"Well… "
"Just like everyone else, she is wondering if you were the one who kidnapped my wife!" Broody's loud voice interrupted them. They looked at the man who walked inside the room.
Why was he here, again?
"And I want an answer Woods! Why were you at the cabin on the night that my wife vanished!" Anger smoldered Broody's ocean blue eyes.
"Did you hurt my wife?" he asked.
"What made you think that I would hurt your wife… Mr. Jones?"
"You— Just answer me!" he demanded.
She snorted. Slowly, a smirk appeared on her face. "And if I don't?"
"I will— "
"Broody, stop it!"
"Why Mama?"
"Mama?" Ava knew that Broody was an only child. She had met his family when they were still together and she was a hundred percent sure that Patricia is not his biological mother.
"Amelia is… my daughter."
Ava's jaw dropped. So, Broody married a priestess's daughter and wasn't even aware that she was a witch? She could feel hesitation, worry, and fear from the Priestess.
"Broody… please leave us."
"Why? I want to know why she was there! I deserve to know the truth!"
Ava observed Broody. Over the years, he had gotten… bulkier. These days, people call his body 'dad bod'. The thought made her want to laugh. But laughing in the middle of a tense situation sounded, uncaring.
"What?"
"I'm telling you nothing, Broody," she said.
"Did you hurt her?"
"Hurt her?" What? She looked at him in disbelief. The audacity.
"Yes, Ava! Did you or did you not hurt my wife!?"
Ava looked at Patricia and was surprised to feel the woman's doubts as well. They thought she hurt the woman?
"So, I kidnapped her then lost my consciousness in front of her house?" Ava snorted. "You are dumb Broody. I know that. Everyone knows that. But please stop assuming that everyone is just like you!"
"Can you really blame me for thinking you hurt my wife? We both know you were that kind of woman in high school woods."
The anger inside her erupted. Almost immediately the fire from the fireplace made a loud rustling sound followed by a sound of the snapping log.
The priestess widened her eyes.
Anger was the only thing that fueled her magic.
And the angrier she became, the stronger her magic is.
"Broody, please leave us alone." The Priestess said in a panic-stricken voice. "Please!" she begged. Seeing the woman's pale appearance, Broody glared at Ava.
"We are not done here." Then, he strode out of the room.
Patricia raised her hand, intending to slap Ava's face.
"Try it and you will die," Ava hissed.
The fire in the fireplace erupted. This time, it had gotten bigger, bolder. The older woman donned a horrified expression.
"Showing magic… in front of a human!?" Patricia uttered in horror as she lowered her hand. "How could you do that!"
"I don't think I owe you an explanation, Priestess."
"You— " Patricia's eyes widened. She looked at Ava as if it was Ava who hurt her."Broody is human! You can't show your magic to— you know the rules!"
"The rules are useless against me!" Ava calmly said. "I am looking for a missing witch and yet everyone in this house… is thinking that I was somehow involved in her kidnapping. Did you expect me to be happy?"
"You cannot blame me. Trillium… is capable of doing anything inhumane."
"Inhumane…" Ava scoffed. She got it. Trillium killed people to keep both the witches and shifters safe. But to call them inhumane. She approached Patricia, her eyes narrowed at the older woman. "What are you hiding… Patricia?"
"I— " Patricia turned to her side. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Guilt… I can feel it from you. What are you guilty of?"
"You are an…" Patricia used her hand to cover her mouth. Seeing this, a sense of satisfaction glinted in Ava's eyes. That's right. An empath is considered a rare gift.
"Empath?" Ava arched her brow. "Did that surprise you?"
"You are— "
"Tell me… what are you so scared of, Patricia?" Ava squinted. She wasn't originally planning to bring this up. She didn't want to clash with the local coven. But calling them inhumane while all they did was protect their kind was a low blow.
"Please leave."
"Leave? " She scoffed. "You think... I would leave after you showed me that emotion?"
"I don't need you to find my daughter!"
"Interesting but foolish. A scared witch can do lots of things. Did you think I would allow her to reveal herself to the humans? Did you think Trillium would do that?"
Seeing the horror in the woman's eyes, Ava took a step back. "I am leaving without hurting anyone. That would act as a thank you for bringing me here. However, if Broody would irritate me on my way out. I cannot assure you that I can control myself. After all, I do inhumane things. To me removing a limb or two is as easy as… cutting a pie."
"You— "
"Bye Patricia…" She walked towards the door.
"What happened to you?"
Ava turned and smiled. She always knew that Patricia recognized her.
"I knew Gabriella. She was a good witch. I know… she wouldn't raise a daughter like this."
"Ah… Gabriella. You mean... The witch that everyone started calling crazy?" Ava looked at Patricia and gave her a smile full of ridicule. "You talk about my mother as if you are not one of the people who voted her out of her own coven. As if you aren't one of the first who abandoned her in the past."
"You — "
Ava didn't need to hear the rest of her words. She walked out of the room and left the woman alone. Once again, she let her anger get the best of her.
But to call her occupation inhumane and then use her mother's name was definitely enough to set her off.
She was surprised to see two people stationed outside of the room. They were guarding her. They must have heard all the scary stories about witches who worked for Trillium. That's the only explanation she could think of when she sensed their fear and worry.
Everyone in this house is either scared of her or suspected her.
"Where are you going?" It was Broody.
She turned towards the man. "You look older."
Broody's face reddened and it wasn't because of her 'compliment'. He was fuming. He had been trying his best to stop himself from physically hurting her.
"Did you think you could leave this house without telling me the truth?" he asked.
"Yes. I can, Broody." She walked past him and started walking towards the stairs. She was honestly in a very very bad mood right now. Disturbing her wouldn't do Broody any good.
"Hey!" Broody held her shoulder from behind. He squeezed it with just enough force to break it. "I am not done. I want to know… the truth. Did you hurt Amelia?"
Ava didn't move. "If you won't let go… you will lose your arm."
Of course, instead of moving, Broody squeezed her shoulder tighter. She grimaced from the pain. She was about to release a spell when she saw another man from her peripheral.
"I suggest you let her go." Matthew Graydon's voice echoed inside the house. The already cold temperature seemed to have dropped even more.
"And why would I do that?" Broody asked, his voice firm.
Matthew started ascending the stairs, the wooden steps creaked at his slow but consistent footsteps.
"Because…"Matthew stood in front of Broody. Up close, Ava could clearly see Matthew's commanding height that towered over Broody's. "You don't want to end up half dead with your limbs torn and broken."
"You— "Broody balled his fist. Ava could feel his fuse flicker like a volcano that was about to erupt. Of course, she wasn't planning on stopping the man from confronting a shifter. In fact, Ava wanted to know if Matthew would show his strength to a human.
She was aware that shifters aren't allowed to show their abilities to humans too.
Sadly, before anything could happen, the Priestess found her way in front of the two Alpha males. Patricia's face was considerably paler than earlier, she looked like a piece of white paper.
"Mr. Graydon," Patricia started. "You are not welcome here!"
"Patricia…it's nice to see you," Matthew smirked. The way he called out Patricia's name sent shivers down Ava's spine. She could hear the danger that accompanied his tone yet, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about how he must sound in bed. She fought the urge to slap her own face to wake her up.
"But I agree. I am not welcome here." Matthew turned towards Ava. "Shall we go?"