Page 88 of Her Psycho Beasts

We leave quietly,stealthily,on dragon-back because we can’t have Damien or anyone else suspecting our departure. It’s Raquel’s first time riding, and they put on a big show of looking unbothered, but I hear a muttered curse every now and again from where I hold onto them at the front of our line. They borrowed Minnie’s ski goggles and blanket-hoodie thing because winter is well and truly upon us and it’s freezing up in the night sky. The flight is just over two hours, and by the time we land in the chosen park a little way from the serpent district, the Dabu pack have already built a bonfire and set up for the night.

We get off Xander, with Lyle efficiently levitating Raquel and me off his back, before we make our way over to the bonfire, around which three tall figures stand.

Their regina, Hyacinth Dabu, walks out to greet us. She is a brown-skinned woman, tall and athletic. A gold brow piercing glints next to her family tattoo, a lotus flower and grass pattern coiling around her temple and cheekbone in a semi-circle. She’s dressed in a grey jumper and jeans. Her mates are smaller women, also brown-skinned. One wears a multicoloured woollen shawl, the other is a bleached blonde with dimple piercings and a purple hoodie.

“Mr Khakorous,” Hyacinth says, her voice deep and melodic. “I cannot thank you enough for sending Savage to free us.”

Scythe nods. “It was our pleasure.” He glances at Savage, who grins.

“Any chance for a big bang!” my wolf says.

The three women chuckle darkly.

“Meet my regina,” Savage says eagerly, stepping up next to me and taking my hand. “Lady Boneweaver.”

“Call me Aurelia.” I say, offering my hand.

Hyacinth takes my hand and shakes it firmly. “I think Savage would rip my throat out if I did that. Lady Boneweaver it is.” She smiles and gestures at her own pack. “These are my mates. Sifa and Teylani.”

Both women smile and nod at me.

“Is this the spell?” Marduk asks eagerly, striding forward to sniff at the black cast iron pot I’ve only just noticed sitting above the bonfire. It looks very much like a witch’s cauldron.

“It is,” Hyacinth says, showing us the brown concoction with a ladle.

“I have the hair you asked for,” I say, bringing out a Ziplock bag full of some strands I’d pulled from my hairbrush this afternoon.

Hyacinth takes the bag from me. “Can you shift into a hyena, Lady Boneweaver?”

“I can,” I confirm. “We had quite a few hyenas visit my father’s place.”

Hyacinth’s eyes darken. “I’m sure you did. But come and see me sometime. I’ll teach you some spells.”

My brows shoot up. “Will I be able to kill my enemies with these spells?”

Hyacinth barks a laugh. “Weaken. Incapacitate, perhaps, depending on the strength of your will, but spells like that are dangerous and take their toll. I’d teach you protective spells and tonics for a UTI, things like that.”

I laugh. But then I frown, my mind flagging her response. I glance at Scythe meaningfully and he nods ever so slightly as it hits me: my mother had been weakened before her so-called death. Even in Scythe’s memory of her, she appeared woefully tired. A powerful hyena could very well have induced something like that. And I had a good idea who had the means and motivation.

“We’ll get started,” Hyacinth says. “The spell will last two hours, no more. If we come up against something, we will let you know.” She nods at Raquel, who nods back.

We take our leave of the hyenas and Raquel and Scythe lead us onto the dark of the road where an SUV awaits us.

My heart pounds as I get into the back seat. This is it. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.

Chapter 43

Xander

As per usual, I’m left to do the heavy lifting for the night. Causing a general chaos is Savage’s job, Scythe handles the talking and negotiating aspects, and me? I not only handle most of our organisation’s finances, but also anything that requires a draconic amount of power with a bit of etiquette.

Savage is non-descript with his killing. I am precise.

I haven’t had the go ahead to pursue Mace Naga in the last few years, and hearing that I can now finally disrupt the King of Serpents and his affairs is music to my ears.

I shift back into human form as I touch down behind the hidden scientific facility, tossing my backpack up in the air so I can catch it with my human hand. I adjust my earpieces into a more comfortable position. These particular ones allow me to shift from dragon to human while keeping my music in my ears, a clever little alteration in the human technology I came up with years ago.

For a moment, I consider taking a leaf out of Savage’s book and heading into the building with my dick swinging. But that’s never been my style. Instead, I put on my ironed business pants, black shirt and vest, complete with my second favourite gold waistcoat chain.

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