"You were eavesdropping?" Honestly, Jude wasn’t that surprised anymore. And even he didn’t know why. He looked around and saw Matthew at the bar, looking for some wine.
"Not really... " Ava smiled. She bounced on the bed, pat it, and looked at Jude. "It wasn’t called eavesdropping. I call it research."
"Please, you are starting to sound like him it’s creepy."
"I’d say that man is very... very good. He could be the next president of the US if he wanted to."
"He’s Canadian."
"I know," Ava rolled her eyes. Her point was that Alpha John could win the presidency even if he was not a US citizen. "Still, you didn’t answer my question."
"Aren’t you tired of hiding?" Jude suddenly asked. He went to the bar, got his own wine, and approached Ava. "Of being scared that people will realize you are different?"
Ava said nothing.
"Aren’t you?" Jude said.
"I am," Ava said. When she was younger, she used to wonder why she needed to hide everything. She lost her father at a really young age and she immediately started bouncing through different homes. Being in the system wasn’t so nice and it made her realize a lot of things.
Not only was she different, but the humans around her also didn’t know that something like her exist. They always thought shifters and witches only exist in fantasy novels and movies.
At that age, she thought it was messed up.
There were instances where Ava wasn’t able to control her magick and almost immediately, the families that took her in thought she was a freak. Soon, she understood that they started fearing her.
And to an eight-year-old child, that can be very traumatizing.
Luckily Gabriella took her out of the system and made her understand that there are just some things that humans aren’t supposed to know. There are things in this world that humans aren’t supposed to understand. And that... was fine.
Being different was fine.
Ava looked towards the balcony, her mind was filled with Gabriella’s teachings. Soon, she thought of the box that Samuel gave her. He claimed it was from Gabriella. She hasn’t opened it or even tried to.
It wasn’t because she was still hurt by the betrayal. It was because she was scared to hear whatever it is that she wanted to tell her. Whatever it is that her father wanted to tell her.
Maybe she would open it one day. Who knows?
"I don’t want to work with him," Jude’s words brought her back from her stupor.
"Why?" Matthew asked. He was holding a wine glass with wine on it. He handed it to Ava. "It was a tempting offer."
Jude narrowed his eyes toward Matthew. "Would you?"
"No. I have no interest in making the humans tell me I am powerful." Matthew said.
Jude eyed him in disbelief. As usual, Matthew was acting like a jerk in front of him. Some things just never changed.
"I would tell him I am not— "
"No." Ava smiled.
"What?"
"That would put you in danger."
"What?"
"The Alpha warned you. Other people are working for him. People in higher places."
"That was not true. He was just trying to— "
"Please Jude..." Ava said. "We both know he was telling the truth."
Jude said nothing. Yes. He knew that the Alpha was most probably telling the truth about this matter. And this might be the real reason why his father never said anything about his accomplices. The real reason why this investigation wasn’t going anywhere was because of their connections all over the world.
"Are you telling me to work with them?" Jude asked.
"Of course."
"You wanted me to actually— "
"That man looked like he is giving you a choice but we all know it was nothing but a pretense. Once you say no, you would probably die because of some freak accident. Perhaps, some rogue attack or a curse? We don’t really know." Matthew said.
Jude clenched his jaw. Actually, he had suspicions that the Alpha would never let him go if he says no to his proposition.
"Do you really trust me that much?" Jude joked.
"I don’t," Ava’s answer was direct and quick. "But I trust your ambition."
"This wasn’t the first time you said that." It should offend him. But he knew it was the truth. Ava was extremely good at reading people.
"I know," Ava had a smug smile on her face as she stared at the wine in her wine glass. "I know."
Jude sighed. So now, Ava wanted him to become a spy. If he knew this would happen, he wouldn’t have allowed Francheska to drag him here.
Sitting in his cozy office, unaware of anything complicated.
"So?" Jude asked. "What’s the plan?"
"Alpha John wouldn’t trust you at least not immediately," Ava said. "So show him you are trustworthy."
"What if he asks me to participate in any experiments? A man like him would like to be very careful. Meaning, he would do everything to drag me into this mess so implicating him would also implicate me."
"Then do it."
"What?"
"I will help you."
"You can’t be serious," Jude said. "I wouldn’t do something so— "
"You don’t have a choice, Jude. It’s either that or you die." Ava said. "I know you would never choose the latter."
Jude looked grim.
"Alright." Ava was right. He didn’t have a choice. "But you have to make him stay away from me." He looked at Matthew.
"I don’t remember inviting you on this trip, Mr. Caro," Matthew said calmly. "Let me remind you that you and that child of a woman arrived out of nowhere and robbed me of the time that I wanted to spend with my wife."
"Wife? You aren’t even married!"
"Yet!" Matthew said.
"Still, if I am doing this, you can’t come with me. It’s too dangerous. You are too dangerous!"
"Alright, that’s enough," Ava said.
Jude immediately turned towards Ava. "You can’t let him follow me around. I know he was powerful but this man would not hesitate to abandon me to fend for myself."
"Why would I help someone stupid enough to get caught?"
"I am not letting them catch me!"
"Yet you are already thinking about me not helping you."
"This is just the worst-case scenario!" Jude reasoned. He sincerely thought that Matthew would never do anything to save him and might even watch him die!
....
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