Page 165 of Psycho Alphas: Part Two

I’d picked out the hefty bat for my first superhero, then I got to work.

Rogue was my first target, and he seemed all too happy to let me do my thing. There was a happily-ever-after waiting, and that meant I needed pictures for my nest. The coolest, most badass pictures anyone had ever seen.

I spent a long time picking an outfit, and damn, that was—“Perfect!”

I couldn’t take my eyes off Rogue as I blew on his black nails. I looked back up at him, my breath tangling up in my chest like it was shy. Well, of course it was.

“That…” I whispered. “Should beillegal.”

“What?” he asked.

“Being that hot.”

He probably grinned. I didn’t know because he had a hood mask on—a balaclava with no eye holes, and I’d shoved a bat in his hand.

He was topless—which showed all of his epic scarsandmy nesting marks. He lookedsobadass I was shaking with excitement.

“Selfie, oh—wait!” I said. “Can you take it?”

Knox had returned with his laptop, eyeing us like we were up to trouble as I held Rogue’s phone out to him.

“What thefuckare you doing?” he asked.

“You’re Daddy, and he’s ShadowRogue?—”

“Shut up.” Knox snorted as he set the laptop down and took the phone. “Youcan’tcall him ShadowRogue.”

“I can.”

Rogue chuckled. “It was that or RogueBane. Take your pick.”

“I still don’t know…” I mused.

“I take it back.” Knox choked out a laugh. “ShadowRogue is fine.”

“You two are too good at pretending when it comes to hating each other.” I was sure of it. More so by the day.

“Pretend?”Rogue asked.

“Well… Rogue claimed you. Then you could have killed him or got rid of him for years but you didn’t.”

“I was getting revenge,” Knox muttered.

I giggled. “Ace gets revenge on Alphas by making them drink their own vomit and electrocuting them to death. He doesn’t lock them up in the basement and hang out with them for years.”

“Who did he do that to?” Rogue asked.

I frowned. “You know, I don’t remember. All I know is that if I was Bella, I’d be scared with a capital ‘S’.”

Rogue snorted as I propped myself up in his lap, and Knox got the camera ready. But then, before taking the shot, he sighed loud enough for me to hear, and finally went to the kitchen to grab something.

He tossed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter to Rogue who caught it—which meant he could see (that was a good thing too, since I never wanted him to take the mask off).

“How am I going to smoke this with this mask on?”

“Just light the damn thing,ShadowRogue,” Knox snorted. “You’re a prop. We don’t do things by halves in this pack.” He almost tripped over the last word, and I saw a flash of uncertainty in his eyes. “Alright.” He straightened, clearing his throat and angling the phone. “Get into character.”

I had to stifle my grin since Rogue, now with a lit cigarette, looked so many more levels of cool than me (even with my fishnets and ripped shirt) I tried to make up for it by putting my pencil into my mouth to match his cigarette.