Page 21 of Eat. Prey. Love. (Apex Academy Capers #5)

The rest of my night was actually as restful as promised—save one minor detail—and I fell asleep in the pile of my handsy boyfriends with no trouble at all. Breakfast was delicious, but the minor detail from last night made the guys brood like Cure fans. The upcoming day’s one snag hung over us like the sword of Damocles, making me want to jabber until they all perked up, but I knew it wouldn’t help.

Today is my first class with the twins’ cousin and they’re worried.

The argument last night was about who could hold their temper well enough to walk me to class. After seeing them all turn into obnoxious alphas as they tried to work it out, I texted Rufus and Coco to meet me outside the library. Raina volunteered to join me afterward when I headed back to Shird 3.0. Once that was settled, they calmed down and we were able to relax again. I know they’re worried; hell, I’m worried. The way the twins dance around their past with Asani tells me he’s not a good dude, and Felix’s anger only highlights how bad the tiger must be. My Raj is pretty fair, and I don’t think he’s exaggerating.

“Dollypop!”

I turn to see Rufus rushing over with my other bestie in tow. The last time I saw Coco, she looked so dejected I was almost afraid to leave her alone, but today she looks… marginally better. She’s got makeup and a colorful outfit on, even if her expression doesn’t quite match her bright smile. “Hey guys. Thanks for coming with me. I didn’t want to have to peel the guys off this creep if he looks at me sideways.”

Ru-Ru grins as he hauls me into his arms and does an impromptu swing step with me, then sends me reeling into Cori. She catches me with a small chuckle, dipping me then letting me up. “You two are a bit much for eight in the morning. How much caffeine do you consume?”

I arch a brow at her. “As much as we always consume, Coco, don’t worry. But… shhh. I snagged you a burrito.” Beaming, I pull two wrapped breakfast burritos out of my satchel. The one in foil is salmon and the one in wax paper is meaty as fuck—Chessie helped me out since they agreed to help this morning. “Don’t let any of the other guys know my cheetah and I hid them for you. Food doesn’t last long in our kitchen.”

There’s a sentence I never thought I’d get to say with Lucille in my life.

“You spoil us,” she says as she grabs hers. “But I’m glad we came, too. I didn’t get to thank you for… you know.”

Sighing, I slide a look at Rufus, whose lips curl up a bit. He’s being awfully gentle this morning and I guess curbing his snark is his way of being kind to our friend. “You’re my friends and the guys constantly remind me that we’re allowed to spoil the people we care about.”

“I’d love to be on the receiving end of that kind of spoiling,” Rufus says and I shuffle into him purposefully, knocking him off balance as we head toward the Alexandré building. “Though truthfully?—”

Cori rolls her eyes as she cuts him off. “Enough of that. You and those triplets are nauseating enough on your nightly video calls.”

Oh, Ru-Ru. She’s pretending to laugh, but you’re probably killing her.

“She’s right. There’s enough innuendo at home. What I really want is… gossip.” I look at them both, then scan our surroundings. “You haven’t been around for our meetings yet, but I’ve got another ‘raving fan.’ Her name is Felicia O’ Leary and she’s definitely going to be a problem.”

The polar bear frowns. “You draw crazies like flies to shit, girl. We’ve barely gotten rid of the first batch—and the F-A-E did most of that work for us.”

“Very subtle, Coco,” Rufus says as he rolls his eyes this time. “I’m sure our enemies are unable to spell, therefore will have no idea what that means.”

Covering my mouth as I giggle, I squeeze my hands on my bag as the happiness of being with my friends flows through me. I’m sure other people are so used to this feeling that they don’t appreciate it, but having them and the guys still gives me an electric jolt of giddy when I compare to how my life was before the bunny. “He’s not wrong, but yeah. Oh! And I have another big WTF for you.”

They walk closer, forming a tight group with me as Cori murmurs, “Is it bad?”

“Hell if I know, but it seems to be. The broody one won’t give us all the deets yet, but there are vampires on this campus. ”

Rufus’ eyes widened to saucers and for a second, I think he’s glitching. “We. Are. Living. Twilight . And you didn’t tell me until now!”

Cori groans, shaking her head. “Now you’ve done it. He’s going to be absolutely interminable during film studies now.”

It’s hard to control my laughter as he starts prancing about, pretending to hyper-speed towards the academic building. “If he starts wearing tons of booty dust so he sparkles, Aubrey will ban him from our place. He’s still mad at Fitz and I for the Christmas incident.”

She grins and shrugs. “He has full access to all my cases; I make no promises.”

Rufus zips by, his arms out as he pretends to have a cape flowing behind him and I roll my eyes. “Good thing we love that idiot—and that he’s found the Kavarits, because this look is not sexy.”

“Hey, are you the one that had Coach Z contact me about the uniforms?” Coco gives me a shy look and I nod. “Thanks. I’m actually pretty excited about it. It will be something besides all this fucking school work and… you know… that… to focus on.”

Now it’s my turn to blush and I shrug as I tuck a hair behind my ear. “I know a little something about being betrayed. And finding a purpose helped me make it through that summer before Apex. Luc’s kindness, the prey staff… It's how I survived.”

She gives me a wry look. “That and your vengeance list.”

My eyes dance as Rufus finally stops running about and joins us again. “Well, yeah. Revenge on those that hurt me fueled me, too. It also helped me when I arrived at Apex knowing people were going to try to kill me. But you don’t have that to worry about—not directly, anyway.”

