Page 82 of Psycho Alphas: Part Two

Her skin was like deep sunstone, and her hair was thick, dark brown, glossy waves. I think I might have spotted her in the ballroom during the night Knox had hosted the Ring. Her smile was mischievous as Knox rolled his eyes and made for the counter to dish himself a piece of strudel.

“He doesn’t visit enough,” Callum told me.

“You know I’m busy,” he said. “You want some?” He redirected the question at me.

“Uhh…” I glanced around. I thought it might be rude to come in here and start eating their food. “No… I’m covered.” I glanced down at the box of Poptarts, then suddenly wondered how weird they’d think that was.

I hadn’t thought about it, but now I was here, I felt oddly exposed like I hadn’t since before I’d been kicked out of school.

They all knew each other, and they didn’t know me at all.

I was an outsider.

An oddball—I knew what people thought about Bunny.

They’d think I was?—

“Ey! It’s Thistle and Bunny!” A tall, dark-skinned male Beta with buzzed hair poked his head from a side room, strolling to us and scruffing my hair before taking Bunny’s paw and shaking it. “I’m Vance.”

A flush crept up my cheeks, an involuntary smile on my face. We’d never had a welcome like that before…

“Wait—V?” I asked.

“That’s me,” he said.

My grin widened. The mysterious V was the one who’d given me the key to Rogue’s basement.

“He likes to cause chaos,” Knox snorted as he took a seat on the couch. I joined him, sitting close, fingers digging into his wrist, still a little anxious. It was a good couch. I could sink right in, and with all the cushions and blankets, I might even be invisible.

Knox didn’t stay long, though, joining a back and forth with Vance and Callum as he finished his strudel. But then he was brushing the crumbs from his hands.

He tugged me close for a quick hug, lips brushing my hair. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised quietly. Then he stood, offered the room a nod, and slipped out. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me holding Bunny, staring at the others as silence stretched.

TWENTY-TWO

KNOX

“Is there a plan?” I asked as my driver pulled up in front of our destination.

Beyond the car were iron gates and a huge mansion down a drive.

“A plan?” Ace cocked an eyebrow at me. “Of course there’s a plan.” He flashed me a bitter smile before slipping through the limo door and vanishing.

My gaze slid to Rogue, and I caught the same hateful, narrowed-eyed look that I was feeling.

When we climbed out into the sun, it became more apparent how ridiculous Ace looked. His sunburn had faded, but still he was somehow pale, bare chest showing through an open black silk robe he’d found somewhere in the house, along with black sweatpants and socks.

He looked like he’d just got out of bed.

We hadn’tgivenhim clothing, but he’d managed to steal the laptop from me, so I knew he could do better.

He simply didn’t want to.

Then there were the scars. Across his chest ran the marks Thistle had left—likely from when they’d heat bonded, since they weren’t raw anymore. Hearts scattered his skin, and across his left pec, the word ‘Bunnie’ was etched in scrappy capitals. I’d seen the others too, the ones not visible now: a ‘T+B’ on his arm, a lightning bolt on his right arm, a massive Omega symbol across his back, and a dozen of Thistle’s bites.

The effect was unhinged—and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of her marks.

Even Rogue had them—including a ‘T+R’ on his bicep.