Page 7 of Let Us Prey

Fitz barks a laugh. “That’s on purpose. The occupants of this overcompensating monstrosity donotwant visitors.”

I frown. “What the hell are you bringing me here for, then?”

“The Tower is without a doubt the most secure place on campus. Unless you want to come home with me, Baby Girl?” He bobs his brows and my face flushes bright red.

I amnotready for that.

“Um, no thank you. I wouldn’t want to intrude. I mean, you have your… and uh, your brother.. and…”

This time he practically howls, then leans in to press a kiss to the top of my head. “It’s funny you think either of them would end up regretting me putting you in a room down the hall. You’re so cute I could eat you up.”

His eyes flash with a hint of the tiger I saw the night douchebag Todd tried to attack me, but it’s very clear he doesn’t mean for dinner.Or maybe he does…Desire sparks in my belly and I have to shake my head to clear the haze that forms over my vision. “You wouldn’t be upset by that?”

It’s a fair question. There aren’t many polyamorous families in the Council families anymore.

“Baby Girl, I’m game for anything you are when you’re ready.” His lips curve as he leans in to whisper, “But I’m well aware you’ve only played in the minors, so I’ll let you set the pace.”

That makes me blush harder and I swat his arm. “Stop flirting and help me get my shit inside. Classes start tomorrow and I’ve lost most of the day already. I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do about my goddamned uniforms and books that got ruined. This is a complete clusterfuck.”

“As you wish, Delores.” Fitz rolls the cart and shoulders most of my bags without breaking a sweat as we approach the front door. He pauses at the keypad, putting a finger to his lips and cutting his eyes to it. When I look down, he inputs a short code that he wanted me to see but not say out loud. “Too many pred ears.”

“Got it,” I reply as he pulls open the heavy metal door. The ground floor was open, and they covered most of the furniture in dusty sheets. It seems likeno onelives here, which is confusing.

“The Tower has eight floors and I’ve secured the second floor quarters for you, baby girl. You’ll enter the front and use this set of stairs to the right.” He points at the opening right next to us. “Do not come in the back, go up the back staircase or even go on any floor that is not yours. My friends are grouchy ass loners and even I’m only allowed on the top floor—well, until now.”

I give him a suspicious look. “Again, you are absolutelycertainthey didn’t say ‘no’? I heard a little of your side of the argument.”

Snorting, he shakes his head. “Despite their dickish need for total mystery surrounding their rooms and their diet, the guys aren’t awful. They were sympathetic to your plight; I just had to make them see it from my point of view.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll make their lives miserable if they tell me no and mean it,” he says with a shrug. “Now let’s get all this stuff upstairs so I can make a list of what you need to survive living in Castle Cockwaffle.”

That makes me giggle, and he looks thrilled.

Maybe this won’t be so bad, after all.

Hot For Teacher

Felix

Shifter Basics ismy least favorite class and always will be.

I don't disagree that new shifters need to learn how to master their forms, especially those who are destined for ranked positions in their families or groups.

No, I hate it because the wealthy dipshits who send their kids here leave most of the actual raising of their children to staff members. That means they come to Apex emerged early with terrible habits we have to break before they hurt themselves or they don’t knowdickabout their species’ needs. It makes it very difficult to help them and since they’re all entitled little shits, they resist critiques at every turn.

You can be ignorant for a multitude of reasons and students here choose it purposefully every day of the week.

At home, we have a ceremony for emergence and though the content of it is… controversial, at least our children know what their tigers need and how to function as a shifter. No one makes it as far as post secondary without a good grip on their cat and the kids here come to college full of misinformation. It’s bullshit, and I want to punch their idiotic parents in their faces.

Obviously, I’m not the person they send people to visit on tour days or for visits. My inability to hold my tongue about the lack of responsibility the Council members and their ilk take with their progeny would likely get me fired. Also not something I give a single fuck about, but I know Chess enjoys what he does here. Upsetting him would send my twin over the deep end, so I keep to myself.

It’s what I deserve, anyway. I chose my fate and now I must endure it.

Fitz is much angrier that our father and one of my weaker brothers are ruling our ambush back home. I was at first, but after a few years, I concluded that he and I would not have ruled the way my sadistic patriarch wanted. We would have been fighting off coup after coup with his secret blessing and that life is exhausting. Our father wrested control from his brother and until he put the iron fisted rules in place that exist now, he fought off assassins and hostile takeovers for decades. We lost our mother to one when Fitz and I were babies, so I know how vicious Bloodstone can be.

I wipe my hand down my face as I watch the new crop of snooty little assholes filter in. It’s clear there are alliances already formed or forming, because no one is entering alone. None of them look special, though I’m sure quite a few have royal or Council blood. My nose tells me there are canines, felines, ursine, and more in this group. I like when it’s varied because then I can pair them off with animals they’re unused to training with. It sharpens their skills to face the unexpected.

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