Page 62 of Psycho Shifters

That coolness had completely devolved during the battle.

Sheer terror, the depths of which I had never experienced, had coursed through me when the fae had barreled toward Sadie.

Then a gorgeous fucking saber-toothed tiger had stood in her place. Almost as large as my bear, with shaggy white fur and black markings, it had stunned me for a moment. Then she had turned her head and flashed canines that hung longer than a foot.

My beast had gone crazy inside me. Mine, a voice had told me.

I wanted to claim the magnificent alpha. I wanted to make her mine.

When Sadie had gone after the fae, I had worried and given chase. When the creature had fallen back atop her, I’d lost my shit and roared like a maniac. I’d thought she was dead. My beast had screamed in agony, and a red haze had taken over my vision.

We would mutilate anyone that dared harm her.

“I’m done.” The little alpha placed the sixty-pound bar back on the rack. She had only done four reps.

Her tiny muscles were so puny they would snap in a stiff wind, and she wouldn’t survive if she didn’t bulk up. That was why I had ordered the betas to focus on weapons practice and the alphas to weight train.

“Five more reps,” I growled back. Once again, I completely lost control of my chest. I was trying not to scare her away, but every time I fucking talked, I growled like a wild animal.

It was slowly driving me insane.

“Two reps.” The little alpha leaned back against the bench like she was unbothered by a five-hundred-pound alpha growling at her.

I didn’t know what had happened. The little spitfire who couldn’t mask an emotion to save her life had become stone cold. Nothing I did got a reaction out of her.

There was something off about her, and it filled me with distrust. She was acting like a spy. It also filled me with rage.

I prided myself on my calm, controlled leadership, and it was all slipping through my grasp.

“Pathetic, Princess,” Ascher sneered at her as he easily hoisted six hundred pounds above his chest.

I fought the urge to throw my thousand-pound dumbbell at his head.

Cobra and I had run the facility together for six years, and Ascher had only turned a year ago. The oligarchy had said it was a miracle another alpha had turned. Since portal three was invaded the most frequently by the fae, he had been assigned to us.

Before the little alpha had arrived, I had no issues with Ascher. He was a hothead, desperate to prove himself, but for the most part was a hard worker and a good guy.

Now he was a raging jackass.

He saw the little alpha as competition, and it killed him that she had saved him.

From Ascher’s background check, I knew his father ran the largest weapons syndicate in the realm. It was technically an illegal operation, but since they also provided weapons to the oligarchy, their power went unchecked.

His father was a classic misogynist, and in Ascher’s mind, he was supposed to save the little alpha, not the other way around.

“Half rep,” Cobra said to Sadie silkily as he did pull-up reps with two-hundred-pound plates hanging off his waist. “It doesn’t count.”

“I’ll show you a half rep.” Sadie’s chest rattled with anger. She had started growling yesterday, and I didn’t know if I should be concerned or turned on.

I was kidding myself. It was sexy as hell.

Watching her and Cobra send death glares at each other did weird things to my stomach, so I hoisted my barbells quicker.

It didn’t escape my notice that Sadie was the only woman Cobra ever spoke to directly.

My chest sparked with warmth. I was glad he didn’t ignore her like other women.

I also wasn’t blind, so I couldn’t help but admire the way Cobra’s abs rippled and how the emeralds in his skin sparkled. He was a breathtaking man.