Page 116 of Psycho Beasts

“Wow. I went left with this convo. You went right.”

The elation slowly drained out of my bones until my legs were unsteady and my headache began to throb again.

When was the last time I’d eaten?

She snapped her perfectly manicured red nails in my face. “Are you paying attention? I said you don’t deserve the pack.”

I didn’t ask what pack she was referring to.

It was obvious.

Clarissa flipped her silky black ponytail. “Xerxes is not just any regular omega. He comes from one of the oldest beast families in Serpentine City. Everyone knows he was owned by the notorious Black Wolves.”

She paused and stepped into my personal space.

“They’re independent alphas. They’re as rich and crazy as they are wanted for crimes against beasts. Xerxes is only alive because he ran before they could complete the bonding, because he was too young for it to take.”

Her alpha scent wafted off her in waves of lemony tang.

I’d never liked lemons.

My stomach hurt for Xerxes, but I said nothing. It wasn’t like she actually wanted to have a conversation.

Clarissa’s voice pitched until she growled. “The Black Wolves are hunting Xerxes as we speak. He’s going to need to be surrounded by the strongest alphas in Serpentine if he’s going to survive. His alphas are strong, but the weak link in the chain is you. If the pack needs anyone, it’s other alphas that are strong enough to protect him. Not some scrawny runt who passes out while fighting.”

Any lingering joy from not failing the test drained from me.

The sleepless night caught up to me.

I took a shaky step back from Clarissa as if I could distance myself from the horrible meaning behind her words.

She wasn’t wrong.

If Xerxes really was being hunted, he needed to be protected. My heart hurt for everything he’d been through.

Clarissa took another menacing step forward.

I went to step back again, and I bristled at my cowardice.

She didn’t know who the fuck I was.

Jinx came to the forefront of my mind, and I channeled the twelve-year-old.

“I’m not weak. You know nothing about the pack or Xerxes. I’m the one who’s lived and fought beside them. You’re just a lonely, jealous female alpha who’s acting like an animal because you’ve met a male omega way out of your fucking league.”

Her dark eyes flashed with warning, and I could have stopped the backhand that I saw coming from a mile away.

But I was fucking tired, and a part of me welcomed the pain.

I’d let her be the bad guy all she wanted. I’d let her think she had the upper hand. It would be all the sweeter when one day, I’d show her who I really was.

Her backhand struck my cheek, and the force of the blow slammed me into the wall.

She was no delicate flower.

But it wasn’t her hand that stung; it was her next words.

Clarissa’s blood red lips curled up at the corners. “Xerxes invited me to his first heat. Said it should be soon, and he needed a female alpha present. You’re not special, so stop pining over them like you’re fated mates. Everyone can see they’re over you.”

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