Page 29 of Feral
Ella rushed after Bishop and Axel, annoyed when she realized she wasn’t the only one following them. Plenty of the other students had ventured out into the courtyard to spectate, proving that the sophisticated dress was all for show.
“You can’t be serious,” Ella said, deciding Bishop was the only one she had any hope of appealing to. Then again, she didn’t recognize this version of him. She wasn’t sure she liked it either.
“I’m not gonna let him get away with disrespecting you,” Bishop said tersely, already shirtless.
Ella frowned. “Is it me you’re worried about defending, or just your claim?”
His eyebrows knitted together in a deeper frown, but he didn’t respond. He was too far gone.
Ella heard a vaguely familiar sound, and whirled around to find herself face to face with Axel’s tiger. The beast was absolutely huge, much bigger than she remembered even though they’d both been kits the last time she’d seen it. He was formidable even then, and she made a point of avoiding him when he shifted. Supposedly, he could control himself now, but she remembered him throwing a tantrum so violent that his father had once had to shift in order to restrain him.
By the time she turned back, Bishop was in his jaguar form as well. The beast was just as striking in a different way, even though it was more lithe than the other. Ella knew firsthand just how fast he was, and it would be an even match to say the least.
Shit.
The time for talking was done. They both took off, at least having the sense to get far enough away from the Academy before they tore into each other. Ella ran after them, coming to a stop at the top of the hill to see them circling. They were watching each other intently, rigid muscles flexing as they prowled. It might’ve been a beautiful sight, if it wasn’t such an infuriating one.
Axel was the first to lunge, of course. He sailed through the air, a truly intimidating sight under the moon’s pale glow, gleaming through his orange-and-black fur. The jaguar narrowly dodged and the tiger landed where he’d been a split second earlier, turning to snarl at him.
The lithe spotted cat let out a fierce growl in return and darted back the other way. He clawed the tiger’s side on his way past and Axel’s shriek pierced the air.
“No,” Ella cried, nearly falling down the hillside in her haste to reach them. Bishop was going in for the kill, there was no doubt in her mind. As much as she didn’t want to believe he was capable of such a thing, she could see it in those gleaming eyes.
Before he could tear into the tiger’s neck, a great silver blur barreled down the hillside, clearing all the space that was left between Ella and the fighting cats in a single leap.
A white lion. There was no mistaking the glorious mane of silvery fur that adorned the proud beast’s head. It was absolutely huge, and though Ella had never seen a lion in person before, she knew he had to be exemplary even among his own kind.
The lion landed just in front of Axel, and Bishop barely managed to change his trajectory before they collided. The larger beast opened his massive jaws and let out a roar that made the ground quake beneath Ella’s feet. It made every hair on her body stand on end, and it at once terrified her and entranced her.
There was something about him that was so…familiar.
The jaguar roared back in agitation, but the sound wasn’t quite as intimidating. Bishop had been jolted back to reality enough to at least realize what the consequences of his narrowly interrupted actions would’ve been.
The shock of watching Axel come so close to dying in front of her helped Ella overcome her instinctive fear of the newly arrived beast. She reminded herself that he was the reason Axel was alive in the first place.
For the moment, she wasn’t focused on Bishop or the lion. She dropped to her knees in front of the tiger, who was already attempting to get back to his feet. He was obviously dazed, but the sting of humiliation burned in his eyes, and Ella realized he was not done fighting.
“Please, stop,” she cried, pulling her arms around his muscular neck. She held on as tightly as she could, but even in his weakened state, he was more than strong enough to throw her off if he wanted to.
Instead, he gave a half-hearted growl that vibrated through her.
Ella took the opportunity to examine the wound on his side. This time, his snarl was fierce and sharp with pain, but somehow, she wasn’t afraid. Maybe she had spent so long being terrified of how she felt for him that she just couldn’t feel that emotion where he was concerned anymore.
I’m fine,he growled, pulling away from her. He successfully got to his feet this time, casting a spiteful glance over Ella’s shoulder at his opponent. Bishop’s gaze was hard and remorseless.
This wasn’t over for either of them. Ella just feared that next time, no one would be there to stop it.
She watched helplessly as Axel took off into the woods, fighting the urge to shift and run after him. She knew it would only make him run further.
Axel wasn’t used to losing. In fact, Ella very much doubted he ever had to anyone outside his family. He wasn’t going to get over this anytime soon. The fact that Bishop hadn’t exactly won fairly wouldn’t make any difference.
Ella turned back to Bishop and the lion, able to think clearly enough to figure out why he was so familiar. She took a step closer, instinctively reaching out to brush her fingertips against the beast’s silver forehead.
“Mr. Bryant?” she asked in disbelief.
His gray eyes softened in acknowledgment, and to her surprise, he pushed his snout into her hand. He was even bigger up close, and all she could do was stand in awe of him. At least he liked her in this form.
By the time Ella looked back in Bishop’s direction, he had already shifted into his human form and gotten half dressed to stalk off.
