Page 38 of Come Out & Prey

That’s okay—it won’t be the first time and definitely not the last. Our world is pred eat pred, and they expect all of us to learn how to survive on our own if we have to. Lucille and Bruno haven’t failed in that aspect of my upbringing at all. I certainly know how to take care of myself because no one else gives a rat’s ass about me except Mattie.

The ride to the house is silent, and I’m thankful for it. I’m terrified of what awaits me when I get home because I know by now, Pink will have broadcasted my shame on every social media platform available. There’s no way they have not made my parents aware that I’m a bigger disappointment than they expected.

I’m the lowest of the low, the unworthiest of unworthy... I’mprey.

After she arrived at the library in her tiny sports coupe, Mattie located my phone. She has an app on her tablet that allows her to find any of our devices in case of theft or kidnapping. I was a little shocked when she said the second part so matter-of-factly, but I guess it’s a precaution our family’s security team would have taken to ensure my father didn’t have to pay out a hefty ransom. I waited in the parked car while she retrieved it, nervous for her safety given that I was well aware of what kind of preds are stalking the grounds looking for me.

My parents will be furious, of course. I’ve humiliated them by emerging as a peasant in our society and they captured my embarrassing run for my life for the entire world to watch. I destroyed my dress, messed up my face, and they ripped my heart to shreds. I’ll be lucky if I survive the night with what’s left of my soul intact.

No one makes Lucille look foolish and lives to tell the tale.

They may make good on their threat to send me to Bloodstone Isle, or they may simply disown me. If that happens, I’m going to need to learn to take care of myself in ways I’ve never had to before. I have a little money saved from pocketing the change when my parents gave me cash for purchases, but not enough to find a safe place to stay for very long. My credit card is certain to be cut off, and I’ll have to carry everything I want to save on my back, since I won’t have a car.

Sniffling, I wipe a tear from my eye as I think of how Todd and my friends betrayed me. That’s the biggest lesson of the day, I suppose. You can’t trust anyone, and everyone is always looking out for themselves. It doesn’t matter how perfect you try to be orhow well you behave, nothing is ever good enough for those who want to tear you down.

Everyone who I thought cared about me—save Mattie—falls into that category today. They didn’t want to hear my side of the story or comfort me. They just wanted to attack and further their own goals. I should have expected it, and I’m a fool for being so damn naïve.

‘I’m young’ is a convenient excuse, but the real problem is my inability to accept the truth that Lucille kept trying to drill into my head. She pulled no punches about the cut-throat nature of preds and frequently told me I was being silly and sentimental. I just thought she was being a mean old hag and tried harder to get her to love me. Maybe it is my fault for being too naïve. I should have listened, even when it hurt my heart to do so.

She’s never liked Todd. I guess she was right about him, too.

The car pulls up to the front steps, and Mattie finally turns to me, her eyes full of sadness. Her voice is a whisper as she says, “Are you ready?”

“No,” I reply, shaking my head slowly. “But I never will be and if I’m going to die tonight, I might as well get it over with.”

A look of horror crosses her features, and I give her a watery smile before I get out of the car to head to my judgement.

There really is nothing else left to do besides face the music.

“Howdidyou let that littleslutBarrington film thisdisaster?” Lucille shrieks as she paces back and forth across thedrawing room in satin pajamas. “I cannotbelieve her fatherrefusesto take it down. If this is his idea of a power play…”

I watch her with dull eyes, makeup trailing over my face as the tears freely fall. Between her and Bruno ranting, I’ve been standing in my ripped dress and bare feet for two hours now. They’ve threatened, ranted, and cajoled many people over the phone as they frantically work to get the videos removed. When they’re on hold, they scream at me or… worse.

The broken glass count is up to ten, and that’safterMatilda cleaned up the first set and brought a fresh tray in. I’ve ducked most of them, but it’s difficult because Bruiser steps closer as a warning every time I try to move from the spot I’m standing in. Bruno hasn’t come close to unleashing any of his typical alcohol-induced threats, but it’s coming.

If they can’t make headway with the ‘fixers’ they have on the phones, my night is going to get much, much worse. My punishments get more violent when the stakes are higher, and though it’s not all the time, it’s difficult to predict which face my parents will show.

My heart is thumping like a brass band and I can feel my entire body trembling. Biting my lower lip so hard I taste blood, I struggle to keep myself under control so I don’t give them any more weapons to use against me. But it’s getting harder by the second, because now that I’ve emerged, my animal ismuchcloser to my skin.

I’m prey, being stalked by threatening predators. The bunny inside is fucking terrified, and I can’t hear her yet—that skill comes with time and training—so I can’t soothe her with mental conversation. My nails bite into my palms as I try to replace fearwith pain, to keep my scent from alerting my parents about my dilemma.

“M-may I g-g-go up s-s-stairs?” I venture, making myself as small as possible. I can’t keep my voice from shaking, but I can try like hell to get out of here before the rabbit flashes over my skin.

“We are not through with you yet, Delores Diamond Drew,” Lucille purrs, her eyes dark as she half-shifts and her fangs come out, causing another wave of panic to shoot through my veins. “I always knew you were a useless fraud, and you’d never amount to anything. I carried you, supported you, and yes,put upwith you because I thought someday I might get rid of you through a marriage agreement. Now, that’s impossible because you had the audacity to turn out so flawed that even my pull can’t save you.”

Flinching, I lower my head and look at the floor. Lucille has no compassion for emotions, and no use for weaklings. If she knows how badly she’s sliced my already fragile self-worth, she’ll go in for the kill.

I can’t break down here. I have to remain as put together and contrite as possible, even though I know I’m not to blame for my animal emerging the way it did. DNA and genetics determine that detail and I could point a finger right back at Lucille and have a fifty percent chance of finding who was responsible. One ofthemknows the truth, but they will never admit it. The root of my parents’ problem is staring at them in the mirror, but they seem more interested in blaming me for being caught on video.

“Oliver Barrington…if you do not do somethingimmediately, I will call ourmutual friendsand we will see just how big those shriveled old man balls of yours are. Do you think a shark out ofwater can defend himself against the tigers? No? Then I suggest you put a muzzle on that little tramp and call me when it’s fixed. You havetwo hours, comrade. After that, our friendship ends, and who knows what will befall you?”

Lucille hangs up the phone, chucking it across the room like a missile. I wasn’t watching carefully enough, so it hits me in the face hard enough that I canfeelthe bruise forming. Her anger is like a living thing, filling the room and suffocating all of us as she seethes. I don’t move for fear she will fully shift and come after me. What if my bunny appears? I’m not sure my mother's in a state of mind that will allow her to make any sort of rational decision if that were to happen.

The cops are in her pocket, so if she killed me, she’d never see a courtroom.

Bruno hangs up as well, turning to face us from where he’s been sitting, muttering things to one of his contacts. His eyes glitter with rage as he advances on me slowly. The gator inside of him shimmers over his skin as he stalks towards me with the fury of a predator who has lost their prey. “Well, well, my little… snack. It seems the Council believes it would be better for us to allow you to live… for now. They think your death at Apex—whether at the hands of a student or in the battles—will reflect better on the school and the Council. After all, who wouldn’t want to send their pred to a school where even an heir can die at the hand of the most vicious?”

My eyes widen and I tremble, shaking my head wordlessly. Both of my parents give me supremely satisfied grins, and even Bruiser snorts his approval. Mattie wrings her hands in the corner, looking like she’s going to be ill. This has to be a joke—one colossal joke played by the gods to pay me back for all the times I defied my parents in little ways.

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