Psycho Beasts (Cruel Shifterverse, #3)

by Jasmine Mas

“You stupid fucking cunt,” I snarled, perspiration still half blinding me as my muscles burned. Aran held up her arms and inspected the bullet holes covering them. “Shit.” Frost radiated off her, a cold mist that crackled in the air in a white fog. “How dare you get yourself shot like this.” My voice trembled with anger as I glared at her. “Shit,” Aran repeated as she looked around with wide eyes.

I grabbed her by the tattered collar of her sweatshirt and pulled her close to my sweat-stained face. “You don’t get to leave me.”

“Promise me!” I screamed into her face, shaking her with desperation. “Please,” my voice cracked with another sob. Ever so slowly, she nodded, her mangled arms resting gingerly around my shoulders as she pulled me close. “I’m a coward,” she whispered. “My back, my mother, the fae realm. It was all too much.” I squeezed her back, and she trembled beneath me. “But I promise. For you and the girls. I promise.”

Um, Sadie.” Lucinda tugged at my arm, and I realized the pressure on my back was the five Ortega brothers hugging us. I gagged, ordering them to get off. My mindless puppets stumbled away.

“The ball is in less than one hour. You have to go or you’ll fail the third trial. Your lives are still at risk,” Warren said frantically. “Who’s that?” Aran asked. “That’s Noodle, the ...

“You’re almost done, Kitten. You can do this,” he whispered down at me. “Deep breaths,” he coached.

“I love you, Princess,” Ascher whispered as he leaned his head forward so our foreheads touched.

“No, please continue,” Aran said. “I only puked in my mouth six times.” She lowered her voice in a mockery of Ascher’s. “Oh, baby, I love you so much I just wanna protect you and have your babies and be a little bitch for you.” “Oh, fuck off. You’re just jealous,” Ascher said as he rolled his eyes at her. Aran continued, “Is he always this sappy? I’ve literally never been so embarrassed for someone in my entire life. Did you plan that speech beforehand, because if so, I’m ashamed for you, man. You should have come to me first.” “All right, I’m leaving,” Ascher said as he stood up and looked down at me. “Are you sure you’re okay, Princess?”

“So we both agree that was cringy and embarrassing?” “Oh, shut it,” I groaned at Aran as I collapsed onto my knees in front of her. “No, it was sweet,” I mumbled under my breath defensively.

Because Arabella Alis Egan, fae princess, rightful ruler of the fae realm, heir to the seat of death, daughter of the fae queen, wanted fae monarch, didn’t have fae ears. Aran wasn’t fae.

“Sun god save us,” Cobra grumbled as he tried to take the floating chair from my hands. “Don’t you fucking dare,” I snarled as I held on to the handles like they were a lifeline.

“Has she always been like this?” Cobra asked Lucinda. My sister sighed heavily. “One time after Dick beat her super bad, she suddenly had the urge to take up carpentry. She cut down an entire tree and was convinced she was going to build herself a chair.”

“Don’t be such a man about it.” I huffed over my shoulder as I pushed past him back onto the endless golden carpet.

Aran rolled her eyes. “Everyone is so sensitive these days. I only choked him a little. You just can’t do anything anymore. It’s ridiculous.” I nodded in agreement. “I’m worried for the next generation. They’re too soft.”

“Jax, Sadie, Cobra, Ascher, and Xerxes. We’re on the list. Also, we brought our family with us.” Jax growled. The betas didn’t argue, just opened the doors for us. “You better open that door for me, buddy,” I snarled at the beta I’d wrestled with. “All right, you’ve officially lost your privileges,” Jax said as he pushed me into the venue. “You need to release the brothers now. You’re not acting well.”

“We can kill them all later,” I promised, and she stopped struggling against me. “You just have to be a spy for tonight. You have to be discreet.”

A horrifying realization hit me: Was I becoming a villain? I do look good in black.

An inappropriate chuckle bubbled in my throat. Was this why villains laughed maniacally? I got it. Because somehow, I was back where I’d started, covered in scars.

“Hello, Sadie,” Dick said casually. “Long time, no see.” It was the same man who’d beaten me my entire life.

OMFG

Holy moon goddess. Cobra was right: my muscles hadn’t looked bigger.

You’re telling me you TORTURED ME EVERY DAY OF MY FUCKING LIFE BECAUSE YOU WERE TRYING TO HELP ME UNCOVER MY BLOOD POWERS?” My voice was rough and ragged, a result of his handiwork. “YES!” he screamed back.

Dick spoke quietly so only I could hear. “War has come to the realms as it does every eon.” He paused. The soft splat of my blood dripping onto the ground echoed between us. A familiar sound. Dick sighed heavily, and for the first time, he looked down at me like he didn’t hate me. Something close to pity flashed across his face.

“A champion is needed to lead the shifters and fae into battle. They are some of the strongest warriors in the realm, but they struggle to obey the gods. This champion is created using rare technology from the god realm. They are made for the singular purpose of defense, and they have to embrace their birthright and learn to lead. But first, they have to learn to survive.”

His voice rose. “She births her champions, and every eon, they have no choice but to rise.” I took another step. “It was my job to hurt you.” Dick’s eyes softened, like he had feelings and wasn’t a soulless monster. “It was my job to break you and build you into something stronger.”

“I’m what you would know as an angel. We are her soldiers. I had no choice but to serve her and to help you. She gives a piece of herself to form her champion. To save the realms.”

We stared across the ballroom at the four girls: Lucinda, Jala, Jinx, and Jess, who I’d always thought of as so sheltered.

“I know how much Lucinda meant to you. It was you or her. Even though you didn’t know why, I knew what you would have chosen. You would have demanded I do it to you.” I turned back to Dick.

