Page 155 of Her Psycho Beasts

Giddily, I change my clothes into the ones my animas helped me pick out, then Minnie arrives to help me with the finishing touches.

When we’re done, she looks at me, clasping her hands under her chin, before jumping up and down excitedly. Together, we run to the trick stairs to the lower floor of the animus dorm. There, the bearded Forklift Twins, Ernie and Bernie, wait for us, casting their eyes down respectfully and murmuring that they’re to escort me to the regina and rex entry point to the Hunting Games stadium.

I’ve never actually been to a Hunting Game. Even though it was a national sport for animalia, I’d never taken too much interest. Savage and Xander spoke about the state and national players sometimes, and often watched the Saturday night gamewith the other males in the rec room. For the next three days, however, that sports field would be used for amuchmore fun purpose.

Minnie doesn’t leave my side as we follow the two mountainous, burly bodies into the night and across the grass to the stadium. The air is crisp and dry, making me sharp with anticipation, and as we enter the stadium excitement flutters in my belly. In front of the long line of bleachers, there’s a little white tent with a spotlight over it and a metal gate in front that marks where my mates are probably not-so-patiently waiting. The gate system at the front of it reminds me of the ones they use for bulls in rodeo.

I immediately fling up all of my shields except the mating mark one. They’re not going to get it easy tonight. Not at all. They could hunt on feel alone. However, if my mating mark wasn’t visible to them, then I couldn’t seetheirseither, and that would put me at a disadvantage. With only the swell of the moon for light, our mating marks would be like little beacons in the night. That would help me dodge them.

Formymating mark, I have my own plans.

Ernie and Bernie lead me to a second, smaller white tent about twenty metres from the other. The difference with this tent is that, instead of a gate system, it has a spotlight focused on a small three-stair platform out front. The intent of it gets my heart racing.

If Xander were here, he might be the one of my mates able to hear my heart from this distance. But no doubt, he wants to be as far away from us as possible.

Ernie and Bernie lead me to the tent and open the flap to let me in. They show me a poster with the instructions on it.

The first bell is for the pack to exit into the mustering gate.

The second bell is for the regent to exit onto the platform.

The third bell is for the regent to be released

The fourth bell is for the pack to be released.

Once the twins leave, I nervously wait within the four bare walls of the tent, scrunching my toes in the grass and mentally going over my strategy.

The first bell sounds. But it’s not a high-pitched tinkling sound like I imagine. It’s a low, booming siren made to spike the adrenaline. They can probably hear it inside the dorms.

I blow out a shaky breath. It’s worse because I can’t communicate with my mates and my senses are all the more heightened because of it. Electricity bounces through my veins and the tent shudders around me.

Two minutes later, the second siren booms, and I push the tent’s opening flap aside.

Chapter 80

Savage

Bundled up in our little tent, and completely naked, I excitedly prepare my legs by doing high jumps. Lyle tears off his T-shirt, his animus irritable and ready to rumble at the very thought of our regina running from him. Meanwhile, Scythe stands in the corner as still as a statue in black track pants and his black gym T-shirt.

It’s a shame he won’t be able to shift to make his shark happy. There’s a small, swimmable lake on the Hunting Games field, but that’s mostly to cause trouble for the beasts running through it. I wonder if our regina will choose that path to run.

I can’t wait to see my baby girl.

The first siren goes off and I leap out of the tent with a “whoop!” running straight into the heavy metal gate blocking me from leaving and rattling it like the felon I am.

Lyle and Scythe gather behind me, turning towards the regina’s platform and waiting. I don’t know how they can stand still like that.Ican’t stop moving. I go from rattling the cage to shaking it, to grabbing Lyle’s shoulders and seeing if I can move him.

He growls in warning.

“I’m just excited!” I say, switching to star jumps. “I know you are too, Lyle!”

My lion brother turns away from me, but not before I catch a smile.

“Ha! See, I knew it!”

The second siren goes off andthat’swhen I go predator-in-the-grass-still.

It’s like a dream, or in a movie, when the chompy queen of my heart steps out of her tent like a celebrity. She’s wearing a fluffy white bathrobe against the cold night air, her little feet bare as she daintily walks up the steps to the platform.

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