Page 70 of Psycho Shifters

My stomach dipped as I spoke and laughed. My voice was harsh and rough compared to the gorgeous woman’s high-pitched twinkle. I tried to remind myself I didn’t care.

Jax laughed and smiled back at me. “She must be crazy.” He gave an exaggerated wink at Cobra, who glared at us all like we were ridiculous.

“Down this hall!” the same lady yelled, and Ascher charged ahead. The rest of us followed with less excitement.

When we entered the studio room, I was immediately attacked by a lady holding a tan powder and a man holding a hairbrush. Luckily, at the last moment, I realized they weren’t coming at me with knives, and I refrained from punching their throats.

I was a beacon of self-control and grace.

The other alphas were given similar treatment, and a man even tried to put mascara on Cobra’s eyes.

I was busy being attacked by my stylist, but I was pretty sure the mascara man now had three broken fingers, and Cobra had thick sooty lashes. Every time I looked over at him, I chuckled.

The stylist working on Ascher kept making comments about his tattoos and traced over them with a sparkly powder. When the stylist tried to do the same to his horns, Ascher leaped out of the way like he had been scalded.

The only person a stylist didn’t manhandle was Jax. They kept a respectful distance and asked him politely if they could arrange his braids or powder his face. He smiled and told them “sure” good-naturedly, but the stylists’ hands still shook with terror when they touched him.

I guessed being seven feet tall and covered in hundreds of pounds of muscles made other people scared.

It was still weird to me. Cobra was clearly unhinged, Ascher was a hothead, and I had a homicidal voice inside my head. Jax was the calmest and least terrifying of all of us. People were dumb.

Before I knew what was happening, we found ourselves standing in front of a small crystal that was enchanted to broadcast throughout the realm. The crystal glowed purple and sat on a metal stand.

A man standing next to it held a small screen in his hand and adjusted the crystal back and forth. He spent forever changing the crystal stand’s position and grumbling that I was too short to get a good shot.

Eventually, he gave up and made me stand on a massive box in front of the men.

I felt ridiculous. The men were in formfitting T-shirts showing off their impressive muscles. Meanwhile, I was still in my puffy winter coat.

“Hello, shifter realm, I have a treat for you!” A blonde bombshell appeared out of nowhere.

I estimated she was over six feet tall, and her silky blonde hair hung in perfect curls down her curvy body. Her boobs were bursting out of her low-cut dress, and her long legs went on for miles.

I wasn’t into women, and I was attracted to her. Her pale skin was completely unblemished. She was perfect.

“Everyone knows portal three is the most dangerous battlefront in the endless fae war, and here with us today, we have the impressive alphas that guard it. We also have a special treat for our viewers today. The first female alpha, who our sources have revealed saved the other alpha Ascher during the last portal breach, is here with us today.”

A cloud of perfume choked me as the perfect woman leaned the microphone into my face.

“Tell the realm, what is it like being the first female alpha?”

Fear climbed up my throat at her question. If the entire realm was watching, that meant Dick was watching. The television was always on in his tavern.

“A lot.” I bit my lip, unsure of what I was supposed to say. My voice was grating compared to the sultry drawl of the announcer lady. All I could think about was Dick watching. Listening.

“Oh my sun god, what happened to your voice?” The microphone was shoved back into my face, and my stomach plummeted.

I had no idea what to say.

“Did it happen while battling the fae?” Her eyes gleamed with excitement at the possibility of a big story.

“Yep,” I said weakly, glad she had given me an out.

The announcer paused like she didn’t know what to do with my one-word answer and then pivoted the conversation.

“We are excited for you to join us for the Ianuarius celebration. As you know, all the alphas, betas, and omegas attend the annual holiday. It is a designated day of cease-fire in the never-ending war. As the first female alpha, do you have a date yet for the party?” The announcer’s bright-red lips smacked as she shoved the microphone into my face again.

“Um, I haven’t found one…yet.” My palms were clammy, and the puffy jacket was suffocating. Nothing in the realm sounded worse than having to attend a stuffy ABO party and parade about like a stuffed chicken.