Page 89 of Her Feral Beasts

When I first learned that we didn’t have to kidnap her, I had a moment of relief. Somehow, sitting here and watching her, I still feel uneasy. Like the lava burning under my skin wants to burst out of me. It’s annoying as all hell.

“Look at her handle that knife. She’s so pretty,”Savage sighs at the snake girl, who’s currently giggling over something stupid with her little tigress friend.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m cutting your dick off,” I snarl. “I’m trying to make Pad Thai.”

And then all at once, everything turns to into bedlam.

I hear the snake girl bend over to take something out of the cupboard below the counter. At the same time, a serpent, a taipan, jabs his friend and whispers, “Take a look at that,” pointing at the snake girl’s ass. By the sound of it, her lower ass cheeks are bare for all to see.

Naturally, every animus in the room almost breaks their necks to look.

Savage lets out a sound of animalistic fury I’ve never heard come from him before. Snake girl snaps straight, but before anyone can do anything, Savage is brandishing a carving knife and leaping over the counter toward the taipan. The snake runs for it and because the room is full of long kitchen benches, Savage has to chase him, weaving all around the kitchen. The taipan shifts into his snake form. Chaos breaks out as everyone rushes for the door and the chef screams at Savage to stop.

But my wolf brother is out of his mind with rage as he chases the snake around the maze of the kitchen. Scythe and I watch on and I chuckle a little, because for me, there’s nothing better than watching a snake get murdered. Just when I was having an off day, too.

The Wild Gods are gracious, sometimes.

All at once, the snake gets it in his head that he’s going to use a human shield and slithers straight for our regina, standing stricken like a doe by her bench. The serpent lunges behind her, just as Savage screeches to a halt.

Lia raises a small paring knife just before he can lunge around her and says a stern and low. “No.”

Savage freezes on the spot and, to my utter bewilderment, drops his knife. It clatters to the floor and Lia and Savage just stare at each other like time is frozen for them. I don’t hear any movement except the slither of the taipan as he escapes the kitchen. Next to me, Scythe stops breathing again.

“I can’t believe how violent you are, Savage,” Lia says in a low, calm voice. “You need to stop it.”

Savage lets out a slow, measured exhale that tells me he’s coming to his senses. “Give me a kiss and I will.”

I could knock him out right now.

“No!” snake girl says incredulously. “Now, turn around and go back to your bench before someone gets hurt,yet again.”

To my radical surprise, Savage does as she asks, and he comes stomping back up to me. The nimpin on Aurelia’s shoulder gives her a tiny reassuring chirp, and she pets him back. Her movements are so quiet and I realise for the first time that Aurelia isn’t wearing any jewellery. Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen her in anything except a simple pair of cheap crystal studs. It’s pathetic, honestly. I have so much gold and silver I should really let her have some.

I shake that thought immediately out of my mind because what the hell? Savage is quiet as he comes up next to me, but the chef is fuming so badly I’m surprised there’s no smoke coming from his ears.

“You!” he cries. “To the deputy—”

“It was just a bit of fun,” Scythe rasps in a voice that won’t be argued with. “Leave it, Hector.”

Scythe is acquainted with all the staff here, so the tiger immediately drops his case and leaves the kitchen to bring the other students back to where I can hear them all cowering in the room next door. Lia turns her back to us, her breathing a little shallow, as if she’s coming to terms with what she’s just done.

Savage is frowning in disbelief.“Did she just regina-order me?”

I snarl,“Yes, and your little bitch-ass complied.”

Chapter40

Aurelia

“This day keeps getting crazier and crazier,” Minnie says, smothering a yawn as we sit down for lunch.

“I t-told you guys,” Raquel says. “You shouldn’t b-be t-taunting them like this, Lia. A shark’s p-prey drive is no j-joke, and it was the s-scariest thing I’ve ever s-seen.”

“Amen,” mutter Stacey and Sabrina.

“No m-more red,” Raquel warns.

“What would he have done if he’d gotten to Lia?” asks Minnie.

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