal to him. I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to talk to Gavin, and I would like to know the reason why if I'm not supposed to see him again.”

“You'll understand why in time,” she promises. “Eventually, you will see that this is for the best.

“But for now, you must remain in here. And you must stay away from that guy. it shouldn't be difficult to do that either, because the alpha has made it easy for you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

I don't like the sound of that at all. What have they done to him?

“They sent him away,” she replies. “Ince the alpha realized who Gavin was, he sent him away. He will never return. So, you never have to worry about seeing him again.”

Is not the relief that maybe she wants me to feel. My heart breaks at the thought of never seeing him again. I feel a strange connection to him. It feels like maybe he and I are meant to be. It feels like all this is wrong and I don't know how to fix it.

“Now, you just worry about resting and getting better,” Mom says. “I'll keep visiting you until they decide it's time to set you free. But you will be safe until that time.

“Soon this will all blow over. And we can go back to life as normal. But for now, this is how it has to be. You have to be away from him. You need to be locked up here. And there's nothing either of us can do about that.”