Page 40 of Her Psycho Beasts

There always bloody is. Useless pieces of shit. “And?”

“The new girl in the dungeon? Rob and Tony have—are— I mean?—”

I put down my knife and fork so quickly the lynx flinches. Standing so fast my chair skids backwards, I wipe my mouth on my napkin and stride out of the room, barely containing my fury, my need to shift and tear this fucking room apart.

I’m down in the cells within seconds, sending the guards skittering like the filth they are. The old, cast-iron door to the series of cells is already open, and when I enter, I see both Rob and Tony on their knees before the cell, their hands reaching through the bars, tangling with the fingers of the leopard girl as she quietly sobs.

“Regina,” Tony whispers.

Rob jumps to his feet when he sees me, protectively trying to shield the other two. He doesn’t get time to do anything because I grab him by the hair and slam him into the bars. His eyes roll to the back of his head and he slumps to the floor.

Sabrina cries out and Tony scrambles backward, his eyes wild. Pathetic.

“Stand up,” I command.

He glances at his regina before obeying. As soon as he’s up, I shove him into the white stone wall hard enough to knock him out, too. The smell of blood reaches my nose and I’m happy they’ll both get a little concussion.

This all makes me feel drastically better.

“That was unexpected,” I say lightly, wiping my hands on my trousers. “How exciting for everyone.”

The girl blinks rapidly, her breath light and fast, clutching her blanket with white knuckles.

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” I wave a hand reassuringly. “They’ll be fine.”

“Don’t hurt them,” she whispers. “Please.”

I crouch down to get to eye level with her, assessing the resolve in her eyes. “Finding your mate can give a beast new life,” I say sagely. “But losing one…” I tut. “We don’t want that, do we, feline?”

She shakes her head, brown eyes wide and red-rimmed. “No.”

“Alright then.” I straighten, grabbing Tony, then Rob by his collar and drag them out, leaving two bloody skid marks along the flagstones.

The next day, I take the brothers back down to the dungeon. Moving the girl was a complete disaster. No one expected for her to find her mates here.

I enjoy a good surprise, butsomesurprises deserve to die a sad and lonely death.

Pausing outside the room that houses her cell, I brief the two leopard brothers. “If either of you deviate from the script, I will execute her immediately. Do you understand?”

Rob’s hands tremble as he tucks the script into his pocket, “Yes, my lord.”

“Good boy.” I look to his brother, Tony.

“Yes, my lord,” he also says, submissively bowing his head.

I grunt, and we enter the dungeon. It smells of slop and anxiety and something that must be her regina’s lure. Leading the brothers to her cell, I regard the small, shivering figure covered in the threadbare blanket. It’s not until the males step up to the cell that she raises a dirty, tear-streaked face.

“Regina,” Tony whispers, trying to stick his face between the metal bars.

Sabrina’s eyes lock on him for a breath before darting to Rob, then me. Her fear skyrockets.

“Are you okay?” she whispers.

“We’re here to help you,” Rob says carefully. “You need to listen to us.”

The girl reaches out a hand. “I… I’ve waited so long.”

Tony flinches. He’s losing his resolve. I shift behind him, letting him know I’m readying myself to end his woman.

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