Page 30 of Let Us Prey

How original.

Now they’ve confirmed they wrecked my room, and I don’t think they get how dangerous that is. If I let Fitz see this, I’m fairly certain her fake nails will only be the first thing to go when he gets a hold of her. Crumpling the note, I shove it in my bag for later, deciding that I’m not sure if I want to start a war that involves the Khan ambush.

Fitz makes me smile, and I enjoy having him on my side, but I still feel like I want to deal with these petty assholes on my own—at least until I feel more secure about my place at Apex. Channeling my mother may be the only way I survive for the next couple of weeks, even though it makes me feel all kinds of gross.

Now I smell a stench, and it’s coming from my soul.

Revenge

Delores

This week has been fucking exhausting.I knew coming to Apex would be awful, but I didn’t expect the onslaught of bullshit I’m dealing with. The only reason I’m sleeping soundly is that I’m ensconced in the Tower, where I know the assholes hunting me aren’t able to get to me. Everything else is a damn toss-up, depending on who's around to walk with me or if I can find the right tunnels.

Arriving at Shifter Basics before the door shuts is a minor miracle given the route I chose, but I’ll take it. I can’t deal with another verbal smack down if I cause problems here again.

Looking around, I see other preds, but no canines, so I try to relax a little. Maybe this period won’t be so b?—

“Miss Drew, you’ll be assisting me today.” The tiger smirks at me in a challenge, then adds, “Unless you aren’t up for it?”

There’s no way I can say ‘no’ without letting him win, so I sigh and roll my gaze up to the ceiling in supplication. Once I’ve calmed my nerves, I look Fitz’s brother square in the eye. “I’m game if you are, Professor.”

Take that, you domineering shithead. I won’t let you make me cower.

His lips quirk up and he rises from his chair, stalking over to stand close enough to make me look up at him. “I’d advise thinking about it long and hard before you accept a challenge from a Khan. You might not like the result.”

I snort, shaking my head as I push my desk back a little to give myself space. “I’m pretty sure saying ‘no’ isn’t an option here, Sir.”

My retort makes him frown, and he says softly, “Withdrawal of consent is always an option, Delores. I may be a Khan, but I’m not a scumbag.”

It feels like we’re talking about something else entirely right now, and I’m not sure if Fitz filled him in on my shitty prom night or not. Regardless, I nod, studying his conflicted features as I consider what I’m going to say. “Then I accept your challenge, Professor. Give it to me good.”

His eyes widen, and I know I got to him when he turns on his heel to stalk to his desk. Big, bad Felix Khan is speechless, and I caused it. I lean back in my chair and stack my hands behind my head, feeling satisfied. That is until he comes thundering back over and yanks me out of the chair with a dark grin.

“Hell yes! Professor Khan is teaching DD a lesson,” Gold crows as she walks in at the exact moment he tugs me away from the safety of my seat. Her acolytes titter as they follow her to their places, and I roll my eyes.

My pulse is pounding from surprise, but I don’t believe Fitz’s twin will hurt me. He seems demanding and arrogant, but not cruel. He probably wants to make me an example because I snarked back at him previously. If so, I’ll have to take my medicine like anyone else. After all, I earned it despite what I told him in front of everyone.

Relax, Dolly. You can handle this; it’s not Lucille.

“Sit down and shut up, plebs!” Felix looks at the students straggling in as he plants me in front of the whiteboard with a dark glare. “Miss Drew is going to take notes while we discuss why predators dominate prey.”

Arching a brow at him, I turn to the board and pick up a marker, gripping in my hand. “You mean besides being petty tyrants?”

He barks a laugh, looking out at the other students. “None of you, including Miss Drew, have seen petty yet. I suggest you never find out. Now one of you dipshits tell me why we’re dominant and the prey animals aren’t.”

“Wealth and fame,” Purple says with a big, shit-eating grin. “We have it; they don’t.”

Professor Khan makes a sound like a buzzer and shakes his head. “Wrong, mutt. Plenty of prey families make good money servicing prey specific needs, and some of them are skilled enough to work for preds in highly skilled areas. You’d be surprised how many extremely rich and sought after prey species there are. Try again.”

I shrug and write ‘Try again’ on the board dutifully. It’s no surprise that my ex friends have zero clue about how the world works outside of their cushy bubbles. Working for Luc opened up a whole new world for me, even if the prey species didn’t all accept me. For instance, most preds can’t do the fine detail work the pangolins do for him or construct the miniature computer chips the Ericksons put in all their devices. That’s all done by different prey species—their economy is vastly ignored, but super important.

Not that I’m telling Purple that.

Felix hides a smile as he nods at me, then looks expectantly at the class again. “Next?”

“We’re bigger and stronger,” a random kid in the third row ventures.

The tiger buzzes again, shaking his head. “Wrong again. Elephants are bigger than many apex predators, and so are hippos. If you’d ever seen a hippopotamus fighting a crocodile, you’d question that little theory. Prey species have the same instinct to survive as we do, except they have to use it to save their necks far more often than us.”

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