Page 48 of Psycho Beasts

Emotions were for the weak because facial expressions and feelings could be exploited and used against you.

Logically, I knew this.

It didn’t make the ache in my stomach go away every time I thought about Sadie’s pain or looked over at Aran’s haunted gaze.

Aran walked silently as the group smiled around her.

Fae royalty among shifters.

Now, because of my own actions, she was the queen of a fucking dreadful realm.

I fisted my palms and willed myself to forget about it. There was enough on my plate trying to keep Sadie safe; why did it fucking matter that her best friend was clearly not okay?

Other people’s problems weren’t my issues, and I obviously had no fucking clue how to deal with women.

Aran huffed and rolled her eyes at me. “You got a problem with something?” Her tone was scathing, but it didn’t have its usual sass.

I didn’t miss the way her arms shook slightly.

Back in the shifter realm, she’d been bursting with energy, always defending Sadie, and throwing herself into training.

I’d been trained to spot the signs of lying, and her words were too clipped. Her resonance was off.

She had the body tics of someone who was under extreme duress and trying to act like they were fine when they weren’t.

She wasn’t well.

My stomach cramped, and I asked myself what Jax would do in the situation.

His sisters were literally hanging off his arms and beaming up at him as he listened to every one of their ridiculous statements, like they were of the utmost importance.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, and the words caught in the back of my throat. “It was my fault…your mother…I didn’t know.” I stared down at the polished mahogany wood floor as Walter showed the group yet another room.

Aran stopped walking and gaped at me like I’d grown two heads. “Wow.”

“What?” My hackles rose, and I snapped back. Of course I was fucking this up. I should have just stayed fucking quiet and not tried. Emotions were weakness, and I needed to rebuild my defen—

Aran nudged me with her elbow, and it cut off my train of thought. “It is totally your fault.”

I nodded in agreement; I was the ass who’d ruined her life.

“But it’s also not. My mother was going to find me eventually, and her existence was always hanging over my head. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t escape my birthright.”

Aran shrugged in an attempt to look casual, but she itched aggressively at her back.

Suddenly, an idea struck me. The inferno in my chest leaped with a new purpose.

“I see what you are to Sadie, and I know how much you mean to her, so I won’t let the fae take you back. I vow to you my allegiance.”

The darkness in Aran’s eyes abated slightly, and for the first time since she’d done the unthinkable, a smile split her face. She stopped itching at her back.

The pain in my stomach lessened, and I marveled at the lightness that burst through me.

I put my hand out.

Aran shook it vigorously and said, “Deal. I’m taking you up on that shit. Do you know how hard it is going to be to evade the fae looking for their queen?”

She smirked, her eyes lit up with an edge of violence, and I couldn’t help but smirk back.

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