Page 112 of Her Rabid Beasts

They stare at me, stricken. The entire hall is now silent.

“Do. You. Understand. Me?” I squeeze all eight throats for emphasis before releasing them.

They wheeze and nod frantically.

Hopefully, they put the throat squeezing down to an eagle healing-adjacent power.

“Good,” I growl, releasing them.

They all sag in their seats.

I turn on my heel and walk back to our table, Raquel and Sabrina stopping to glare at them before stomping behind me.

Minnie remains frozen in her seat; Stacey has a comforting arm around her.

Then Savage’s faint voice sails over the choked silence. “She’s the Goddess of my black heart, my regina. Isn’t she perfect?” I’m breathing hard after my rage, but my gaze flicks to Savage. He beckons to me before tucking a napkin into his black T-shirt and planting a knife and fork down on the table as if he’s ready to eat. “Come here and let me eat your pussy for dessert, regina!”

“Later,” I say roughly. Though it seems to calm my anima down and she starts mewling for our wolf.

“I love her more and more every day,” he sighs.

We all sit down at our table, both Sabrina and Stacey trying hard not to laugh.

“This evening,” I mutter to our table. “We’re doing it this fucking evening.”

Chapter 46

Aurelia

During group counselling this morning, Savage surprises me by putting his arms around me and dragging my ass into his lap. He plants a gentle kiss on my lips. “Regina.” He smiles and proceeds to cuddle me to his chest. I discreetly adjust Savage’s arms so they don’t quite press on the painful wounds still marring my stomach. I also have to ignore the sniggers of Sabrina and Connor because this means I’m right next to Scythe, who turns his icicle eyes towards me. I suppress the way my entire body wants to shiver under those lethal, predatory eyes—as if what I said to him yesterday, with my face all but pressed up against his, is still fresh in his mind. It’s sure as hell fresh inmymind too.

“Savage,” Theresa scolds, making me tear my gaze off Scythe. “This is a classroom. You may be able to do whatever you like in your spare time, but we need to sit in our own chairs.”

I nod and attempt to get up, but Savage’s arms tighten around me, a low growl vibrating through his chest.

Theresa sighs.

But something draws me back to Savage and I draw a soft finger down his cheek before leaning in to whisper against hislips, “Boundaries.” And then into his head,“I promise we can cuddle as much as you want tonight.”

His arms reluctantly loosen around me, and I slide off him and back into my seat. He’s still angry about the serpent incident and ready to jump at anyone who gives him so much as a side-eye. So, I scoot my seat closer to his and take his hand in mine, holding it tight. He squeezes my hand back.

Savage is my moody, growling, over-the-top bodyguard the entire day until classes are over and I tell him I need to attend to my own business. Xander resorts to putting my wolf in a headlock and wrestles him back to their dorm, demanding that they go to the gym. Scythe follows with his usual unbothered walk behind them.

“They’re so adorable.” Minnie grins at me.

“They’re murderous and psycho,” I mumble, but really, my anima and IloveSavage’s open claiming of me.

Minnie, Eugene and I go to collect Henry from the veterinary clinic. He’s awake and being kept in a large tank with butterflies for entertainment and other insects for him to eat, but when he sees me and Eugene, he plasters himself to the glass and squeaks in annoyance.

“I’m sorry, Hen,” I sniff, holding up my hand to the glass. “But you’re alive, that’s the main thing.”

The nurse unlocks the tank and my favourite blue fluffball zips out, hurtling himself into my face, licking me and chittering like I abandoned him in a desert for months on end.

The nurse gives me the rundown. The serpents used a low dose of anaesthetic that could have gone wrong very easily. Henry was basically lucky to be alive. I cried, then Henry cried, and I fed him fresh, plump blueberries that I brought with me from the dining hall.

It’s a happy reunion back in our dorms, with my animas and the other nimpins. Connor comes to join us and we give all five nimpins a bubble bath and a grooming with tiny brushes.

We wait until after business hours are over when neither Georgia nor Lyle are likely to be in office. It will take a little toll on me, but I’m boosted after that last round of sex with Lyle, so it’s not too much trouble to envelop myself and Henry in my invisible eighth shield and scuttle off to the management building. Eugene doesn’t want to be left behind, but Raquel has taken a liking to him and cuddles him to their chest to watch us leave.

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