Page 23 of Feral
Axel clenched his jaw. He hated the fact that the one cat above his kind on the totem pole was a lion, which just happened to be the form the man in front of him assumed. Probably why he stalked the damn halls like he owned the place.
“If you can put your ego aside for one moment, you’ll see that I’m trying to help you,” Mr. Bryant said, his arms folded.
“Right,” Axel scoffed. “Pretend I need your help. Why do you give a shit if Ella chooses me or not?”
“I don’t,” he answered nonchalantly. “What I care about is making certain that shedoesn’tchoose Bishop, and after what I saw last night, I believe you need all the help you can get.”
Axel’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. Then again, what reason would Bryant have to lie to him? If he just wanted to fuck with him, he already controlled his grades, and there wasn’t any particularly bad blood between him or their families. At least none that he could remember.
“You saw them?” he asked, hating how interested he sounded.
Desperate.
What the hell had she done to him?
“They seemed quite cozy when he brought her to a party at the Felidae House,” Mr. Bryant said pointedly, as if he knew just how much that would get under Axel’s skin.
Axel’s heart started pounding and he wasn’t sure if it was rage, concern or both. “Are you fucking kidding?” he spat. “She’s an outsider. He barely even knows her.”
“Which is why you may be able to understand the urgent nature of the situation.”
Axel frowned, watching the teacher for a moment. “What is it you hate about him so much? I mean, there are plenty of reasons. He’s a spoiled brat with a god complex and he’s slimier than pond scum, but seeing as how you two belong to the same club, I’d think that would be a good thing.”
“Bishop is a child of Felidae, that much is certain,” the teacher murmured. “It’s been my experience that not all members of the Meyer family are as worthy of admiration as our Empress.”
“You mean his dad, don’t you?” Axel asked. He knew his father had been a mentor figure to Mr. Bryant when he was a kit, which was reason enough to mistrust him in Axel’s book.
“In Bishop’s case, the apple never left the branch,” Mr. Bryant answered. “If there is one thing we can both agree on, it’s that Ella doesn’t belong in a place as corrupt and ruthless as Felidae, and she certainly doesn’t belong with someone like Bishop.”
“You know, that’s the most sense you’ve made since I came to this Academy,” said Axel. “I take it you have an idea?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Mr. Bryant. “Ella isn’t like any of the girls you’ve used and thrown away. She won’t be wooed by your money and status, and even if that were the case, Bishop is more than an equal match.”
Axel wasn’t willing to concede that point, but he’d let it slide. “Then what do you suggest? You want me to enroll in your little charm school and learn how to court her like a gentleman?”
“Even if there were time for that, I’m an academic, not a miracle worker,” he quipped. “But you’re on the right track. I’ve recently had an opening in my tutoring schedule, and you could use all the help you can get.”
“You want totutorme in seducing Ella?” Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mr. Bryant shrugged. “For lack of a better word, yes.”
“Kind of like Cyrano,” Axel mused.
Mr. Bryant blinked at him. “Not one but two apropos literary references. If I didn’t know better, Mr. Hill, I’d think you were actually learning something.”
“Nah. I saw it on Wishbone,” he said dismissively, not willing to let the cocky bastard think he was actually paying attention. Most of the time, he wasn’t, but there was no point in actually trying. He’d made that mistake in grade school and learned all it meant was getting saddled with harder work. “So what’s your angle?”
“My angle?” Mr. Bryant asked warily. “What do you mean?”
“What do you get out of this?” he asked.
“I told you, I’m not doing it foryou.”
“I know. You’re doing it for Ella,” Axel said, looking him over with greater scrutiny. “There’s not an altruistic bone in your body, so I know it’s not just a good deed. That’s why you’re not half as annoying as the other idiots who teach here.”
The other tom rolled his eyes, his hands slipped casually into his pockets. “Ella will be our Empress. As a member of the colony, and the last member of one of its founding bloodlines, not to mention her teacher, it is my duty to guide her down the right path.”
He sounded sincere enough. His voice was laced with just the right combination of indifference and ease. Nonetheless, Axel wasn’t buying it. “Maybe you can teach me to lie like that while you’re at it,” he quipped, holding out his hand. “I think you’re full of shit, and I don’t trust you, but we’ve got a deal. For now.”
