Page 1 of Psycho Pack

Chapter

One

IVY

"Wraith."

His name escapes my lips in a breathless whisper, barely audible over the gentle lapping of water against stone. For a moment, we're frozen in time. The world narrows down to just us, suspended in this tiny air pocket. His arms still bracket me, keeping us both afloat. The heat of his skin burns against mine, chasing away the chill of the water.

Then his eyes drop, breaking our connection. He tries to turn away, but there's nowhere to go in this confined space. A low, pained growl vibrates through his chest.

I reach up without thinking, my fingers brushing his scarred cheek. He flinches at the contact, jerking back as far as he can. Which isn't far at all.

"Wraith," I say again, stronger this time. "Look at me."

He shakes his head. His hair hangs in wet tangles, obscuring most of his face. But I can still see the mangled scars where his lips and cheeks should be, the sharp teeth permanently bared ina rictus grin, illuminated by the glimmering light from the algae and mushrooms reflected on the water's surface.

My heart hurts. How long has it been since anyone's seen him without his mask? How long has he hidden himself away, ashamed of what was done to him?

"Please," I whisper.

Slowly, so slowly, he raises his eyes to meet mine again. The raw fear and resignation in his eyes breaks my heart. Like he's waiting for me to recoil in horror. To reject him.

Fat chance of that happening.

I cup his face in both hands, ignoring his sharp intake of breath. My thumbs trace the raised edges of his scars, mapping out the damage done to him. He trembles under my touch, a fine shiver running through his massive frame.

"You saved me," I murmur.

He shakes his head again, more forcefully this time. A series of growls and snarls escape him—the only sounds he can make with his ruined throat. But I understand the meaning well enough without him having to sign them. I know what he's saying.

Monster.

Freak.

Dangerous.

"Bullshit," I say fiercely. "I'm not afraid of you. Iloveyou, Wraith. All of you."

The words spill out before I even know what I'm saying. It's the first time I've said out loud I love anyone in so many years, it aches to remember.Anyone,let alone an alpha.

But it's true.

I do love him, alpha or not.

His eyes widen and his brow furrows, confusion and disbelief warring in his gaze. As if he can't believe what I'm saying, as if he thinks my own bewilderment at my words has anything to dowith him at all. I can see the moment he decides to pull away, to put distance between us. To protect me from himself.

I don't give him the chance.

Before he can retreat, I surge forward, closing the already minuscule gap between us. My lips press against his ruined mouth, catching on the jagged edges of his teeth. The kiss is clumsy, awkward. There are no soft lips to mold against mine, no give and take. Just the hard press of teeth and scarred flesh.

For a heartbeat, Wraith goes utterly still. Then a shudder runs through him, so violent it sends ripples through the water around us. His arms tighten around me, crushing me against his broad chest. A sound somewhere between a growl and a groan vibrates through him, and I feel it in my bones.

I don't pull away. Instead, I press closer, deepening the kiss. My tongue darts out, tracing the sharp points of his teeth. The taste of copper blooms in my mouth. My own blood from where his teeth have nicked me.

But I don't care.

All I care about is this moment, this connection.

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