Page 53 of Let Us Prey

I glare at the phone, unamused by the interruption. “Of course I’m here, you twit. I was considering my options.”

“Yes, Madame. Forgive me,” she squawks.

“Shut up, you Kentucky Fried idiot. You should have called me the second you heard that rumor. Here’s what you’re going to do to make up for your lapse in judgment.” I pause for a moment, waiting for her to gather materials to record my instructions. “I want you to throw a huge celebration for Halloween. Spare no expense, and make attendance mandatory—costumes as well.”

“Even for the staff?”

“Of course for the staff, you fucking idiot! I want every single body on that campus in attendance, oryourhead will roll. Remember,your father cast you out years ago, Henrietta. He won’t lift a wing if I decide to end your life. I want my daughter and her suitors there so I can gather more information, so make it happen. Do you understand?” The last part is a snarl, and I have to calm my leopard down before I shift on the spot.

More babbling and apologies follow, but I hang up. I’ve made my point, and set the wheels in motion. What I need to do next is convene a meeting of the Society so we can discuss how to use Delores’ new position to our advantage. Our quarterly meeting is overdue—the postponement because of my child emerging as prey, adding to my humiliation. With the plans I’ve conceived today, I can sit proudly at the head of the table once more.

Delores Diamond Drew’s purpose has always been to facilitate my control of the Society. I didn’t envision it happening in this exact manner, but the latest twist makes me once again pleased I sought… alternative methods of providing an heir for our family.

“Matilda!”

“Yes, Madame. Another drink?”

I roll my eyes and hand her the glass, letting the gears in my head turn. Delores’ emergence as prey threw a wrench in my plot to use her spouse for consolidation of power, but now I have other plans forher.I thought she would be nothing but a thorn in my side until they killed her. What a stroke of luck she endeared herself tothreeKhans and is working for one of the most cloistered shifter species in the world. If she finds out where the dragon clash’s nest is, my father’s sales will quadruple. Even one female dragon would be worth more than the rest of Dimitri Rostoff’s stable combined.

“Get lost,” I mutter when Matilda brings the next refill. “I will call you when I’m ready to head to the salon.”

She nods, pushing her glasses up her nose as she scurries out the door. I wait until I hear her footsteps fade down the hall before I check the time on my limited edition Patek Philippe watch. It’s 8a.m. here, which makes it 4 p.m. in Moscow. Dmitri should sit for his afternoon tea right about now, which makes it the perfect time to share my news.

“Dobryy den',?1 papa. I have news to report.”

The harsh laughter on the other end is familiar—Dmitri Rostoff vacillates between finding me satisfactory and useless on any day. Unlike my whiny brat, I’ve never complained that I have to work to earn his praise. I pride myself on exceeding his low expectations at every turn, and now I head the most powerful group of preds in America. My father still isn’t impressed by my position, but I can live with that for now.

“Speak.”

“Delores isn’t dead yet. However, she may prove useful even while she’s still breathing. She’s bedding the fallen Khan heirs, and has formed a close connection with a dragon.”

For the first time since my erstwhile offspring humiliated us, my father’s tone was filled with interest rather than scorn. I let him interrogate me, pausing for effect in all the right places. As we discuss my plans for the academy, he grows more and more excited. The possibility of locating not one but two hidden shifter species has him salivating. If it works, we may expand to scour the other academies around the world for vulnerable exiles to exploit.

When he disconnects the call, I feel the glow of my father’s pride for the first time since I sold my sister at the auctions.

Perhaps Delores isn’t entirely worthless after all.

Bully

Delores

The beginningof my second month at Apex was dreadfully mundane.

We’re getting close to midterms, and all the professors are buckling down to prepare for what I assume will be a grueling exam in every subject. My only saving grace is that Fitz bought enough lingerie to keep me wearing new things for the entirety of October and insists on playing ‘hot or cold’ guessing games about my daily choices. His texts are bright spots in the drudgery of my long, exam prep-filled days.

I’m not worried about passing most of my classes. In fact, I’m even excelling in dance now that I have the right equipment.

The only question mark in my GPA is the class I’m headed to right now—Shifter History. The grubby little jackhole who teaches it has been grading every assignment, no matter how thorough, as low as he can without being outright dishonest. I have to double- and triple-check each paper I hand in to make certain there aren’t any typos, extra spaces, or grammatical errors, as if I’m submitting a piece to the fucking New York Times. Otherwise,Professor Abel dings me like he’s some goddamn Oxford scholar instead of a random teacher assigning college essays.

I’d love to know how people get the absolutechutzpahto rip apart the work of others when they’re not qualified to do so. He gets off on being rude and condescending, and except for the heirs he sucks up to, everyone hates him, even other professors. It’s not surprising he’s the only professor on campus to be voted off the island and exiled from staff housing.

Even Felix seemed surprised by how closely I have to weigh every word and phrase to ensure I don’t fall into a syntax pitfall that will earn me another point subtracted from my grade. If my guys didn’t already dislike Professor Abel, I’m pretty sure they hate him now. My laptop crashed one night, and I lost an entire section of my paper. Crying like a baby the first time I appeared on their porch wasn’t on my to-do list, but I was so overwhelmed by everything, I couldn’t hold back.

It took all three of us to stop Fitz from stomping out of the house to hunt the Tasmanian devil shifter down so he could kill him.

The compromise we settled on is arriving later in the week, and I’m torn between being excited and frustrated.

I’m trying to be as independent as possible, and while I can’t control Lucille sending me shit I’m ordered to accept, Fitz is determined to solve all my problems with Khan blood money. The nefarious provenance of his cash isn’t the issue, truthfully, because I’m pretty sure my parents are no cleaner than his family is. It’sdependingon someone that’s bothering me. I’ve learned you can’t trust people to be who they say they are—when you do, you inevitably get disappointed. If I don’t learn to take care of myself, I’ll be as useless as my ex-friends.

---