Page 48 of Beta Lies and Cursed Lives
I turn to find Colt standing behind me. I don’t know how long he’s been there; likely, my quiet sobs distracted me from his arrival. Sniffing and taking in his fresh grass and rain scent, I look back at the rabbit. “Actually, I think it’s an old friend.”
Colt’s smile is sad as he carefully sits beside me, my knee touching his thigh, his legs stretched out in front of him. “Can’t help but notice you’re touching the little fuzzball.”
I jolt at the realization that I never got the chance to tell Colt what had happened between Rai and me, and the apparent aftermath for us both. Giving the little rabbit one last pet, I place him on the ground. “You’d better get back home, little one. I want you to stay safe.”
The rabbit tilts its head at me again, as if it understands what I’ve said to it and is considering my words. Then, he turns and dashes off, disappearing into the brush. I watch after his retreat for a while in silence, when Colt gives a small huff of laughter, and I look at him. “You’re not unlike that hare, you know? Cute, acclimated to the cold, and—” he grins, a little wicked “—I bet you’re soft to the touch, too.”
I bite my bottom lip and smile before twisting my body toward his, taking his face in my hands, and pulling his lips to mine. He doesn’t react at first, but it only takes a moment for him to run his tongue along the seam of my mouth seeking entry, which I readily grant him. His hands come up to grip my face, mirroring me, but before long, his hands are in my hair, gripping it tight at the roots, pulling my head back and forcing my mouth to open wider so he can feed on it like he’s ravenous for a taste of me.
The creature in my chest shivers with delight.
By the time Colt is on his knees, hovering over me, his tongue circling and flicking at mine with a sensual playfulness, I am yanking at the glove on my still-covered hand to toss it on the ground. Running my fingertips and then my palms under his shirt, up over the divots of his abs, then the mounds of his pecks, we both groan in unison.
He pulls his lips from mine with something like a snarl. “As much as I want this, we’re not safe out here.” His breath comes fast and ragged as he leans his forehead against mine. “I will never risk your life.”
His words sober me, the creature in my chest also acquiescing without argument.
As he rises to his feet and brushes the dirt from his knees, I grab my gloves and rise as I put them back on.
“Come on, little Snow Bunny,” he says with a crooked grin as he puts his hand on the small of my back. “We’d better get back inside.”
I flash a bemused smile his way. “Snow Bunny, huh?”
Colt lets out a laugh.
We walk back to the academy building side-by-side, a warmth building in my chest. This feels...right. Just like with Rai last night.
My Alphas and I were meant to be together. Meant to be a pack, bearing each other’s marks and living together forever. And now that I’ve discovered this fact, these fucking Betas want to separate us. Diminish our bond, our power. Kill us for belonging together.
They fear us.
That creature speaks to me once more, and I feel Colt startle at my side, his hand still on my back as he peers at me curiously.
You heard that?I think hard at him.
He gives an almost imperceptible nod.“We need to talk. About a lot of things. I’ll tell Rai to meet us at your dorm.”
They’re going to take Aubrey!
About an hour after the three of us convened in my room, we’d communicated with Colt by thought, all about what had happened the night before: How I went into heat for the first time, how Rai and I mated and marked one another, how apparently now we both had some semblance of control over our curses.
Colt took it all in with a modicum of awe, but not as much surprise as I’d expected.“I actually knew a lot of this already. Somehow, I connected with Rai’s mind in my sleep while you two were…”
Rai, who had uncovered his face once he entered the room, raised one perfectly sculpted black eyebrow at him.
Colt laughed, I assume having a private conversation with Rai. Then he sobered and dropped the bombshell on us.
Aubrey was up for auction.
The second he said it, the beast in me went on a rampage in my chest, and I clenched my fists and paced furiously.
“Hime.”Rai’s voice is quiet but stern, calling my attention to him. He nods his head in my direction, and I turn my confused gaze down my body, my mouth gaping.
My hands are encased in ice. It covers my forearms to my fingertips in some strange claw-like form, the tips of my fingers sharp and curved.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, breathless. “What the fuck is this?”
“You need to calm down.” Colt is eerily calm. “I know you’re upset. We all are. But we need to figure out what to do, as calmly as possible.”
