Page 88 of Psycho Beasts
The only sources of light were neon cursive words on the wall that said, Hell is paved in the bones of the disloyal, which didn’t have the same shock value the second time around.
The don led us forward.
The dark hall seemed to go on forever and was eerily quiet, and instead of panicking over that fact, I focused on ranking the different wall sayings from most inspirational to least.
Sweat, Suffer, Survive—A fun little remake of “Live, Laugh, Love.” Gotta respect the angsty creativity. Whoever had written it was definitely in their feels. Ten out of ten, inspired.
Rage-fight like a beast, annihilate coldly like the moon goddess—Very badass. When had the moon goddess become a terrifying figure? I thought she was associated with inner peace? I liked their version better. Eight out of ten, inspired.
Mess with an alpha, and you fuck with the pack—I liked it, but also, too soon. Seven out of ten, inspired.
When it’s time to rest, scheme; when it’s time to fight, massacre—Hm, didn’t know how to feel about it. I valued a nice rest day. Six out of ten, inspired.
A death for an eye, and the beast realm survives—It reminded me of another saying, but I couldn’t remember what it was. Points off because it was confusing. Two out of ten, inspired.
Busted knuckles, split lips, broken bones, loaded gun, and it’s only Monday—Immediately, no. One out of ten, made me uncomfortable.
Half-breeds warning: War is coming—For obvious reasons, zero out of ten. Very creepy and upsetting, unnecessary half-breed slander if you asked me.
The don turned to make small talk, and I pretended I wasn’t having a panic attack over the last saying.
“What about the boy with you—I believe he said his name was Aran? Does he need to go to school?” His tone was too casual.
I shook my head and tried to appear nonchalant. “No, he’s twenty-four and a water fae, so he won’t be attending school. He’ll look after the girls.”
If by “looking after the girls,” I meant “asphyxiate them in their sleep,” then Aran was going to get Nanny of the Year.
“Hm.”
Could snakes sense lies?
The don kept leading us down the narrow hall. “I will arrange for education for the girls. Do you know what they will shift into?”
I shrugged. “Um, I’m an alpha, but we don’t know our parents, so I’m not 100 percent sure Lucinda will also be an alpha.”
Jax had been trailing behind with the other men, but now he walked forward to stand beside me. “No, all my sisters are adopted. We are unsure of any of their parentage.”
A sense of déjà vu washed through me.
I shivered.
It was probably just chance, but it seemed weird that none of us knew who our real parents were.
Half-breeds warning: War is coming.
Nope, I was not dwelling on it, and instead pictured prancing through a fae flower field.
My imagination was shit, because the field warped into a dungeon and massive rats climbed over me.
“Oh shit. Legolas.”
The don stopped walking. “What?”
“The dude in the prison, he said something. Some star thing…” It was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t quite remember it.
Everyone looked at me expectantly, and I scrunched my nose like I was remembering.
Really, my mind was completely blank. All I could recall was the awful stench of the feces.