Page 36 of Claimed By the Psychos

"Keep it to yourself for now." The words come out harsher than intended, but Elias just nods. He understands.

The door slams open, Archer stomping in with a tray of food that nobody asked for. There's no doubt where he's taking it. The only way to get to the observation area is through here. "Thought they might be hungry," he mutters, not meeting our eyes.

"That's the fourth time today," I point out.

"They need to eat."

"They have a fully stocked kitchen in their quarters."

Archer's jaw clenches, and I can see him fighting the urge to argue. The biological imperative to provide for one's omega is strong, even when that omega doesn't know she's yours and is perfectly capable of feeding herself.

"Where's Carlisle?" I ask, though I already know the answer.

"Where do you think?" Archer sets the tray down with more force than necessary. "Sitting outside their door like a fucking guard dog. It's getting creepy, Bane. Even for him."

Yeah, no shit. Carlisle's obsession has gone from concerning to downright disturbing. Yesterday I caught him with one of her knives—the ceramic one she'd thrown at me during the fight. He was just holding it, running his thumb along the edge, smiling that unhinged smile that usually precedes someone dying.

"We need to do something," Archer continues, pacing now. "This whole situation is fucked. We can't keep them here forever, but we can't let them go. And this thing with her being our scent match?—"

"We've already gone down that road," I interject, holding my hand up. "Right now, our priority is figuring out where thesetwo come from, who hired them, and what their dynamic is. And there's still someone out there hunting us."

"What else is new?" Elias asks with a sigh.

Archer looks down at the tray in his hands. "I'll take this to them. See if I can get anything out of them. Maybe even speak with Juniper alone."

"Good luck with that," Elias snorts.

He has a point. I don't think she's willingly been out of Felix's hospital room for more than five minutes. "Remember, not a word about the scent match."

"Yeah, I know," Archer mutters, shouldering open the other door.

"Think the Boy Scout can keep his mouth shut?" Elias asks as soon as he's gone.

I lean back in my chair, my joints cracking from staring at a screen all night when I'm meant to be in the field. "Who the fuck knows?" I sigh. "I'm more worried about Carlisle."

But that's nothing new. I've been watching that psychotic bastard like a hawk from the moment he joined the team. Just because we've saved each other more times than I can count on the field doesn't mean I trust him.

Especially not when we've got an omega in the mix now.

Ourscent matchedomega and her apparent mate.

Fuck me.

Chapter

Fifteen

JUNIPER

The Serpents' Den spreads around me like a living thing, walls breathing with screams. I try to run but my feet sink into the floor that's made of hands—so many hands, reaching up through rotting wood to grab at my ankles with fingers that smell like alpha musk and ownership. The pink slip they dressed me in at the Rut Room has become the threadbare nightgown from before, the one Evan liked because it showed everything and hid nothing.

"Felix!" I scream, but my voice comes out as bubbles that pop into moths that turn into ash that tastes like?—

I jolt awake gasping, sheets soaked with sweat. The medical bay. Not the Den. Felix lies beside me, chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of drugged sleep. They gave him something for the pain earlier, something that knocked him out cold, and I can still smell the chemical sweetness on his breath.

The shadows writhe in the corners, darker than usual, speaking in tongues I almost understand.

Four becoming five,they whisper.The mask cracks. The truth bleeds through.