Duskmoon Village
Ziva was in a meeting with her father and his beta, Jericho, explaining her plan.
"Once the spell is made, the moment Violet and her mates return to the human realm, I’ll be alerted, and we’d pull—"
The door to the meeting room was abruptly thrown open. Three pairs of eyes snapped toward the entrance.
Layla rushed in, only to halt mid-step as their gazes pinned her to the spot.
"Well..." Ziva drawled, one hand settling on her waist. "Look who decided to show up early."
Her eyes swept over Layla slowly, settling on the bag slung over her shoulder. A slow smile curved her lips upon seeing how full it was.
"And it seems you had a fun time."
Then her gaze shifted to the empty space beside Layla.
"And where is your sister, Laura?"
At the mention of that name, Layla’s lips trembled.
Before anyone could say Jack Robinson, her eyes brimmed with tears.
The shift in the room was immediate.
Angus straightened, his demeanor changing at once. But it was not concern that crossed his face. It was unease. A cold, crawling sensation slid down his spine instead.
"Where is your sister, Layla?" he asked this time. His voice was gravelly and dangerous, darkness bleeding into his eyes.
Layla tried to speak, but the words tangled in her throat. Tears spilled faster than she could blink them away, blurring her vision.
"W–we t-took the i-items and then—" she sucked in a sharp breath, her chest heaving, "there was a wolf... it came out of nowhere. It tried to attack—goddess—I fought it—I—"
"Layla!"
Angus’s voice thundered through the room.
Layla flinched as if she was struck. The words died in her mouth, but the sob didn’t. It ripped through her uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking as she folded inward.
Angus rose to his feet.
He could feel it now. Something had happened. The kids must have messed up — as usual. He should have known than to rely on his stupid daughters for something this important.
His face darkened like a gathering storm as he crossed the room in long strides. Angus stopped directly in front of Layla, towering over her, his presence crushing.
Slowly, he demanded, each word a hiss, "Where. Is. Your. Sister."
Layla whimpered, the sound small and broken.
"Talk!" Angus roared.
The force of it made the room seem to recoil. Even Ziva stiffened where she stood, startled despite herself. Layla shrank, curling in on herself, trembling like a wounded animal.
There was no escaping him.
Layla lifted her head at last, her face soaked in tears, eyes red. Her voice came out raw, barely more than a whisper.
"She’s... she’s dead." A sob tore out of her. "Or—at least I think she is."
"We ran into one of the wolves," she rushed on, the confession spilling out now, unstoppable. "I tried to fight it—I did. Laura was supposed to escape first, but she... she didn’t. She tried to help me...."
Her breath hitched violently.
"But then her spell misfired. It hit an iron surface and bounced back—" Layla choked, clutching at her chest. "It hit her. She was thrown through the window.... She fell—four stories down."
And then, as if fully realizing the severity of what she had done, Layla rushed to explain, her words tumbling over themselves.
"This is all your fault," he hissed. "If you hadn’t gone behind my back and ruined everything, Hannah would have carried this out with ease."
"I—I can still do something," Ziva choked out, her breath tearing painfully from her lungs.
"Yes," Angus spat, releasing her abruptly. "You can."
Ziva staggered, coughing violently, clutching her throat. Slowly, she straightened, her expression austere.
"You will find that girl, Laura," Angus said. "And if she’s still breathing... end her."
"What?" Layla whispered from the floor, her
heart slamming painfully against her ribs. Surely she hadn’t heard right.
Angus didn’t even look at her.
"If my brother even gets a whiff of my plans from that stupid girl’s mouth," he continued, "you can rest assured your head will roll this time."
A chill ran down Ziva’s spine. She nodded once. She could see it in her father’s eyes. He wasn’t bluffing.
Angus muttered something that sounded like a curse and stormed toward the exit. As he passed, Layla grabbed his leg desperately.
"Father—please," she sobbed. "You don’t mean that. She’s your daughter."
Angus looked down at her with nothing but contempt. Then he kicked her away.
Layla hit the floor hard.
Once Angus was gone, Layla turned to Ziva, tears streaming down her face. "You’re not going to do it... right?"
Ziva didn’t answer.
The cold, emotionless look she gave her was response enough.

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