Page 87 of Psycho Beasts

He blew out smoke.

“You will fight matches in your unshifted forms. You must learn to be strongest in your weakest form, since enchantments that counteract shifting are common on the black market. If you survive your matches and maintain consciousness, you pass the second trial.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How many matches do we have to survive?”

The don blew another cloud of smoke. “A few.”

My shoulders relaxed. I was a good fighter, not a great fighter, but with the numb, I could hold my own.

The don took another long drag of his cigarette. “Just one hundred fights.”

Sun god kill me now.

Chapter 16

Sadie

FIGHT CLUB

I choked.

“Just one hundred fights” echoed around my head like a bullet.

Sometimes, it was important in stressful situations to ground yourself and remember your core value. Mine was the ability to throw my blood and infect someone until they became my mental slave.

It was the only thing that kept me from crumpling to my knees and crying like a baby.

“Follow me. You’ll begin your training today.” The don opened a door and led us down a dimly lit hallway.

Beta men in black suits flanked us on all sides, holding massive machine guns. The lights flickered.

What was it with this realm and creepy flickering lights?

We followed him into a narrow elevator that I recognized from a book on advanced technologies back in the shifter realm. Nondescript music played, and our reflections rippled across the sleek glass panels of the small box.

“Um, also, one last thing.” I tilted my head to the don. “The girls need an education. Lucinda is only sixteen, and I believe the others are of similar ages?”

Jax nodded at the don. “Jess is eighteen, Jala is fourteen, and Jinx is twelve. I would appreciate it if you could figure out schooling for them.”

The don pressed his palm against black glass, and the white light of the elevator turned dark red.

Abruptly, we plummeted downward.

If I had any sense of self-preservation, I might have panicked and screamed.

Instead, I couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped my lips as my hair floated around me and my feet elevated off the floor.

In contrast, the men’s faces were stoic as they levitated upward.

Xerxes’s long blond locks curled up at the ends in all directions. He twirled his dagger in midair and glared at me.

Once again, the scent of sweet cinnamon filled the space with undertones of frost, chestnuts, and pine.

Abruptly, the elevator stopped moving, and I slammed back down. The door opened with a whoosh, and I stumbled forward on unsteady legs.

Ascher caught my arm and held me upright, his tattoos pulled taut across his cut jaw as he growled with annoyance. “Be careful.”

A pitch-black corridor greeted us.