***
Agents poured into the cell, ordered like a marching band as they lined up between the dark corners of the already tight space, their rifles trained on the Robyn and Slade as a woman stepped in after them, her entire being reeking off power and control.

Her lips, a glistening ruby red; her hair--puffed curls the color of milk chocolate that bounced off her shoulders and framed her face in a way that made her look so innocent--and that breathtaking smile were all things that Robyn was familiar with.

That's ten, she thought, fixing her gaze on the person that commanded the squad of trained killers surrounding her.

Ivy wore a knowing grin as though she could sense the helplessness in her elder sister's gaze.

Even with me free, it didn't take long for Robyn to realize, we're still outnumbered.

Her gun had been taken away and even if she had it, she doubted whether she and Slade could dispatch the agents before they were both pumped full of bullets.

She gritted her teeth when Ivy crouched in front of her, considering their options over and over again, only to come to the same conclusion everytime. We are so screwed.

"Look." Two unrelenting fingers forced Robyn's head in Slade's direction.

He was still sprawled on the floor, on the same spot she had left him. He hadn't moved a muscle but his eyes were dark and unreadable.

"This man came all this way, even going as far as abandoning his pack to liberate you yet you push him away the moment he confesses to you." Having said that, Ivy let go of her sister and held her hand out to one of the agents who in turn pulled out a white handkerchief and cleaned her fingers.

Her grin grew wider when she looked at Slade. "Isn't she being a little too cruel to you, the Alpha of the Sabreclaw pack? Why do you keep on going after her?"

"I'm the better agent between the two of us. Whatever she can give you, I can only give you more." She held her hand out to him and he took it expressionlessly, smearing her palm with the blood that coated his fingers.

"Alpha?" Robyn murmured under her breath, feeling as though the air had been knocked out of her. "He's the alpha?"

In her mind, the alpha--being the strongest out of an entire pack--was the fiercest, most aggressive and most demanding of all the shifters. Cases of Alpha-brutality were not foreign to her, she dealt with them every other day. Having the strongest beasts in their species locked up within them, their animalistic side revealed itself more often so they went on rampages more often during full moons.

They were the shifters that were the most bloodthirsty and quick to anger yet Slade was the farthest thing from that.

Everything about him was incomparably gentle, from the way he addressed her to the way he treated everyone else in the organization even though he knew that they would repay good with evil the moment they found out who he was.

Other alphas would have taken a different approach when it came to handling a situation like this. How many of them would be willing to audition for a position as her lackey just to gather information?

While shouldering her suspicions, he had slowly led her to the truth without once exerting his dominance on her. What sort of Alpha did things like that?

Don't tell me he really likes me? Robyn's thoughts froze but the idea refused to die. Instead it rolled and rolled and rolled, in her head, in her heart, in her breath, until all his charming smiles and doting actions suddenly made sense and the possibility filled her up like a deep breath. He likes me?

Absentmindedly, she reached up to touch her lips. He had just kissed her and she pushed him away without even thinking about it, more instinct--and self preservation--than aversion.

She snuck a glance at his face and found it the same blank canvas that had appeared the moment the cell door opened. Is he angry?

"What are you doing?" Ivy leered at her, startling her from her thoughts. "Regretting it now?"

Caught red-handed, her face flushed but she managed to keep her embarrassment out of her voice. "Ivy, why are you doing this?"

"He," Ivy cosied up to Slade and dragged a finger down his jaw, "explained it perfectly. You're not that bad a listener, are you?"

Something twinged in Robyn's chest seeing them so close and she ignored it. "If it was the position you wanted, I could have--"

"Oh, shut up. I don't need your pity." Ivy whipped the handkerchief in the air and skipped forward a few steps until she stood between the two of them. "I am perfectly capable of making Mother abandon her silly project. She doesn't need more daughters when she has me."

"More daughters?"

"You really are clueless, aren't you, Bee?" Ivy held herself and laughed so violently that she nearly crashed into Slade who stood behind her. "You have already met one of them, haven't you?"

She gave the blood on her hands a lazy wipe then tossed the soiled handkerchief to the ground. "Sure, us two were the only ones carried in her womb but there are so many of 'us' out there for the picking. Potential heirs. Of course, I have taken it upon myself to get rid of every single one."

"You're saying--"

"I'm saying that Mother doesn't need you, Robyn." Ivy put it bluntly. "So there are really only two options left for you. Defect and let me bring news of your betrayal to Mother or... Die and let me bring back your corpse."

"Why do I feel like you'd prefer the former?" As she spoke, Robyn gathered the the broken chains into her hands, prepared to fight her way out even if it ended up being futile. At least she wouldn't let them land the first blow.

