Panthera Onca ➳ Derek Hale

03. Muted

Derek's P.O.V

   I invited Braeden since I heard that she's hunting Kate for the Calaveras. I need her to hunt Kate for me first. The fact that my eye color had turned into yellow means nothing good to us. I'm not sure if I should fight for now, but I'm sure that if I go onto another adventure, we won't know if I survive it. Hiring Braeden can be good for me since I won't have to do this job myself. And, I get to be more around Jade. It's our time to restart.

   "That table's Italian." Peter responded with annoyence in his voice as Braeden placed her feet on the table.

   "So are these boots." Braeden replied, and I smiled a little, much to Jade's annoyence. She's cute when she's jealous. "Are we going to talk interior designing fashion or are we going to talk numbers?" I noticed Braeden watched as I looked at my own reflection in my sunglasses. I saw my yellow eyes through the glasses. It bothered me since I couldn't understand how Kate managed to do this. Peter wrote the number we talked about on a slip of paper and slid it over to her. She crossed it out, wrote a new offer, and slid it back. Peter took one glance at it.  

   "We're hiring you to find Kate, not assassinate the President." 

   "I was hired by the Calaveras to find Kate. You're hiring me to find her first. Going against the Calaveras is what's going to cost you." Peter tried to make another offer, but she pushed it right back at him, and he got up in disgust. I picked up the slip of paper and tore it up.

   "We'll pay. Just find Kate, that's all we want." I tried to calm them down. I don't really care how much money she wants, I want her to find Kate. Braeden agreed and left the loft. Peter closed the door in disgust.

   "Are you insane?" Peter asked.

   "We don't have a choice. We spent a week looking for her and came up with nothing." I replied. Jade kept quiet. 

   "If we don't find out who told Kate about the vault, we don't get those bonds back! What do you think I'm gonna do then, huh? Get a job? My resume is slightly out of date. We got robbed, Derek. Robbed!" Peter grabbed me to spin me around and look at him. I grabbed his wrist and roared in his face, showing my yellow eyes. Peter still doesn't know about them. "Oh, that's a new look for you. What happened to your eyes?" 

   "I don't know. But I'm willing to pay to find out." It didn't take too long until Peter decided to leave the loft, so when he did, Jade got up from her seat. "Where are you going?" I asked her.

   "Nowhere, Derek. I need to think." She answered. But I grabbed her hand. This isn't an answer. I need her by my side now. She's the only one I'll tolerate next to me.

   "I'm doing this for us, Jade."

   "We can find Kate on our own. We don't need Braeden. I can check what happened to your eyes, she's a werejaguar, I know where I can find information about that temple and-"

   "Everytime we do things on our own something happens between us and we grow apart from each other. I don't want that. This is our chance to sit down and just be together." She looked down, sighing.

   "I can't sit down and do nothing. I'm sorry, Derek." She exited the loft. Will I ever get to her?

☼

   Braeden came back to the loft and brought me a report. I started reading it. Behind me, she changed clothing, and I didn't look at her. If Jade comes back... I don't want to know what will happen to Braeden.

   "There's nothing in here about Kate. This killer used an axe." I told Braeden. 

   "Actually, he used a military tomahawk." She corrected me.

   "That's not in this report." I vaguely glanced over my shoulder as I noted.

   "I know." She replied. So why would I care?

   "Are you going to tell me what else you know?" 

   "Not yet, 'cause I don't really know much." 

   "But you know something." I started questioning her. I want to make sure that if I'm giving her this job, she won't go against me.

   "Maybe. The problem is the people I need to talk to right now, don't talk to people like you."

   "You want me to wait for you?" I need to find Kate as fast as possible, I hace no time to wait.

   "I want you to trust me."

   "And why would I trust you? I don't know anything about you."

   "Yeah, well I know you and I know what you really want. You want what Kate stole from you." And I want Kate away from Jade and I. "Briseann an dúchas trí shúile an chait. It means the true nature of someone is reflected in their eyes. In your case, the color of your eyes." I thought about what she said. I understand the point she's trying to make, but there's so much more when it comes to Kate. It's not just my eyes, it's everything she does. I want her gone. Agreeing to work with Braeden, I tossed her shotgun towards her and she caught it.

   "You get a week." I informed her.

  ☼ 

   "You decided to work with her?" Jade asked me as she walked inside the loft. Finally, she's back.

   "I did it for us. I don't want to die and I don't want Kate to take you away from me." She shook her head.

   "She won't, Derek. We have each other's back. I don't trust Braeden to do the job. She wants a price and she'll double-cross you once someone gives her the right offer." She seemed stressed by it. I don't want her to stress about anything.

   "Believe me, everything will be okay. First, I love you. Second, I want our lives to be a little easier. If she gets Kate and finds out what she did to me, we'd have less stress." She didn't seem positive about this. I must calm her down. "Stop worrying, Jade." I hugged her tightly. "I love you." I repeated. She slowly wrapped her arms around me.

   "Derek, this isn't what's going to make me convinced."

   "I know, but let's try this. One week, that's what she has. Give it a chance." She sighed, and I chuckled at the way she acted. She's adorable when she's jealous. "Besides, no one has my attention but you."

   "Yeah, I want to see you try and give someone else attention. We know who'll go on their knees for the other to take them back." She's on fire today with the insults. But I'm not insulted. She's hot.

   "Calm down with the way you talk to me, I still have feelings." I teased.

   "Don't try me." I softly squeezed her cheeks together with my hand.

   "Adorable."

   "You're annoying."

   "You're more annoying." She narrowed her eyebrows. I placed a kiss on her lips. "I love you."

   "I love you too." She muttered.

  ☼