Page 39 of Psycho Beasts

But for some reason, my instincts trusted him.

His posture was always rigid, his face tensed, like he was constantly weighing every move he made. Constantly searching for threats.

I could relate.

At his core, Ascher was a soldier. A man more comfortable with war than daily life. Only completely relaxed when he held a weapon in his hands and had a task to complete.

Ascher asked softly, “Is she okay?”

I tightened my arms around Sadie’s back and cradled her sleeping form against me as her soft purr warmed me to my core.

Ascher’s lips curled up with a snarl, and his eyes flickered with live flames.

It was a rhetorical question.

We both knew she’d been fucking tortured while we’d hung uselessly next to her.

I sighed heavily. “How have you survived watching her put herself in harm’s way?”

Ascher clenched his jaw. “I fucking haven’t.”

Cobra was sprawled against Jax, and he blinked open his emerald eyes. “Kitten’s a fighter.” A self-satisfied smirk flashed across his gorgeous face as he snuggled against Jax.

I wanted to be mad at him because he was the reason she’d been injured. I would have, if I hadn’t understood their dynamic.

Anyone could see that Cobra was obsessed with her.

It destroyed him that she wouldn’t listen to him, but her spirit was part of the reason he was infatuated.

You could practically feel lightning strikes crackling between the two of them when they squared off. Their attraction was vicious.

“We cannot allow her to be hurt like this again,” Jax said with a low growl. His deep reverberation shook through the air, and the driver glanced back with concern.

All of us nodded in agreement.

When it came to Sadie, we were on the same page.

Jax breathed deeply and squeezed Cobra against him, similar to how I was squeezing Sadie.

Even an idiot could see that if Sadie was Cobra’s damnation, then Jax was his solace.

Cobra was more beast than man, and Jax was more man than beast.

Everything about Jax screamed calm power.

He was old enough to have complete control over his baser urges and patient enough to harness that calm. Compared to cat and wolf shifters, bears were rare, and often kept to themselves.

I respected Jax for his calm temperament because, in my experience, the most powerful alphas were the most corrupt.

But Jax didn’t assert his strength over others.

He was Cobra’s moral compass, a natural leader that everyone looked to. I’d instinctually leaned against him for support and followed his lead blindly.

Until now, I’d always been the one in charge. I’d trained the soldiers in the fae queen’s army, and I’d been the lead during missions.

But when Jax had stepped forward to get initiated, even before Sadie had, I’d followed without question. We were a group, and he knew what was best for us. We all felt it in our bones.

“We’re here,” the driver said.

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