Psycho Shifters (Cruel Shifterverse, #1)

by Jasmine Mas

In the bottom tier were null shifters, who were unimpressive and made up the majority of the population. The realm had about fifty thousand people, and 99 percent of them were nulls. That was us. In contrast, the top tier consisted of ABOs. Betas were the most common ABO. They were the realm’s soldiers. Stronger and faster than nulls, they had extended lifetimes but couldn’t shift. Dick was one of them.

Alphas were the coolest ABOs. They were the realm’s war generals, huge and immortal, and each one shifted into a unique beast of lore.

Finally, omegas were highly revered and immortal. They shifted into small, harmless creatures, but stories said they were physically perf...

But I always liked the darker books—where the servant killed the master and bathed in his blood. “It’s Sadie, not whore.”

“The oligarchy has received word that a twenty-year-old servant lives at this residence. New orders: all servants will also get tested at the sacred lake,” said a deep male voice.

“Sun god, you bless us. Turn half the lake black for an alpha’s beast, turn a quarter of the lake purple for a beta’s strength, and turn the river’s edge yellow for an omega’s seed.”

My blood sprayed the snowy banks. However, one drop kissed the surface of the silver lake. The lake turned black—every single drop. Midnight black, soulless black. Alpha black.

There were no women alphas. Ever.

Alphas were angry psychos who shifted into terrifying beasts. They were revered like gods. Fierce, terrifying, psychotic, immortal gods.

Three godlike men towered over me and blocked out the sky.

Sure, my life sucked, but you know what also sucked? Dying when you were still a virgin. That was just embarrassing.

Portals were the battlegrounds, where alphas and betas fought against fae monsters and stopped them from intruding into our realm. The fortresses housed the soldiers as they trained and fought.

Apparently, the horned man was named Ascher.

The man had dark skin. Long braids hung to his biceps, and hundreds of chains and gold trinkets dangled from them. The chains twinkled in the icy wind and blew around his waist. He also had bars of gold through his ears, and a gold nose ring decorated his wide nose. As far as I knew, shifters didn’t wear piercings, because the extreme temperatures would weld them to our skin. This absolute mammoth of a man looked fine. I was kind of jealous; the piercings were pretty.

High cheekbones, plush lips, and stunning gray eyes completed the handsome picture.

“My name is Jax. What are you doing at portal three?”

“Stand down, Cobra.” Jax held out his hand and stopped Cobra from circling around me like a predator trapping his prey.

Cobra was such a fitting name for the gorgeous pale man, and he moved so gracefully he almost slithered across the snow. Nothing crunched beneath his feet.

Alphas. It made sense. All the rumors said they were formidable and psychotic, unlike any beta or null shifter. A force to themselves.

“The oligarchy just sent urgent word. The girl is an alpha. She is the next alpha. They have confirmed it. Don’t hurt her!” The boy, Zed, pointed at me and looked terrified, like he expected Cobra to snap my neck.

My body wasn’t massive like the three alphas. I didn’t have jewels in my skin like Cobra, horns like Ascher, or strength like Jax.

They might be beasts, but I had known only monsters all my life. Their attempts at intimidation did nothing to me.

The new alpha training begins now. As always, we protect this realm. We are the harbingers of fae death.”

He was dangerous. Men are monsters. I wasn’t a little girl anymore, and the scars that mutilated my body were a permanent reminder of who I was and who the true enemy was. I wasn’t about to get close to Jax, no matter how beautiful or kind he seemed, because no man was ever going to save me. No one could save me but myself.

I’d never told anyone about the homicidal voice in my head, not even Lucinda, because it sounded crazy. I didn’t want to be sent to the clinics where they kept the shifters who lost their minds.

The three alphas were so physically gorgeous it was nauseating. They reminded me of how hideous I was.

New life motto: anyone who bullied me was getting shanked. Hard.

The fact that I don’t have a dick doesn’t mean I’m any less likely to slit your throats if you treat me like shit. I can learn to piss standing up too, fuckers.”

The coffee was delicious, and I moaned a little.

Abruptly, all three alphas leaned forward. Three sets of eyes glowed. Two with blown pupils and one with snake eyes. I started with shock. Cobra’s eyes had transformed to slit pupils. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was a snake and Ascher was some sort of horned ram creature. Jax’s gray eyes glowed almost white, and I wondered what his alpha form was. From his size, it was something large and menacing.

You needed beasts to fight beasts. That was where the alphas came in.

“Did you see that Cobra talked to her? He never talks to women, like ever.” The beta woman scowled like I had committed an atrocity.

“Whatever, she’s still small. Cobra’s so gorgeous, but Ascher is also hot. I prefer his tattoos and horns. Plus, rumor has it he’s tattooed everywhere, like everywhere. I also heard he comes from money and, unlike Cobra, he loves women.”

Jax was just as handsome as the other two men, and his mountains of muscles were physically impressive.

“I know you’re a pathetic servant. I’m a friend of Dick’s and recognized you. You don’t belong in a war camp. You’re no alpha. You’re a little bitch, and I’m going to prove it. And when everyone finds out how weak and pathetic you truly are, they’ll thank me for raping you. A woman can’t be an alpha.”

“What happened, little alpha?”

“The beta broke into my room, punched me in the fucking nose twice, and told me he was going to rape me because I was an…outsider. He glared at me all class, so I stole a butcher knife from the carving station at dinner. While he had me pinned and groped me on the floor, I stabbed him with it. Across the face.”

“You fucking dare,” Cobra whispered into a bloody man’s ear. In the dark mahogany hallway, Cobra held a body up by its hair.

Cobra’s hands was missing half their face. Both their arms and legs had been broken, and they had a mangled beard. My stomach rolled. I had slit the beta’s face open.

It was my attacker. The alphas must have beaten him afterwards because he barely looked alive.

“Rape?” Cobra looked at Jax, who nodded. Abruptly, Cobra grabbed my attacker’s head with both hands and snapped it to the side.

“Why did you cut out his tongue?”

“Because he was spewing shit.”

“We’ll keep you safe.” A soft growl vibrated in Jax’s chest comfortingly.

I hadn’t been obsessed with a woman since the incident. They disgusted and repulsed me; the new white-haired girl was no different. Her almond-shaped eyes, thick lashes, and overly large lips were the perfect disguise.

The most poisonous vipers were the most beautiful. Their menace was almost unrecognizable until their fangs sunk through your flesh and their venom stopped your heart. I would never be a fool again.

She hadn’t crumbled; she’d fought like a beast. I had never seen a shifter so small, so weak, who didn’t flinch.

She took brutal hits and punished back. Fucking Jax was a fight that soothed the void within me. My instincts told me that fucking the girl would be the same. No. She was a woman, and I despised them all.

I wanted to taunt her as I brought her to her knees.

He dared to scream and plead like a victim when he had attacked the girl in her room. He was a monster of the worst kind, the ones that tried to hurt those they thought were lesser than themselves.