Page 2 of Come Out & Prey (Apex Academy Capers #1)
I spent the bulk of the drive to Apex Academy texting with Todd and the Heathers, while Bruiser muttered angrily to himself as he drove. He doesn’t want to be here as much as me, so that makes us even.
Despite the common ground today, I don’t trust him. Bruno gives him far too much responsibility for being what amounts to a beefcake, and I suspect my parents tasked him with spying on me. Not that a six foot five, muscled brute in an Armani suit could be unobtrusive, but my father isn’t stupid. He probably knows I’m on to Bruiser and figures there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
My guess is Bruiser knows and enjoys all of them intimately.
I hop out of the car as soon as it stops in front of the massive Gothic style admissions building. I’m eager to ditch my shadow, find my friends, and commiserate about our ridiculous parents. If I’m honest, I complain more than the four Heathers, Todd, or his bros, but I have the worst of the bunch. At least the Heathers’ parents aren’t boffing every secretary, pool guy, and tennis pro in town. The boys couldn't care less what their mothers say, and their fathers are molding them like gilded trophies. I’m the only one considered a ‘disappointment’ to their family name, and the bad influence of the group.
It’s unfair I’m taking all the heat when we all agreed not to lose our virginity to force our beasts into early emergence.
“DD!”
The high-pitched shout comes from the far side of the steps, and I squint, trying to determine which Heather it is. They’re all coiffed and surgically enhanced to look like quadruplets, so I can’t delineate them by appearance alone. I’m left with precious few options after that because the Heathers dress exactly alike, save one detail.
Every. Single. Day.
“I’m coming, Heather!” I call, waving as I try to work out which girl I’m addressing.
Ah! Now I see it—this is Heather Charles. She’s got that stupid fairy tattoo on the inside of her wrist. Oooh, if Heather Erickson sees it, she’ll rip her a new one. None of the Heathers are supposed to have anything that distinguishes them except the one accessory chosen that day. Today’s clue is ponytail ribbons—they all have their color added to their carbon copy hairstyles.
Sometimes, it’s easier to call them Heather Purple, Heather Gold, Heather Pink, and Heather Silver.
“It’s about time ,” Heather Erickson snipes as she adjusts her gold ribbon, although it’s perfect. “We’ve been waiting for ever . You know people wait for us, not the other way around, DD.”
It takes everything inside of me to control my irritation. She knows my parents won’t allow me to get a driver’s license because they feel driving is ‘beneath those of our stature’. Since I’m unable to escort myself, I’m at the whims of my drunken asshole parents for every event. I can’t control how long Lucille and Bruno make me stand at attention so that they can remind me how little they care whether I’m happy.
“Apologies. My parents did the whole ‘stand and be counted’ BS again, and I thought Lucille was going to drone on forever. As usual, Bruno milked every second of flexing his uber tiny dick powers before he sent me running along with his pet psycho.” I hitch my thumb over my shoulder, showing the bulky Komodo hovering about a hundred feet back. I don’t have to look to know he’s there; I can feel his menacing sneer in my bones.
Sniffing, Gold shrugs and turns on her heel. “Figure it out next time, DD, or we’ll leave you behind. Managing the egg and sperm donors is part of being a Council heir. If you can’t hack it, they’ll eat you alive.”
I blink, tilting my head at her for a moment. The Heathers have always been bitchy, but something in Gold’s attitude today smacks of unearned entitlement. I have no fucking clue what flew up her ass and laid eggs, but her lemon sucking bullshit is going to piss me off today. I’ve had enough of people acting like they own me, and she’s pushing that button hard. “Where are we going first, guys?”
A change of subject should distract them—they’re not too bright.
Baring her teeth, Gold gives me a knowing look. I guess she caught my lack of groveling. “We are meeting up with Todd, Chaz, Brett, and Brad on the quad. They assigned us a tour guide, but we’re going to ditch them as soon as possible.”
“Yeah!” Heather Charles pipes up as she tightens her silver bow. “E says we’re going to find some hot college preds to invite us to a better afterparty for prom night.”
My eyes narrow. College parties are typically ‘emerged animals only’. No one wants to be the older student who makes a younger pred’s animal emerge and risk the animal imprinting on them during a one-night stand. It fucking happens, and I’ve seen girls at our school absolutely lose the plot when the guy or girl who busted their fang cherry ditches them. It’s like a baby duck without a mama—they wander around aimlessly.
They get very desperate, and it’s fucking sad what trauma they put themselves through to chase that feeling. I have zero interest in drinking, screwing, and fucking up my life worse than it already is at a college party.
