Page 36 of Eat. Prey. Love. (Apex Academy Capers #5)
I’m going to slice that little bitch into tiny pieces and have the prey staff feed her to her pack in some fucking chili.
My Baby Girl came home with a dressed wound—it was pretty smart of Z to do that before she got here—from a goddamn mutt taking a shot at her when she should have submitted. Coco-cabana and the badger tried to downplay it with her, but Felix had the lioness on the phone before she could get half the story out. I’ll admit, despite her vicious streak, Dolly made it sound like a basic scrap in the ring so no one would go flying out the door in a rage. She’s got mad strategic skills and she knows how to keep us in line when need be. But this is a direct offense, and it must be answered for.
“Princess, the scene you are all describing and the one Zhenga has finally shared is quite different.” Felix’s arms are crossed over his chest as he looms over the three younger preds sitting on our couch looking mildly guilty. “Do any of you want to try again?”
“Gee, Dad , I don’t know,” Cori grumbles under her breath and we all give her a reproving look, especially the grouchy AF dragon. She juts her chin out defiantly, her eyes narrowed as she stays faithful to whatever promise our girl had her and the punk make before they arrive. “Will I be grounded if I don’t?”
My arm flies out before Aubrey goes stomping over, blocking his path on instinct. He’s not really mad at her, and he’d be sorry if his dragon pushed him to yell at her. The colorful bear is being loyal to our girl in the face of three kings, a beta, and another pissed off pred with decades to centuries on her. It’s impressive even if it’s not particularly bright. “Coco-cabana, we know the truth now. No need to keep up the pretense.”
“No idea what you’re talking about, Khan,” Rufus says as he examines his manicure with a fangy grin. “We were all there.”
“ Amis ,” Ren says cajolingly. “The gig, as they say, is up. Zhenga filled the Raj in and we know this was more than a practice scuffle. Why continue with the charade? It is pointless, non ?”
Always the reasonable one, that gargoyle.
“I’m not sure that’s an accurate statement,” the bunny in question says mildly. “You bullied Z into giving you her side of the story, but it’s no more reliably narrated than ours.”
Aubrey sighs, cracking a smile then scowling at himself for doing it. “Lunchable, I don’t get why you’re downplaying something so serious. Help us understand and perhaps it won’t be such a big deal.”
She rolls her eyes, making Felix snarl dangerously, but it doesn’t affect her. Our girl knows none of us would ever harm a hair on her head, nor her friends’ heads, so it’s more of a warning than a threat. “Look, I handled the situation. Yes, it was unfortunate, but we have too many unanswered questions about the many threats to go around offing every person who comes at me. It would be way too time consuming, for one, and it wouldn’t solve anything, either.”
Walking closer, I drop to my knees, pushing my fury into its cage as I look up at her. “Baby Girl, you’re my mate . It’s a whole other level of crazy that already filled my brains when I look at you. Seeing you injured without being able to do anything about it is making my tiger nuts—more so than normal. And since these jokers are intended mates as well—some with unstable beasts—it’s riding them just as hard.”
Huffing a bit as her posture relaxes, Dolly reaches out and takes my hands. “Fitzy, I’m not saying you guys can’t do anything . But keeping this low-key was supposed to keep you all from killing someone who might be a good lead. I mean, I’d never met or heard of this fucking chick until I got here. Why the shit is she going for my throat like I fucked her dad at her sweet sixteen? Doesn’t that merit some investigation?”
Rufus and Cori double over in laughter at her words, and I can’t help it, my lips twitch in amusement. When our girl arrived at Apex two years ago, she never would have thought that simile, much less said it out loud in such a confidently sarcastic tone. The difference in her is night and day, no matter how many times some things make her flush like a ripe peach. It’s a beautiful thing, just like her ferocity, and it makes my heart thump just as hard.
“Baby Girl, I don’t know how you expect me to take you seriously when you…” I trail off, shaking my head as the chuckles escape me.
Pretty soon, even the spicy salamander is snickering and the tension in the room drops by a million degrees. Her eyes sparkle with triumph and humor, letting me know she did that on purpose to get us all to focus on something besides our blood lust. Again, she’s a goddamn smart cookie, and she knows how to play us like one of the dragon’s expensive fiddles.
“Seriously, though. I really think it’s important to milk these idiots for every drop of info we can get from them. And they’re stupid, guys, because they make themselves known at every turn. Unlike the roommate chick I never met who flew under the radar, the Heathers and these new minions are painting targets on their own backs. Why wouldn’t we use that to our advantage?”
Cori raises her hand, looking sheepish. “With the obvious people being so, um, obvious… doesn’t it make you all worry that there’s people being… less… obvious? Like, the big targets are there to draw your focus away like with magicians?”
Good fucking point, Coco-cabana.
“You’re not wrong,” the dragon says with a heavy sigh. “We are all concerned with the possible hidden enemies, Cori. That’s why Fitz and Felix did a personal search of the prima ’s housing today while you were in class. She was the first on our list to dig more deeply into.”
