Page 8 of Come Out & Prey

“Thank you,Mrs. Cormac. I will start those books over the summer, so I’ll be prepared.”

The ancient shifter eyes me through her thick glasses, her disapproval obvious. I’m not sure if it’s because I creatively altered my uniform, she dislikes larger predators, or she hates students, but she might be the rudest person I’ve met on campus. Shifters don’t age at the same rate as humans, and many of us don’t age at all until very close to death. However, the crusty head of the English department made certain to reassure me she’s nowhere near death, and that any shenanigans in her classroom would result in being nicked deep enough with her spur that I’d spend several days in the infirmary while I writhed in pain.

I’d never met a fucking platypus shifter in my life, and I’m not sure I ever want to again. Thank Athena she didn’t decide to show me any of her shifted forms. She must be a mean old witch to avoid any of themuchbigger carnivores in this school deciding to eat her over a poor grade.

Sighing, I lean against a wall, wishing I could findonething to help me believe I’ll survive the four years at Apex Academy without my soul dying. Hateful old bats with no faith in my talent staff, my focus area—creative writing. My parents despise my love of books and writing, the Heathers and the boys think it’s nerdy and useless, and I can’t even get support at school.

I feel like I’ll be very lonely at this stupid academy, and I hate it.

Suddenly, I remember the heavy cherry doors in the archway downstairs. The lure of doing something that will piss off all the people who think I’m a bubble headed dreamer is thrumming in my veins. I chew on a fingernail for a moment, thinking about how furious Lucille will be if I disobey her edict.

Is this modicum of rebellion worth the fallout when she finds out?

Yes. Yes, it is.I’m tired of being the perfect daughter, heir, girlfriend, friend… only to feel like I’m still on the outside looking in. Nothing I do is good enough, and I’ve spent far too long doing what they expected instead of what makes me happy.

Besides, I’m only peeking in to see if they have any sign-ups for fall tryouts. That’s not exactlyRebel Without A Causestuff, right?

I push off the wall, striding down the hallway towards the stairs at the front of the building. My heels clack on the steps as I scurry down them as quickly as possible. I have to do this before I lose my resolve. If I don’t, I’ll never take the first step. When I get to the bottom, I hurry around the overly graphic eagle statue with a grimace and stand in front of the doors.

Straightening my spine, I push them open and walk into the large, ornate theater space. My jaw drops as I take in the velvet curtain, polished proscenium, and cushy seats. This is a masterpiece of a house, one to rival the theaters on Broadway, and I’m almost giddy to see what backstage looks like. The Shirdal family must have donated an absolute shit ton of money to renovate this space, and I wonder if it even gets used to its full capabilities in a school like this.

As I walk closer, I make out three people standing up center, clearly having an intense discussion. I can’t make out the words yet, but two appear to be students—a girl and a guy—and the guy is gesticulating wildly. He’s one of the most frightening men I’ve ever seen, with almost every inch of his exposed skin covered in badly drawn tattoos and a jet-black mohawk tinged in green. His appearance alone would have sent me running in the other direction usually, except for how joyfully he’s chatting with the girl next to him. She’s the most unique shifter I’ve ever seen—all rich sepia toned skin, a colorful undercut, and an outfit that screams Blackcraft Cult from head to toe.

And the third shifter is…oh no.

Sweet baby Artemis, even the fates are conspiring against me. I have to get out of here before anyone sees me.

There is no way I can interact with the shifter I watched get railed within an inch of his life at the library. His blond curls are pulled back in a loose man-bun that is just messy enough to imply he’d recently rolled out of bed—or out of a roll in the hay. Pale skin practically glows under the stage lights and I can feel my gaze drawn to his hands—mesmerized as I watch him furiously take notes while the students talk.

I’d watched his expressive face, and the adorable silver glasses as he writhed in pleasure. His lover was taller, with long dark hair that fell over his shoulders as he held onto the smaller man. They were both so goddess blessed hot I couldn’t help myself, and now… I hope they couldn’t see me, but I can’t face him after seeing them like that. I just got my blood pressure backdown and now my heart is trying to leap out of my rib cage. I slowly back away from the stage.

“Hey! Blondie!”

My eyes must be as wide as prey as I turn to answer the shout from the curvy girl with the bright purple hair and tattoos. I can’t force words out of my mouth, so I just point at myself like a blithering idiot. She rolls her eyes, nodding as she crooks a finger at me. Numbly, I walk down center, trying to ignore the flush that I can feel creeping up my spine to my face.

When I halt in front of the stage, the students look at me, clearly waiting for something. All I can do is stare at the hot blond,imagining myself sandwiched between him and his sexy top as sweat drips from our bodies.

Oh, my fucking gods, what iswrongwith me today?

Pressing my thighs together, I pray that the other two shifters on stage haven’t had their animals emerge yet, because I know I’m dripping pheromones and arousal everywhere.

I don’t know if my life could get worse, but based on today, I doubt it.

“What’s your name, sweet cheeks?”

I look at the mohawked, tattooed student for a moment with my mouth open before I croak out, “Delores. But my friends call me DD.”

Don’t Stand So Close To Me

My eyes widenas the siren that enchanted Fitz and me responds, standing not twenty feet away in the second row of the orchestra. Now that she's closer, I can see that her eyes are a brilliant cerulean color and the skin that appeared porcelain has a light peachy tone to it that makes my mouth water.

My hands grip the clipboard I’m holding hard enough to snap it, and I have to take a deep breath to find my center. Women have attracted me before, and Fitz has told me plenty about his exploits, but this is the first time I feel the need to experience it myself. Fitzgerald Khan has been my entire world since I was an orphaned cub and I simply found no one who made me feel the same way as him.

Until now.

Blood is rushing through my veins, roaring in my ears as I look at the lovely girl who played with us earlier. She’s obviously a little embarrassed to see me and since I have no idea if she realized we could see her as well as she saw us, I can’t exactlycomfort her as my cat is urging me to. Instead, I lick my lips and walk to the lip of the stage. “This is a closed rehearsal. Are you a new student or part of the Shifter Secondary tour?”

I’d been so worked up by the time I got up the courage to slink past the dragon’s office to my next class that I had to ask around to find out what might bring an unknown goddess to our campus at this time of year. If I read any of the stupid memos our flappy Headmistress sent out, I would have known, but Aubrey is one of the few professors I associate with who even attempts to keep track of all the shit she sends out. Ironically, I would have left the library knowing the score if Fitz and I hadn’t been defiling his sci-fi section, but at least I found out before she showed up in the theater.

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