Page 6

Chapter 6

Pissing Off Assholes

Jo

I hadn’t expected the Organization’s genetic monster with ancient Fae blood to be a pretty little fire-haired darling who laughed and smiled as much as she fought like her life depended on it. Make no mistake, it did.

Had she given me reason to kill her before her powers became chaos personified, I would’ve in a heartbeat. I’d killed others for less.

But getting to know the free-spirited Hunter surprised me more than I cared to admit. She beguiled every person she met, and for good reason. Even that arrogant, self-interested Hunter fell for her. Knowing what I did about that pain in the ass, it hadn’t been on purpose. My intel about the Hunter’s past was extensive, and even I wouldn’t have bet on him falling in love after what Eros did to the ones he cared about.

Not that I could blame him.

I’d stayed relatively unattached since…well, since I lost the only woman I’d ever loved. Sadly, that asshat and I shared that in common. Both of us were tainted by the deaths of our greatest loves. And yes, I was painfully aware of what a goddamn overused trope that sort of thing was. If this were a movie, they’d play some shit music and dim the lights, expressing what a sad little thing I was.

But they’d be wrong.

Thinking about Reyna and what happened to her made me homicidal, not depressed. Her death hadn’t frozen me; it gave me purpose and life. I was desperate for vengeance in whatever form possible. I impatiently waited for the day when I could put the heads of the Organization’s worst on spikes to serve as a glaring warning to any bastards attempting to pick up where they left off.

I wasn’t much for yammering on about my broken heart or how I’d never love again. I would. She made me promise her that one day I would. But I refused to fall for anyone until the Organization was destroyed at its very roots. Vengeance was my sole objective, and I’d do anything to ensure it happened.

Unlike me, Phillip maintained a semblance of a moral compass. Color me impressed because fuck if I ever pegged him as the sort. I thought for sure the asshole would be the type to burn the world down to avenge his lost love, but he’d gone the honorable route to overthrow the Organization. He’d cooked up revenge from within.

I, on the other hand, wouldn’t be broken up about a few innocent deaths on my hands. And due to the nature of my Fae blood, I didn’t wear the marks of innocent lives taken like that bastard Cash did. I’d never be marked by the dark acts I’d done to achieve a goal.

And I made no apologies about it either.

The misinformation that lasted thousands of years about my kind was pervasive and destructive. Over the years, there’d been widespread efforts to wipe Ancient Fae kind from existence, so we stayed under the radar. One test and we were dead. Reyna and I had escaped to this plane to avoid it all, start anew, only to stumble on something worse—humans with a desire to become more than they were.

Reyna’s death was a reminder of why I couldn’t rest until the Organization was stopped. Not after those fucking monsters killed her and then used her blood in their genetic trials. Experiments that would eventually lead to V’s creation. So, I became a killer. The second-most sought out assassin by the Organization despite never knowing my face or abilities. At first, it was my intention to cripple them by putting an end to their prized weapon.

But then I met her.

She was nothing like I expected. Her smiles and optimism, her cleverness and raw power, they could be cultivated for good as much as they could be tainted by evil. She reminded me of Reyna, and I couldn’t get over the similarities. The two of them could’ve been sisters. I hadn’t given myself the freedom to hope for anything since losing Reyna, but for once I thought we stood a chance at bringing those bastards down.

Despite the Fae society’s assurance my kind were long gone, we weren’t. Only the truly chaotic ones were. The rest of us found a way to control our chaos powers. And after the last few weeks, I was confident so would V. She’d already controlled so much with very little instruction. I was forever impressed by her fortitude. For most, it took years, but for V, weeks. Months, maybe.

She was proving to be as formidable as the Organization intended her to be. Except, now the tables had turned. Their plan had backfired. The weapon they created to do their bidding would instead be their undoing.

“Jo?”

I tore my eyes away from the wall and looked straight into her red-speckled hazel eyes. Confused, I dragged my gaze across the space and discovered the world was frozen, everything inside of it in a perpetual state of motionless.

Lights beamed but didn’t move. The clubgoers were paused in the midst of their sultry dances; several of them two shades from sex, and a couple handsy bros a pinch away from sexual harassment. Both of our beefed-up marks were on their way over to us, a pair of smirking assholes in clothes three sizes too small, ready to lay on their disgusting charm because our Royal Siren blood called to them.

But the Asshat Twins—as V so accurately named them—weren’t what stopped me in my tracks. Frozen fucking time was. More accurately, everything frozen but me and the monster queen. I hadn’t been prepared for it, so my expression gave me away for a second.

