Page 127 of In Prey We Trust

I think I was just schooled by a shifter named after a pixelated lizard who kidnaps princesses.

“Do you think we can get the triplets a pass onto campus for the ball? I’d hate to waste looking that fine without the proper amount of adoration.” Rufus bows his brows and I throw one of Chess’s parmesan garlic fries at him. “What?”

“You aren’t the only one hoping the fancy shit I’m creating will get them laid,” Cori says with an impish grin. “I mean, I know none of you have seen what Ru-Ru and I have up our sleeves, but trust me, it’s going to turn some heads. I emailed Luc to help with the designs and…”

“Wait a minute!” I mock glare at my bestie, wagging a finger. “Since when are you emailing Luc?”

Her face turns bright red and she mumbles, “Since I showed him some of my stuff when he came to your first match. He’s been really supportive… like, I think he might let me do a work study at his place in the summer.”

“Coco, that’s fucking amazing!” I launch myself across the cushions, displacing the cheetah lying with his head in my lap. Chess only grumbles a little, stealing my spot next to Fitz as I hug my bubbly friend tightly. “You’re so good at design and costuming; high fashion would be lucky to have you.”

Rufus snorts, huffing in feigned affront. “I help.”

“Of course you do, but you have a criminal empire to run while banjos play or something,” I shoot back. “Coco is free to take the runaways by storm.”

Felix clears his throat, looking at me practically sitting in Rufus’ lap so I could hug Cori. “I take it we should say we’re wearing a Cori…” He frowns, looking at the polar bear for a moment. “I feel like an absolute ass, but I don’t think you’ve ever told me your last name.”

Cori’s face gets even redder, and she ducks her head. It occurs to me I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say it, either. What in the actual hell? Rufus doesn’t look at me when I swing my gaze to him, suddenly very interested in his phone and a chat window. “Okay, what is going on with you two? Why is Cori’s last name such a big deal?”

“Because… because…” Cori fumbles a little and worry takes root in my gut.

“Holy shit!” Fitz yells, waving his phone in the air.

My body tenses and I leap off of Rufus, crouching as I look around the room for danger. When it doesn’t come, I glare at him in annoyance. “Not funny, Fitzy. I was ready to mighty morph.”

He grins cheekily. “Not my intent, Baby Girl, but you can mighty morph anytime. I love stroking your fur.”

His twin sighs heavily and looks at Chess, who whacks Fitz in the back of the head for him. “Why did you just shout, Fitz?”

“I know why she hasn’t told you yet,” he sing-songs with a mischievous smirk. “And what it is.”

“Easy, Khan,” Rufus growls through his pointy teeth. “I won’t let you—”

“Oh, take a hit, gangster. I’m no threat to Coco-cabana. We love her here, even if her family doesn’t.”

My brows furrow. Cori always acted like her mother was a normal, loving one versus my nightmare in Leopartins. “Cori? What are they talking about?”

She swallows hard and gives me a sorrowful expression. “My actual mother was amazing. She died right before I came to Apex. When I talk about my mother, I definitely mean her. But, um, my father? Not so much, especially since he married into my step-mother.”

“Well, that’s okay. Lucille’s awful, the Raj is a cocksucker, their parents disowned them…” I point to each of the guys and shrug. “We will not judge you by your parents.”

“You might once I tell you I’m a Bouvier,” she mutters.

I blink. “Bouvier, as in Le Maison de Bouvier? Bouvier as in the fashion designer who went missing climbing Mt. Everest with her husband, Bouvier? The heiress everyone thought was…”

Cori nods miserably. “That’s the one. We never found her, but my dad held a funeral and everything. People who die that far up aren’t usually found, and he had to… declare her dead for the business to move on. I don’t tell people because it makes them treat me differently.”

“No wonder you’re so fucking good at this shit. You were probably born with a needle in your paw,” I marvel as I remember how skilled she was at teaching me to do complicated stitches. “Luc would be stupid not to scoop you up if your family doesn’t want you. Good for him.”

“Told you she wouldn’t care,” Rufus drawls as he tosses his phone down. “Dolly is the least pre-possessing girl I’ve ever met. She wouldn’t have cared if you revealed your parents were ax murderers or, worse, humans.”

I roll my eyes at him, then give my embarrassed friend another hug. “He’s right. I don’t give a shit if your family is full of snooty French designers.”

“They’re on the European Council—at least, her father is,” Aubrey says. “But so is someone from my clash and Rennie’s clutch and lots of others. That doesn’t mean they’re all privy to the crooked shit going on now.”

“So… we should tell any media people they let in that we're wearing a Bouvier original?” Felix says, bringing us back to the original topic.

Cori snorts and shakes her head. “Fuck, no. I don’t want to be associated with them. Say it’s a ‘Coco’ original. That’s what I’m gonna call my brand.”

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