Page 98 of Let Us Prey

Her face lights up and she wiggles a little, making the dress flounce invitingly. “I did! You can always tell by the salad fork.”

Fitz walks up, re-dressed and looking pleased about his part in making his brother and the entire kitchen an absolute nightmare. “You can fork me anytime,baby girl.”

“Preferably with a barbecue fork,” Aubrey adds as he strides in with Felix in tow.

They share a chuckle, and I smile to myself. They’ve always been more alike than not, and not just because they’re both grumpy alphas. Since Dolly arrived, the tiger is slowly becoming the leader his ambush needs, and Aubrey is coming out of his hard shell.

“Excellent burn, spicy lizard. I might enjoy being stabbed a little, but I don’t think our girl’s ready for that kind of play in the bedroom.” Fitz pecks her cheek and trots over to the bar, leaving Dolly with eyes the size of the dinner plates.

Felix gives Dolly a once-over he thinks is subtle, as Aubrey slips his hand into his pocket, looking everywhereexceptat her.

Oh, this is delicious—they’re both so fucking stubborn, they can’t even admit how attracted to this girl they are. I’m going to have a ball during dinner.

Chess pops his head out of the kitchen, narrowing his eyes at the rest of us. That’s an unusual look, but I suppose I can’t blame him for being frazzled today. “It would be nice if you could all help bring the food in...”

Oh, that was definitely aggressive… I’m going to need some popcorn.

“Oooh! It smells amazing. I’m so hungry I could eat an entire cow,” Dolly says, clapping her hands as she rushes over to help, earning her a smile from Chess that shows she wasn’t the reason for his ire.

Aubrey and I look at the tigers, shock clear on our faces. Fitz snorts, elbowing his brother before smirking at us. “You didn’t know my baby girl is a ravenous meat-eater? Man, you two are sooooo far behind. Tragic.”

My brow furrows. I stocked snacks for Dolly upstairs for when she camped out here, but none with a carnivorous bunny in mind. I suppose this explains her lack of disgust when she joined us on our hunt. Fitz is still gloating about his insider knowledge, andAubrey puffs another smoke ring, clearly annoyed that he didn’t know this little… eccentricity of hers.

Dolly pokes her head out of the kitchen, interrupting our stand-off with a haughty exclamation. “This isn’t your palace, guys, and neither Chess nor I are June Cleaver. Come in here and help us!”

The enforcer opens his mouth, but Aubrey rolls his eyes, cutting him off before he can speak. “Yes, yes, Fitz. We’re all aware you’re happy to come for her anytime. Move your ass.”

That catches the tiger off guard, and Felix bursts out laughing in a way I’ve never seen before. I’ll be damned—Dolly’s a goddamned miracle worker.

I grin at my companion, holding my fist up for a bump as I pass by him. Felix isn’t the only one she’s good for, and I enjoy seeing him have a little fun, too. Aubrey is far too tightly wound for his own good, especially with anyone who hasn’t been around for centuries, like I have. Much like Felix does, my dragon punishes himself for mistakes of the past more than he’d like to admit.

We wait at the door, allowing Chess to walk through with the turkey, followed by Dolly, carrying an impressive amount of side dishes on her arms like a pro. The rest of us follow Felix into the kitchen, grabbing the various platters full of prime rib, venison, gazelle, and other savory meats. As we set our dishes on the table, Dolly bustles past, then returns with another multi-plate load of side dishes, and I finally give in, asking what I know we’re all thinking.

“Petite lapin, where did you learn to carry dishes like that? Surely you didn’t serve the food at home. Combined with the place setting—where did you pick that up?”

Aubrey snorts. “We know your mother didn’t teach you.” When he mentions her mother, she gives the dragon a look that could shrivel a lesser pred’s balls, and I cover my mouth with my hand.

I betshe learnedthatfrom her mother.

“Over the summer,” she says, sashaying over to the small ice bucket full of Dr. Pepper I left out for her. “I worked at House Growlvinchy for Luc, and it allowed me the freedom to experience real-world things. I made friends with a lot of prey animals who worked in the area, and one of the nicer ones was Clotilda. She’s a skunk who worked in the coffeehouse nearby, but she also had experience catering for Council families. We got to know each other when I helped her cover busy shifts, and she helped me wipe all of Lucille’s spy shit off my devices ‘cause she’salsoa hacker.”

No one seems to know what to do with that information. Fitz is looking a little cagey, and I wonder how closely he was stalking her during the break. I clear my throat, waiting for someone to speak, and when they don’t, I sigh.

Not my forte, but okay…

“How did you end up working for… Luc, did you say?”

“I’ll share that information with you, but only if you guys do what I do with Fitz.” She grins, walking up to the table and plopping her cute butt right in the chair at the head.

Five sets of eyes stare at her with open mouths, though whether it’s because of her statement or the chair she chose, I can’t say.

“What… you… do… with Fitz?” Aubrey finally breaks the ice.

Chess snorts as he takes a chair one spot away from the grinning bunny.

Dolly rolls her eyes, sipping her soda as she gestures to the other chairs, implying we should all sit. “Yes. I tell you something about me and you then have to share something about you—something important, not some random factoid.”

That gets everyone’s attention, and Fitz shrugs. “Seemed like a fair trade when she was naked.”

---