Dolly’s eyes widen and she whips her head to look at my twin, who shrugs. “Princess, I told you we were going to get serious about the professors in that photo. It’s better we did it than Farley sending his goons in. I’m fairly certain they’re even more direct than us and with less concern about what effect it will have on your day-to-day life.”
She chuckles, giving him a lop-sided grin. “You’re saying they’re a nuke to drive a nail, yeah?”
“ Exactement ,” Ren replies as he drops into his chair. “We should only ask your badger counsel to send his crew of enforcers when it is dire unless we want bigger messes to attend to. ”
“That’s probably true,” Rufus says as he scratches his chin. “My cousin is fucking brilliant at what he does, because he rarely gives a shit what size the blast radius is. He does what needs to be done, when it needs to be, and moves on. Fallout isn’t his specialty, so he’s actually being unusually graceful about how he’s handling your issues.”
“I’m special that way,” Dolly says with a bright smile.
Inching closer on my knees, I look up at her. “You’re special in every way to us, Baby Girl, and it’s not surprising others think so as well. Do you know how many times Zhenga has lost her shit—like really lost it like today—in the years we’ve all known her?”
The bunny shifter shakes her head, looking at Rufus and Cori, who also shrug.
“Like three, Princess,” Felix says seriously. “Today, once when her dad handed things he shouldn’t to her brother, and once at a new professor who no longer breathes air on this planet. Her control is one of the things she’s well known for—at least, when it comes to her temper. In other things, not so much.”
Our girl snorts, muttering, “No shit, Sherlock.” Her friends laugh, and even Felix cracks another grin. “But I didn’t know that; you’re right.”
Chess finally speaks up from his spot in the kitchen and I’m surprised to see him toss back a bourbon. I was so caught up in wanting to murder the fucking wolf that I didn’t notice he’s been almost like a ghost in this situation. “Now that you’ve made up, it seems she’s intent on being part of our extended family, Angel. So she’s certainly going to stand up when she feels it’s warranted. Zhenga has many flaws, and maybe she’s finally coming to grips with those—that makes me happy for her. Being friends with you and the rest of the people you’ve taken in might be part of that. So of course, she told Felix the truth. She wanted him to know you weren’t safe, but she helped.”
“Here I thought she was tattling on us,” the badger grumbles .
Coco shakes her head, the rainbow curls flying. “I don’t think she wanted to impress Felix. That shit scared her; I could see it in her eyes with her fury. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Hmmm. Probably checks out, but what am I missing here? Only our girl was in the cross-fire.
“She’s right,” Rufus says as he leans back against the couch. “The Coach was definitely protecting people.”
I let go of my girl’s hand as she turns to give her friends an odd look, rising to my feet to head over and check on my cheetah. I’ll get my vengeance for hurting my mate, though it won’t be nearly as satisfying as killing the mangy dog. But now that I’m able to get my tiger to see that she’s okay, I need to soothe my other troubled mate.
When I reach him, Chess lets me wrap around him from behind and set my chin on his shoulder. I murmur in a low tone, barely audible if no one’ s listening. “Your cat is giving you fits, my love.”
I feel his sheepishness rather than see it on his face, as I keep my gaze trained on the three sitting on the couch having some sort of wordless argument about Zhenga. “Fitzy, I’ve never wanted to kill someone so much in my entire life, not even your father.”
My chuckle is soft as I squeeze him in my arms. “Ah, Chessie. That’s what happens when your inner pred is allowed to really stretch its paws. You’ve bottled him up for so long, afraid you’d upset me or cause a scene—but my Baby Girl freed him. Now you have to learn where to channel that energy.”
“If you say in bed?—”
Snorting, I rub my cheek on his chest. “Sometimes, baby, but that’s not what I meant. You have to let the kitty have its say more often—not necessarily in the bedroom. You like being submissive there, but your cat wants to be more aggressive elsewhere. So stop putting yourself on a leash in both ways. ”
His amusement filters through our bond as he grumbles, “I’ve never let you put me on a leash, Fitzgerald Khan.”
“Ahhhh, but you’d let Dolly do it, wouldn’t you?” His shiver is answer enough and I laugh again, waiting for his soft purr to caress my skin. “Good to know. I’m always open to new experiences, especially when everyone involved is virginal.”
“Gross,” he mutters, but I know he likes the idea more than he’s letting on.
Dolly’s zeal for new experiences makes all of us get excited, even the ancient assholes, and not some weird cherry hound shit so much as seeing everything like it’s new again.
“I know what I’m ordering for Pred Day on Amazon,” I sing-song and he gives in, snickering softly. “I’ll get Baby Girl all sorts of fun stuff. We’re going to have so much fun, Chessie.”
“Are you two over there gossiping?”
Aubrey’s dry comment gets my attention and I look up, my brow arched. “No, making plans. We did agree that everyone is sharing Valentine’s Day, right? And it’s this weekend?”
“Shouldn’t we all be part of that?” My twin asks with an amused look. “Not just you two clowns?”
I’d snap back with a saucy retort, but then he might ask me what we’re discussing and I want that to be a surprise. So I wink at him while Dolly turns bright red on the couch and her friends giggle.
Baby Girl won’t know what hit her—guaranteed.