Page 13 of Psycho Shifters

Mountains of muscles piled atop his frame and stretched his fitted long-sleeved shirt to obscenity.

He looked like a drawing of a comic-book hero, with bulging muscles that were too large to be real.

Yet he towered in front of me. Alive and in the flesh.

My neck hurt as I tried to look up at him.

I estimated he was close to five hundred pounds and at least a foot and a half taller than me.

One punch would kill me.

“My name is Jax. What are you doing at portal three?” He took a slow step toward me with his palms out, like I was a wounded animal that would startle.

“I don’t know.”

“Liar. No one knows this location.” Ascher glared down at me, his amber eyes burning with fire as his chest heaved. Tattoos of flames leaped across the side of his neck and traveled up his high cheekbones.

“Perhaps a spy.” The pale man whose skin glittered with diamonds and emeralds sauntered in a circle. He caged me in.

All my instincts screamed at me to run away. His voice was frosty cold, and his rich green eyes were dead—completely soulless.

I could tell he was cruel.

“Stand down, Cobra.” Jax held out his hand and stopped Cobra from circling around me like a predator trapping his prey.

Cobra was such a fitting name for the gorgeous pale man, and he moved so gracefully he almost slithered across the snow. Nothing crunched beneath his feet.

“You have no idea why you are here? That seems doubtful. We found you slumped on our front lawn. Somehow you got through the gate. Explain yourself.” Jax didn’t sneer or do anything intimidating. He just crossed his boulder arms casually and flexed them.

I stared at his arm; it was two times the size of my thigh.

“Last I remember, I was getting tested at the sacred lake,” I said quietly, my permanently broken voice a rough rasp.

“Are you a new beta? Our forces are low, so that would be good. Although, you are unimpressively small. No offense,” Jax said with a grimace as the jewels in his hair tinkled.

His large frame blocked out the red sun, and I tried to inconspicuously shift away from the three men.

“Um, not a beta.” My heart jack hammered in my chest, and my vision spun.

“Alphas, please, there is a message from the oligarchy. Alphas, it is urgent!” A tall, skinny boy sprinted out of the front door of the fortress and ran across the lawn like his ass was on fire.

I took another step back, hopeful I could disappear over the brick wall while they weren’t paying attention.

Alphas.

It made sense.

All the rumors said they were formidable and psychotic, unlike any beta or null shifter.

A force to themselves.

These men were forces all right, a frigid snowstorm that froze everything in its wake.

I inched slowly into the shadows as Jax stepped forward to talk to the frantic boy.

Jax seemed to be their leader, and it made sense. He was a literal mountain. Plus, his eyes didn’t gleam with crazy like the other two. He seemed more rational.

“Tsk, tsk. Do you think the little spy is running away? Do you think the fae queen sent her?” Cobra asked Ascher as his warm hand wrapped around my neck and gently squeezed.