"Why’d you call me?" Ava asked the man who was languidly smoking in front of her. She eyed the cigar in his long fingers and cursed inwardly. Jude knew that she disliked people who smoked.
"We found a breakthrough..."
"Despite all the evidence that has been hidden?" she asked.
"Yes." Jude smirked before puffing another mouthful of smoke. She used a handkerchief to cover her nose. "And? Am I not suspended?" Surprisingly, the fact that Jude called her for an emergency while she was still talking to Matthew earlier upset her.
She glared at him as she wrapped her coat tighter across her body. It was five degrees outside and this man was taking advantage of the fact that he was a shifter. He actually asked her to meet in the middle of a park.
While she was reluctant to come here, the fact that Jude had mentioned her late mother awakened her curiosity.
"Are you not interested to know who killed your mother?" he snorted.
"So whose is it?" she asked. "Stop wasting my time and say it."
"Woods... did someone tell you that you are attractive?"
She stared at him in disbelief.
"But I have never heard you have a boyfriend." Jude continued. His eyes were on the trees around the park. "Usually, women like you don’t really find a man who suits them. Weaker men usually cause you sexual dysfunctions."
Suddenly a loud boom interrupted the silence of the area.
Jude eyed the lamppost next to them that just exploded out of nowhere.
"I see... your temper is still as bad as ever."
"So, you came here because you want to insult me?"
"I was trying to provoke you and I succeeded."
"Oh yeah?" she chuckled. "You know what? You are actually right. Sometimes, I do have sexual dysfunctions."
This got the man’s attention. He turned to her, eyes curious. "You do?" It was as if he just discovered the biggest secret In the world.
"Yes. When I look at men who are weaker than me. I have this urge to vomit. You know?"
"When did it start? Was it when you started working for Trillium?"
She smirked. "It started when I saw you. Probably ten minutes ago?"
"You— "
"Are you going to tell me or not?" she hissed, her eyes narrowed.
"Do you want to fight?"
"Jude... You are the current head of this continent. Are you really going to lose in front of your men?"
"You knew— "
Of course, she already sensed that there were six other shifters around her. Though she wasn’t sure if any of them were from Trillium, she knew that they weren’t really showing good will. All of them were prepared to attack her anytime.
"What is it Jude?"
Jude threw away the cigar on the muddy ground. He let out a curse, clearly unimpressed by her words.
"I am your boss V."
"You would have been if I still had my Trillium ID. But I don’t. I was suspended, remember?"
"And I could fire you anytime."
"Then... why aren’t you doing it now?"
"Tsk."
She snorted at his reaction. Actually, this man was not only second to her in combat. He wasn’t also very good with insults. However, she knew that Jude is very good with handling people. And that’s why he was promoted ahead of her.
That and... his family should be one of Trillium’s founders.
"I asked you to come here because we have a witness. She claimed she saw a man but couldn’t describe it. We thought she had been hexed."
"How’d you know?"
"Burn marks on the back of her head."
Everything associated with burning or burns is usually associated with magick. For instance, Magick smells like something being burnt. Of course the smell would vary depending on the magick. A hex or a curse would leave a mark somewhere in the victims body.
"So someone manipulated her?" But why make it so obvious?
"That’s it. We don’t know what the hex is for."
"So you called me because you are looking for a witch."
"A powerful witch."
"You already tried to undo it?"
He nodded at that.
"We failed."
"I can see that."
"So, I want you to undo it for me."
"Five hundred thousand."
"Excuse me?"
"I want five hundred thousand. I no longer work for Trillium. It’s only right that you pay me."
"Five hundred thousand is too much! What the hell are you talking about?"
"You already said it. We don’t even know what the hex is for. For all we know it’s a trap and the witch that would try to undo it would die or something." She shrugged.
"But five hundred thousand is too much! Even a priestess wouldn’t— "
"Take it or leave it." Actually, undoing a hex isn’t that complicated. And she could definitely defend herself from one. The thing is, A priestess of a coven wouldn’t just undo a hex for Trillium. Plus, Jude didn’t want the secret to come out of the organization.
"Three hundred."
"Four fifty." She smiled.
"You are taking advantage of the fact that I can’t just cancel your suspension."
"Of course, I am."
"And you are even proud of it."
"You are in a hurry Jude. I suggest you take it before I make it six hundred."
"You— You— How shameless!"
She grinned at him. Actually, she really enjoyed pissing this person off. During training, this man always used his influence to make it difficult for her. He was proud and would always use his bloodline to bully people.
"Are you taking it?" she lifted an eyebrow as she tried to suppress another shiver.
"Aren’t you interested to know your mother’s killer?"
"Six hundred thousand. Next time you use my mother I will make it a million." She leaned back. "You know me Jude. You know very well what I am capable of. Only a Priestess can undo a hex. But I am no Priestess and I can keep a secret. You have no other choice."
"Alright. Four fifty. That’s final if you— "
"Deal!" she held her hand out, on it was a piece of paper.
Seeing her bank account number, Jude’s face reddened. Anger was apparent in his eyes.
"You — "
"Please send it to my account in two hours. Then... I will meet you to undo the hex."
With that, she got up and turned around.
"Also... a cigar doesn’t suit you." She smiled at him before walking away.
....
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