Page 277 of Psycho Beasts

“And what bugs me is she gets so mad about you doing enchanted drugs. Meanwhile, she’s always drinking coffee. Make it make sense.”

Suddenly, Jinx appeared at the top of the grand staircase. “You guys are back. Would you like me to collect your coats?” Jinx asked with a soft smile as she bowed her head low.

For a split second, we stared at the girl.

“Lucinda, young lady!” I bellowed. “Stop infecting Jinx with your blood and making her play butler.”

“She wanted to do it! Don’t be such a mom!” Lucinda yelled back from somewhere upstairs.

Still, Jinx’s entire body relaxed, like she’d been released from a mental persuasion.

She glared at us. “I’m trying to practice breaking free of her hold. You two ruin everything.”

With that, the young girl whirled and marched away.

“Where is Jinx? We were going to practice breaking Lucinda’s hold,” Cobra said as he appeared from the hall.

“That is not appropriate.” I glared at him.

“Aran, Sadie, look!” Jess and Jala said with excitement as they ran around the corner with knives in their hands.

“Ascher and Xerxes were teaching us hand-to-hand combat, and we learned how to roll and stab someone in their kidney!”

“Aren’t you all supposed to be in school?” I asked with confusion.

“Nah, Jax said we could take the day off to work on self-defense. He says we need private lessons if we’re going to keep living in this realm.” Jala grinned.

Jax appeared around the corner with the stack of paperwork in his hands that we had to complete after each Mafia assignment.

From the other door, Xerxes and Ascher appeared with a bruised and bloody Warren trailing them.

“They’re having us practice on Warren,” Jess said as she grinned at the bloody boy.

Warren smiled back, and Xerxes slammed the hilt of a knife into his stomach so he doubled over.

“We’re helping train all of them,” Ascher said as an explanation, but we all knew they were just torturing the perverted ferret.

The don had demanded Warren stay with the family and accompany the girls to school in ferret form.

Now that Cobra had been revealed as the prince of the city, there were more threats on their heads.

“Why are you guys already back from therapy?” Jax asked. “I thought you still had another hour.”

I waved my hand at him dismissively. “She let us out early.”

Aran nodded. “We think Dr. Palmer’s intimidated by our prowess. Which we get.”

Jax looked at us in disbelief. “I feel like that’s not it.”

“Anyway, I’m going to go take a nap,” Aran said with a yawn as she trudged up the stairs.

I followed after her and said casually to the men, “I think I’m just going to hang out in the nest. Come see me when you’re done with training.”

The sudden silence in the room was loud as all the men understood what I was saying.

A few hours later, I rode on top of Xerxes on the fluffy bed while Cobra took me from behind, Jax filled my mouth, and Ascher watched from the corner while stroking himself and yelling instructions.

Soft snow fell around us, and a warm fire crackled.

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