Page 93 of Let Us Prey
“Fuck, yeah! Hey bro—come sit your brass balls at the sharing table with us!”
Cash narrows his eyes at his brother and stomps over to the remaining seat. His gaze locks with our girl’s the second his ass hits the chair and she lifts her chin in a challenge.
This couldn’t be more fascinating if it was an episode of The Pred Life.
“Okay, baby. If you wanna play with the big preds, we’ll play. What’s your question?” His expression is knowing, as if he’s already won, and he passes a basket of rolls to me while he waits.
Dolly gives him a surprisingly feral grin as she thinks for a moment and then asks, “How did it fall on Bash to ask me out on behalf of all you big baddies?”
Cash leans forward on his elbows as the rest of us fill our plates quietly, only the clinking of the silverware in the air as he grins wolfishly. “We thought you’d be most comfortable with Bash, but I may have helped coach him with phrasing.”
“Why would you do that?” Dolly sits back, the smug grin wiped from her face, replaced by surprise.
“You owe us an answer first,” Aubrey pipes up, and I turn to look at him again with surprise of my own. “How did you end up working for Luc Growlvinchy?”
What’s gotten into him tonight? Spicy lizard indeed.
She rolls her eyes, making a show of reaching for a gigantic piece of prime rib and slapping it on her plate. “I met him when I bought my dress for prom. He was kind during the fitting and I think he sensed I needed an ally. He gave me his number, ‘just in case’ I had dress issues, so when I needed to earn my own money after everyone deserted me, I called him. He has a lot of prey animals working for him, and I knew he wouldn’t mistreat me.”
“Fair enough,” Cash casually replies, although I notice his jaw tick as he no doubt tamps down the alpha instinct to protect. “Who’s next?”
Oh, we are going to need a lot more alcohol for this.
FIFTY-ONE
Dazed & Confused
Cassius
There wasnotenough alcohol for that.
Even when I was on trial on Bloodstone, I hadn’t sweated as much as being grilled by Delores Drew over a plate of bloody meat. It wasn’t as if we weren’t aware of our girl’s decree that the rest of us needed to open up more if we wanted to have relationships with her, but that’s easier said than done. Unsurprisingly, Bash was game to over-share as she fired off questions like an interrogation pro, but Nico was weirdly squirrelly about answering. Maybe notthatfucking weird, compared to how he’s been behaving lately, but it was noticeable.
Is he still bent out of shape over being a born-again pred?
The only ones at the table who had any right to be cagey were the alphas. Especially since the three of us are ex-heirs with questionable, possibly scandalous pasts. Hell, I still don't have all the details about why Aubrey and Renard are here at Apex, and we’ve known each other for over a decade. Not that ten years means anything to creatures as old as those two, but I like to think they see me as more than just an upstart pup.
Hopefully.
Either way, some things aren’t meant to be aired during Thanksgiving dinner. Thank Fenrir, Delores didn’t bring up my doomed relationship with Camille, the poor llama who was forcibly removed from Bloodstone because ofmyactions. She didn’t have to bring it up, because apparently Bash fuckingtoldher about it during their date.
My idiot brother admitted he blabbed the next day, but before I could beat him to a pulp, he pointed out that it helped me look more sympathetic. ‘You look like less of an asshole’ were his exact words, but it made sense. He added D got a little weepy over it, so now I feel vaguely exposed around her, despite being relieved thatIdon’t have to tell her that part of my past.
Emotions are fucking annoying.
“Anyone else feel like they barely made it out of that dinner alive?” I laugh, keeping my tone as casual as possible, even as my question rings throughout the sitting room like the bell in the tower.
To my surprise, both Aubrey and Renard visibly relax. “Fuck, yes,” the dragon exhales, puffing out a smoke ring he must have been holding in for the last hour. Delores left the tower with Bash and Nico about twenty minutes ago, but the leftover tension from Q & A time is clearly affecting the others as much as me.
“Do you think Dolly noticed how much wedidn’ttell her?” Renard clears his throat. “Surely, we can’t share everything… yet.” With a start, I realize the usually nonchalant gargoyle isworried—not about our girl knowing our secrets, but that we might lose her if we don’t share them as readily as she’d like.
We’ve all got it bad.
“I believe we did all right, considering who we were up against,” Aubrey huffs before sobering. “Delores wants to be treated as an equal, but as her alphas, we have a responsibility to decide whatnotto tell her—for our protection and forhers.”
“Like the latest news about more missing students,” I grimly fill in the blanks of what he’s implying.
Just this morning, several parents called the school to ask why their kids hadn’t come home for break as expected. Aubrey jumped into the investigation, and it turns out none of them were in class earlier this week, and one has been missing for days. No bodies have been found yet, so Henrietta wants to keep it quiet until we know more. All this recent development accomplished is that my blood pressure has fucking skyrocketed, especially with a new pack member to defend.
