Page 17 of Psycho Beasts

The don chuckled as he sucked on his cigarette.

Something told me there was a lot about this realm we didn’t know. A lot I didn’t want to know.

I looked back.

We couldn’t just leave Lucinda and the girls. Jax also stopped, like he’d realized the same thing.

Aran waved her hands. “It’s fine. I’ll look after the children. Not like I have massive problems of my own to deal with right now.”

“We’re not children,” all four of them said at the same time.

I nodded and stepped forward, but Ascher blocked my path. “Princess, you should stay back.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. Who didn’t want to get initiated into a bloodthirsty gang against their will? Me.

But I wasn’t about to pussy out because Ascher told me not to.

I might be stupid, but I wasn’t dumb.

Chapter 3

Sadie

TORTURE

You’re probably wondering how I ended up here.

Somehow, through my stupid-ass actions, my dark, depressing life kept getting worse.

It turned out it was a lot harder to hit rock bottom than you would think. I’d thought I’d hit it in the fae realm, but I’d been wrong.

The abyss of suffering truly had no end.

Yes, I was being dramatic.

No, I would not stop feeling sorry for myself, because at this point, it was the only constant in my life.

In one second, I was about to have a mental breakdown of monumental proportions.

All for what? An alpha snake shifter who was aggravating.

“Stupid damn fucking unwell snakes,” I grumbled as I swung back and forth.

Yep, swung.

Not in a fun, flirty, playground way.

Nope. My wrists were tied above my head and attached to a metal hook that hung from the ceiling by a single chain.

I kicked out my feet aimlessly and twisted as my shoulder blades burned from the strain of holding up my body.

The only blessing was that I was shorter than the men.

Cobra, Ascher, Jax, and Xerxes hung from their wrists next to me in the dark room. They grunted and groaned occasionally, their biceps straining to hold up the weight of their much larger bodies.

The narrow walls glowed with a soft light-blue tinge, and I’d bet all my money it was the same stupid enchantment that stopped shifters from transforming.

No matter how hard I concentrated, I didn’t feel the telltale tingle of my saber-toothed tiger shifting.

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