Page 42 of Beta Lies and Cursed Lives
Not even these stupid therapy sessions can bring me down. And although Laurant is always pretty guarded with his thoughts, at least around me, I don’t think he’s put two and two together about why I’ve been happy lately.
Which is good.
“Yeah, I guess I have.” The last thing I’ll do is elaborate.
Although my mood is definitely positive today, I didn’t sleep very well. Vivid dreams plagued me. Dreams of Mira in the throes of passion, alight with energy, sensuality. And while that would normally have made for an amazing night, in my dream, I wasn’t the one bringing her pleasure.
Rai was.
Why the fuck would my brain,mine, force me to see something so amazing through the eyes of someone else? It didn’t make any sense. And it also made me a bit grumpy when I woke up.
I was even more grumpy when I found myself all alone at breakfast and unable to track down the thoughts of Mira, Aubrey, or Rai.
I mean, I’m still happier than I’ve been in years, and I am stoked that my curse isn’t ruining my life so much now, but honestly, today is not the day for this shit. I don’t like not knowing things.
I’ll just have to scour the whole fucking campus and track them down.
After I get out of here.
“Have the breathing exercises been helping?”
I laugh before I can think better of it. Shifting on the couch, I lean forward with my elbows on my knees, hands clasped. “I think I’ve just accepted it.”
“Accepted it?”
“That things will never change. Why fight when destiny is already set?”
Laurant’s eyebrow quirks. “Your mood has nothing to do with Miranda Amato?”
Mira’s name on his lips enrages my soul. The beast inside me slithers, roars, and a growl forms in my chest. I don’t fight it.
His arms cross, eyes narrow. “I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this is.”
That creature pushes and prods inside me.He is a threat to our Omega,it seethes.
“Maybe no one knows how dangerousIam.” My voice is borderline animalistic, low, and menacing.
“I’m not your enemy—”
“Aren’t you?” I spit. “You’re one of us.Cursed. And here you sit,” my arms gesture around the room, “warm and cozy. Safe.” I rise then, an ache forming in my gums as I go on. “One of these days, Laurant, you’re gonna have to pick a side. You wanna continue being a Beta lapdog that grooms your own kind to be sold into slavery? Or do you want to be an instrument of change?”
I have no idea where these words are coming from, but I feel them, believe them. What I say is right. My bones hum with the desire for progress, for retribution.
Rebellion.
I lean in close to his wide-eyed face and use all my strength to push my next words into his mind. “A reckoning is coming, Laurant. Be sure you’re on the right side of history.”
As I stand to full height, his body collapses against the back of his chair, as though his whole form is deflated. I take a moment of self-satisfaction to look at him before turning for the door.
“Colton.”
Laurant’s voice is small, but there’s a touch of pleading in it that compels me to turn back.
The skin around his green eyes grows tight as he thinks louder than I’ve ever heard him, deliberately sending a silent message my way.
“Aubrey. They’re taking him. Now.”
When the announcement bell rings unexpectedly, it sets me on edge.
