Judy''s POV


    "What do you mean she''s working against your family? I know she''s been talking to Ethan behind your back, but does that mean she''s working with him?" Gavin asked, his voice being reasonable.


    When Nan sent me that photo of Ethan and Sammy talking in the coffee shop, I showed it to Gavin around that same time.


    "Tabby and some of the others are back at the mansion," I exined. "They came here to tell me that they suspect Sammy is some kind of spy."


    "That''s a serious usation," he said, his tone darkening as his brows furrowed. He studied my face for a long while, trying to detect a hint of deception.


    "Since she''s been here, I''ve noticed that Sammy has been acting strangely. Secret phone calls, disappearing at all hours, sketchy behavior..."


    "What kind of sketchy behavior?"


    I nibbled on my lower lip.


    "I caught her snooping through my things the other night,” I told him. "Things like that..."


    His eyes darkened at my words, and I could tell he was not only pondering this information but trying hard to control himself.


    "I was so busy with thepetition that I didn''t notice those things a few weeks ago," I continued. "But Tabby had noticed. Her, Sherry, and Chuck are from the same pack, and they''ve grown closer since thepetition. She''s been confiding in Sherry about Sammy''s strange behavior, and because Sherry works as an investigator for the pack, she agreed to help Tabby look more into it once thepetition ended."


    Gavin listened, nodding along with each word I said, his eyes growing darker by the second. He didn''t like what he was hearing so far.


    "Why is this being brought to my attention just now?" Gavin asked, his eyes searching mine.


    "Because I''m just finding out about it now," I told him honestly. "Tabby hadn''t mentioned any of this to me until today. It''s why she''s here. They agreed to look more into Sammy after thepetition, and they were true to their word. They looked more into her."


    "And what did they find out? That she''s a spy?" Gavin asked.


    I shook my head.


    "It''s a suspicion, and because she''s having secret meetings with Ethan, I think she''s one of his spies. I think he''s trying to get my family into troubl@again... make me dependent on him or something. Using someone I thought was my friend to do that..." My voice cracked when I spoke thatst sentence, tears welling in my eyes.


    "You don''t know that for sure, though?" Gavin asked, his handsing up to my face; his thumb gently brushed across my cheekbone. Though his eyes were still dark and searching my face for answers, I could also see the worry andpassion in them, causing my heart to skip a beat.


    "That''s the thing... nobody really knows anything," I admit to him. "Her home life...... family, pack... friends... they couldn''t find a thing on her. It''s like all her personal information on the inte was wiped... deliberately."


    Gavin was quiet as he processed that information; his thumb absentmindedly stroking my upper cheeks, sending a wave of tingling throughout my entire body. Goosebumps stood tall on my flesh, and for the first time since seeing that photo of Ethan and Sammy together, my wolf waspletely at ease. It was a strange effect that Gavin had on my wolf, but I''ll take it over her being anxious and hurt any day.


    I hated that Ethan still affected her so much; I was d that the pain of him being intimate with others no longer hurt her... but that didn''t mean being near him or seeing images of him was easy.


    Thinking that Sammy and Ethan were in cahoots together really scrambled her, but being back in Gavin''s presence, having his attention on us and his arms around me, feeling his touch and warmth... it settled her in a way that I couldn''t describe.


    "Did they find out anything?" Gavin finally asked after a beat of silence. "Something useful?"


    l


    "When I met Sammy at the airport on our way to thepetition, she mentioned that her boyfriend waspeting, and she was going to support him. He was in a different group from me, so I never got to meet him. I was so focused onpeting that I never noticed any strange behavior. But Tabby and Sherry found out that he didn''t exist. She never had a boyfriend there. She was there for something else, and I don''t think it was a coincidence that Ethan was also there, and now Sammy is here. I think she''s working for him, Gavin..."


    "Okay, calm down," Gavin said when he detected the panic in my voice. His voice was oddly calming, and his gaze softened. "Whatever she is after, I''m not going to


    let it happen. I need you to trust me; can you do that?"


    I nodded without hesitation.


    "Yes, of course," I whispered. "I trust you."


    A small smile tipped the corner of his lips, the tough and dangerous fa?ade fading


    only slightly before it was snapped back into ce.


    He released his hold on my face, making me feel cold for a moment. He grabbed


    his phone and swiped across the screen before putting the phone to his ear.