Page 142 of Psycho Beasts

The alpha above me laughed, cigarette hanging from his mouth, as he casually slammed his foot into my cracked sternum.

He tsked with glee. “Another failed initiate.”

My neck was turned, and blood burned my eyes.

Across the gym, chaos reigned.

The men were desperately trying to escape their rings to get to me, fighting against the dozen alphas that had climbed in to stop them from escaping.

They screamed my name.

I sighed heavily as another kick cracked my ribs and sent agony rattling through me.

There were three options.

I could lie here and do nothing and just hope I survived long enough to stand up at the last possible moment.

I could infect my attacker with my blood and risk being found out as a half-breed.

I could stand up and fight like a warrior.

The bald alpha laughed as he kicked me.

There was only one option.

I levitated a tiny droplet of the blood pouring from my nose and discreetly slammed it through his foot as it reared up to kick me.

“Stop,” I whispered.

Immediately, the bald alpha stopped midkick.

He was paralyzed.

There were loud screams and shouts as everyone in the club was preoccupied fighting against three enraged alphas and one unwell omega.

As quickly as I could—I was moving at the pace of a dead ant—I staggered onto broken legs and gripped the ropes along the side of the ring.

“Pretend to fight me,” I whispered, and the alpha threw a weak punch that I shakily dodged.

I distantly noted through the wind-tunnel sensation in both my ears and blood filling my vision that it was dead silent in the gym.

Everyone was watching us.

I channeled the girls and put on the performance of my life.

“Ow!” I yelled brokenly as I let the alpha back me into the corner of the ring and pretended to take punches.

Under my persuasion, each punch stopped millimeters from my skin.

I flailed back and forth and pretended I was rocked by hits that never landed.

There was a hiss across the ring, and the loud sound of smacking, as Cobra realized what was happening.

Suddenly, the gym was filled with Cobra’s shouts as he fought, creating a distraction away from me.

What a king.

Fake fighting drained me. With every pretend flinch, agony slammed through my broken bones as my body moved side to side.

---