A MAZE OF GREED

Edwin was in his chamber with Mrs Payne. He had sent Ruth outside the chamber as he wanted to ask some questions to only Mrs Payne.

Mrs Payne was being patient with Edwin. Even though a werewolf leader, she understood that he also had a human side and it needed time to consume everything.

"Do you know who killed your husband?" Edwin asked after a minute.

He studied her face closely. He did not see any flicker of emotions on her face. She did not look taken aback by his question.

"Vampires!"

Edwin was speechless.

This woman had no fear! Her tongue did not stutter while saying their name out loud.

"How do you know about the supernatural creatures? You are a human?!"

Edwin did not realise that he had put a silent question mark at the end of his statement.

"Wasn't Barret Addington also a human? Yet he knew about all of you and even had worked with some of you."

Now Edwin was alert. This woman knew more than she let out. But how?

"So you know who killed Barret Addington?" Edwin hoped that she knew the answer.

She did not say anything instantly. She leaned back in the chair before saying, "I do not know."

"Why should I trust you on that?" She smiled at his defensive stance.

Humans and animals both are the same in many aspects. They become defensive as soon as they sense the unexpected.

"Because I have not given you a reason to not trust me, have I?", Mrs Payne said.

Fair enough. She had not denied anything, nor she had tried hiding things. She was honest and confident with her answers. Edwin had no point in distrusting her.

"You know more than you should Mrs Payne!" Edwin commented, his face masked with a pretence of unaffectedness when he was dealing with the storm inside.

"Even a great soul needs the help at times." Came her another cryptic reply.

"You mean to say you are here to help me?" Edwin raised his brow questioningly.

Mrs Payne shook her head. "No, Master. I am here to help the human Luna of the werewolf breed. Though I will never step back from helping you. Rest assured that the only inetntion of mine is wellbeing of Ruth!"

Edwin did not miss how brutally honest she was. She could have shown her loyalty for him to please him. Yet, she did not. She was concerned for him only because of Ruth.

If Ruth was not his mate, then this woman might not have spared him a single glance.

Now that she was claiming to be honest with him, Edwin would like to test her honesty.

"If you know all of this then you must be angry at the O'dells that we failed in catching your husband's murderer."

Mrs Payne nodded her head. "I am. But also trust you, Young Master. I am sure you will bring justice to all of those who have lost their loved ones just like me."

It was the first time in this conversation that he saw her eyes moistened.

"But it is my Uncle- Lord Augustus- who is handling such matters."

As he foresaw, Mrs Payne scoffed. "He is not capable of the things that you are!"

Edwin purposefully left her comment untouched and jumped to his next question.

"You must be heartbroken when you saw your husband's dead body for the first time."

"Yes. He was my life, my only love! I was waiting for him all night. But he didn't return home that night. Ruth was also at Welby's house and had no idea about it. That was the most horrible experience of my entire life.

When I saw his pale body in the woods, my whole world crumbled down within a second." She dabbed the corner of her eyes with her fingers.

Those painful memories never left her back even after months of Mr Payne's death. She still lived that day every single day.

"How did you saw his pale body in the darkness?"

"What darkness? It was the next morning when I saw him in the woods."

"Then why did you go there in the night Mrs Payne?"

Mrs Payne froze in her spot. After bombarding Edwin with bombs of shocks it was her turn to get one for herself.

"What are you talking about?" She asked a little sternly.

"I am talking about the missing nails on his feet. Where his nails went missing Mrs Payne?" Edwin leaned forward with a straight face.

His gaze on her was unnerving.

She matched his gaze. "I do not know about it."

"Yes, you know Mrs Payne. You are lying, giving me a reason to not trust you." Edwin raised his voice accusingly.

The lines on her face deepened as she pursed her lips in a thin line.

"Someone pulled out Mr Payne's nails. Although you washed your hands thorougly, you forgot to clean your feet. They had stains of Mr Payne's blood. The vampire had sucked all of his blood. What spelt around was dried significantly by the time you reached there. Then from where those stains came Mrs Payne?"

Her face did not give away anything that was running in her mind. Edwin tried listening to her heartbeats, but they were beating steadily.

It meant only two things. Either, she indeed was clueless about it or, she was very good at hiding things not only from the humans but also from the supernatural beings.

"Why would I take his nails?" she asked.

"I do not know. You tell me!" Edwin crossed his hands over his chest.

"I would have if I knew what you are talking about."

"Hmm!" Edwin nodded his head slowly, not leaving her gaze.

"I will find about it sooner or later Mrs Payne. And when I will, you will need to answer truthfuly." He warned.

"Noted!"

This woman was too hard to deal with!

"If you know all of these things then why haven't you told Ruth about them?" Edwin was thinking about it since the start of their conversation.

"Because it is not my place to tell her, Young Master. It should be only you telling her about her fate and life. The sooner you do it, the better it will be for both of you and your people."

Ruth's topic changed his mood considerably. Edwin ran his hand through his hair. "I am afraid she may not take it in a good way." He blurted out.

"Of course she will not!"

Okay, now that was not helping his situation at all.

"Why don't you... help-"

"As I have said before, I can not interfere on fate's plan." Mrs Payne clearly refused to help Edwin.

The disappointment was written all over Edwin's face by her reply.

"She is a human, Master. And humans get scared of the new things. You will need to go slow with her. Let her trust you completely and then introduce her to your world step by step."

She was right.

"Do you know why the Moon Goddess chose a human Luna for me? Why only Ruth?" Edwin doubted if she knew the answer, but then he had to try.

"I belive that every life has a purpose to serve and is gifted with abilities to serve it." She replied calmly.

"And what are Ruth's abilities? She is a normal human!" Edwin hoped to get the truth.

"Yes she is just an ordinary human. However it is for you to find her abilities. And also help her discover them."

"Did Mr Payne do the same for you?" Edwin asked unknowingly.

Mrs Payne smiled at that. "Yes, he did!"

"Then I must say that he has done a splendid job!" Edwin had a meaningful smirk on his face.

Although she did not agree with his accusations, he still thought she was one brave and smart woman. He had to give her that!

"Thank you! I think I have cleared most of your doubts." She then said with a smile.

"Yes, you have cleared some of them. But you have created new ones too!"

"I hope you will get them cleared soon. And the ones you can not find answers to should left that way only. It is not necessary to find answer to every questions. Some questions should remain in dark."

With that said, Mrs Payne stood up from her chair to leave. Her words, as usual, confused Edwin.

"There is no need again using the medicines I gave. They have done their job well. I hope you will be more careful about your surroundings now on."

Edwin's face darkened at that reminder. "I will! Thank you... for everything!" He said sincerely.

"Keep this conversation between us only. Ruth does not need to know any of it." Edwin then added.

Mrs Payne nodded her head in understanding. "I know! Oh, and from the next time, I will not tolerate a Shade or any supernatural creature keeping an eye on our life.

And the trick you used to make Ruth lose her job was very lame if you ask me. But it all turned out in Ruth's favour at the end, so I let it pass then. But do not try anything like that again! Take care!"

And then she left without a second glance in Edwin's way.