Page 20 of Feral
“Along with most of the other members of Felidae.”
“So what is this place, really?” she asked. “A fraternity? A cult?”
He chuckled. “It’s a bit of both, perhaps. Felidae has been the cornerstone of our species since we first united as a colony. Some say even longer.”
“And you’re part of it,” Ella murmured, mulling over his words. “And your parents?”
“My father,” he answered. “Of course, all members of Felidae swear allegiance to the Empress, so she presides over certain events.”
“So it is a boys’ club.”
He gave her an apologetic grin. “Old customs, I’m afraid. But as you saw tonight, many of our events are coed.”
“How modern,” Ella said dryly, looking around the room. The evening certainly hadn’t turned out the way she’d planned, but she was curious to learn more about him, and if this was where he spent his time when he wasn’t at school, it seemed like her best chance.
Everything was neat and organized, which was to be expected, given his nature. There was nothing out of place, but the room still had a warm, lived-in feel. “And here I thought the dorms were nice.”
“You could live here, too.”
Ella turned to find him watching her, leaning on the wooden post of the canopy bed. There was a familiar glint in his eyes that made her see the bed in a different light. “Pardon?”
“You could stay with me,” he answered, walking over to take her hand. He looked around the room. “It’s plenty big enough for two.”
Ella stared at him in disbelief, finding herself at a total loss for words. Heat crept into her cheeks as the realization that he was asking her to move in with him sank in. “We barely know each other. And you said this place is only for men.”
“Exceptions are made for our mates,” he answered. The word sent another flutter of excitement and dismay through Ella’s chest.
Bishop seemed to realize what he’d said only then. With an endearingly bashful laugh, he began to backpedal. “Not that we’re there yet. I know that kind of thing takes time, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel connected to you from the moment we met.”
“I feel the same way,” she assured him. “I just…everything has happened so fast.”
“I understand,” he said, caressing her cheek. “Really. Come on, let’s get back to the party.”
Ella felt as if she should say something more, but she nodded and followed him back downstairs. He didn’t seem offended, but his question had taken her off-guard in more ways than one.
They were hardly downstairs for a moment before a group of older queens swept Bishop away for some urgent matter. He looked back, his wine glass still sloshing in his hand. “Sorry. I won’t be long,” he promised.
Ella waved, giving him a mischievous smile. “Take your time.”
It seemed he was as popular in Felidae as he was in the Academy Ella could only assume had been named after it. She made her way over to the refreshments, deciding she could use another glass of wine herself. Her nerves were still frazzled, and while the curious stares she’d elicited from the other dinner guests were much friendlier than the ones she was used to, she still felt like a fish out of water.
“Ella?” The familiar voice sounded strained and alarmed. Ella turned to find Sterling standing a few feet away, dressed to kill in a black tuxedo that matched the hair that was pulled back at the nape of his neck, like usual.
Ella’s heart tumbled in her chest. He was hard enough to resist under normal circumstances, let alone when she wasn’t expecting to see him.
Then again, she realized she probably should have. After all, Sterling was as sophisticated and well-connected as they came.
“Mr. Bryant. I didn’t know you were here,” she said, trying not to sound like the infatuated kit she turned into around him.
“What areyoudoing here?” he asked, looking her up and down. The incredulity in his tone pierced her even more than his cessation of their lessons had.
“Bishop invited me,” she said, suddenly feeling as out of place as she had from the moment she’d walked in.
The teacher’s gaze hardened and grew cold in response to the name, which confused Ella more than anything else. If ever there were two people she’d imagined would get along, it was Sterling and Bishop. They were both so cultured and chivalrous, but there was no mistaking the spite in those eyes. It burned even deeper than Axel’s hatred.
“You need to leave,” he said suddenly, a hard edge to his tone. He took Ella by the arm and gently but swiftly guided her over to a sequestered part of the room beneath a pillar.
“What?” she cried, trying to ignore the way her heart pattered away at his touch. As if it was romantic rather than a desperate attempt to remove the stray from civilized company. She didn’t want to believe it, but given his current actions and his dismay upon seeing her, it seemed to her that it could hardly be anything else.
