Page 72 of Her Feral Beasts

“Yeah,” Sabrina says excitedly. “Who needs subtlety?”

This entire time I’ve been hiding. Trying to keep low and out of sight, but look where that’s gotten me? Nowhere.

And the other animas might not know that it’s going to be worse than they think because a regina flaunting their body to other beasts is the worst type of jab to the heart of a mate. They might hate me even more, but. Oh. Fucking. Well. Revenge is called for. Revenge will be had. They made a covenant not to mate with me? Well, I’m going to make them regret that choice.

“We get to go to the village this week,” says Sabrina excitedly. “I’ve been nagging Theresa about it this entire time. There’ll be clothes there, even handmade. We have a whole week to prep for this, Lia.Finally,I won’t be embarrassed to be seen with you.”

I roll my eyes at Sabrina as Minnie’s eyes light up. “Oh yes, baby. We’re going to wipe the floor with them.”

It’s a really great plan, but there’s one major thing in the way. “I can’t buy anything,” I groan. “I lost all my money when I flew away. I’m sure Lyle took my stash of money when he caught me the first time because it’s not in my duffle.”

“What?” Minnie frowns at me. “No, if you didn’t come in with an account, you get a stipend from the council. Here, use the academy tablet.”

We jump onto the academy network on the tablet Theresa gave us. We’re not allowed access to the internet or smartphones while we’re here, so the school has its own dedicated network we can access from the new tablets. Older students get to use special phones they can message each other on, but us newbies don’t.

I log in using the credentials I was given in my information packet, and when I click on the dollar sign icon, my mouth drops open. Listed there is a figure I’ve never seen in my bank account.

“That’sthe stipend?” I gesture wildly at the tablet.

Connor and Sabrina choke on their drinks when they look over my shoulder.

Minnie frowns, then picks up her pink folder, opening it up to a green tab. “No, the council allowance for financial assistance is… one tenth of that.”

“Wild Goddess,” I whisper. “They’ve made a mistake.”

“Check with admin,” Stacey says. “They helped me when I forgot to bring my Valium.”

I end up shooting admin an email and a reply comes back from Georgia, no less, within minutes, saying it wasn’t a mistake.

Scratching the back of my neck, I glance at my meagre possessions. They only take up two drawers of the dresser I’ve been given.

“Lia,” Sabrina says slowly. “Your father is the Serpent King, isn’t he?”

“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s impossible. He never gave me money. I had to earn it at my aunt’s grocery store. I’ve been saving coins for ages.”

“Okay.” Connor claps his hands. “Let’s thank the Wild Goddess for your good luck and not question it!”

I frown at the figure again, and he shakes my shoulders. “Come on, Lia! You have money to spend now!”

“And if you feel bad about having so much money,” Sabrina says pointedly. “You can always buy us something too!”

Stacey and Connor cheers with their cups.

For the first time in a long time, I’m excited.

The rest of the lockdown is spent in a sort of tipsy daze as we plan my revenge. Sabrina teaches us how to pick locks using bobby pins and a set of purple fluffy handcuffs from Raquel’s stash of sex toys. Sabrina can even get herself out of them using her telekinesis and after hours of practice, so can Minnie.

Lockdown finishes and the following week of classes aresomuch easier now that I know I don’t have to keep looking over my shoulder. It’s almost a breeze, and I don’t even notice the other males ogling me as we go from class to class. Their jabs of ‘Hey, Flight Risk,’ don’t even hurt so much now that I have something to look forward to.

My comeback.

The most exciting thing by far is our new access to the village on Wednesday night. The last time I wasthisexcited was the night before my twelfth birthday, because my father always ran big parties for me, pink jumping castle and all. And the thing is, memories of my life back then are good. My uncles were scary men to others, but to me, they wore pink feather boas and let us play with them in their serpent forms. After my mum died, Aunt Charlotte fed me, brought me pretty dresses and danced with me and my friends.

Oh, how things changed.

I might not have had close friends back then, but at least I had people excited to be there with me.

But now, I finally haverealfriends to share excitement with.

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