He Knows

Chapter Four- Gavin

"Five minutes," He muttered, glowering at her and taking a seat in the chair opposite the desk. "And make it a quick five."

"Thank you." She replied, letting out a small sigh. "Again, I know how this looks but I swear we weren't trying to hide her from you."

"Really?" He questioned accusingly. "Because from what she's said I gather she's been here over two weeks and I wasn't notified of the potential threat."

"Yes," She soothed, rolling her eyes. "but that's because she was apprehensive whenever we mentioned meeting someone new. We figured she came here to run from something and she wasn't a threat-"

"And who gave you the authority to decide that?" He said, angrily cutting her off. "You've put us all at risk by bringing her into your circle. You don't even know if she's shifter friendly, she could be out to expose or kill us all." He finished angrily, it wouldn't be the first human who had tried to expose them and it was yet another reason he'd never take a human as a mate. They didn't bond as a pack so you could never be sure of where their loyalties truly lied.

"She was literally reeking of fear and paranoia when we first ran across her, it's been two weeks and she's only just now let her guard down around us, I would hardly consider that a threat." Jasmine countered.

"Heck!" She said, tossing her hands in the air and then letting them fall into her lap defeatedly. "I can't even get her to talk about what or who she's running from, anytime I even hint at questioning her past she starts to panic like a trapped rabbit, and the few times I've pushed further than that I've been met with vague half-truths or outright lies."

"Which should be cause for more suspicion," He argued. "She's clearly got something to hide or is running from someone, the last thing we need is more trouble right now."

"Look," He continued, sighing. "I'm not trying to tell you who you can and can't have in your family circle, I just want you to try and understand how this can be frustrating for me as alpha. I'm not unsympathetic to whatever she's dealing with," 𝘕𝘰, he thought about his wolf who was still baring teeth at the idea that she was in danger, 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. "I'm just trying to protect the pack." He finished, shrugging.

"Gavin," Jasmine sighed, "I understand that you feel responsible for the pack but-"

"Then you'll understand why I'm asking you to find out what kind of danger she's bringing our way or ask her to leave." He interrupted, cutting her off once again and heading for the door.

"-but you're allowed to trust at least some people, you don't need to protect everyone all on your own," She tossed at his back as he left. "that's not how family works." She finished, mumbling under her breath as the door clicked shut.

I know he thought, running his hand through his hair in an attempt to collect himself before he reached the dining area. It wasn't that he didn't trust anyone, there were members of his pack he was certain would take a bullet for him without question, he trusted them with his life. The problem was that it wasn't his life on the line, it was the whole packs and he couldn't risk that for anyone, especially not the sweet-smelling human that had his wolf enchanted in one encounter. As alpha, everyone in the pack gave him their absolute fealty, and in return, he kept them safe, that responsibility was solely his to carry. Letting out a sigh, he headed for his truck. He suddenly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and he decided he needed a drink. Pulling out of The Redwoods' parking lot he took a left hand and headed into 'town' toward his friend David's bar. He ran the situation through his head on the way, running through various backup plans. He knew he'd told Jasmine to uncover her secrets or make her leave but the two had obviously gotten pretty close in the last few weeks and he wasn't sure if Jasmine would actually go through with it. Even if she did go through with it and pushed the girl to explain her past, there was no guarantee Hannah would actually fess up, and it was even more unlikely she'd agree to pack up and leave after going to all the trouble to move to Paradise. He growled, his wolf not liking the conclusion they came to. If she refused to leave by choice then he would have to tell the pack to put pressure on her and they would intimidate her into leaving. 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝑯𝒆𝒓 his wolf snarled again, angrily turning his back to Gavin. I want to, he argued back, But if she refuses to talk then I don't know what you expect me to do. His wolf glanced back at him, 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒐 𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑨𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔? it questioned, rolling its eyes as if he were the dumb one. Then suddenly it clicked and Gavin realized his stupidity and making a sharp turn he headed back the way he came, towards the town's tiny police department. If she wouldn't talk then he'd just have to find out her secrets through other means.