Besides, I have plans of my own, and they don’t involve keg stands.
“You don’t look excited,” Heather Barrington interjects. Her tiny eyes glitter behind the colored frames of her oh-so-fashionable oversized frames that coordinate perfectly with her pink ribbon. “Don’t you want to find the best prospects here before we walk through the doors? Who you know is everything at Apex. We plan to be at the top of the food chain, and anyone who gets in our way…”
All four Heathers smirk in a way that makes my blood run cold.
I’ve seen what those four can do to someone they consider ‘beneath them’ at Shifter Secondary. I didn’t take part in the festivities, but I did nothing to stop them, either. My parents would have gone crazy if they’d gotten wind of me showing ‘weakness’, and that would have been the end of my bit of freedom.
It doesn’t make me a good person, I know, but I didn’t have a choice.
I’m especially glad I kept my big mouth shut now that Bruno is comfortably slinging death threats around.
“I don’t want Lucille and Bruno to flip their switches if we get busted at a college party, that’s all. You know how they are.”
Heather Hopewell nods, studying me as the purple ribbon in her hair flutters in the breeze. “That’s fair. Their edicts have always limited you.”
That sounds sweet, right?
It’s not. That’s her backhanded way of saying I’m too cowardly to stand up to my parents. None of the Heathers are nice, and all of them are self-serving. I don’t normally get this much ire aimed at me, though, and I’m curious why this morning they’re all set on treating me like shit.
Did someone marry another Jonas Brother or something?
Forcing a smile, I tilt my head. “Shall we go inside and figure out what crusty old bat they’re going to assign us for the tour, ladies?”
Gold sniffs, giving me a once over before turning on her heel. A snap of her fingers has the rest of them scurrying to follow, and I sigh in relief. If the boys are inside, their presence will distract the Heathers, and I can lean on Todd. He’s always there to soothe me when my parents or the Heathers get me ruffled.
That’s why my prom night plans involve a hotel room, champagne, and an overdue surprise for the best boyfriend in the entire world.
* * *
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you past our award-winning library.” The poor tour guide rambles on, although barely anyone is listening. “The Draconis Memorial Library has a collection of texts that are only rivaled by the Apex National Library in the capital. Donors and alumni from around the world apply to the waiting list to have their documents, family records, and tomes inspected for authenticity prior to our historian accepting them as part of collections. We have a state-of-the-art preservation room, and a climate controlled vault in the catacombs to help protect the eldest of our valuable acquisitions…”
“There hasn’t been a worthy Draconis since that incident,” Gold snarks. “Why do they keep the name?”
“Probably because the heirs throw so much money at the school, they can’t turn them away. It’s unfortunate that a shitty family like that gets to be part of the awesomeness of Apex,” Todd laughs. His high-pitched giggle sometimes makes me cringe, and his boys, Chaz, Brett, and Brad, join in immediately.
It’s creepy how alike they are sometimes.
“Maybe the school figures that one person’s mistake doesn’t define an entire family?” I suggest, frowning at the joy they’re taking in dragging people we don’t even know. Everyone knows the Draconis family keeps to themselves since the ‘incident’, and no one really knows what kind of people their clan has now.
“Oh, sure! Some loser destroys valuable artifacts and stuff like a million years ago, and you want to throw them a pity party. Typical,” Gold mutters, looking at the other girls. “DD and her bleeding heart.”
Pink gives me a predatory grin. “That’s what will get you one day, DD. Never help anyone. We’re predators, and we eat the weak until we’re at the top. That’s the way of our world.”
I roll my eyes. “The four of you give me a migraine when you get like this. You need to eat more. You’re thin enough as it is.”
They all whip their heads around to glare at me, and the boys giggle again. Chaz mutters something about a chick fight, and I look at Todd. He smirks at me, and I growl under my breath. He’s a much less considerate boyfriend when the group of chuckling fools is tagging along. Fed up with their antics, I pull away from Todd’s side.
“I’m going to the bathroom. Back in a few.” The Heathers light up, clearly planning on moving as a unit, but I point at a large building on the map. “I think the gym is next on the tour. You might find college guys there.”
Just like that, the entire group switches gears and makes a beeline for the gym. Nice to know they’re worried about if I’ll catch up.
Sighing, I rub my temples and head for the library bathroom to splash water on my face. On the way, I stop at a window, looking out at the small, enclosed courtyard that must be a break area of sorts for staff. I slip through the doorway and walk toward the tree at the courtyard’s center. As I take a moment to admire the flowers, there’s a noise from the window lining the exterior wall, and I squint my eyes to see what it might be.
Holy fucking shirtballs. Is that what I think it is?