Page 4 of Psycho Alphas: Part Two

“Shut! It!”I hissed as I set him down.

His caramel eyes burned as they met mine. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so hateful.

Whatever.

He’d get the fuck over it.

I closed the door and backed up to the ballroom, fumbling for my gun and checking it before noticing it was out of rounds. Damn. It had been before I went after Bella. A manic laugh escaped my chest as I realised that.

Knox was the reckless one—I wasnotbuilt for this.

I shouldered open the door to the ballroom, readying myself for hostiles within, but to my relief, there wasn’t any movement.

My gaze was drawn like a magnet to the figures in the center. I first saw the dead bodies. One was barely recognisableas human, torn to pieces and scattered around. The other was a dead Alpha strewn over the coffee table next to the stage Bella had set up, with the armchair central to the room.

But there was one thing that pulled my focus more than anything else.

Ace was there with Thistle among the gore and blood. He held her in his arms as they curled up together on the floor.

“Thistle…!”I made for her, all rational thoughts vanishing from my mind.

Ace growled, ice-blue eyes burning as he pushed himself up, looking at me. He had a stained golden skull mask on his face and chains on his wrists. For all his fury, he moved like a shield drawn over her, as if she were the only reason he still breathed.

Ignoring him, I crouched, tugging the gun from beside a disembodied hand, and—fuck me—blood and flesh were everywhere as if Ace had torn it from the body with his bare hands.

My sweet Omega’s cheeks were flecked with red, eyelashes heavy.

Ace drew her closer, another growl shuddering in the air as he fixed his gaze on me.

It wasn’t hostility like I’d seen before though. I could feel him in the bond, flickering fury, vengeance, and hatred, all growing duller as his gaze swept over me again. As if he couldn’t quite decide whether I was a threat or not.

“Kitten,” I said quietly, focusing on Thistle and hoping she would be able to calm him. “We have to go.”

She uncurled in his arms slowly. Her cheeks were tear-streaked, creating tracks through gore, and her eyes were wide as they held mine.

Her moonflower scent was strong in the air, a flood of hormones and heat. She was shivering as she clutched Ace.

I dared to reach out, jamming the gun under his chin, instincts insisting I put a bullet in his skull if he got in the way. I don’t know if he sensed that, or if he had enough consciousness to understand the meaning of the weapon.

“You’ll be okay,” I told her, cupping her cheek. “But wehaveto go.”

It wasn’t safe yet.

It was a task, carrying her and dragging Ace in the right direction by the chains on his wrists, but I let out a breath of relief as I stepped through the basement door, shutting it behind me.

This was my territory, sectioned off with locks, on a different security system by design. No one else would have access to this place.

It meant she was safe.

I had to go back up, butshewas safe.

When I reached my room, I made for the bathroom and hauled them both into the shower, making sure the water wasn’t too hot.

When I set her down, her grip curled around my arm to stay upright, and I felt a shock of discomfort through the bond. She shook her head, and I realised she was shivering. Unsettled, I reached for the knob to make the water hotter, and she finally calmed.

She should be craving the coldness, but this heat wasn’t normal. Bella’s Alphas had put her into it—but that injection wasn’t something I was familiar with.

Ace clutched her in his arms again, and she was winding her fingers into his hair, eyes wild with need. There had been a thin chain around her neck before—Knox’s doing—but it had snapped at the base of the necklace. I wondered if that had been Ace, rejecting any symbol of another’s claim on her.