Page 37 of Psycho Beasts

She’d been beaten so badly as a child her vocal cords were shredded.

Yet after being tortured physically, for the sun god knew how long, she’d worried about me.

I couldn’t even put into words how much my heart had broken at that moment.

When the words of concern had left her lips, something had shifted inside me.

It was more than my suppressed omega instincts.

It went beyond biology.

For the first time, I understood completely where Cobra was coming from.

She was mine.

It was as simple as that.

I rested my cheek against her forehead and inhaled her sweet cranberry scent. How, after so much pain and abuse, did she still smell like sweet sunshine?

My gut cramped.

Sadie had been through so much pain in her short life that it didn’t even affect her anymore. Didn’t affect her like it should.

I wanted to wrap her up in a soft blanket and tuck her into my nest.

My gut cramped for a different reason as I thought about where we were. Back in the fucking beast realm.

Vision blurring, I dragged in ragged breaths. Sadie mumbled, as I squeezed her too tightly.

With extreme effort, I unlocked my frozen muscles.

The problem was, I wasn’t a sweet omega, a perfect little breeder, calm enough to soothe an alpha’s aggressive tendencies.

I was a bundle of barely controlled violence. And now I was back in the same realm as them. The Black Wolves, the alphas that had nearly destroyed me.

It hadn’t escaped my memory that beasts prowled the glittering city streets. That dark, rainy corners hid men with even darker souls.

Once again, I was among them.

Softly, I dragged my hand across Sadie’s forehead and reassured myself that she would be safe in my home.

I hadn’t been lying when I said my house was big enough for all of us. I’d said it was an apartment out of habit. Years of downplaying my wealth so people wouldn’t treat me differently.

I’d grown up with a beta mother and a father who’d been absent, but still an elite member of society. My family had old ABO money.

When I’d found out my father had been an omega, our wealth had made even more sense.

Omegas were rare jewels in Serpentine City, lavished with gifts and money from alphas who courted them. Status symbols.

Not that I’d ever experienced the process.

The wealth and prestige had always been a shackle that kept me from training with my blades all day.

But for the first time in my life, I was glad my family had wealth, because I could provide for Sadie and give us all a place to stay. It gave me a role.

The little voice in the back of my head reminded me I couldn’t even keep myself safe.

I pushed the dark thoughts away.

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