Page 19 of Come Out & Prey

“You should try it on, Delores,” Matilda says softly, giving me a small smile. “I believe Monsieur Growlvinchy has outdone himself.”

Blinking, I rise to my feet, bolstered by the encouragement of those around me. If they think I’m worthy of such lovely designs… then maybe I am?

The pangolin holding the shoes crooks a claw at me and I nod, following the creature as it waddles towards an area with a curtain for me to change behind. Stepping into the tiny room, Iwait for the tiger to hang the garment on the rack and close my eyes.

Lucille will be furious with me for choosing something so unlike what she selected. But maybe it’s time for me to do what the Heathers suggested and grow a pair of fangs.

After all, prom will be the first night of my life as a true predator, and after that, my parents won’t be able to control me anymore.

It’s time to grow up, Delores Diamond Drew.

I Feel Like I’m Drowning

Today’s classeswere an absolute shitshow. Springtime is the worst time of year to be a professor in this place because once the ruts and heat cycles begin, the spoiled idiots here are a lost cause. At least, the underclassmen are, and that’s what I’m stuck teaching.

Many upperclassmen do their exchange semesters during this season, so the poor schmucks at our sister schools end up dealing with their lack of control. But here? The rich, pampered kids who have barely emerged start feeling things we haven’t properly instructed them on and it’s a goddamn nightmare. My childhood was no picnic, but at least my asshole father had people teach me how my fucking body worked after the emergence ceremony.

The ceremony is a whole different story, since it’s why I’m here teaching these numbskulls instead of ruling my ambush as I should be.

“Feeeeeelix,” a low sultry voice calling for me as I stomp across campus to the staff village where my miniature ambush lives. “Are you coming out tonight, baby?”

I don’t stop. The owner of that voice is not someone I want to be around, given my mood. She’s obviously hoping for a repeat of our occasional mutual frustration relief and it’s not going to happen. I'm sure she'll be decked out in some skimpy designer nonsense designed to barely cover her curves if I turn around. She’s extremely attractive, and she knows it; however, my poor judgment in bedding her in the past resulted in this behavior. I don’t feel self-destructive enough to encourage this today.

“Get lost, Zhenga,” I snarl over my shoulder.

Maybe that will deter her, but it’s doubtful.

Zhenga Leonidas is the eldest daughter of the famed Leonidas pride. Behavior like this is exactly why her mother had her sent to Apex and outside of trying to land one of the bigger fish in the staff pond, she’s never even tried to wriggle out of her sentence here. I think unless she finds a catch to claim her, she’s content to stay out of her family’s reach and live it up on the weekends.

“Aw, baby, don’t be like that! A bunch of us are going to party in town and we’dlovefor you to join us, Felix. You have the bestmovesof anyone here,” she coos as she catches up with me.

Snorting at her lack of subtlety, I feel my cock practically jump back inside of my body. There are plenty of connected shifters working at Apex—cast out kings, alphas, betas, rajs, rexes—I’m not the only one she’s taken a ride on. I don’t give a flying fuck how promiscuous she is, but I care that she’s an opportunist seeking to land a powerful husband to please her mother. That kind of desperation eventually leads to poking holes in condomsand faking birth control. Cubs are something I’m not remotely interested in and I sure as hell don’t want them with her.

Plus, our families pushed Zhenga and her sisters at Fitz and me from the time we were young.

The Leonidas pride is the second largest clan of cat shifters in the world, and they own majority stakes in every major sports league for preds. They’re not as feared or powerful as the Khans, though. Marrying one of us would merge our wealth and influence enough to alter the balance of the Council forever. Unfortunately for the Leonidas lioness, her daughters grew too comfortable living the famous socialite life and anyone with half a brain refused to let their heirs tie themselves to them. Zhenga’s older sister went completely off-the-rails while they were partying in Ibiza and crashed in a tunnel a few years before my exile. She died on impact and Z got sent here until she learned her lesson.

By the time they banished me from my home, she’d settled into this place like the reigning queen of the staff. You’d think my status would discourage her, but it seems to make her even more determined to land me. I made the mistake of getting with her in a fewverydrunken hook-ups when I first arrived, and I’ve been paying for it ever since. Nobody was shocked because I made a poor decision that resulted in me being sent here. Both Fitz and Chess threaten to punch me in balls every time she speaks to me in front of them, but that’s because Chess is usually stuck prying her off of me.

I’m such a fucking asshole I can’t even clean up my own messes.

“Zhenga, I’ve told you a thousand times and I’ll keep saying it until you get it through your thick skull.” I come to a stop at the entrance to the staff housing, whirling around to look ather with the full force of the Raj in my eyes. “I do not want a repeat performance of the idiotic choices I made when I was soaked in booze twenty-four hours a day when I arrived at this hellhole. Not here on campus, anddefinitelynot at some sticky floored, techno blasting college club where staff pretend we aren’t geriatric compared to the intended patrons.”

Letting out an angry rumble, the lioness stalks closer to me, getting in my face as she glares. That she can hold my gaze for even a small amount of time when I’m pushing my Raj influence onto her confirms sheshouldbe the heir to the Leonidas pride rather than her spineless cousin. But even the amount of power that gives her eventually falters as I continue to press her. When she finally ducks her head, I give her a grin full of fangs before turning my back on her to walk away.

“Lie to yourself all you want, Felix, but you’ll be back. Even if you won’t give me your giant cock again, you need someone who will fight you without reservation in the ring. You can’t get rid of me that easily, you coward!”

I grit my teeth as I storm across my yard and slam into the house.She’s not wrong and I hate myself for it.It takes a moment for me to calm down long enough to realize Fitz is here and when I do; I thank the fucking stars for it. He’s not as good at calming me as Chess is, but few people are as good at soothing beasts as my twin’s consort.

However, the scent of my twin and the devotion he has to our small ambush always makes my tiger preen with approval. For a shifter born to rule, it’s difficult to be shoved into a situation without a clan of their people to care for—in fact, if Fitz and Chess hadn’t left with me, I might not have survived the first few months here.

Those two are myactualfamily and always will be. As much as I’d like to return home triumphantly so I can take back my rightful title and execute the traitorous assholes who suggested he banish me, I realize it wouldn’t fix me. The betrayal of my consort, my parents, and the few younger siblings who hadn’t died in the ambush trials before we left won’t heal until I’m ready to forgive myself. I chose my happiness over that of my people and have been disgusted with myself ever since.

That’s how I ended up staying so sauced I fucked Zhenga a couple of times in the first few months we lived here, by the way.

“Did thirsty Z catch you on the way in, bro?” Fitz gives me an amused look as he bumps my shoulder until I follow him to the couch.

Once I join him, he rubs his cheek on mine, then lays his head on my shoulder like he has since we were kids. He knows I need it—after my disastrous affair with the lioness, I’ve denied myself physical contact with anyone not in my little family or fighting me in the ring. It kills me, but Chess and Fitz do their best to help my tiger get what it needs, so I don’t go on a fucking rampage.

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