Page 14 of In Prey We Trust

With that, he does a barrel roll to the side of the bed, flashing his biteable ass at the camera as he goes looking for his clothes.

“Bast, save us from the constant view of Fitz’s junk,” Aubrey mutters. “Get your things together, bite size. We’ll talk again when you’re on the road.”

“Got it, Smokey and the Bandits… over and out!” Fitz calls out.

I grin and wiggle my fingers at them with a fond expression. “Talk soon.”

With that, I close the window and turn to find my tiger wearing one of my crop tops with his pants as he preens in the mirror.

Aubrey’s right… Bast save us.

Singing along with my epic and completely random ‘Tunes to Rock the Road’ playlist, I check my mirror to see if Fitz and the raccoons are still close by. My goofy boyfriend is weaving in and out of traffic like a daredevil. Occasionally, he drops back to stay even with me so he can blow kisses and make inappropriate gestures. In contrast, The Captain and Raina are just behind me on their ride—a custom, raccoon-sized Harley with a sidecar painted with kraken tentacles and flames. I had to bite my tongue when they rolled up with pirate skull helmets and loud Gilbert & Sullivan playing because I didn’t want to offend them.

But it was really, really hard not to laugh.

I didn’t know Raina was the Captain’s mate and his first mate, despite not working on the docks. Apparently, my food smuggling friend from the cafeteria has her own little prey based harem. It includes the Captain, an armadillo from the armory, a skunk from the laundry, and triplet quokkas from the cleaning staff. They didn’t all join her, but I’d bet their motorcycle band would have been fucking hysterical to see.

We worked together to pack my car with the most essential shit. Despite the disdainful looks my mother’s security dicks gave us, my guys were right: she’d informed them to allow me to leave early. I didn’t even have to fight with the fuckface wolf to get my Mustang filled with my shit. Once it was done, we took off for the road to the Capital without so much as a middle finger to my captors and the weight on my chest has lifted substantially.

I can’t wait to be back with my actual family, even if it means I have to do a bunch of sporty shit with Zhenga.

It’s not the curvy lioness that aggravates me—at least, not after the explosions. She calmed her bullshit after she had me in class and honestly? One day, we might even be friends. Okay, we might be friendly, if not friends. But she’s not the reason I’m making my ‘yuck’ face as I sing along to The Proclaimers. That’s because I’m going to be involved in a sweaty, gross fight to the pain sport simply to raise my profile, so people quit trying to murder me for breathing.

Knowing Zhenga, she’ll force me to take it super seriously and that’s going to piss off my dance teachers. Anyone who wants to dance, even semi-professionally on stage, has to avoid things that might injure their money makers—their face and legs. The Pred Games are no-holds barred and at the college level, they don’t allow killing, but maiming is on the table. Every time I step into a ring, I’ll be risking one thing for the sake of another—all because I’m a goddamned bunny.

It feels like a curse when I say it that way and I don’t mean for it to; I love my bunny—now.

The roar of an engine startles me out of my head and I squint as I see Fitz dropping back again. He waves at me, then points ahead, but all I see are the big ass semis that always seem to be in my way. A smaller engine creeps up on the other side of my car and I realize The Captain is now flanking me along with my tiger. I can’t close my eyes, but I let my mind go still as I reach out with all of my senses, trying to figure out why they’re suddenly in such a defensive posture.

A huge blast echoes off the hills around us and the aftershock rocks my car when it hits me. The sky darkens and even the air feels oppressive as I suck in shaky breaths. This isn’t exactly like the scene at Apex where we almost lost Chess, but it’s close enough to hit a trigger. Gritting my teeth, I allow the rabbit to fill me with rage for the people who got injured or killed in that nonsense. The Council isn’t releasing anything that gives true numbers, but I expect it’s larger than what’s being reported.

And whoever set off that explosion up ahead is in league with those hooded motherfuckers.

Tires squeal as the traffic all starts to swerve and brake to avoid the mess I can’t quite see yet. Turning my wheel hard, I steer clear of my motorcycle riding friends until I’ve pulled over on the side of the highway. Fitz roars up, parking his bike and hopping off to stand in front of my car door. He pulls his helmet off, handing it to me to stow on the seat as he waves at the small prey animals coming around my back bumper.

“Baby Girl, I don’t know what in the fuck is going on up there, but it looks really goddamn familiar,” he says with a low snarl. “I don’t want them anywhere near you.”

My eyes narrow as I see the Captain and his mate brandishing their own weapons. “I’m not sitting in the car like I’m helpless. Hell, even Raina is armed.”

“Mr. Renard warned us there could be trouble,” Raina offers as she waves the miniature compound bow. “We would let no one hurt his mate, Dolly.”

There’s that word again. As if I’m not suppressing a panic attack already.

“Right. Of course he did,” I mutter as I try to get my shit together. “Then we’re all in this, got it? No one is putting me in a bubble—never again.”

Fitz shakes his head, then runs his hands through his hair. “They’re all going to fucking kill me when this gets back, but okay. Let’s go find out what the Gregorian Monks up there are cooking today.”

I hold up a finger, closing my eyes for a second as I let my half-shift emerge, then I take his hand. “Now I’m ready to kick some fake Sith Lord ass.”

Raina and The Captain follow along as we creep up the shoulder, crouching behind cars and vehicles that are pulled over or stopped in the middle of the road. When we get to what I think is the epicenter, I see a flipped tractor trailer spilling liquid all over the pavement. Four shitty Ghostface wanna-bes are stalking through the mess like they’re on a mission. I growl softly when the faint scent from that night catches the breeze. It’s not as strong as the night my bunny went apeshit, so I don’t think the source of it is here, but these fuckers are definitely working with whoever it was.

It reminds me how pissed I am that these frigging assmunches have ruined orchids and hydrangea for me.

They notice us and a wave of energy ripples through the air, making my fur stand on end. I don’t know if this happened to all the disappearing students from last year or I’m just special, but I am done with playing with these psychos.

I stand up, letting go of Fitz’s hand as my claws lengthen. “Oi, you faceless assholes! If you want me, come fucking get me.”

Fitz’s face drains of color and Raina gasps.

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