12 Ambiguous Atmosphere

Walking back to the party, Ley can't help but be preoccupied with the questionable involvement of magick in the matter. Though, it could also be that the magick was paid to put the curse but they have never messed with the shifters ever since the truce was put in place centuries ago especially if it involves a famous one.

Of course, there had been a few odd fights here and there but they had never crossed the bottom line or it had never been revealed to the community. It felt like she was standing at the edge of conspiracy and she didn't like it one bit.

She navigated the throngs of people unconsciously while mulling over the issue. She was about to pass a dimly lit balcony when she was suddenly yanked inside it.

Hot dry air welcomed her while her eyes adjusted to the lighting and registered Landon's face. She felt a warm and rough hand held her wrist and she immediately yanked her wrist back not liking the tingly feeling it left on her skin.

"I have been looking for you," Landon murmured while picking up a glass of wine from a table near him.

"I had to get back something I left in the car. Do you need something?" she said quietly, feeling disturbed at the weird atmosphere. Is it because of the humidity outside?

Ley met his cryptic gaze while he was drinking wine and her throat turned dry at the sight. Yup, this is definitely due to the humidity.

Landon put back the wine glass to the table with a small smile directed at her.

Is he drunk?

She can't help but think that due to his unusual behavior though it's highly unlikely since shifter don't get inebriated that easily due to their body's natural composition.

"I bumped into Barbara earlier. She told me an interesting story about you," Landon began with amusement in his voice.

It looks like Barbara tattled on her to get close to Landon again though he doesn't seem upset about it looking at his expression.

"Apparently, the partner I brought to the party, ripped her dress in the bathroom due to being jealous of her," Landon continued.

She couldn't stop the laughter that burst out of her mouth in time after hearing the ridiculous words coming out of Landon.

She stopped when she realized Landon had a surprised look on his face. Crap, she went out of character.

"This wouldn't have happened if you brought one of the ladies you usually go with," she uttered with her face back to its normal impassiveness without even a tad of remorse in her voice.

"I think this is the first time I heard you laugh since the time you started working for me," he commented while throwing a considering glance at her.

"I don't think it's relevant to what we're discussing right now," she decided to just ignore the jibe and hope that it works.

"It is highly relevant. Don't you think so?" he said with a smirk on his face.

How about just pretending to be deaf and ignore him altogether?

"You should laugh more. It lits up your whole face making you look more beautiful," Landon said with seriousness in his eyes that drew her in.

Ley felt like the space just got smaller between them despite the fact that he was a few feet away from her. Her mind turned blank at what she heard.

"Cat got your tongue?" he teased, with his raspy voice adding fuel to the visual attack.

"Are you flirting with me?" she boldly said but her stomach felt hollow at her thoughtless words.

Landon chuckled at what he heard then uttered with an intense gaze, "What do you think?"

She turned speechless at his words. The already ambiguous atmosphere transformed into something different. Silence floated between them as their eyes locked.

"Sir, Mr. Gonzalo that you've been wanting to talk to has arrived," Sebastian's appearance shattered the building moment between them which gave Ley the opportunity to break the stare.

Landon followed Sebastian out of the balcony but not before glancing at her with tacit promise in his eyes.

***

Later that night.

Ley was looking at her reflection in the mirror on top of her dresser about to take off the makeup in her face after changing.

She was supposed to be trying to make sense of the issue with the involvement of the magicks but her mind kept rebelling. Her mind was going crazy replaying the moment between her and Landon in the balcony like a film on loop.

She slapped both hands to her face to snap her brain out of its wishful thinking. It's high time to face reality. Involving with a shifter no matter how attractive the said shifter is a route that spells dead end in capital letters.

The resolve she's trying to gather got interrupted by a beep on her phone.

She picked it up and answer, "What's up?"

"We need to tell you something important," Tristan's familiar voice came out of the speaker.

"Got it. Be there in five."

She was about to leave when she caught her reflection in the mirror.

"Snap out of it, Ley. This is the real world," she whispered to herself then headed for the conference room.

***

She entered the room and saw Tristan, Gale and Merda already seated at the table waiting for her. She crossed the floor and seated at the head of the table.

"Where's Siri?," she asked confused as she's supposed to be present in the meetings every time.

Gale scratched his head and answered, "She said she's tired from helping you."

"Oh come on. It didn't even take 30 minutes," she muttered incredulously. It's highly probable that she's just being lazy and cooped up on her bed.

"No worries. She can miss this one," Tristan nodded at Gale to start.

"I was out for patrol and I bumped into some unfamiliar shifters earlier," Gale told us.

The information he said made me sat up straighter in my chair.

"It looks like they're on rotation and pretty sure that they're keeping an eye on the building," he continued.

"Ugh, how troublesome," she groaned. She's certain that those shifters were ordered by Landon to keep an eye on her.

"How do you want us to proceed?" Tristan asked.

"Be extra careful on hiding your identities. Those shifters are Landon's men probably sent here to protect me due to my involvement with him. For now, tell Anton not to go here or any of the taboos from the reservation in case they got investigated. It's unlikely but it's better to be cautious," she ordered.

They all nodded in understanding.

"Alright, that's it for today. Go rest," she dismissed them.

Gale and Merda went out immediately but Tristan lingered near the door.

"Didn't I tell you? Shifters are territorial," he mused.

"Nope, this is something different," she refuted firmly.

"Is it?" he asked with a knowing look.