Page 37 of In Prey We Trust

“Oh, gross!” Everyone looks at Chess as he brushes himself off like he’s been infected. I pat Rennie’s knee and he lets me out of my cozy wing haven to go to him. The cheetah is still muttering as he shakes himself, his face full of disgust.

“Chessie,” I say softly as Fitz joins me in flanking him until he stills. “Tell us what’s got you acting like you need a radiation shower.”

His eyes are dark and I can see the animal flickering in them. That’s unusual for our placid mate, so I tug his bun free and stroke his hair gently. He purrs a little and Fitz sits his chin on the opposite shoulder. Once we’re enveloping him, I feel his heart rate slow.

“I thought she was being friendly. She showed me around the office, lamenting that I’m only there part time, and asking ‘get to know you’ questions. But every once in a while, she’d ask something too personal, then laugh it off when I hesitated. It was uncomfortable, but I tried to keep her happy since we need allies.”

Dual growls escape Fitz and me, making Chess flush and Fitz hold his fist up for a bump. Once I oblige, I ask softly, “Are you comfortable relaying what she asked that made you so upset?”

Chess nods and sighs. “It was about Fitz and I. A little about Felix and the other Apex employees, but she came back to Fitz and I more than just in passing. It felt like… she was testing the waters to see how much I’d tell her. I felt weirdly profiled as a gossipy gay man.”

That makes Aubrey shoot out of his seat and walk over with a dangerous fire in his eyes. “I will crisp her, Chester.”

“Hey, knotty knight. I want to defend his honor. You can have the leftovers,” Fitz complains.

“How many times do I have to tell you that thing is not cor—”

I arch a brow at them both, pulling back from the embarrassed cat to interrupt their squabble. “No one is crisping, removing tongues, or doing anything to this creepy bitch until we know what the hell her game is. Maybe she’s a spy for Lucille or someone sent by the hooded dicks? We can’t waste opportunities just because she’s gross as hell.”

Felix gives me a pleased smile as he motions for us to be seated. “Princess is right. With so many unknowns, we have to be strategic. There’s a ton of research to be done on shit from Apex, much less this new garbage. No deaths until we can maximize the effect.”

“He didn’t say ‘no maiming’ so I’m good,” Fitz crows. “I hope you have space in that trophy case, Baby Girl.”

“You know I do,” I reply with a wicked grin. “Surprise me.”

“By Hades toga, you two are so fucking creepy,” Aubrey grumbles. “Just kill people and be done with it.”

“Some people deserve to suffer first, Buffalo Bibliophile. It’s justice.” Fitz winks at me and I giggle.

Even his insults are getting more high-brow. I love it.

“Can we stop focusing on me now that I’ve shared my experience? The admin staff here are worse than the owls at Apex; they’re all raptors of different types, so they despise felines.”

“Great. That means they’ll hate me, too,” I groan. “We all know what raptor birds do with rabbits. Mattie is an exception.”

“Fine. We’ll move on to Aubrey, since the Brooding Bard is probably waiting for his info.”

Felix’s very ‘Fitz-like’ nickname is so jarring that we all laugh and the cloud hanging over the room disappears.

Until my phone beeps with a summons for tomorrow afternoon after my first day of classes—with the mysterious Ms. Rockland herself.

Dog Days Are Over

Delores

Dragging myself out of bed this morning was no small feat. After Chess’ admission last night, the boys decided they were all staying in my room again. We piled in and got comfy with a movie, leaving it on until everyone dozed off. I think everyone was feeling protective of our cheetah, and though the guys didn’t specifically say it, that meant they needed to be close.

I’m not complaining—the family blob in my bed is the most safe and accepted I’ve ever felt in my brief life.

But they’re all gone now—off to prepare for early classes, appointments, or visitors in their respective positions here. Since my first class of the day is Acting, followed by Voice, I’m not starting at the crack of dawn. I have Shifter History after my break and it worries me more than the first two. It might be a day full of new professors, but the last Shifter History professor made my life miserable until I ended his. The odds of me getting a decent person teaching a class based on the Council’s curated narrative aren’t good.

My cheeks flush as I pull on the skimpy uniform Cappie requires—one even more revealing than the one Apex forced on us. The rules here say I have to be wearing it between the hours of seven a.m. and five p.m. when classes are in session, regardless of what class I’m heading to. The duffel bag of clothes to change into when I get to Acting is sitting next to my messenger bag. I hope they have a locker room in the arts complex because I don’t want to get stuck carrying all my gear every day.

After I pull my hair into a ponytail and add a little makeup, I check my bag to make sure I have the tech, chargers, and materials I’ll need for today. I have a copy of my schedule on my phone, but I also have a printed copy with the map on the back. Since people messed with my access to tech last year for the first part of the semester, I don’t want to be left blind if the Heathers found a sponsor after the dust-up at practice.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and focus on centering myself. Today is important—I’ll see Rufus and Cori for the first time in months and meet my new professors. I can’t let all the insecurities and doubts I shed by the end of the year come back just because my old enemies followed me here. Capital Prep is a whole new world and a student body full of people who don’t know the Delores Drew I am now.

This is my chance to start fresh and I’m going to take it.

---