Page 3 of Let Us Prey
Sexy wolf Sebastian was looking rather sporty that first day. Maybe he’s the gym teacher here…
Oh, stop it, Dolly.
I’m a fool to think much older, super fucking hot professors are going to come anywhere near my almost virgin ass—even if it is pretty juicy after all that heavy lifting this summer at work.
Get your shit together and get into your room before someone comes along and pushes you into a fountain or something.
I sigh, using the card to swipe myself in at the main doors to the CHUM. The common area is empty, which suits me fine. As I head towards the elevator, I note all the potential places some asshole could corner me, trying to make a name for themselves with the Council heirs. It sucks that I have to do it, but my safety has been my own responsibility for a while now, and my parents won’t care if anyone hurts me while I’m here. When there are no consequences for inappropriate behavior, it encourages the vicious to be as horrible as they can.
The ding of the elevator brings me out of my reverie, and I step on, pushing the number six button. It’s the top floor and I can’t decide whether that’s strategically useful or imminently dangerous. There are stairs at either end, supposedly, and that adds two more escape routes if I need them. I may have to invest in some sort of rope ladder I can toss out the window for emergencies. Chewing my lower lip as I scroll through the options on Animalzon, I almost miss the doors opening.
So much for being cautious.
I grumble under my breath as I haul my shit to the room at the end of the hall, swiping my card in the reader, and breathing a sigh when it beeps green. My relief is short-lived. When I open the door, I find the entire room trashed—from furniture to broken glassware—including a scrawled message across the glass balcony in what I suspect is blood.
“Welcome to Apex. Run, rabbit, RUN!”
Dropping everything, I simply gape at the destruction in front of me. I have no idea who to call or how to deal with this, much less what I’ll do about my accommodations for the evening beyond sleeping on the floor. I’ll need a broom, trash bags, replacement linens, cleaning supplies and….
A feeling of hopelessness creeps over me. I lean my head against the doorframe, closing my eyes as I remember what it was like to have a bright future ahead of me, to be so full of blissful ignorance about the world I was living in. Everything was so much simpler, even when I was under the thumb of malevolent queen Lucille. I didn’t have to worry about the nearest exit or who else is rooming on this floor, or how I’m going to get the smell of rancid urine out of the carpets in my bedroom.
Does this mean someone else has keys to my room?!
How am I going to trust my food in the cafeteria or my clothes going to the laundry service? I’ll have to do everything myself. I’m not lazy or unwilling, but I have no idea how much schoolwork I’ll get in my classes or how difficult my courses will be. I’ll be the only freshman—no, the only student—who will dart around campus with laundry bags, brown bag lunches, and an umbrella to prevent random aerial attacks.
That might sound paranoid, but they covered my room in piss, so it’s justified!
I sink to the ground with my skirt splayed over my thighs and my combat boots pushed against the opposite doorframe. I spent my whole vacation shoring myself up for this day, this moment, but look at me.
Why am I such a fucking failure?
All I had to do was roll up to this place like a badass and kick in the door, but here I am, crumbling like a graham cracker at the first sign of trouble.
The unexpected arrival of my stupid moontime delight last night isn’t helping—the implant Lucille had put in years ago issupposedto control this. Unfortunately, it isn’t and my hormones are all over the place, making me a weird combination of angry, weepy, and horny. Being a girl and a shifter sucks hairy grizzly balls, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone say any differently in my presence.
“Oh, well. It’s not like I was gonna get laid anytime soon, anyway,” I mutter to myself as I wipe the snot off my face with the sleeve of my hoodie.
It’s just me and my toys, probably sleeping in my car together. How romantic.
THREE
Cherry Pie
Sebastian
She’s HERE!
I’d been monitoring the parking lot from Renard’s vulture perch all day, and the glorious sight of Delores Diamond Drew arriving at Apex Academy—blasting 80s punk from a boner-inducing Mustang—really made my summer of stalking feel worthwhile.
Thanks to Aubrey’s super-nerd sleuthing skills, we easily tracked down the infamousToddwho’d spiked the punch at Vom Prom. Our book dragon then used this info to collect an official statement from the little asshole and his big asshole parents so the Department of Health and Shifter Services could investigate. The word around the water cooler is they still don’t knowwhythe Puppermint Schnapps neutralized whatever poison the unknown attackers originally laced the kool-aid with, but the current theory has to do with peppermint and herbal remedies. The Council has eggheads testing the left over spew to figure it out, I’m sure.
Puppermint Schnapps, kids? Really? Fucking amateurs.
Questionable drinking choices aside, I was more than happy to accompany the big lizard to his interrogation in Beakon Hill, if for no other reason than to slip a tracker under the back bumper of douche canoe’s Bimmer. This made cornering him after a night of heavy drinking easy enough, although I was pretty disgusted with how quickly he gave up his ex-girlfriend’s name and address.
I’d barely broken two of his tiny fingers, for Fenrir’s sake!
Regardless, the little piggy squealing gifted me with the info I needed to make sure my girl was safe all summer. But a man can only lurk in the shadows for so long, and at this point I’m dying to get up close and personal with my wayward Cherry once again.
