That’s magic.
Joker drags the sharp knife across the Alpha’s neck, efficiently angled and deep.
Viper stares up at him in shock, never looking away from him. Blood sprays from her neck across Joker’s face and the bond marks on his throat like a sacrifice.
He doesn’t flinch.
This isn’t justice.It’s vengeance.
What justice is there in the world for people like us?
Yet it’s just as cleansing.
Viper claws at Joker, and he doesn’t look away.
Bird and I watch in silence.
The moment feels sacred, as blood stains Joker, and the light slowly dies from Viper’s eyes.
And that’struemagic.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ABO Facility
Bird whimpers, huddling against me.
Trembling, he attempts to hide against my shoulder as we step through the steel security door together into the warden’s study in the ABO Facility.
“Quiet.” Joker shoves Bird hard in the middle of his back.
Bird stumbles forward.
He cries out, landing painfully on his knees on the concrete floor.
I wince, growling.
When I twirl on Joker, raising my hands, which are bound with thick rope, it is Phantom who grabs me by the scruff of my neck and shoves me down next to Bird.
We are all dressed in matching black trousers and pants, along with long, woolen coats.
Phantom and Joker appear to be the typical professional bounty hunters returning to collect their pay.
Cold. Callous. Uncaring.
As a pack, we choreographed this scene to ensure that the pair looked this way because we worked out that acting like Phantom and Joker had fulfilled the contract was our best way into the heart of the Facility.
Bird was nervous about how he’d deal with his pack treating him roughly, until Joker winked at him and told him to imagine that it wasroleplay.
Our plan is working.
Both Phantom and Joker refused to hand over their weapons to the guards when they entered the Facility.
Who would challenge a contract killer?
Bird and I have no weapons on us.
For now.
