"Why are you here?" Unable to stop herself, Ava asked the moment they got out of the house.
"Shall we talk inside the car?"
Ava followed him. She ignored the smell of musk and lemon as she asked, "What is it?"
"No thank you?" Matthew arched an eyebrow. For a few seconds, Ava had the urge to wipe that man's smirk on his face. It was infuriating.
"Thank you but I could have handled it."
"If you could, I wouldn't be forced to go inside a house full of witches. I could smell your anger from outside the house Ava."
Anger?
Yes, she was angry.
It wasn't because of Broody.
In fact, her anger had nothing to do with Broody.
It was because of Patricia casually mentioned Gabriella as if they were close.
Her mother's name felt like a trigger.
She turned away, avoiding his gaze. Dread settled in her stomach.
"Take me to my car," she said.
"Patience, love." Matthew chuckled. He nodded to the driver and the car started moving. Ava sighed inwardly.
Visions of her mother's death filled her head. She could blame the coven for all she wanted but at the end of the day, Gabriella died because of her. For some reason, she started to wonder if coming here was the right thing to do.
After Gabriella's death, Ava immediately left this place, thinking that she would never come back. Her mother's death prompted her to train her skills, control her abilities, and help people. Her death was the catalyst that made Ava what she was today.
For months, she avoided thinking about Alaska. She tried to avoid thinking about her mother's mangled body in the middle of the snow. Ava tried to avoid thinking about the thick smell of rotten flesh that welcomed the authorities when they found Gabriella's body.
She thought she had succeeded, she thought she had moved on.
So, when the head of Trillium, Mr. Sutton offered her an opportunity to come back to solve the serial killings, she thought that it was time to come home. She honestly thought this was just business.
Even after she saw the images of the other bodies that looked exactly like Gabriella's she thought that she would be able to do her job without involving her emotions.
She was wrong.
Her guilt was too much.
She was too angry.
She wondered if she should just tell Mr. Sutton to send another person to Alaska. She wondered if she should just leave.
But she was hunting Gabriella's killer.
Gabriella's death had nothing to do with the witches. It had something to do with shifters. Yet, the other part of her still hated the fact that those people left Gabriella.
"I have never seen a witch who seemed to hate other witches," Matthew murmured. While she wasn't looking at him, she could feel his eyes on her.
The awareness made her frown. She turned towards him and just as she expected, his gray eyes were glued on her.
"You look beautiful… even when you are angry."
"Stop that!" she hissed. She was already irritated and this man… this man's eyes were boring into her as if he could see her soul as if he could read her like a damn book.
"Stop what?" he offered a bemused smile as he lifted one of his perfectly arched brows.
Irritated, she crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you want?"
"Patience."
"I'm asking a question, Matthew. I want an answer."
For a few seconds, he studied her expression.
"I have never met a witch as short-tempered as you, Ava."
She pursed her lips in response.
Seeing her expression, Matthew smiled, and then ordered the driver, "Stop the car." Almost immediately, the car halted.
"What— "
Ava stopped talking when Mr. Calida, the one in the driver's seat, left the car without saying anything. The action made her realize that right now, it was just Matthew and her, inside this closed space.
"You asked me what I want," Matthew said. "I will tell you what I want."
The already small space inside his sedan felt even smaller. She tried to open the door and cursed.
Child's lock.
She couldn't open it from the inside.
Adrenaline burst inside her body. A dark feeling bloomed in the pit of her stomach.
"You look like a cornered mouse Ava. And I seem to like it."
Speechless, she glared at him.
"What do you want?"
"If I tell you that I want you… would you believe me?"
Something in his tone was telling her that he was speaking the truth. The intensity in his eyes was another thing. It brought out something inside her, something that made her pxssy throb, her nipples pebbled.
She gulped her nonexistent saliva. Her face felt hot, her body felt like it was about to explode anytime soon.
She was such a whore.
How could she feel such intense attraction for a shifter?
Unamused, her lips pursed into a straight thin line. She needed to get away.
"No," she answered.
"Too bad," he let out a low chuckle. "It would have been nice to have a taste of you… inside this car."
"You— "
"Have you had sex… inside a car, Ava?"
Before she could respond, he laughed, then he backed away. The smile on his face vanished. A serious businesslike facade replaced it.
"The witches," he said.
His words felt like a cold bucket of water that was poured inside her body. Irritation glinted in her eyes. But then again, she wasn't here to sleep with a shifter. She had a job to do.
"Witches? I thought the shifters had nothing to do with it?" she said. She didn't like how formal he looked, didn't like how serious he sounded.
"My kind had nothing to do with it."
Kind.
She didn't miss that.
Just what kind of shifter was he? She knew asking him was a big taboo. Shifters don't just talk about their kind just like how witches don't talk about their spells.
"Then are you willing to give me the names…"
"You don't get it," he interrupted her.
"Then explain."
"The Lycans are willing to work with you."
Lycans.
The word was enough to surprise her. She stared at the gorgeous man in front of her. Lycans are different from normal shifters and both witches and shifters knew that.
Lycans are considered the rulers of the shifters. However, Lycan's never worked with Trillium. And Trillium has accepted that over the years.
"Lycan's don't work with Trillium."
"Oh, but we do."
We.
So, he is a Lycan?
Was that the reason why everything about him was redacted?
"And when I say that we are willing to work with Trillium, it means we will work together. You and I. One from the Lycans, one from Trillium."
"That— "
Lycans.
The word was enough to scare normal shifters and witches. Sadly, not much is known about their kind. All she knew was the fact that they were rulers, they were stronger and more dangerous.
Unlike witches who have multiple covens with their own priestesses. Shifters are different.
Shifters have packs and Alphas. And these Alphas are working under the Lycans.
Rumor has it that one pure-blooded Lycan could actually overpower at least three Alphas.
This knowledge was enough for a sane witch to stay away from a Lycan, especially as attractive as Matthew.
For a few seconds, she stared at his gray eyes. The lighting inside the car made his features more prominent and enticing. It had been a day since she met him and her brain was already thinking of spreading her legs for him.
What would happen if she worked with him for a few more days?
No.
She was here because of a killer.
She needed to get away. She needed to stop the attraction, kill it, burn it, and never think of it again.
"I don't think…. That's possible."
She expected him to ask why.
He didn't.
Instead, he nodded. "Are you certain?"
Before she could say anything, her phone that was still on her coat vibrated. She looked at the name, then her face turned ugly.
"I will take this call," she said.
...
I started a discord so we can discuss plot and everything! It's still new so...
Discord: https://discord.gg/mR88WKrx