Page 150 of Psycho Alphas: Part Two
“Him.” Rogue snatched the stuffed deer from Ace. “Bunny’s a him.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it.
Ace sneered, but Rogue clearly didn’t give a shit. Instead, he turned and made his way toward Thistle’s nest, deer in fist.
Guess that was the end of planning. I grabbed the pink bunny and followed him.
Rogue knocked, not looking at me.
The door cracked open, and a violet eye appeared. Then Thistle’s expression lit up and she opened it all the way. She stopped herself from giving us a big hug as she spotted what was in our hands. I knew she felt guilty she hadn’t spent more time with us. When she’d visited, she’d apologised for not staying long, muttering something about the Alpha scents making Bambi nervous.
I wasn’t offended.
This wasn’t my first time dealing with a survivor of the Ring. Most of them didn’t come out and speak to Alphas—or even Omegas—for weeks. Vance was a good balance, offering safety sometimes only Betas could.
Bambi was, however, creeping up behind Thistle, eyes darting between the plushies. She was either healing faster than I was used to, or she trusted us more because we were Thistle’s Alphas—which would say a lot about the work Thistle was putting in. She wore biker shorts and an oversized hoodie from Thistle’s wardrobe, so I couldn’t see any of her dressings aside from the one on her face. It looked intact, with fresh tapealong the edges. I’d been stockpiling instructions for Thistle and dumping them on her every time she poked her head out.
Hmm… which stuffie was Bambi’s gaze most drawn to? She was glancing between them.
Had to be mine.
“You guys are awesome!” Thistle declared, seizing them both. Then, to Rogue’s delight, she kept the pink bunny but handed the deer to Bambi.
“Ha,” Rogue muttered to me. “I fucking knew?—”
He cut off, as Thistle scent marked the bunny, Bambi did the same with the deer, and then they traded them back.
Uh.
What?
I blinked, but that seemed to be that. In Bambi’s arms was the bright pink bunny I had chosen.
“That wasextrathoughtful!” Thistle said. “We were talking about her nest. I think she’s ready to move into it, but this way—” She held up the deer— “she can stay with me here, too.”
Ha.
Ihadbeen right.
“Talking?” I asked. She hadn’t spoken a word as far as I knew. I had heard alotof chatter from Thistle’s nest this afternoon. Made me wonder if Bambi had fully come out of her shell. But Bambi shook her head quickly.
“Oh… no…” Thistle’s face fell a little. “But that’s okay. I can talk enough for both of us.”
“It’s normal,” I said.
“No…” Thistle trailed off, glancing at Bambi, then shrugged. “You know, she doesn’t have to talk ever if she doesn’t want to. That’s okay, too.”
I nodded, unsure what to make of that.
“Okay. We’ll finish off the art pieces we were working on, then…” She swallowed, clearly a bit nervous. “I guess she’s ready to see the nest.”
“That sounds good,” I said. I thought she would shut the door, but she shot a look at Bambi, before eyeing us as if she were on a mission.
“Did you both go outtogethertoday?” she asked. “Like… bonding?” Her eyes snagged on the bruises across my face, and the open cut on my collarbone. She brushed it off quickly, though, eyes meeting mine.
“To the mall,” Rogue muttered.
“I told you!” She glanced back at Bambi and Bunny. She was glowing and I didn’t have the heart to correct her. I mean, we weren’tbonding. I’d just been bored—that was literally it.