I deflected and asked, “Why did you put my description on the flyer? What does the High Court want with me?” Dick breathed deeply. “War is coming sooner than we ever expected, and we needed a way to contact you. To help train you.”

“Nobody moves,” the don ordered, and the command in his voice was as potent as an alpha bark but much more terrifying. The whole ballroom froze—every shifter paralyzed by the command. Everyone except one person. “HOW DARE YOU!” Aran screamed, careening around the corner as she headed directly at Molly and Z. Paralyzed from the don’s words, I could do nothing but watch as my friend lifted her arms in front of her.

Aran’s eyes were pitch black, her face burning with fury as she trembled with rage. “Harness your rage, escape your cage,” a man’s voice said from somewhere behind her. Aran whipped her head around, like she was searching for the voice, but there was nobody there.

The don sighed heavily, and the room buzzed with the sounds of motion and mumbles as he released all the shifters from his compulsion. “Well, that solved that problem,” the don said casually, staring down at Aran with something close to respect. “You said you were a water fae?” Aran nodded her curly head, eyes unfocused as she stared at the frost where two alphas had stood.

“Everyone who assisted Molly and Z, please present yourself at the dais.” The twelve betas who had drawn their guns on the men walked forward and stood in a straight line. The room was silent. Then, the Don pulled out a handgun and walked down the line. Pops rang out as he shot each one in the forehead.

The “Loyalty” tattoo on the don’s neck twitched as he clenched his jaw with rage. “Well, even though we’ve had a little show this equinox, we are still here for one reason.”

“I choose Sadie, and if you can’t accept that, then you’ll have to fight me to the death.” Cobra’s voice echoed. Jax growled, “We all chose her a long time ago.” “You’ll have to kill me before you take her from me,” Xerxes snarled, and there was a sharp sound that signaled he pulled out his knives. “We’ll kill you all if you try to stop us,” Ascher promised. Suddenly, there was a pressure on my scarred shoulder, and icy fingers tugged me, so I turned around. “Look at me when I say this to you,” Cobra snarled roughly.

Suddenly, four men fell to their knees in front of me and bowed their heads low. They defied the don. They chose certain death for me. “You can’t,” I whispered as my eyes burned and moisture streaked across my cheeks, as blood loss made my head spin. “He’ll kill you.” Cobra’s eyes glowed as he grabbed my hand and snarled, “Shut the fuck up, Kitten. I told you I loved you. What did you think that meant?”

“Actually, you told me you owned me,” I pointed out with narrowed eyes. I was still slightly salty about it. “Don’t be fucking dumb,” he growled. “What I feel for you is more than love. You’re my everything, and if that means I must die to be by your side. Then so be it.” My face crumpled, and my throat burned. “But you can’t. He’ll hurt you.” This time, it was Xerxes who growled, “Baby girl, we’re already fucking dead if we’re not with you.” For a moment, I paused with horror. Did they know about my plan to kill them if they chose an omega? Jax’s chest rumbled, the chains on his golden braids tinkling as he shook his head. “We’ve told you, little alpha, that we love you. Do you think we lied?” “Yeah, but he’s threatening to kill you!” I snapped back, my hands shaking with fear even as their devoted words made my heart sing.

Under six full moons above a glittering ballroom where dark secrets had been revealed, in the cruelest realm, with all my scars on display, four men knelt and offered me the world. “Just do it,” Aran whispered her voice cutting through the thousands of reasons not to that echoed in my mind.

The don cleared his throat, and I sighed as I tried to push away, but the men held me tighter. Refused to let me go. Together, we turned to him. Great, you acted rashly, and now you’re all dead.

For the first time since I’d met him, a smile split across the don’s face. His voice boomed, “Congratulations, you passed your third trial.” I blinked.

“The third trial is a loyalty test, and Sadie proved her loyalty to you in her first initiation trial. She refused to give up any information on you, even under extreme duress. Your test was to see if you’d earned her loyalty back.”

“What about the Ortega brothers?” Jax recovered first. “And the Black Wolves?” The don shrugged. “Decades ago, the brothers worked with the wolves to steal Xerxes from the omega center. You needed a red herring, and I gave you revenge as a boon. I knew you’d handle them.”

The don shook his head like we were hopeless. “I even gave you Warren to protect the girls. He is extremely talented.” The young boy blushed under the don’s praise, and we all glared at him. We weren’t impressed.

“Clarissa, you were told in the beginning of your trial to befriend Sadie to help her adjust to this realm, since you’re both female alphas. That was your loyalty test. You failed.”

The don beamed like a proud father and gestured to Cobra. He yelled, “Well, this is the best time to announce my son has returned to the beast realm. Cobra is the crown prince!”

Missing a finger, scars on display, with a goddess inside me, I spun with each of my men across the glittering dance floor. Love was more than a sentiment. It was unwavering loyalty, even in the darkest place.

The Don I smiled as my beloved son twirled his mate across the dance floor.

I glanced across the room, smiling when I saw Jinx was glaring down at a beta soldier who was wiping at his face like he was crying. She glanced up at me, and I tipped my hat to her. I’d been don long enough to know a soldier when I saw one. She was going to grow into a magnificent killer.

I smirked as Sadie narrowed her eyes at me over his shoulder. I’d always known this would be their outcome. Known since my beloved son’s eyes had glowed when he’d bonded with the other men.

Known since she’d worn his shadow on her skin. Snake’s are possessive creatures. Our venom can’t harm our mates, nor can we stand to be apart from them. When Cobra bonded with Sadie–his eyes had shone white as the moon. All of theirs had. They were fated mates. And fate always found a way.

I punched Aran lightly on the shoulder with my nonknife hand. “Not as scared as they are of the fae guy who shoots icicles of death.”