Chapter 81: It Won’t Be Enough
Chapter 81: It Won’t Be Enough
Gideon’s POV
While Raven watched over the children, I watched her, studying her more than I had any right to. I trusted her fully, so I knew she would give her all to protect Leo. It wasn’t her commitment that I doubted.
I was just worried about her.
She was right to be worried about Daphne, who had already proven herself to be a vile manipulator. There was no true telling what she was up to now that she was out of sight, tucked away behind Justin, with him as a shield.
That unknown threat wasn’t something to take lightly, but Raven seemed to carry the full weight of it all on her own shoulders, and the strain was starting to show.
She carried herself stiffly, with tension not just in her shoulders but also in every muscle. Her hands always seemed to be clenched, like she was ever–ready for a fight. Her back was ramrod straight, her shoulders up near her ears. Her head was on a constant swivel.
And she was jumpy too, springing into an attack stance when something as the wind rustled the leaves too loudly.
The children, in turn, also seemed to be more on edge. I didn’t think that was all Raven’s fault. Tension existed all around Leo and Nova, so it would be unrealistic not to expect them to feel some of that themselves. But when Raven jumped, they jumped too. Where she looked, they looked.
I began to worry about all of them. Raven was hired as Leo’s bodyguard, but she was now in my pack. It was my responsibility to offer her and especially the children a level of safety that should have made an attack against them a rarity, not an expectation.
Yet the depth of this treachery seemed to run much farther through my pack than I could flush out right away. Daphne had people who helped her in her schemes who had stayed behind, infiltrated among my pack. Some, like her servants and guards were easy to suspect, but there were others who yet remained hidden.
Until we had properly weeded all the traitors, Raven was right to stay on guard.
I truly didn’t know who I could trust.
I could trust Raven though. So while the children were resting under the protection of my most loyal soldiers, with them standing at the children’s doors, I called Raven into my office for a tactical meeting.
I sat behind my desk while she stood in front of it. That didn’t feel right, so I stood and walked around the desk to be nearer to her.
“You asked to see me?” she said.
“Yes, Raven. I was hoping we could take a moment to discuss possible options that would help you and the children feel safer within the pack.”
She tilted her head ever so slightly. Not for the first time, I wished I could see through her mask to the hidden expression beneath, so that I could more properly read her. At times, her emotions and feelings were difficult to read without being able to see her face.
“Do you feel I am not doing enough to protect Leo?” she asked.
“That’s not what I’m saying,” I corrected at once. “You are going above and beyond anything I could have expected of you. With you around, I know Leo’s safety is in good hands.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
“Raven,” I said, more gently. “You can’t possibly keep going at this pace for long. I’ve seen the tension you carry around with you. And my soldiers have told me they have seen you wandering the grounds every night. When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep?”
“The night is the most dangerous time,” she bala Assaneins coulise the cover of darkness to slip into the
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Chapter 81: It Won’t Be Enough
estate. We need to be diligent.”
“I agree, but you need sleep. Without proper rest, your own senses will start to fail you. Our bodies are not meant to be on guard for all of our lives. Yours will start to betray you.”
“I will handle that if and when it comes.”
I sensed it was already happening. “I want to help. There must be something we could do to ensure the children are safe for enough of a time for you to feel like you can rest.”
She considered this for a moment, and then she told me, “There are traitors in your pack, and it makes it difficult to know who to trust. Perhaps if we could go elsewhere. I could take Leo to Ivan’s pack, for instance, for a sort of vacation. The pack members there are incredibly trustworthy.”
My reaction was visceral, fully instinctual, as every nerve in my body rejected that idea. “Absolutely not. Leo does not require the protection of some other Alpha. He will stay right here.”
Raven went rigid once more, and I immediately rejected my harsh tone. It was too late now though. What was done, was done. What was said, was said.
“Then I will continue to protect him as I have,” Raven said. “If I may be permitted to return to my duties now…?”
“Yes,” I said. “You may go.” I didn’t trust myself to say more while I felt this wretched.
As she left the room, I turned to my desk and tried to think of something on my own. If night was her concern, perhaps I could have more security patrols around the estate. Would that help put them at ease?
Deep in the night, I awoke from a dead sleep to the sound of smashing glass and a growl. These things were not in my room, but nearby. My Alpha senses picked them up instantly.
I sprang from my bed and rushed from my room.
I heard the sounds of a scuffle.
Throwing open my door, I saw that Leo’s door was already open. The noises were coming from his room!
I dashed there and clicked on the light in the room just in time to see Raven tackle an assailant to the ground. The knife he had been holding skittered across the floorboards to my feet.
“Daddy!” Leo said, rushing from the bed to my side.
I grabbed him and protectively shoved him around behind me, ready to protect him, though Raven seemed to have things well in hand by now, with the assailant’s arms twisted awkwardly behind his back.
I ducked into the hallway to call for the guards.
“Who put you up to this?!” Raven demanded, pressing the assailant’s twisted arms harder.
The assailant winced, before shouting with some madness, “It doesn’t matter that you’ve captured me. Others I will come! The brat will never be safe!”
With a growl, Raven punched him and knocked him out, silencing him. He fell limp, alive but unconscious.
The guards finally arrived and dragged him away.
“Take him to a cell. Get him a healer. I want him healthy enough to talk as soon as possible. He has much to answer to,” I said, my anger so palpable, I could taste it bitter and sour on my tongue.
When the three of us were alone again, I turned to Leo. He hugged onto me tighter.
“It’s alright, son. You are safe now,” I said. But my reassurances were not enough. He nodded, trying to be brave, but he was trembling in fear.
Across the room, Raven stood very still. Despite the mask, I could feel the heavy weight of her eyes on me.
Without her even speaking, I knew she was making her point once more. Leo wasn’t safe here.
“I’ll put more guards on patrol. I’ll march them only a foot apart from each other if I have to,” I said. “My son will be safe in his own home.”
Raven replied simply, “It won’t be enough.”
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