Page 79 of Let Us Prey

Oh, she got him good.That damn EDM and cute shit… he’s not mad because it’s sexy or colorful. He’s mad because it’s adorable and he doesn’t want us to know how much he’s enjoying the cuteness of his costume.

And they say I don’t notice shit.

Chess looks over at me with a smug smile and mouths, “She’s perfect.”

I’m starting to see that, little brother.

I Know You Want Me

Delores

“Hold still, Dolly,”Cori says through the bobby pins in her teeth.

She’s working on my hair, and I swear to Hades, she might pull it out at the roots.

According to her, our costumes are ‘loosely based’ on the 80s cartoon characters we chose, which is why instead of the traditional primary color palette of Rainbow Brite, I’m in a pastel version. The polar bear is currently busy gathering my matching locks into twin ponytails on top of my head and clearly, she was never taught the gentle hand Mattie used when she did my hair when I was younger. I tried complaining, but Cori told me ‘Hold still—beauty is pain, baby.’

Hmmph. I guess being scalped is beautiful in her family.

“Iamholding still,” I grumble, wincing as she yanks the brush through my hair again. “Anyway, so like I was saying, I stayed behind after class with Professor Renard, and spewed word vomit again until I cried like an idiot, and he humored me until I had to leave for my next class. I’m a total waste at this shit.”

Rufus tsks as he works on ratting up his freshly dyed blood red hair for his Lion-O costume. “Oh, I doubt that. You’re collecting them like Pokémon—got to catch all of ‘em, Dollybear. What did this talk entail?”

“Stuff about my pathetic ex, and my Shifter History professor being a douche—that’s why I cried—but then he calmed me down. It was cool to hear a little about his people, even if he’s still cagey about his history. Both Rennie and Aubrey are kind of touchy with sharing.” I trail off, as I realize I’m one to talk about withholding information about my past.

Awareness is half the battle.

Cori reaches for her curling iron, and I flinch because of an incident when I was young—the one time Lucille pretended to be a mother during an on-camera interview. Let’s just say her skills were lacking and I’m pretty sure all evidence was destroyed, including the reporter.

“I won’t burn you, silly. Quit shrinking away,” Cori mutters as she rolls the hair up tightly and sprays it. “Of course, they’re tight-lipped about their past, D. All the teachers here were given the boot by their families. That’s how the administration keeps them under their thumb.”

I blink. It’s not what I meant, but I file away that useful tidbit for later. My friends will think I’m even more sheltered than they already do if I admit I didn’t know teaching at Apex is apunishment.“No, I mean about their species. I had no idea that gargoyles can all shiftpartsat a time, not just the royalty like Felix taught us.”

“STOP. THE. FUCKIN’. PRESSES,” Rufus practically yells. “Coco, you can take this one. I don’t even know where to start with this shit.”

He walks over and takes the curling iron to manipulate my other ponytail while Cori shimmies her metallic fishnets on, giving me a pointed look. “What Ru-Ru is failing to communicate is that yourentire statement is… well, shocking doesn’t cover it. If we ignore the part where Felix Khan taught half-shifts to a first-year class—which is unheard of—there’s still the whole ‘shifting only parts’ thing. Dolly,no oneshifts one appendage at a time!”

My brows furrow. Renard said it was rare, but he didn’t saynoother shifters did it. Oh, fuck, did I spill something I shouldn’t have? Anxiety creeps in until it’s replaced by confusion. Lucille can shift parts of her as well; it can’t be that rare. Cori must be mistaken, and I haven’t told them a big secret. It’s fine.

It’s totally fine.

“Um, well… When he gets agitated, Rennie’s tail shifts and flicks like a cat. And he can pop out just his wings, too. I asked him about it, and he said his family has done it since, like, a thousand years ago before they moved from the Carpathian mountains to France. But it can’t be that big of a deal, guys. My bitchy mother can do it.” They gape at me in unison and I turn bright red. “What?”

“Dollypop, that’s not normal.”

Cori nods as she pulls on her JEM dress, adjusting it fussily and fluffing her adorable curls in the mirror. “He’s right; it’s not, even for leopards. Maybe it’s genetic? Didn’t you say your mom is a Rostoff? They come from a similar part of the world, right?”

“Um, her family’s in Moscow now, but when Mattie was tutoring me as a kid, she said Lucille’s family moved to Moscow when their import business expanded. Something about buying up more territory for crops? But I think they came from somewhere in those same mountains originally—a long time ago. Like pre-Council, maybe?” I stand up and walk over to the costume pieces that are mine, tugging on my thigh highs while Cori is getting dressed.

Rufus snorts so hard he messes up his eyeliner. “Crops. Right.” When I give him a confused look, he mutters, “Okay. Crops it is, then.”

“Rufus,” Cori says reproachfully. She turns to me, tiltingher head. “So it was your nanny who taught you about your family and shifter history? Mattie?”

“Yeah, I mean, I took it in school, too, and that asshole Professor Abel is teaching it now. Sort of.”

Why is she asking me this? Am I missing something important?

“Dollybear, the Council only lets professors teach a sanitized version of history—post-Council takeover—so Mattie sharing this with you was a big no-no. Did Renard mentionwhyhis people moved? While we’re getting the tea, you might as well spill.” The badger pauses, his application of the white liner on his eyes, arching a brow at me in the mirror.

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