"You — what are you?" Kenji’s knees trembled when he saw the Hybrids float towards him. But his gaze wasn’t on those hideous creatures. It was on the woman who was silently walking towards him.
Ava Woods.
Her clothes were tattered, burned. Her long hair moved as if the air was dancing around her. Though Kenji was pretty sure, there was nothing like that around them. The air around was still.
Earlier, someone confirmed that the explosion had happened, and that Ava died along with Karena inside the facility. By now, the other officials should have heard about the explosion. The news was simple and clear; the Lycan made Ava do it. Ava killed herself along with the others instead of telling them the truth about the Hybrids.
Isn’t that a poetic ending?
So... why is this woman here now?
"You — Stop it." Mr. Miles, who was standing next to Kenji, asked. "What are you doing, Miss Woods?"
"You should ask the man next to you," Ava answered.
"How— UGH!" Mr. Miles wasn’t able to continue his words. He held his throat as he opened his mouth into a silent scream.
"I’m not here to talk to you..." Ava said. She didn’t remove her eyes from Kenji. "But you and — " Ava lifted her hand and Dr. Waterston suddenly appeared next to Mr. Miles. "And he needed to hear this."
"Ava?"
"Why did you try to frame the Lycans?" Ava asked Kenji. "Matthew had no prior knowledge about the Hybrids."
"What made you think that Trillium had something to do with Hybrids?" Kenji fired back.
Instead of answering him, Ava just smiled.
"How does it feel, Mr. Moore?" Ava asked. "To be treated like this by someone that you always thought was insignificant?"
Kenji narrowed his eyes. He straightened his back, surprising Mr. Miles and even Dr. Mike. Right now, Kenji looked really so weak, not just because he was bleeding from Matthew’s attack earlier. It was because of some abnormal pressure that Ava had been releasing.
They aren’t sure what it was. However, it had been affecting the three shifters.
"What do you want?" Kenji asked. "I refuse to think that you don’t want something from me."
"You wanted to know what I want?"
"I don’t like repeating my words, Miss Woods. I am willing to give you anything that you want."
"And in exchange?"
"I am allowing you to save your kind from the Lycans."
"Lycans?" she lifted an eyebrow. Curious about what he was going to say, Ava continued. "Save my kind from the Lycans?"
"I always wonder why a witch would protect a Lycan. It turns out you didn’t know?"
"Know what?" Ava asked.
"Lycans had been hunting witches. They wanted to... eradicate your kind."
"Lycans needed witches. Why would they hunt them?"
"Witches... can destroy Lycans. They can bind their wolves and cause them immense pain. Did you really think the Lycans would want to exist with people that could possibly kill them?"
"That’s bullshit."
"Why do you think Lycans enslave witches? Isn’t it because they wanted to control them?"Kenji, smiled at her. "For centuries, the Lycans had been enslaving witches. Why do you think that is?"
"Because the witches curse them."
"How pathetic. Did you think Lycans would really mull on that matter for centuries?" Kenji shook his head. "Absolutely not. Lycans wouldn’t spend a lifetime hating a race. Instead, the Lycans wanted to possess the power that witches have."
"That is not true."
"Ah, it seems that the Lycan really fooled you." Kenji clicked his tongue. "The contract that they used to enslave the witches was called a contract of slavery. If the witches die, the Lycans wouldn’t. But guess what would happen if the Lycans die?"
Ava opened her mouth but said nothing. Of course, Kenji took this as Ava being speechless.
"They will die, Miss Woods. If a Lycan would die, all witches who made contact with the Lycan would die too! Do you now understand the contract that you just signed with Lycan? Huh?"
"Good thing I can help you void the contract. As long as you follow me, I can help you." Kenji continued. "It is not too late to work with us. I can help you deal with the Lycan."
"Wait..." Ava held a palm towards the man. "Let me get this straight. So you wanted to help me sever my contract with Matthew and then come work for you so I won’t expose you?"
"You got it wrong. I am never scared that you would expose me. Even if you did, the issue would die after a month or two. I will keep my job while you — the whole Trillium community will hate you." Kenji was confident that Trillium would never let him go. This is because no one can do what he does!
He is a Deputy! The one assigned to oversee all agent’s assigned jobs. Without him, Trillium would be a mess.
"I don’t understand," Ava said.
"To put it simply, the things that would happen without me are more difficult to deal with than this... alleged issue. You underestimated my value inside Trillium, young lady. But instead of punishing you, I am giving you a chance to change everything. I am giving you a chance to work with me!"
Ava clicked her tongue. "And if I don’t?"
"Then you have to think about your future. When the war starts, are you really going to stand next to the Lycans and fight against your kind?"
Ava snorted. "Delusional fool." Then she snapped her fingers. Almost immediately, the surrounding fog parted, and the surrounding became clearer.
And what Kenji saw the moment the fog disappeared made him shiver inwardly.
"You— "
"Deputy Director Kenji Moore..." Jude was smiling at him. "You are under arrest for the immoral things that you did which include experimenting with humans, shifters, and witches, multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, soliciting parents to raise children just so you could experiment on them, and breaking Trillium’s core values. Please do not resist."
"You — what is this? You have no right to— "
"We have evidence. The paper trail of you and your whole operation, including the facilities where you imprisoned the immigrants that you kidnapped from the border of Mexico. The money that was wired to an offshore account that acts as payment to silence some officials for your illegal activities." Jude started naming all the evidence that he had collected even before Ava worked with him.
"You, along with your cohorts, shall face trial and will be judged according to your crimes!"
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