Page 19 of Let Us Prey

“Can you imagine? ADreweaten by a measlydingo. Lucille would have a vodka-soaked aneurysm. Bruno would probably let Bruiser eat my corpse so the family shame wouldn’t get publicized. Then they’d all win, because even though I have no control over how the hell I was born a goddamnbunny rabbitwhen my parents are a crocodile and a leopard, somehow they blame it all on me!”

I don’t think this rant is going to end soon, and since it’s amusing me, I drop into my throne and sit with my chin in my hand, settling in for the show. This girl reminds me of someone, and the memory is creating a warmth in my gut. The talisman at my neck pulses briefly, and I roll my eyes. I have plenty of time before nightfall to fully shift, but the damned thing likes to send me little reminders throughout the day.

“You know what sucks the most? Everyone abandoned me after I emerged. Not one of my so-called friends or family has tried to help me learn to stay alive. Theywantme dead. The only people who have tried to help me are prey animals—both here and in the fashion community this summer. Even though I’m prey, I don’t belong with them and we all know it, but at least they tried. Luc also tried. And Fitz.”

Leaning forward, I eagerly await more information aboutthatbudding relationship. Fitzgerald isn’t known for doing much to be helpful beyond getting someone off, and while he’d surely offer those services here, I feel that’s not all he’s doing with this girl. I’m curious to find out why her name seems to come up every time he invades my tower, so getting the tea from the other sideis tantalizing.

“Fitz is the only one who’s made me feel safe. And I don’t understand why because I mean, clearly he’s a player and I’m just a silly rabbit with a small-dicked hyena for an ex and a bunch of bitchy dogs chasing me. What exactly could I offer him, or an artist, or even a grumpy… Oh, frosty goat balls, why am I saying this to a professor I just met?” she gasps, her eyes finally meeting mine from across the room.

Chuckling, I shrug. “My kind are excellent listeners, Miss Drew. We’re accustomed to perching while people make long dramatic speeches. Most of the time, you wouldn’t even know we’re there.” I wink, enjoying the squirming she’s doing as she approaches. “It’s the whole statuary thing.”

Her eyes widen before she squints at me as if trying to figure something out. “Rock? So it’s true? Like head to toe? I mean, I’ve never met a gargoyle before.”

That’s a question she’s probably not ready for me to answer truthfully.

I roll to my feet, stretching my wings out as I approach her. “Well, yes. Obsidian is my form, and others vary, but you’re not likely to see another soon. Gargoyles keep to themselves for a multitude of reasons, Delores.”

“It’s Dolly,” she replies distractedly, as her eyes rake over my bare chest. “How come you’re not like the dragon or the wolves or lions or whatever? They all have to strip or risk tearing their clothes. It looked like yours just... shooooooop!” Her hands make a vague gesture as the sound effect echoes off the stones.

“That, my dear, is not a secret I am comfortable sharing with someone I just met, even if she spilled half of her diary in one continuous monologue,” I reply, giving her a gentle smile.

Her face reddens, and she ducks her head. “I’m sorry about that. I’m trying not to let what happened get to me, but it’s been a very difficult couple of months and I have no one to talk to. All I’ve learned is you can’t trust anyone, even if you’re in love with them, you know?”

Ouch.

I absolutely know about the dangers of trusting those who don’t deserve it, and she hit me right in the Achilles’ heel with that sentence. “Yes, I do,” I sigh, turning away from her for a moment. “I understand being betrayed by those you love very well.”

“But being betrayed by a stupid, idiotic boyfriend who made a stupid video when he was the one who—just trust me, it’s so much worse,” she mutters, kicking a rock before she plops down on a lounge as if I made it for her.

Arching a brow, I don’t correct her naïve assumption that an embarrassing video is the worst thing that could happen to her. After all, she’s young, and has much to learn about love and loss. Instead, I murmur one of my favorite poems softly. “She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces thro' the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot. Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror crack'd from side to side?—”

Delores rolls her eyes as if I’ve given her advice from a teen magazine, holding up her hand as she finishes my verse, “The curse is come upon me!Yes, yes, any lit student or teenage Goth knows theLady of Shallot, Renard. Sheesh. Next, you’ll try to comfort me withThe Ravenor something.” Her head tilts, and a smile creeps over her lips. “Though if you don’t shift back, I suppose the black wings would be fitting.”

My mouth drops open, both at her familiar use of dropping the Professor title from my name and her intelligence. I didn’t expect this side of the girl in front of me at all. She’s beautiful, and that’s all Fitz needs. Aubrey said she was sassy and liked books, so that explains why he’s been grumpy. Chester has been awkwardly quiet on the subject, which I don’t get because it sounds like she also has an affinity for the arts and poetry.

I’m uncertain what the standoffish tiger Raj thinks, but if I believed a girl on this planet existed that could capture the attentionofallthe outcasts in our little family, here she is. As I watch her swing her legs over my handmade chairs like she belongs here, I doubt I have any hope of resisting her pull, either.

I am incredibly, unequivocally fucked.

Bad Decisions

Aubrey

The library doorsswing open at precisely three p.m. and I watch as the infamous Delores Drew sashays into my lair once again. The flurry of gossip surrounding this girl in the minuscule time she’s been on campus is both annoying and intriguing, but I so rarely engage in such trivial matters. The only matter I’m giving my attention to is that she’s infuriated, inflamed, and piqued the curiosity of my entire social circle with her behavior, both in class and out.

I, however, am not as sentimental or horny as the others, so I refuse to allow myself to get caught in her youthful drama. She’s not the first shifter with a tragic backstory to grace our halls and she won’t be the last. If they assigned her to assist me in the library, I will train her to the best of my abilities and see her to the door when her time is up—nothing more, nothing less.

I’ll be damned if I let Rennie win yet another bet. His smugness is already out of control.

Her bag drops on the table with a resounding thud as she looks around, no doubt checking for hidden dangers. As the only prey animal to attend Apex as a student, she must be on high alert.She’d be a fool not to be, and she doesn’t strike me as stupid, although perhaps a little naïve. I don’t even have to shift to scent the fear and doubt emanating from her as she walks towards me full of faux confidence.

It’s almost like she’s wearing a mask.

“My friends say you’re ancient. Is that true?” she asks, blowing a bubble and popping it with a smirk.

I snort, seeing everything I need to know about her mental state from the way she’s presenting herself compared to her last visit. This is a girl desperately trying to make people believe she has everything under control, and she’s using that bravado to counter the prey instincts of an animal she doesn’t yet understand. “I am the eldest shifter on campus, yes. That is why I do not suffer fools or games, Miss Drew. There is no need to pretend within these walls.”

Her brow furrows, and she studies me for a moment before defiance flares in her gaze. “Who says I’m playing games? I’m here for my work study, Professor Draconis.”

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