Page 63 of Her Rabid Beasts

“Your regina is looking suspiciously happy,”I tell Savage mind-to-mind, letting Scythe in on the conversation, too.

Savage can’t take his eyes off her.“Isn’t she sexy in that little dress? She wouldn’t let me eat her out this morning, but I’m sure as fuck going to get her later.”

I’m not the only one scanning the animas—nay, reginas. Fancy my surprise when Minnie, Sabrina and Raquel revealed themselves as reginas when we separated into groups this morning. In Raquel’s case, that made them a regus, since they’re non-binary. The rexes were sent to their own group, along with anyone who has a rex as the leader of their pack. While the reginas and anyone with a regina in their pack was sent here to be taught by Lyle.

Minnie being here isn’t a complete surprise. The fact that Titus wants her in his bed means he detects her power and it lures him in.

This classroom is full, with every beast staring at the reginas who naturally placed themselves in the middle of the room.

A gaggle of attention seekers.

As always, they’re dressed to please their inner promiscuous anima. Aurelia is in a baby pink dress that highlights the olive skin given to her by her father. It’s the type that sticks to your body and shows all of a woman’s curves. It’s short, and sliding to her upper thigh as she sits. Bonus points: she’s actually wearing a bra today, with a little lace peeking over the neckline of her dress.

When we first arrived, her breastsbouncedas she scooted forward on her chair and I barely contained the urge to leave right then and there. She ties up her long, black hair with an elastic. It’s a wavy sort of mess, and as she puts it up, it exposes the golden column of her neck.

My dragon snorts and licks his lips.

Down, boy,I mutter to him.He’sbeen acting up lately, and it’s setting me on edge.

I wouldn’t put it past some of these animals to sniff the anima’s seats after they leave. Thirsty fuckers. If Savage knew what disinfectant wipes were, he’d have them on hand all at times to get rid of her scent from public furniture. He’s always been a jealous bastard when it comes to his women, and now he’s openly claiming his regina,openlycalling her by the title, it’s given him a licence to show his true self: a proper menace.

It’s the entire reason Scythe and I were so keen to get rid of her. A single woman in control of males like us, let alone five, is a dangerous thing. So much for plans well laid. Aurelia has proven herself to be more conniving and manipulative than we thought with her little escape plan.

But this morning, her breathing is a little fast, probably because she’s thirsting after Lyle like everyone else. As a result,there is an obvious, fiery rope of tension between the two of them.

The lion, for his part, is barely holding on, which is my new entertainment at this sorry excuse of a school. He’s sort of pale under his tan, and I know exactly where his blood is rushing. All because Aurelia’s keeping her legs a little open, angled right at him.

“Scythe, you really ought to be here to see this,”I send to my shark brother, who’s busy looking at some documents Marduk gave him.

A dark chuckle rumbles down our bond.“I’ll be there next time.”

Lyle starts up his slideshow. “Alright, if you are here, you’re either a regina or regus.” He nods at Raquel, who nods back. “Or an animus who belongs to a regina, whether you have met them or not.”

There are some annoyed grumbles from those who haven’t met the central member of their pack yet.

If only I was so lucky.

“So,” Lyle continues, “this begins a series of classes where I’m going to teach you the proper way to conduct yourself around a regina and the challenges you’ll face.” He gestures to the middle table. “ And the common issues reginas come across. We’ll also talk about the instincts that all animalia have inborn within them and how to deal with those instincts in a modern context.”

The irony of this isn’t lost on me—or Aurelia, for that matter—as she sits back in her seat, toying with her pen as that smirk grows wider on her face.

Savage has positioned himself so he’s got her in his sight at all times.

“So, today we’re going to talk about base instincts,” Lyle continues, “which is what comes up most obviously when youmeet each other for the first time. Who remembers meeting their regina for the first time?”

Savage crosses his arms and a lion from behind me puts up his hand. We all know him from our first day when he dived at his regina during the lineup. A few of his friends snigger.

“Yes, Dion. What was that like for you?” Lyle asks, seriously.

“It was overwhelming,” Dion admits. “It was like my animus took over and I just… had to have her. I wanted to be inside of her. I wanted to fuck her and lick her and kiss her and feed her all at the same time. I didn’t know what to do first.”

Savage and a few others chuckle. Aurelia is biting her lip and Minnie and Raquel have turned pink.

Lyle’s face turns serious. “That first meeting can be overwhelming. And this is where we talk about consent. The animus is a hungry beast, and the urge to claim your regina is perhaps one of our strongest instincts. Stronger than our urge for food or water, in many cases. It’s important that we learn about this before it happens so we can control our animus and don’t injure our regina.”

“That’s what I was worried about,” said Dion. “When I leapt on her, I could have knocked her out.”

“Exactly,” Lyle says with approval. “Males have more muscle mass than females. We’re heavier and generally stronger, so we need to know our strength around them.”

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