Page 10 of Come Out & Prey

Delores steps inside tentatively, peeking at the various projects I have in progress. The pile of knitting makes her whirl around and look at me in surprise. “This is beautiful, Professor. Are you making this scarf for someone?”

I flush, knowing it’s not the most masculine hobby, but the repetitive motions soothe me when I have one of my attacks. “My… The two other professors I grew up with had a lot of responsibilities back home—things I couldn’t be part of. Their grandmother taught me to knit when I was not much more than a cub. It helps me relax.”

“She did an excellent job. Whoever this is for will love it.” Her fingers trail over the material as if coveting the softness, and then she looks at me with another megawatt smile.

I feel she’s not actually reserved; she’s simply terrified to do or say the wrong thing.

“Do you have hobbies or talents, Delores? I assume you ventured into our little corner of the world for a reason.” My question makes her nervousness return, so I step closer, hoping to make her feel less on the spot. “Rufus seemed to think so.”

“Uh… I… Well, like you said, the Council families don’t really encourage the arts. So, even if I dabble a little, I haven’t had any real training or anything.” She licks her glossy lips, then drags the lower one through her teeth and it takes everything in me not to groan.

Inside, I’m warring between my cat wanting me to get closer to her alluring scent and the creative in me wanting to rage that the parents of these kids decide their lives from the moment they’reborn with no regard to what makes them happy. I know that I’m lucky Fitz’s parents didn’t leverage me as a political tool as well, but my status as a smaller pred helped me stay under the radar. The parents of this girl, belonging to one of the most powerful families in the Council, have probably crushed her non-business related passions at a young age according to the rumors about her mother.

She’s unemerged, too, so she can’t fight back.

That’s a guess based on her not noticing the arousal practically leaking from my pores as I watch her examine all of my secret projects. Her eyes meet mine again and I curse internally when I see the fear of rejection shining in them. This girl desperately needs someone to be in her corner. “Hypothetical question: if you could do anything you wanted for the rest of your life with no obstacles, what would it be?”

“Be on stage, performing things I wrote and choreographed for people who love seeing me.”

Her answer is so quick that I know it’s the truth. Her expression is so wistful—it reminds me of paintings where the women are full of longing for something off canvas. Delores Drew has a secret passion, and they have convinced her it’s worthless, so she won’t even admit she loves it when asked. Her plight makes my heart ache, but the one salvation I see is the interest Rufus and Cori took in her. That snarky asshole knew by looking at her she was hiding a talent and he encouraged her in a way that didn’t seem insincere.

They’re not wrong when they say psychopaths have a talent for identifying their prey.

Luckily, this particular nutjob has a soft heart for the people he collects and he’s already decided he likes Delores. If she comes here in the Fall, he will probably adopt her immediately despite being a lower class than him. I try not to think about how that will open the door for Fitz and me to approach her, maybe even give her the support she desperately needs. My brain conjures up images of her in unique positions with us, and I almost miss her picking up the journal on the desk.

“Oh! This poem…” She looks up at me with wide eyes as she waves the book. “It’s on the plaque in the courtyard. I saw it earlier…” Her cheeks flush with a delightful rose color when she realizes she’s just admitted to being in a place she didn’t belong, watching something she shouldn’t have.

I know she’s wondering if we noticed her and it makes my cheetah stretch out, purring with pride. My animal isn’t ashamed of being submissive to Fitz; he enjoys taking care of our consort and being praised for our efforts. However, with Delores, he seems to know she’s more prey than pred. I feel my eyes bleed amber and I close the distance between us. A rumbling growl echoes out of my mouth as I back her into the worktable, caging her in with my arms.

“Naughty girl. You were watching, weren’t you? Did you enjoy the show, angel?” I grip the table to ensure I don’t actually touch her, but my cat is pushing under my skin as I inhale the sweet scent of honeysuckle and jasmine.

Bast in a basket. I want to rub myself all over her until she’s covered in my musk.

To her credit, she doesn’t shrink away. Despite not having contact with whatever animal she has, she doesn’t cower under the gaze of mine. Her clear blue eyes are hooded with desirethat I can smell as she lets me corner her. Shaking my head, I spin away, raking a hand through my hair and I draw in shaky breaths. This is so unlike me—I never get this unreasonable about Fitz, though my cat certainly would like me to.

“I’m… sorry,” I mutter with my back to her. “That was very rude and quite inappropriate. I understand if you need to file a complaint or want me to call Rufus…”

“No!” she practically shouts. I turn to look at her in confusion and her eyes drop to her shoes. “It’s okay. I’m not upset, Professor.”

Closing my eyes, I have to fight off a smirk. The teacher-student thing isn’t my kink nor Fitz’s, but I know a few people who are into it. Apex doesn’t forbid having a relationship with consenting adult students, though it doesn’t happen as often as you’d expect.

Undergrads who live on campus and have powerful families who could make our exiles infinitely worse than teaching here keep most of the staff from dipping their wicks in the pool very often. The possibility that the younger preds here might not have emerged yet when they arrive and could imprint on us is also a worry—one that would likely end in death if a contract has promised the student to another rich brat in some sort of deal. Instead, the staff are uncommitted and extremely open to all the possibilities available in our little employee village on the far end of campus. Fitz has his choice of hookups when he’s hungry for more, and if I indulged, I could as well.

Unfortunately, this flowery scented recruit from a vicious elite family is the first person beside my consort I’ve reacted to.

I have to fix thisfastbefore she changes her mind and tattles. “If your true love is performing, Rufus and Cori are your best allies.”

“My true love…” she parrots in a thoughtful tone. It looks like the wheels in her head are turning and if nothing else, I know I’ve touched her in the way I’msupposedto, rather than the way I almost did. Looking up, she gives me a lopsided grin before she pushes away from the worktable. “Thank you, Professor. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I hope I see you again in the Fall.”

Nodding, I let out a slow breath as she turns on her heel and heads out the door, leaving a trail of sweet floral scent behind her. My cheetah is pacing inside of me, irritated that I let her leave without marking her with our own scent, and my brain is screaming that we can’t get involved with a student, especially one from her family.

The only thing I know for certain is Fitz and I are in deep shit the minute this girl moves onto campus.

Toxic

I don’t look backas I run from the building like my skirt is on fire. The Professor told me to talk with the students from the theater, but I’m too embarrassed and turned on to face anyone. I take a sharp left, clutching my Vuitton to my shoulder as I scramble as far away from the Shirdal building as I can get before I run into any more hot-bod professors.

This is the long way around to the gym, but I couldn’t care less. Ihaveto put distance between me and the enticing Professor Chess. Between his body pressing up against mine and the show he put on with his boyfriend, I feel like my strings are being plucked but never played. I don’t get what it is about those two that’s got me melting like a snow-cone in the sweltering heat. Todd and I have fooled around tons of times, andnothinglike this has ever happened.

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