Page 40 of Psycho Beasts

I inhaled sharply as anxiety settled over me like a heavy blanket.

For the first time in over two decades, I was home.

Chapter 8

Sadie

MANSIONS

“No, I want my roll to have butter on it,” I grumbled at the server, who kept refusing to give me any. Every time I reached for it, the server pulled his hand away.

It was maddening, and I was one second away from infecting him with my blood. You didn’t take a woman’s butter.

A callused hand jostled my shoulder gently, and a honeyed British accent whispered, “Sadie, wake up.”

The buffet of food disappeared, and my head throbbed with agony.

“Ow,” I moaned as I went to rub my eyes and they smarted with pain.

Blinking open crusty, swollen lids, the first things I saw were stunning purple eyes hovering inches from my face.

“Are you okay?” Xerxes said softly, his warm breath fluttering against my cheek. Dried blood streaked down his olive side, and his lush lips were swollen and cut.

Concern radiated off him in waves. “Do you need me to carry you?”

His question brought me back to reality, and I gently pushed him away. “Nope, I’m totally fine.”

Then, with a long, dramatic moan, I pulled my aching limbs out of the car and stumbled into the chilly rain.

As I shivered pathetically in the downpour, I found myself once again missing the balmy climate of the fae realm.

I’d gone from two suns to a cold, windy night.

My gut told me I was going to become wildly depressed in the beast realm.

Although, a small part of me loved the drama of the miserable weather because it matched the ache in my bones and my soul.

It surprised me that the empty car didn’t explode behind us as we limped forward into the rainy night. It felt like we were living in a grainy action movie.

I tipped my head back, and the rain washed over the throbbing cuts on my face.

It felt good.

The sky was an inky black, and for a long moment, I lost myself in the foggy memory of the beating.

“Um, why aren’t we going inside?” Cobra asked. He was no longer being carried by Jax and was clearly upset about it.

I made a face back at him. “Wow, a woman can’t even have a dramatic moment in the rain without a man ruining it for her. Classic.”

Ascher and Xerxes looked at me like I was crazy, and Jax just smiled.

Still, all the men stood staring like I was supposed to do something. Were they waiting for me to fall apart?

I chuckled.

It was pouring, the perfect backdrop for a long sob, but the only thing I felt was dead inside.

Well, dead and hungry.

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