Page 18 of Her Feral Beasts

“Let the men speak, Savage,” he replies smoothly. I know he was waiting for my attitude and there’s a dark undertone that I don’t like.

“This guy,”I say silently to my brothers.

Lyle’s mouth tightens as if he knows I’m talking telepathically.

I grin because I know exactly why he hates me and it’s for a fucking brilliant reason.

Scythe looks out the floor-to-ceiling office windows on our left and stares into the distance for a moment. I have some idea of what he’s thinking, but my shark-brother is nothing if not unpredictable.

Eventually, his sapphire eyes flick to Lyle. “There will be issues. I will deal with them. Undisturbed.” Scythe’s voice is horrifying to people who have never heard it, but they don’t call Lyle the Beast Breaker for no reason and he doesn’t show any sign of being disturbed by Scythe’s damaged rasp.

“I was hoping we could work together,” Lyle says.

I scoff, but Scythe says evenly, “Our truce will be dependent on a number of factors.”

“Of course.” The two beasts stare at each other in assessment. The moment stretches out like a taut band that will snap at any second. Even Eugene feels it and starts vibrating like a phone under my arm. There is so much power in this room that I can feel it burning along my skin like cold fire and it’s as exciting as it is annoying. Eventually, Lyle says, “I will ensure your requests are met.”

So, he has a brain after all.

Scythe gives a single nod, which is more than the lion deserves.

Lyle turns to Xander. “Will your vision be an issue for you here?”

Xander growls at the insult to his prowess. “As long as I have my magic, I’m the same as any other beast. Even without it, I’ll deal.”

He’s not exaggerating, Xander’s hearing is godly. One time, I’d broken a rib and not even known it. That night as we lay in our beds—him with his headphones in—he told me to stop breathing because he could hear the bones of my ribs scraping together.

Then he dodged the lamp I flung at him.

“Alright then,” Lyle says quietly, his eyes flicking to the three of us, one at a time. “As long as you follow the school rules the same as everyone else, I don’t have a problem with you. And Savage, your emotional support rooster can stay.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I drone, patting Eugene on the head. “We won’t go pissing on the furniture.”

Lyle ignores me and hands us each a packet of papers, no doubt a list of the school rules in big letters for those of us who can read. When he tries to hand mine to me, I ignore him and he gives the packet to Scythe instead. I imagine it now, ‘No fucking in the corridors. No sniffing the females. No running around naked.’

“We have a judicial system here, Savage,” Lyle says pointedly to me. “It’s a miracle we were allowed to house you here.” By all rights, they should have carted me back to the big boy prison. I can’t imagine what strings Lyle’s pulled to get me here. “No murder. No maiming. Got it?”

I growl under my breath at his tone of dominance and the only thing that stops me from acting on my impulse to go at his throat is Scythe’s returning growl.

Chapter8

Aurelia

“Got a cigarette?” a bored voice drones. I blink myself out of my reverie and turn to see a girl my age saunter in. The first thing I see are thin gold hoop earrings so large they almost touch her shoulders, a skin tight purple bodycon dress and white sneakers. With one hand on her black rolling suitcase, she pops her hip and wrinkles her nose at me. “Get those prison clothes from a dumpster or something?”

“No, I arrived naked.” Although they smell awful, it’ll be good to cover the fact that I’m hiding my scent. Animalia can usually scent each other’s order and I shouldn’t really be able to hide it like I do.

She nods and makes a face that says she’s impressed. “Nice. Anyway, ciggie?”

“No, sorry.”

She rolls her eyes and sits down on the opposite bench, tapping her acrylic nails against her knee. I stare at the glossy black goodness in envy and avoid looking at my own because I know they’re jagged and full of dirt.

But Idonotice that her pink lanyard has no words written on it. It makes me feel real special to be singled out like this, I’ll tell you that much.

Only seconds later, someone comes stomping into the room, but I hear their voice first. “T-Touch me again and I’ll b-break your arm,c-cub.”

“Yeah, yeah, dynamite. Get in there.” A male voice, no doubt one of the guards.

---