Page 109 of In Prey We Trust

Giggling as he bounces around with me on his lap in some form of victory wiggle, I lean in and press my forehead to his. “Of course I knew after the night at the club. My senses weren’t as developed as they are now, but when you rubbed your tiger head on my hand, I knew what that smell meant every time it came near. I’m well aware you have many gadgets watching me all the time. In a weird way, it felt like someone finally gave a shit about whether I was safe or not. That’s why I never moved or disconnected them.”

“Ha ha ha!” Fitz says, as he leaps to his feet with me in his arms. “I told you fuckers so and damn it, none of the others are here, so they’ll never believe me!”

Chess comes over, hopping into the nested couch with a cheerful smile. I owe him some credit, too, but at the moment, he’s as enchanted with our lover as I am. “I heard her, baby. Don’t worry. I’ll back you up.”

Fitz waddles us over the cushions to him and tumbles us into a mass of limbs, his hands groping us happily. “This is the best fucking day. Now I’m a little mad we have to get Baby Girl dressed and to the field. The Big Bad has plans he can’t execute, and he’s not happy.”

“Fitz,” we say at the same time and we all burst into laughter.

Okay, maybe if Fitz can bring me out of my funk, I can do the same for Rennie, eventually.

It just takes a little love.

Zhenga surprised us with some new opponents at practice, and it’s kicking my ass. The two enormous women are from the Prey Games—a much smaller, less attended version of our games the larger prey take part in locally. Her friends, a rhino named Laurel, and a hippo called Magritte, put us through brutal matches until even Selene dropped to the ground and cried ‘uncle.’ Not one of our team could move them, though if we’d been allowed to use some of the more dangerous aspects of our shifts, we definitely would have evened the playing field.

The point was to show us that without the weapons we rely on, we have to work harder and get smarter about how we approach opponents. It was a lesson I believe was aimed at me specifically because she watched me like a hawk and I suspect Felix had something to do with her sudden addition to the training lineup. I narrowly missed getting gored by a fucking rhino horn a couple times because other surprises distracted me, but at the end of practice, Coach Z let us know her friends would come back to work with us more.

“Just fucking great,” I mutter under my breath as I hobble to the sidelines to grab a drink. “I love bruising the hell out of myself by throwing my weight into a brick wall for hours.”

“Don’t worry, Dollypop! Your men will rub some nice arnica on those marks, like we told them last year.”

I blink, watching Rufus and Cori stroll across the field towards me in cheerleading uniforms. “What in the name of Hera’s thong are you two doing here dressed like that?”

“Did someone bash your brains in earlier?” Cori winks at me playfully and does a twirl in her outfit. “We’re here because we joined the cheer squad. Years and years of dance made it very easy to convince the vulture bitch we’d help make her team look less like clowns on roller skates.”

“But… you hate cheerleaders. Rufus’ favorite part of Bring It On is when the fake choreographer says that cheerleaders are dancers who—”

“Yes, yes. I adore that part despite its awful, insulting language towards the disabled.” He shakes his head, looking towards the sky pleadingly. “Why can’t we find movies from the 90s that aren’t full of jokes at the expense of every marginalized community that exists? It’s a goddamn shame because I love them so much and feel so dirty afterward.”

“Focus, Ru-Ru,” my friend snaps as she comes closer and lowers her head to whisper in my ear. “We’re also here, so there are people on the field at every game who will bum rush a motherfucker if this cheating and scheming doesn’t stop. We decided the stands are too far away and none of your men can stay on the grass, so we’re here as backup.”

My lips curve when I look at Rufus, and he nods in agreement. “You guys didn’t have to do that. Rockland will be nasty as hell and that’s before you get to the crap the Heathers will put you through.”

The smile on my tattooed badger’s face is downright vicious. “I dare them to cross me. The things I will do to ruin their lives haven’t even been used in a teen movie before. I’ll own their souls when I’m done and no one can stop me. You might be a good person, Dolly Drew, but I am not. My goodwill extends to my friends and family—that’s the limit.”

His declaration is so cold it almost makes me shiver. I haven’t seen Rufus truly drop his jolly mask before, and now that he has, it’s terrifying. I understand how he won whatever bullshit competition his family had to be the next heir and why the people from his clan seem to hop in line without question. He’s got a dark side that rivals Fitz’s and he’s been waiting to unleash it.

“Okay. Well, thank you—both of you. I didn’t consider how good it would feel to know someone’s close enough to help if I get in trouble.”

Cori snorts and shakes her head. “Of course not. You’re trying to show everyone you’re not the tiny, munchable rabbit from your prom night, D. Admitting weaknesses doesn’t fit that narrative. I get it, so does Ru-Ru. Besides, we look spectacular in these, don’t we?”

I run my eyes over the skimpy outfits, tilting my head. “You two have been hiding out in the townhouse, altering these for the past few days, haven’t you?”

Rufus winks at me. “With an Amazon account, a little talent, and some hard work, the bullshit they provided is now worthy of our glory. The triplets can not wait to see my rah-rah.”

My eyes dart to my other friend, watching for signs of her previous melancholy to return, but she just beams. “Giselle is eager to come, too. She’s never been to a Pred Games match; sports aren’t her thing. But she wants to come watch us twirl.”

Hot damn, Fitz, I owe you another blowie. You did it.

“Well, the next match isn’t until right before Thanksgiving, so you’ve got time to make that routine sparkle.”

A whistle blows and they roll their eyes before Cori jerks her head towards the other end of the field. “Duty calls, Dollykins. Go home with your escorts and we’ll call you after practice.”

“You better!” I grin as they jog off, picking up my water bottle to head for the locker rooms.

I can’t wait to hear what goes on at Rockland’s stupid practices.

Empires

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