Page 156 of Let Us Prey

Renard stalks to the edge of the circle, peering into the darkness suspiciously. “I did… and the smell is familiar...”

“Over here!” Felix yells, stomping in a completely different direction to glare at the thick foliage.

One by one, we all glimpse the figure, even as they seem to disappear and reappear at will. Throughout it all, I stand in the middle of the circle as my guys sniff and snarl at the edges of the clearing. Their backs are to me as they try to suss out exactly where the hooded stranger is and I’m trapped in the middle of their protective ring.

I feel a shiver start at the base of my spine as I consider the possibility there could be more than one—closing in on us. My ears twitch one after the other, flopping into my face limply, and I shake my head, annoyed to lose control of my shift again. I open my mouth to get their attention, but a sudden burst of light in the middle of my chest makes me shriek in pain.

What’s happening to me?!

The sensation of a hard punch to the gut forces me to double over in pain, and when I can’t stand any longer, I fall to my knees on the grass. Smells, sounds, and colors flood my vision, and I dig my claws into the earth as if to hold on. Panting, my head drops and I close my eyes to keep the vertigo from making me barf, wishing I could call for help.

My body feels like it’s a roiling tempest. Darkness invades my brain, and my eyes pop open to look up at the round, full Blood Moon. Snowy white fur sprouts up in thick patches, poking out of the sleeves and neckline of my catsuit. I’ve never half-shifted this completely before and I have no idea what to do, especially since it comes with some sort of electricity shooting from my frame.

The weird lightning gets the attention of my men.

They spin to face me as I notice they’re standing on five marked points in the circle. Before I can attempt to speak, somethinginside of me snaps. My eyes ache and burn and the fangs Felix loves to talk about drop in my mouth. I raise my hand, holding it out for help, but it’s glowing like some sort of superhero origin story. They’re all staring at me in shock.

Lucille was right. I’ll be lucky if anyone wants an abomination like me.

My wail of pain echoes over the landscape and I clench my fists to stop the weird shit from escaping my hands. Unwilling to watch everything I care about crumble, I lick my elongated fangs and turn tail. Leaving my men behind, I run through the woods at top speed to escape my inevitable heartbreak.

I’m some sort of freak—the Heathers and everyone else were right.

No one will want me now that they know I’m cursed.

Run, Run, Run

Renard

A chill runsdown my spine as the five of us watch our girl take off into the night. Everything that has happened tonight has me spiraling, as long-buried memories spring from the depths of my mind. Hooded figures, ancient magic, and taboo rituals are secrets I left behind when I was exiled to Apex. The resurgence of the past is making my gargoyle rage inside.

Why is this happening again?

“What in the name of Anubis just happened?” Aubrey mutters as he runs a hand through his hair. His sentiment echoes across the group as we look at one another in shock.

“The world is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper,” I murmur under my breath.

“Poetry is not helpful,” Felix mutters. “We need a plan.”

Aubrey flexes his wings, scrutinizing the center of the circle from a healthy distance before squinting up at the moon. He looks at me, and when I nod, he turns to the felines with a grimace. “What Rennie is struggling to say is… he believes our girl isn’t just a rabbit shifter. She’s got magic in her blood.”

“Bullshit. Magic users don’t mix with shifters anymore,” the tiger replies, crossing his arms over his chest. “Whatever… happened… is some kind of trick using science to fool us. This kind of shifty behavior is why shifters separated from magic users centuries ago.”

A roar echoes off the treetops, and we all startle, turning to the most likely culprit in the group. When Fitz shrugs, we spin again, only to see Chess’ spotted tail disappearing in the direction Delores ran.

Oh, fuck. His animal is pushing him to find its mate, even if they haven’t completed a bond.

I sigh, noticing the talisman on my neck flaring in retort to Felix’s statement. Aubrey is old enough to remember when magic users and shifters existed in harmony. He knows magic is no more dangerous than any other weapon, if wielded properly. “Magic is not why she went hopping off, Felix. Whatever happened tonight revealed a part of her she wasn’t aware of and probably triggered her fear of rejection like the first night she shifted. Something bigger is at play than simple Council politics, but we can’t waste any more time talking about it now.”

“What do we do?” Fitz yells, throwing his hands up in the air. His eyes are wild as he looks at me, and I can see the fear for Chess and our girl flickering over his features.

“You two need to shift and hunt down the hooded figures. Aubrey and I will take to the skies and find Dolly.” They protest, but I shake my head. “We can cover more ground quickly from above and there will be fewer obstacles to cloud our vision. Plus, your noses are infinitely better than ours.”

Finally, the rightful Raj nods, seamlessly shifting to his tiger form. Fitz stalks over to Aubrey, poking him with a clawed hand. “Find her.”

“We will. See if you can corner one and capture them alive—they may be the key to keeping Dolly safe,” the dragon respondsreassuringly. “I can’t be sure if they are behind the murders, but they saw what happened here tonight, and we can’t allow our girl to stay on their radar.” Throwing his head back and howling in rage, the enforcer shifts and joins his brother as they head into the woods as one.

A sudden thought worries me. “Do you think Chess is attempting to corral Dolly on his own?” While I wait for the dragon to answer, I look around, then close my eyes and allow the shift to my true form to begin. I feel his eyes on me as he considers my question—Aubrey has always loved watching the pulse of magic flow over me when I fully shift.

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