“Is this…?”

V’s lips tilted into an impish smirk. “I guess I figured it out. I know I’m not supposed to be more surprised than you are, but fuck…” A cute breath whooshed out of her, and she pumped her fist before striking a victory pose. “Talk about awesome as fuck! I’m going to do a lot of great things with this…like ruin Phillip’s hair and maybe even his day. That jerk doesn’t know what’s coming for him.”

She tapped a finger against her lips, devising a master plan to fuck with the men in the group. It was a concerted effort not to smile like a total asshole at how adorable this young Hunter was.

Oddly, I seemed to struggle a lot when it came to V and her antics. The Hunter and I shared a mutual love for ruining big men and their days, and I admired how genius some of her pranks were. While I leaned more towards violence, V was tactically inclined towards public humiliation—and I was never left bored by her witty assaults.

“Oh! I know. I’ll change Cash’s clothes to something less…you know, no-one-gets-it fashion.” Her eyes sparkled a second later. “Oh god, yes. A poo emoji shirt. It’d match his shitty personality and make him cry out in ghoulish horror. Two birds, one stone.” I offered her an eyebrow, and she snickered. “He texts more like a high school girl than I do, so he definitely knows that emoji and its meaning.”

Oh fuck, he does…

I’d been unlucky enough to catch one such message the Dark Fae sent to V after he hijacked her phone so they could “stay in touch.” It was loaded up with nothing but cute emojis. I’d vomited in my mouth a little looking at it. Of course, his abuse of texting was later met with violence from Phillip, so all-in-all a great end of the day.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed— and loud —at the thought of the Fae being forced to wear a shirt he hated.

Coughing into my hand, I gave her a look of approval and crossed my arms. Before her, I never felt so free to joke around on a job. The devilish prankster brought out sides I hadn’t seen in decades. Maybe because she made me feel young again. I remembered the person I was before revenge swallowed my personality.

“How do you feel? Tired? This power…it’s different. You have to use it sparingly,” I remarked, trying to redirect. We had a mission. I couldn’t get caught up in her little antics. Someone had to remember why we were here.

V’s smile disappeared, her lips set into a thin line and her spine straight. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have—”

“But any pranks you do, I want in. Every single fucking one.” I gave her a little smirk, relenting for a brief moment.

I couldn’t place the feeling, but I didn’t like it when she was uncomfortable around me. I didn’t want her to second-guess herself. I wanted her to hold her head high. She was a motherfucking badass, and after being around guys bent on protecting her, she’d forgotten she didn’t need them.

She beamed at my playful remark, and I’d never worked so hard not to kiss someone.

Her lips tasted like fruit—the kind that lingers long after eating it. The kind that makes you so hungry it was all you can think about. You crave it even when you’ve just spent all day having it. And right now, V was a temptation I never anticipated. I’d seen one asshole after another fall for her, but I underestimated her charm.

It wasn’t V’s power that terrified me; it was how enchanted I was by her the more time we spent together. How often I considered touching her. How I’d already gone and kissed her. How one kiss would never be enough. I wanted more, and it made me giddy in a way no bastard’s much-deserved death had. I hadn’t felt like this since…

Reyna.

The sassy redhead might be tangled up with two deadly Hunters and a coward, but those assholes were nowhere near my level. I didn’t care if she was brought to her knees by their sultry male charm, or if she enjoyed them in between, because I’d offer something they could never give her. I’d show her things about herself they’d never help her unearth.

After I kissed V, I could tell that she was just as captivated as I was. It brought out the fight in me. I hadn’t wanted someone in so long. It took me a while to recognize the feeling. It took a second to assign a name to it, but once I had, I was ready to throw my name into that overstuffed hat of hers.

My gut told me the spritely little Hunter was worth the gamble, and I always trusted my gut. If anything, the challenge would prove highly entertaining and piss off a few assholes in the process—which was all this chick could ask for at the end of the day.

Taking another gander at our surroundings, I quietly pondered my razor-tongued companion’s power. I’d never seen a time-stalling ability like it. The fact that she’d succeeded at bringing me into it with her was incredibly alarming. And honestly, unheard of.

Time abilities were a terrifying sort of power that the ancient Fae both revered and feared. Very few were gifted with such powers, and even less learned to control it. So, to say I was surprised would be an understatement. This young Hunter would be a fucking force to be reckoned with, and I couldn’t wait to take on the faceless bastards running the entire Organization with the monster helping me do it.

I was ready to ruin lives.