"Mr. Graydon, we have an emergency." A voice from outside the door interrupted them. It was Calida's voice.
The tension that ascended between them disappeared almost immediately.
Her eyelids fluttered before she cleared her throat. She should feel relieved, she should thank the man for interrupting them. Yet, she couldn't.
Fury lit her eyes. Then it frizzled just like a wet firecracker.
God damn it! Why does it feel like she wanted to make out with a shifter royalty?
She had done a lot of wrong things in the past and this… this attraction was now on top of her list.
Her eyes glinted with irritation. Sadly for her, Matthew looked like he had no plans to let this go, or letting her go.
Matthew was staring at her, unmoving. Her already flushed cheeks felt hotter under that gaze.
"What is it?" he growled.
"The council…"
The man outside didn't need to continue his words. Matthew was already walking away from her, his steps heavy. She could feel his anger and irritation replace the longing that he showed earlier. The aura surrounding him turned heavy, malevolent, and suffocating.
She needed to get away from this place.
"I believe we are done here, Ava?" He said without looking at her. "I will contact you if I find something that will help with your investigation."
She steadied herself. That's right, they are done. Finished. And she hoped they wouldn't see each other again.
"No need,Mr. Graydon. It was nice talking to you." She gave him one last look before she left the room.
She had a feeling she would have another sleepless night.
…..
Ridiculous.
Ava's boots thudded as she walked towards her car. That man's eyes reminded her too much of her dream. The dream that had been bothering her since she left Egypt just two months ago. Again, she had mixed up the reality and her dream.
It was something she had been avoiding doing since Gabriella died.
For a witch, dreams were supposed to be a big deal. Someone like her, who could walk inside a dream, was priceless, rare and special. Covens would call her the dream walker, a witch that could practically kill someone in their dreams if they wanted to.
But these gifts, the ones that she had painstakingly hidden since she was seven, had their own consequences. They didn't come for free.
A long time ago, she thought they were gifts. And she used to help people. For a few years, she thought she was helping them. She thought they were given to help humanity.
Everything changed when Gabriella died.
After her mother's death, Ava promised not to use the gifts again. She promised herself not to put anyone in danger again.
And for a few months, she did her best to avoid listening to those dreams. Those dreams took away the woman who raised her, the woman who adopted her and Phil, the woman who saved them from the foster home.
Her dreams killed her savior.
What happened to Gabriella was a wake-up call. Her abilities were not all gifts. They were cursed.
But the ones that she had a month ago were different.
This time, she wasn't inside her dream. Instead, she was inside someone else's. It was confusing and she couldn't understand how it happened.
A sigh left her lips. Reality differs from dreams. And the reality this time says that Matthew is dangerous. Matthew had danger written on his face, intimidation running in his blood.
And she just let someone like that get into her mind.
Damn it!
Anger surged inside her like a hurricane. Her temper flared. She hated herself.
As much as she hated to admit it, Matthew made her feel something, an emotion that she hadn't felt before. It was a craving that most definitely felt like an obsession. She had never met someone that would make her mad then turn her on in the next minute.
Witches.
She quickly reminded herself that she was here… for the dead witches.
She sat in her car for a few minutes before she heard her phone ring.
"Tom?"
"Where are you?"
"Outside of GD Pharma…"
"Good. That's good…" Relief laced his tone.
"Did something happen?"
"Another witch is missing."
She paled. That was quick.
Then Tom continued, "This time… it's in Anchorage."
"When?"
"We received the news a couple of minutes ago. She was supposed to join her coven. She didn't come. They couldn't reach her and she wasn't at her house. So, they called us."
She clenched her jaws. Was it possible that the emergency that Mr. Calida said earlier involved another missing witch?
Damn shifters!
She always hated how secretive they were!
"Send me the address. I am going to see them… ah… wait. I am going to visit her house."
"Are you sure you are going there without talking to the covens…"
"No need." Ava shook her head. While she doesn't necessarily hate those people, she didn't enjoy associating with them either.
There's a reason Trillium was an independent organization. They are a group of both witches and shifters who aim to protect the races and keep the two races from killing each other.
Over the years, Trillium prevented several civil wars among witches and shifters.
And to do this, they have broken a few ancient laws that govern the covens and the organization of the shifters. Many witches and shifters hated them for this simple reason.
"Sent."
Ava quickly checked her phone and used the GPS in her car to drive toward the cabin just north of GD Pharma.
Thirty minutes later, she parked her Volvo in front of a wooden fenced bungalow that was surrounded by what looked like spruce trees.
She didn't waste her time as she grabbed her flashlight and got out of the car. Despite everything, she had to act like a normal human who couldn't see because of the absence of light from the lampposts that surrounded the house.
She closed her eyes and bathed in the smell of spruce and peonies. The smell of herbs wafted through her nose. It probably came from a nearby greenhouse that all witches usually kept. They needed a place to grow all that herb.
The feeling of being surrounded by nature immediately made her feel lighter. Witches served nature, so it only made sense for them to always associate themselves with the Earth.
She eyed the house.
No movements, no lights or sounds.
However, its shadowed appearance gave her an ominous feeling.
With a spell prepared in her mind, she walked towards the darkness and approached the house. The sound of her boots against the ice felt louder this time. She steadied herself and once again extended her senses.
Then she felt it.
A dark suffocating feeling that she felt when she was in front of a killer in Guatemala just eight months ago. It was a feeling that she would never forget.
It was a killer's blood lust.
Before she could turn around to look, she heard a thud. And then the pain erupted on the back of her head.
.....
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