Page 20 of Beta Lies and Cursed Lives

I frown at the memory and at how jealous I’d been when they were together. Brothers who were best friends, caring for and helping each other. With a family back home that never wanted to let them go.

I will never forgive myself for how selfish I’d been. It isn’t their fault their family loves them, and mine would rather see me dead than acknowledge my existence.

There is a loud, booming thought in my head that doesn’t belong to me.

“What the fuck?”

Aubrey approaches our table at my back, and he is not happy about Mira’s presence.

Too fucking bad.

“Aubrey!” I sing sweetly and smile up at the hulking Alpha as he sets his tray down. “Nice of you to join us. This is Mira,” I tell him, a toothy smile set on my face.

“We’ve met,” she says from beside me, and my smile vanishes as my head whips to look at her.

“Oh?”

She nods, an odd look in her eyes. “We sparred today. He knocked me out and left.”

“What the fuck, bro?” I snarl at the same time as Rai slams his fist on the table.

“That is most unacceptable, Aubrey.” Rai is more aggravated than I’ve ever heard him.

Aubrey bares his teeth like an alligator ready to strike before digging into his food.

“Getting close to her is a mistake.”

Now that errant thought of his that I caught earlier makes sense.

Gaze narrowed, I assess my friend and roommate. About six and a half feet tall, muscles atop muscles, the smoothest mocha skin a man had any right to have, lips full, jaw strong, black hair buzzed to nearly nothing, and clear, almond-shaped hazel eyes, the likes of a beauty queen.

And he can be an absolute asshole.

Even Rai is beautiful. Not as tall as Aubrey or me, but lean muscles, smooth-shaved porcelain skin, slightly puffy lips, and that pure white hair that always looks like he was just caught in high winds yet it settled in an elegant mold. I would bet if he could remove his blindfold, his eyes would be gorgeous, too.

Dick.

I’m just...me. A blond dude with two different colored eyes who’s so fucked up in the head that he’s spent almost as much time inside institutions as he has outside of them.

It says a lot when you’re not even in contention against a guy who can’t see and another guy who can’t speak.

Who am I kidding? There is no “contention.” Thinking like this could get me killed. All of us.

My head shoots up at Aubrey knocking on the table. He gives me a strange look and tilts his head to one side before signing, “What’s up with you? You didn’t hear me.”

He must have been trying to speak to me through his thoughts, and I couldn’t hear him over my own thoughts. So, I can hear his loud, shouting thoughts, but not his more calm ones.

This is all Mira’s doing.

I look at the beautiful young woman beside me whose gaze bounces from Aubrey to me and back again.

“Uh, he said he’s sorry for being a complete dick earlier,” I offer.

She gives me a disbelieving look as Aubrey’s eyes bore holes in my soul.

I couldn’t care less.

“So, Mira,” Rai begins, “who are you rooming with?”