“We’re all targets now, Dollybear, but you’re worth it.” Rufus’ hair is sticking up all over and he’s flushed, but his enthusiasm has taken the edge off my worry about this new supernatural. “But together, we’re one hell of a Scooby team.”

He’s not wrong about that.

My friends left once we got to the classroom, and I’ve been standing here ever since. The door is closed, but I can hear voices in the room. There’s several people in class already, so I’m not worried about being caught unawares, but every time I reach for the knob, I remember the look on Felix’s face and Fitz’ fury. This tiger is not like mine and he definitely poses a danger to me and my family. I can’t get out of this damn lecture, but I have to be extremely careful. I don’t want to give this joker any reason to keep me behind.

“You are a badass bunny. Last year, you made the Pred Games your bitch. You’re standing up to your bitch mom. No one gets to make you a victim ever again,” I mutter to myself. The words don’t quite do it, but I gather up the ‘Drew’ in me and straighten my shoulders. Even if this douchebag is dangerous, I can handle it.

After all, I am Delores Diamond Drew, the only predatory bunny with blue lightning magic I’ve ever heard of—this guy can bite me.

Grabbing the door handle, I yank it open and stride in with the determined gait I use on the Games pitch. Random shifters stare as I stomp past them to take a seat in the back where I can see the entire space. I’m close enough to the door to hoof it if needed, but not so close anyone will assume I’m afraid of what’s coming. Just like Fitz says, location is everything when you’re trying to intimidate your prey and I want to be certain Asani Khan knows he’s the one being hunted, not me.

I’ve only settled in for a moment when the door blows open and a tall, dark-haired man bustles in. He definitely has the Khan ‘looks,’ but he’s not nearly as hot as either of my tigers. I’m curious what kind of tiger he is given his bulkier frame, but I suppose it’s better if I don’t find out. Fitz’ snowy white cat and Felix’s fierce orange bengal coloring are gorgeous, but they’d lose their shit if I somehow ended up seeing this guy shift.

The whispers in the room increase as he moves to the standing desk, spreading his things out on the surface before he plugs a laptop in. “Settle, people. Once I have the presentation up and running, we’ll dive into the first lesson. I’m going to assume that even our famous transfers are caught up to the point the previous professor stopped at before he was tragically killed on Yule.”

Hell if I know. This asshole didn’t preload a syllabi, and none of the past lessons were online because this place fucking hates tech that would make my life easier. They only seem to give a shit if it’s about security and only the stuff they want locked up, and not a damn thing more. I look around, noting the obvious returning students opening their notes while a few others are frowning like me.

I watch as the bulky professor pulls a cord, raising the jungle-themed cover that was blocking a big ass TV. It surprises me because so much at l’Academie seems to be purposefully clinging to the past, but I suppose you can be some big wig in the Khan empire without being dialed into technology. He fusses with a remote for a second then turns to face us. “Good morning, class. As you know from your schedules, I’m Asani Khan—yes, that Khan, but you don’t have to worry! I’m not feral or insane like some of my ilk.”

His eyes cut to me then move back to the rest of the room. That move isn’t missed by my classmates and I grip my tablet tightly to avoid reacting. If his game is to alienate me from the other students, he’s two years too late for that bullshit. It’s a rookie move, and one the Heathers wouldn’t have bothered with. Anyone with real power doesn’t have to actually have to gather the peons; they flock to them without being called .

“Your current seats can remain such for the semester, and you should be receiving your syllabi in…”he looks at the fancy watch on his wrist. “Right about now.”

As if by magic, the chorus of dings fills the room as people’s devices get the notification. It’s a good trick, but again, amateur-hour. He spent plenty of time futzing with his shit to make that moment happen as planned. I’m not impressed, even if he is smirking like he’s won the lottery. Groups of girls twitter amongst themselves as everyone opens the document, but I don’t pay them any mind. So far, it’s three for three on the hot teacher scale with Khans; it’s not like it’s a big surprise.

“Professor Khan, can I just say how excited I am to study the Magic Accords? Ridding the world of that scum was the best thing the Council ever did.”

Oh, no. How did I miss that?

My old nemesis, Gold, is sitting on the other side of the classroom in a shadowy corner. I didn’t have to see her witchy face once during the break, and I was hoping with the intense arts focus here I’d be able to avoid her and Pink. Silver got shipped to Zhuǎn xīng U&M , so she’s off my plate, but these two are back to make my life miserable.

Asani smiles broadly, clicking his remote to reveal the syllabus on the screen as well. “I, too, look forward to that discussion, Miss…?”

“Erikson… Heather Erikson.” She sits up straighter and despite her lack of groupies, I see the girl who tried to have me eaten shining through. “Our parents are very well acquainted, I believe.”

“Indeed. The Khans use Erikson tech exclusively on Bloodstone Isle. It helps keep our more… feisty students in line without fail.”

She grins wickedly and I have to suppress a shudder. I can only imagine what hellish shit the Eriksons have invented to punish reformatory students on an isle run by fucking psychos assholes with no oversight. The wolf’s expression turns vicious for a second, then melts into a more normal one as she continues, “I’m certain you’ll be my favorite professor in this ridiculous school. At least your subject is useful .”

Gross. I hope this guy moves on or I’m going to heave all over his dumb tiki floor—guaranteed.