Invisible String {2} TW

Ch. 3 Muted

A/N: Yes, Ayla has a mild crush on Braeden. Yes, it is only because I have a crush on Braeden.

TALK
[4×03]

WITH DEREK BACK, AYLA FULLY MOVED BACK INTO THE LOFT. She had missed the place over the past few months, but she hated being there all by herself. Or even worse, with only Peter.

She was currently sat on the couch, leaving as much space as she could manage between her and the oldest Hale. She fortunately had Derek sat between them. Lucifer was peacefully curled up on her lap as she sat across from Braeden.

The mercenary kicked her feet up onto the table, drawing Peter's glare. "That table's Italian," he told her.

"So are these boots," she told him.

"And the boots are a lot cuter than the table," Ayla added. Her and Braeden exchanged a smile. Peter sighed in disappointment, while Derek tried to hide his smile. The she-wolf was in a much better mood now that she had her uncle back and he had his memories. Both men had certainly noticed her flirty comments to the mercenary. They were pretty sure Braeden had too, though if she had, she seemed to be taking it as a compliment.

"Are we going to talk interior design and fashion, or are we going to talk numbers?" Braeden asked them.

Peter grabbed a piece of paper and began scribbling some number down, but neither Braeden nor Ayla's attention was on him. Both of them were watching the way Derek was staring down at his reflection through the sunglasses in his hands. Both knew about his eyes now being gold, and Ayla knew it was bothering him not knowing what had changed.

Peter slid the piece of paper across the table to Braeden. The woman glanced at him, before picking up the pen and scribbling three more zeros onto the page. She then pushed it back to him. "We're hiring you to find Kate, not assassinate the president," Peter reminded.

"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," Braeden explained.

Peter scribbled a different offer and tried to push it across the table to her, but Braeden pushed it back without a glance. "Ugh," Peter groaned and stood up.

Ayla rolled her eyes at his dramatics, before straightening her posture to try to see the price. The movement caused Lucifer to give an annoyed hiss. The cat jumped from her lap, landing on all fours on the floor. He then walked over to Braden, who smiled and reached down to pet the cat.

Derek picked up the paper, ripping it up. "We'll pay," he agreed. Peter turned around to look at his nephew in surprise. He sent Ayla a look, and the she-wolf shrugged. "Just find Kate, that's all we want," Derek told the mercenary.

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They finished talking to Braeden and Peter shut the door behind her. Lucifer hissed at the werewolf. It was pretty clear that he preferred Braeden over either of the men. But Peter ignored the cat. He didn't have many other options. As much as he hated the creature, he wasn't about to deal with a pissed off Ayla.

"Are you insane?" he asked his nephew.

"We don't have a choice. We spent a week looking for her and came up with nothing," Derek told him from where he was standing at the table.

"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," Peter snapped.