Page 291 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

“What are you doing? Get under me!” Xerxes yelled.

“Shift,” I whispered. In my experience, shifters could die from enchanted bullets, ice daggers, and blood loss followed by decapitation.

From the size of the glass shards, it was currently a genuine possibility that Xerxes could die.

He grabbed my arms and tried to pull me beneath him.

I resisted and said with more force, “Shift.” My voice was hard and held no room for argument.

“What?” He stilled.

We both knew that since he was an omega, he didn’t shift into a beast like his alpha mates. He shifted into a tiny cat.

His animal form was small enough that I could protect him.

Of course, that would leave me alone. Unsheltered.

Being able to analyze a situation didn’t mean I had to like the conclusions.

I locked my jaw and refused to stutter.

On frozen lips, I spat, “I can’t die out here. You can. Shift into your omega form right now. I’ll protect you.”

We both whimpered and ducked our heads as the glass fell faster from the sky.

Bloody shards lay in a pile around us.

Twitching and breathing roughly through my mouth, I shoved at the glass beside me until there was nothing but a patch of bloody, frost-covered grass.

“I’m not shifting,” Xerxes said roughly, then ruined it by shrieking through his teeth as a piece of glass protruded from the top of his skull. He ripped it out.

I was going to kill him.

I didn’t have the energy to argue.

I wanted to cry.

“If you die, Sadie will kill herself.” I pulled a shard out of my arm. “She isn’t allowed to die.”

My best friend acted all tough, but we both knew that her mates meant everything to her. They’d all suffered and fought for years. They deserved to love one another and have peace.

She deserved more.

Xerxes’s purple eyes glowed at the mention of his mate, and his expression shattered.

He looked at me with sadness and pity as glass shards rained around us.

“Fucking shift now!” I screamed, and tears poured down my face. “I’ll live no matter what. You won’t!”

Glass sliced through my skin, and it hurt.

So badly.

I sobbed.

I didn’t want to live like this.

By some miracle the air around Xerxes shimmered, and a small, fluffy white kitten poked its head out of a pile of clothes.

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