Page 9 of Psycho Beasts

It was freaky.

Was the driver gesturing to a creepy black door on the side of a random building that looked like someone might be murdered inside it? Yes.

Was I freezing from the rain and would rather fight off a murderer than stand in the cold for another second? Also yes.

At least now I could shift back into a saber-toothed tiger if the time called for it. Also, I could cut myself and throw my blood around and infect people.

What could I say? Power gave a girl confidence.

“Thank the sun god,” I said with relief and dropped my load as I walked through the door.

Aran sputtered on the black welcome mat and looked around as she came back to consciousness. “Did you just drop me? Also, why does this mat say, ‘Hell is paved with the bones of the disloyal’?”

I rolled my eyes. “First, I just carried your dramatic ass through the rain. A little gratitude would be nice. Second, because we’re being escorted into a creepy Mafia lair, in a creepy realm, by a creepy man in sunglasses.”

“Excuse me?” Sunglasses Man’s eyebrow twitched.

“Grow up,” I snapped back at him. “You know you’re creepy.”

My arms burned from carrying Aran’s muscular body, and I couldn’t tell if my thighs were trembling from the cold or exhaustion. Sister was not light. Something I was highly jealous of.

Sunglasses Man gaped at me like he’d never been told he was creepy before, which I highly doubted.

Now that we weren’t in the rain, his burned scent itched at my nose.

He was a beta.

Jess, Jax’s oldest sister, wrung out her sopping-wet long black hair that was streaked with electric-green highlights. They matched the bright green of her eyes. She smiled up at our driver. “Sorry, sir, but we were all thinking it.”

Jinx shivered uncontrollably, and Jax rubbed his hands along her arms to help warm her up. Poor thing looked like a drowned rat.

Jinx rolled her dark eyes at the driver and said, “W-We were also thinking that you have p-p-p-poor circulation, likely caused by a lifetime of fighting. You should get that checked out by a doctor.”

“What?” Lucinda asked, her white-blonde hair plastered against her gold face. She’d said what we all were thinking.

All eight of us turned to stare at Jinx in confusion.

Once again, Jinx sighed heavily, like it was painful dealing with dumb people. “His fingers are unnaturally white and show poor circulation. Also, he has a slight tweak in his gate. Likely his kneecap has been broken repeatedly. The circulation issue is probably causing complications in his joints. Anyone can see that.”

There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at Sunglasses Man’s unnaturally white knuckles and his slightly bent knee.

Jax shook his head. “Jinx, we’ve talked about this.”

“Amazing observation.” Xerxes smiled down at Jinx with a warmth that I’d yet to see from the omega. “I’ve trained soldiers for decades, and it’s rare to find a person so naturally observant.”

Jinx blushed and hid behind Jax.

“She still needs to grow up,” Cobra said under his breath.

“Are you threatening my sister?” Jala’s bubblegum-pink eyes flashed with anger, and she narrowed them with an attitude only a fourteen-year-old girl could muster. Her sweet disposition had completely disappeared.

Jess put her hand on Jala’s arm. “What have we talked about? Breathe through the rage.”

Ascher rolled his eyes. “Glad Cobra’s antagonizing young girls now.”

I couldn’t help myself. “Oh, so you think you have the moral high ground now that we’ve left the realm that your betraying ass got us almost murdered in?”

Ascher had the decency to look chagrined. A soft red blush tinted his golden cheeks as he raked his hand over his horn roughly. “That’s not what I meant.”

---