"You are still the heir. I feel hesitant to have your blood on my hands." Ivy snapped her fingers and two agents closed in on Robyn. "Well what do you--?"

Her next words were cut off when Slade grabbed her by the neck and pulled her back to his side, the color of his eyes alternating from muddy brown to a dangerous crimson. "Just because I stayed silent doesn't mean you can just do what you want."

Like moths encountering a flame, the agents shifted their attention from Robyn to him and their guns followed suit.

Ivy clawed at his hands, her ruby smile still plastered on but distorted. "You... are at... a disadvantage. Killing me... won't h-help--"

His grip tightened, choking her to the point where she could no longer speak. It wasn't until a moment later that he let go and allowed her fall to the floor.

When an agent started to advance, Ivy held up a hand to stop him.

Slade paid her no mind. "I didn't want to involve myself in your family dispute, but to allow such a farce continue to play out in front of me would truly take me beyond my limits."

It's almost like he's punishing her for something, Robyn thought and rose to her feet. But he's looking more like an Alpha now.

"Slade. . ." She cut herself off. Did she even have the right to call him by his name anymore? She didn't even have the right to be his superior. "Alpha Adolph, she's right. You are surrounded and the room is warded. No one would be able to stop you if you want to escape but it is impossible to win this fight."

Slade flexed his wrist then cracked his knuckles, drawing her gaze to the obsidian claws that had started growing where his fingernails had been. A silent refusal or a dare for her to repeat her sentence, Robyn didn't know.

"What you're really trying to say is that I should leave you behind."

"This is my family's business. You said it yourself."

"Are they even deserving of being your family?" Slade asked, and Robyn felt something stir in her chest.

She had always lived knowing that each day could be her last so she had not feared death. All she had wanted was to make her mother proud and live in peace with the person she loved but all that turned out to be a hoax. Her mother had given her a title with no real power behind it to attract the attention of her enemies while she raised more and more successors behind the scenes.

Robyn could accept that she was nothing more than fodder. What she couldn't accept was the fact that her fiance had also used her.

Even if he hadn't exploited their relationship for his own purposes, he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her the truth. She had told him every detail about herself, bared her soul to him, but in the end he still believed that she was no different from her mother and her sister.

Faced with a situation like this, Robyn was unwilling to die. She didn't want to confront him in the afterlife. She wanted to be able to at least pretend that the man she thought he was was all that existed.

"If you want to leave, I can take you away," Slade said confidently. His aura exploded and the agents that had been standing fell to their knees, pained grimaces plastered on their faces as if gravity--for them--had been multiplied by ten. A trickle of blood spilled down the corner of Ivy's lips as she glared at him. She tried to speak, but it was as though her jaw had been wired shut.

Robyn was the only one unaffected but she still felt stifled, like the air around her had turned into quicksand.

"Whether it's back to the organization or somewhere else, it's all up to you. I doubt anyone at S.H.A.S.H.I.M.A will suspect you if everyone here is taken care of," he added with a nonchalance that spoke of absolute power.

If he said it, he meant it, because he had the ability to do it.

While processing his offer, Robyn stared at her baby sister. It is so easy to kill her, and killing her will solve everything but--

She wasn't able to muster up any killing intent

Looking at Ivy now, she couldn't help but think back to the little girl who always clung to her and begged for piggy back rides. To have gotten to this point of trying to murder each other, only their mother was to blame.

Infighting was highly encouraged in the organization, so the moment they were old enough they had been separated and pitted against each other.

She hadn't thought anything of it back then but from Ivy's perspective it must have been awful to discover that the mother who always doted on her had decided to choose someone else as her favorite. That sort of childish grudge was a trait she had had since she was a toddler.

In the end, Robyn shook her head. They could kill but that would only lead to a cycle of endless killing and she was tired of pointless bloodshed.

"It's fine," she forced a smile and tried to sound natural, "I don't want to go back."

She tried her best to pretend that it didn't hurt her heart to say it. She had dedicated her whole life to the organization, how could she be happy to leave?

Slade walked to her and took her hands in his, shattering the cuffs on her wrists. The metal scraps fell to the ground with a soft tinkling sound, without hurting her in any way, but tears sprung to her eyes.

She wanted to look away but he held her gaze as though he could see right into her soul and suddenly there was nowhere to hide because he would always find her.

"You... are really a good sister," he said, and the crack in her heart widened a little more.

Yes, the reason she was cutting ties was not because of Jester or her mother or the shady organization she had been raised in but this temperamental younger sister of hers that didn't hesitate to slaughter innocent shifters for the sake of her personal goals.

