Page 107 of Psycho Beasts

The droplets of red that floated past me.

“How did this start?” Jinx asked from across the room, her dark eyes wide with something close to fear.

I focused on the enchanted smoke burning my lungs as I explained the sensation of euphoria while fighting.

How, for an impossible moment, I’d predicted every move Molly made before she did. How it had turned into unimaginable pain.

Jinx and Aran were pale as ghosts, but that wasn’t anything new. They really needed to get some sun.

I opened my mouth to ask why they were so freaked out, but a loud squeal distracted me.

“Sis, you’re awake!” Lucinda threw herself into my arms, and I squeezed her as tight as I could. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

“I won’t,” I promised, relishing the feeling of her against me.

The lightness in my heart immediately dissipated as four pissed-off men stalked into the room.

Lucinda crawled off me, and I shifted uncomfortably under the sheets.

Were they finally going to admit they were acting rude to me because they were butt-hurt about the circumstances? From everything Aran had described, it sure as shit seemed like they still cared about me.

My brush with whatever the hell had just happened was maybe just what we needed.

I missed their friendships, and I wanted their support.

I was ready for peace and adult enough to accept their apologies.

“YOU EVER FUCKING DO THAT AGAIN, AND I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!” Cobra launched himself across the room.

Jax and Ascher lunged at him like they’d known what he was going to do before he did it, and their quick reflexes were all that stopped the six-foot-five snake warrior from crashing into me.

“Oh, grow the fuck up!” I yelled back, more annoyed than ever. “Why do you insist on acting like a class A prick?”

I stumbled out of bed and marched over to go toe-to-toe with the bastard.

Shadow snakes writhed across his pale skin.

“Don’t. Antagonize. Him. Please,” Jax said in a clipped tone. His gray eyes glowed brightly, and he rubbed at his chest with one hand.

“Princess,” Ascher whispered.

He released Cobra and fell to his knees, tattooed arms rippling as he wrapped them around my legs.

My body trembled from the force of his shaking.

I patted his golden head, unsure what in the sun god was going on.

As if he sensed my question, Xerxes leaned against the wall, apart from everyone, and said slowly, “My heat is starting much sooner than expected. Years of taking supplements has…changed my body’s responses, and I’ve been going haywire after bonding. It’s affecting all of them and making them emotional.”

His face contorted into a scowl. “It’s just biology.”

Suddenly, I was hyperaware of the scent of intoxicating cinnamon. It was more sugary than it had ever been.

Ever since they’d bonded, cinnamon had been haunting my dreams. I’d been overly attuned to it and couldn’t walk down a hall in the mansion without licking the sweet scent off my lips.

His words were a punch to the gut.

Ever since they’d bonded, I’d been uncharacteristically emotional; the men were only acting this way because of their biology.

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