Page 57 of Let Us Prey
Let’s get ready to rumble!
My twin suddenly appears at my other side, growling in irritation when he spots the board. We both know Rusty fights dirty, but that’s what makes him a good opponent—the kind you don’t mind majorly fucking up. And if anyone needs a Pred Games outlet for his unchecked, sexually unsatisfied aggression, it’s Saint Cash, Mother Superior of Chastity Convent.
After being announced, Rusty lumbers to the center of the ring from the opposite side, working up the cheering crowd for the bloodbath to come. The man is enormous in human form as it is—I swear, hismuscleshave muscles—but when he fully shifts into his grizzly, he’s downright terrifying.
Boo… why can’tIbe the one fighting him today?
“Piece o’ cake,” Cash cracks his neck, muscles rippling down his bare back as he strides into the ring with the air of a man about to win. Judging from the roar that goes up from the stands at his appearance, any pred with half a brain knows who the top dog in the house is.
Cassius Romulus, rightful heir.
I sneak another glance at my Cherry, noticing with amusement that she’s eyeing my brother like he’s a prime cut of beef. Nudity is the norm with predators—and makes sense when you’re shifting for a fight—but it can take a while for the freshman to get over their weird little hang-ups. This is our natural state, and if Cash flapping in the breeze means Delores Drew gets used to the idea of a twin dick shish kabob, I’m all for it.
Bringing my attention back to the impending fight, I see Cash and Rusty circling each other before the count. Unsurprisingly, Rusty appears to be doing nothing but trash-talking, while my brother focuses on sizing up his opponent for signs of weakness. I notice the grizzly favoring his left leg and Cash has undoubtedly already made note of this, along with twenty other weak points I’ve missed.
But then it all goes wrong. Rusty says something that makes my brother freeze, and I watch in horror as the grizzly punctuates his garbage with a finger pointed toward the stands.
Directly at our girl.
Oh, fuck.
By the time the gong sounds again, Cash is already half-shifted—never a good sign—and Rusty is too stupid to understand what he’s unleashed. The gong’s echo hasn’t even faded when my brother lands the first blow across the bear’s chest, and the crowd goes wild as strips of skin, muscle, and what looks like a nipple fly into the air along with a geyser of blood.
That’ll leave a mark.
Rusty roars in anguish, the sound making my fangs elongate and my wolf pace. It’s been so long since I had the privilege of watching my brother eliminate his opponent, I’m in danger of drooling all over myself.
He’s a godsdamned sight to behold. Even in the half-feral state he’s in, Cash moves with the grace of a dancer—if dancers were 6’5”, weighed 280 and benched 450. The grizzly is scrambling to recover from the ground he lost, but pain is making him just as wild, and just as dangerous.
“Fuck, Bash, you need to tap in—NOW!”Nico is shouting in my ear, snapping me out of my bloodlust and back to reality.
My wolf is clawing its way to the surface, eager to join my brother in the field, but the human part of me agrees with Nico that this is Very Bad. Cash is nothing if not a control-freak, but it’s this control that makes him the best. Everyone knows he publicly declared Delores under Romulus protection—hell, I’m still teasing him about it—so I can only assume Rusty just threatenedher.I would call the move idiotic if you want to live, but if the grizzly’s plan was to throw Cash off his game, it was a smart play.
Nodding at Nico, I quickly jog to the nearest ref to tap in. An instant later, an air horn sounds, immediately stopping the action. The crowd loudly boos, but I ignore the hecklers as I hustle to where Cash is now fully shifted, his enormous black wolf looming over the half-shifted grizzly, gaping maw poised over Rusty’s throat.
Just in time.
It’s not that Cash cares about killing during Pred Games—or about eliminating a wastrel like Rusty—but if victory comes at the cost of his control… and ifDeloresis here to witness it…
“Alpha,” I croon, carefully crawling closer and nuzzling against his furry neck. “Allow me to finish him for you. Let me honor your name with his death.”
Cash is panting above me, his mouth pulled back in a slobbering snarl, but I see a glimmer of awareness soften his murderous gaze. After what feels like eons, he shifts back into human form and gives me a curt nod before standing and silently exiting the ring. I get to my feet and watch as Nico meets him at the sidelines, placing a hand on his alpha’s back and guiding him toward staff housing.
Now it’s fun time.
Apparently already forgetting he almost died—or that the possibility is still there—Rusty sneers. “What’s the matter, wolfie? Did your big bad alpha get scared?”
I turn to face my opponent, rolling my shoulders to loosen up. “Are you gonna talk all day, little teddy bear, or are you actually gonna give me a fight?”
“Or maybe what pissed him off,” Rusty unwisely continues as he rises to tower over me at full-height. “Was me telling him your new Romulusslutwas gonna be choking onmythickcock later.”
That’ll do it.
My gaze involuntarily drops to the tallboy swinging between Rusty’s hairy legs, and suddenly, I wish there wasn’t a strict rule against low blows during matches. But I also know the only bed my girl is warming is mine, and that the only other preds at Apex who deserve Delores Drew all fit in Renard’s creepy clock tower during happy hour. So I shrug and assume a neutral position, fully intending to take my time with Rusty—to make it last.
“Or maybe... " the bear smirks, matching my stance, licking his split lip, even as it continues to bleed down his stupid face. “It’s because your alpha is nothing more than aprey-fucker—an embarrassment to your family who never should have thought he was worthy of the Romulus name.”
YOU’RE A FUCKING DEAD MAN!!!