If she gets what she wants, maybe she will be kinder, was all Robyn hoped as an older sibling who hadn't been good family in the slightest. Although she knew that they would never be as close as they were as children, only she knew that one of the reasons she had accepted the position of heir was to spare Ivy the heartache of being their mother's puppet... but now she found that her efforts had been worthless and she was left with a bittersweet feeling.

Her sister had grown up, she no longer needed her.

Ivy is all grown up.

"It's best this way." She tried to sound cheerful but her voice was undoubtedly hallow. Ivy knew her well-enough. Discovering their mother's cruel scheme against the supernatural community was the straw to break the camel's back, and she was tired.

Slade nodded like he understood, and maybe he did. He held his hand out to her and she took it. "Let's go."

They had just crossed the half of the cell when Robyn heard the click of a gun's safety being disengaged. Her gaze grew cold as she turned to her sister. "Ivy, you still can't let go?"

"Why must it always be you?" she screamed, now on two shaky legs. Her arms trembled as she pointed the pistol at them, the strain on her muscles evident. "Why did mother choose you? Why did Jester choose you? Why did he?"

"You two don't even know each other, why would he choose you?" Robyn felt like this sister of hers was a little bit too silly, not knowing when to quit when she was ahead.

Now, she was the one that was outmatched and in a hopeless situation. She was the one not willing to let them throw the last punch, even though they were just walking away.

She just had to have the last laugh. It had been that way since they were kids.

"Shut up!" Ivy aimed the gun at her. "You know less about him than I do. You didn't even know that he was an alpha!"

Robyn frowned, not able to dispute the fact. "Are you going to shoot me?"

Ivy's posture relaxed and her voice got softer. "I think it's best I give the Sabreclaw pack a reason to be my ally."

And then she pulled the trigger.

Robyn didn't know how it happened. Between pushing Slade out of the way to him pulling her to him to her falling to ground with a bleeding, pulsing, hole in her chest.

It all happened too fast.

All that occupied her mind was the pain that made her fingertips grow cold--she knew that it was just the glamour stripper realizing that she was human but she couldn't help but shiver--and the warmth that surrounded her as he cradled her head to his chest, whispering over and over again into her hair, "Why did you do that? It wouldn't have killed me. Why did you do that?"

Why did I do that? Robyn asked herself the same question. It wouldn't have killed him. Why did I do that?

Maybe it was because he had saved her twice already. Maybe it was because ten years ago she had spent nights tracing his face into the ceiling of her bedroom, thinking, wondering, questioning--anything but sleeping for weeks on end. Maybe it was because he liked her and there was no one else who really liked her in this world anymore.

"You're the best," he said.

Maybe there was no reason at all. She had just done it because she wanted to. Seeing the worry in his gaze made her want to say, "It's just a scratch." But he was a shifter, he could probably smell death clinging to her and there was no lie she could tell that would change that.

She pressed her hand against the wound as though it would help anything. Every second that passed made it more and more difficult to breathe and in the background, Ivy laughed. "You are so predictable, Ro-Ro. I don't care about anything else as long as I drag you into hell with me!"

That ended up being the last thing she could manage to say because she collapsed a moment later, silenced by whatever force had smacked her into the floor like a hand swatted an annoying fly.

A pool of blood grew beneath her from wounds whose origins were indecipherable, and Robyn couldn't bring herself to look away.

Is she...dead? She was too afraid to ask and didn't have the air to anyway.

Slade reached into his collar and pulled out a silver chain. Robyn wondered how he managed to keep it on him when her own jewelry had been consficated the moment she had been searched but soon it was fastened around her neck and she was propped her up on the wall by the cell door with no choice but to watch as Slade brutally murdered the people she had once considered colleagues. And as she witnessed the power of a shifter whose strength singlehandedly lifted his pack into the leagues of the top ten most powerful packs in the country, she wondered no more.

***

Mwuhahah. This was supposed to be posted on the 31st last year, making it my first completed book in 2020. But... And I say BUT today is the very real, in real life birthday of one of the characters featured in this chapter so I couldn't resist.

Is Robyn dead? Is Ivy dead? Does Slade like her (dis ones obvi)? Did Midnight and Leo get teleported to somewhere else? Will there be an epilogue? Will there be a sequel?

There will be an epilogue in Slade's POV that ties things up, I think! But not anytime soon because exams. As for the sequel, I'll only write it if there is demand. I obviously limited myself by telling the story in this short span of words, a lot of things that happened behind the scenes are stuck in my head because of this limit and the story also stretches for a while beyond this point in my imagination so a sequel isn't far-fetched!

Also, I almost forgot the most important question. ARE ROBYN AND IVY REALLY HUMAN?