40 Almost

The atmosphere was explosive while the two of them were locked into a deadlock.  Ley glared at him behind her hood to judge his intentions. There was no humor at all in his eyes, although there was the presence of a smile on that infuriating face. 

This damn guy was serious.

Ley gritting her teeth at his daringness said, "Leave the payment and get out."

He leaned back on the chair relaxedly when Ley released his arm. He was exuding nonchalance as if there wasn't a magick or a panther that can turn rabid in front of him.

"What to do? I really want to see the face behind this cloak," he murmured reluctantly, without taking those arrogant eyes off her.

The pot containing the ink mixture cracked suddenly, piercing the silence. The fluid flowing across the table floated languidly but turned into countless crimson spikes midair in a blink of an eye, all pointed rigidly at Landon's face. 

The originally quiet panther in the corner stalked towards the table noiselessly and bared those sharp teeth in warning. Its fiery eyes locked on Landon's form, one wrong move and it would pounce without hesitation.

"Try and you'll see," Ley challenged, not backing down in the slightest.

She doesn't know much about Landon's abilities, only that he is strong but she would do anything to keep her identity secret. 

Tension reigned over them before Landon shrugged his shoulders as if they were not about to clash head on just seconds ago and said,"I know a worthless battle when I see one."

Ley didn't believe him one bit after his trickery so she didn't relax her hold on the spikes even though she already felt the telltale signs of collapse. 

Landon whistled a low tune and the door to the room opened abruptly, disrupting their face-off. Sebastian entered briskly with a briefcase in hand. He calmly settled it on the table, ignoring the spikes that changed direction to his movements.

Ley opened the briefcase and scanned it briefly. It was an exorbitant amount of money that she demanded per each tattoo she drew. Satisfied, she closed it and put the briefcase at her side.

Landon stood up, back to his usual CEO countenance, and said,"See you on the next deal then."

"Don't contact me ever again. There would be no next time anymore," her determined tone was low but sharp.

No way in hell that she'll risk it again. There's no assurance that he won't attempt something again.

Landon gazed at her intently again as if he was trying to figure out something but it disappeared as fast as it came.

"There would definitely be a next time," he smirked knowingly which annoyed Ley immensely.

He left with Sebastian in tow without looking back after leaving her with those cryptic words. Ley slumped on the table exhaustedly once she was sure that they're really gone. She felt a bump on her side after a few minutes and saw Tristan looking at her, still in panther form.

"I'm fine, let me just recover a bit before we go," she muttered while stroking his velvety fur.

***

It was night time already when Ley arrived at the reservation to check on them and to take care of some business too. She trudged towards the newly occupied cottage by Old Bertie while leisurely being followed by Tristan, still on all fours.

She knocked on the door when she saw that there was still light spilling out the window which had little pots of plant on the sill. It reminded her of the devil flowers that day on the clearing. She half-expected the ones in front of her to transform too. She rubbed her head at the thought and concluded that she must be more tired than she thought. 

"Come in," a voice inside said after a few seconds.

She opened the door and raised her eyebrows at the sight in front of her. Ley had hoped that Old Bertie would get along with others and wouldn't live like a recluse in the reservation but looking at how Nana drowsily leaning on her lap while she read a book was a development Ley didn't see coming this fast.

Nana sleepily looked over their direction and her eyes lit up happily once she saw Ley at the entrance followed by a surprised shout, "Ley!"

Ley immediately spread her arms to catch Nana when she got down from Old Bertie and tackled her in excitement.

"What are you doing here?" She asked while patting her little head.

"I'm listening to Grandma read magick tales," Nana eagerly told her and burrowed her head to the crook of Ley's neck sweetly after.

Ley looked at Old Bertie in confusion. She had never heard of tales like that in her entire existence. The book in front of Old Bertie closed by itself and continued to float by her side.

"What kind of childhood did you even have?" Old Bertie asked critically.

Ley was so used to Old Bertie's grumpiness that she didn't even bat an eyelid to the usual snark.

"Is everything alright with you here?" She asked, ignoring Old Bertie's earlier words.

Ley had to wait for a few minutes before she heard a response, albeit reluctantly, "It's better than I thought."

Her face looking at Nana softened for a split second but it disappeared as fast as it came. The door opened without preamble when Ley was about to ask a few more questions. 

Sera briskly came in while saying to Ley, "Someone told me you'd be here."

"How's the strengthening of the wards going?" She asked immediately since that's probably the reason Sera was looking for her.

"Not good. I've run out of materials," Sera grimaced in response.

"Don't worry about it. Use this to buy them," she said while handing over the briefcase.

Sera settled it on the table and checked the contents quickly. Her eyes bulged when she looked over at Ley and exclaimed in excitement,"How many tattoos did you even do? This much money. . ." 

"Don't even ask. It was so tiring. I'm not doing that kind of deal ever again," she weakly waved her hands at the reminder while balancing Nana in her other arm.

"I'll get on with it then. This is more than enough to get all the materials I need," Sera flashed a thumbs up.

"Is Ley there?" a voice piped up from the outside.

Not long after, Ley saw Siri's head peeked at the entrance, trying to check out the inside of the cottage, with her usual lollipop in hand. 

She wasn't alone though.  

Behind her, a girl wearing a hoodie followed closely at her back so the face was partially hidden and Ley couldn't figure out who it was. Ley raised her eyebrows at the sight but Siri didn't notice her reaction. Siri's attention was on Tristan lounging at the floor without care for the others.

"What's wrong with him? He's not transforming back?" She curiously asked.

"He's just burning his energy before going back," Ley offhandedly replied, still distracted.

"Who's that with you?" Sera suspiciously asked.

"You ask that when you were the ones who gave my number. She's that shifter you wanted to help," Siri muttered, rolling her eyes.

That was when Ley realized what Siri was talking about  so she said towards the girl, "You must be confused, I can explain in a bit."

The girl brought her hands to the hood and pulled it down towards the back. Ara's face, looking lost, was revealed to them.