Page 2 of Prey It By Ear

He looks at me in surprise, clearing his throat as he replies, “I don’t know, Princess. Obviously, we think you’re one of a kind, but… how would we even know what the Fae tried? We still aren’t sure what definitely produced you, much less if it was something the preds in charge could have attempted more than once.”

I wrinkle my nose, sighing heavily. “Lucille and Bruno never mentioned another heir. They were pissed that I was a failure, but as far as I remember, they never discussed replacing me. Maybe she knew she couldn’t get away with whatever she did more than once?”

“If your parents were as dedicated to fucking around as you’ve said, I doubt that’s true,” Fitz chimes in as he joins us. “I mean, you said they both had sidepieces all the time, but when it became an issue, the hussies disappeared, right?”

Nodding, I remember the gardener. “Yeah. On either side, though Bruno never talked about it. Lucille made snide remarks, which is how I know, but there’s no way she didn’t retaliate by taking out his mistresses.”

“I’d say whoever is your bio dad is someone your fake dad didn’t know about.” Chess tilts his head as he catches up, his expression thoughtful. “Your mother was under pressure to create a Rostoff heir, Bruno was shooting blanks, and whomever she pulled her shit with was nowhere near their life at home. She probably found the guy on a business trip or something. Maybe your friend Mattie can smuggle us some records?”

I think about that for a moment. “Mattie wasn’t employed by Lucille before I was born, but she does hold the key to a lot of financial records because she does all the paperwork and shit. Maybe she can dig through that to find out where Lucille was the year before I was born?”

“Good idea, both of you,” Aubrey rumbles as he and Renard get closer. “I think a paper trail to locate who your bitch mother used for ‘insemination’ may help us figure out not only why the Fae want you, but what to expect as you continue developing.”

“You make me sound like a science experiment, guys,” I grumble. “I highly doubt Lucille was bioengineering anything. The more likely scenario is that she needed a kid, was drunk on a trip, and fucked the wrong hot dude and found out.”

Fitz snorts, grabbing my hand to squeeze it. “You’re probably right, Baby Girl. But that doesn’t mean it won’t help you find out the truth. The further away you get emotionally from the parents who abused you, the easier it is to move on with life. Or, that’s what the books say, right?”

“What books?” Felix says as he gives Fitz a shocked look. “You’re reading psychology now, too?”

“Hell, no,” his twin retorts as I laugh. “But romance books are punk AF, and the ones we read have lots of fucking awesome lessons in them. They’re not all research for new kinks, you know.”

Rennie chuckles, nodding his agreement to the elder tiger. “He’s right, Felix. There are many layers to the things we read with ma cherie. You should join us in this too, as you have the knitting. I believe you would enjoy our little book club as well.”

“Anubis, save me,” Aubrey mutters. “I’m going to be sucked into a smutty book club with Fitz. I’m not sure if I can survive the indignity.”

I’m quite sure he will, though I won’t say anything; the dragon can bemoan it all he wants until he learns what lovely things come from our reading habit.

Long Way From Home

Felix

My family might seem like they drive me fucking insane, but they don’t.

Fitz, Chess, and I had nothing remotely like this outside of my Nonna. She was exiled before we were adolescents, which is when it got much, much worse with the Raj. The one barrier he semi-respected was gone, and we were forced into the roles he chose for us with brutal efficiency. Our submission on that helped us keep Chessie safe; that’s why we did it. No one else would have protected him, and the possibilities terrified us constantly, especially Fitz.

I shudder to think what he would have done to burn the entire island down if my father had gotten his paws on the adopted cheetah.

As we wait for the early boarding our expensive as fuck tickets grant us, I look around at the crowds. We were safe in the hidden gargoyle compound during our stay there, but that doesn’t mean we are now. There are no safeguards in the small eastern European village, and I don’t trust anyone now that we’ve exposed how far this conspiracy goes. Keeping the people I love away from those who want to do them harm is in my genetics as the future king and a Khan. Our family once stood for that sort of thing, as my Nonna used to tell us, but several generations of weak sons brought us to the place where our name stands for something entirely different now.

“Deep thoughts, bro?”

I shrug, giving my twin a blank expression. I don’t want him making a big deal of my concerns in front of the others; the train journey is sketchy enough as it is. Being trapped in a moving cage is better on land than in air, but none of it makes my tiger happy. “Just musing. Nothing important.”

He snorts, arching a brow suspiciously. “You know that I’m your fucking twin, right? I know what my face looks like when I’m thinking about dark shit. Come on, man.”

Laughing, I move away from the group slightly. Aubrey and Ren are chatting with the princess and Chess, so I feel okay doing this much. “I was thinking about home, our family, and how much I hate being out of control regarding our security.”

“That’s… a lot at once.” Fitz scratches his chin as he looks at me seriously. “You know that we’re all capable of defending ourselves, and together, we’re a powerhouse. I don’t think the train journey is going to be as busy on the way home, and you’ll be able to have us all right where you can see us.”

Dolly bounces over, her eyes dancing with merriment. “I’m really glad we’re going home. I miss Ru-Ru and Coco, plus the Captain’s crew, and even our renovated library home. Rennie’s family took good care of us, and I think it helped him a lot, but we had to come back to reality sometime.”

“Princess, you’re far more sentimental than you want anyone to know,” I reply with a soft smile. “I’m happy to get back to our current home, too, and I’d like to see everyone, even Zhenga. I want to get all this shit done and sorted before school starts. It’s already the beginning of September, and things will move quickly as they start the semester.”

“It does always seem to fly by as we’re ducking all the attacks and asshole enemies,” she says as she links her arm in mine. “I guess being on our toes constantly makes things move more quickly? I don’t know.”

“Do you think she and Coco Cabana will have new shit for us from their vacay in Paris?” Fitz asks as he bumps her shoulder with his. “I have to say, they got the plum job for the summer. The prey animals went to the isles, we journeyed to vampire-land, and the badger had his shit. Those two spent all these weeks ‘ooh-la-la-ing’ it up while we hiked and the prey camped out on remote islands.”

“Fitzy, we weren’t exactly roughing it in that lovely house with all the room and dinners with the clan, and⁠—”