Page 20 of Eat. Prey. Love.

That remindsme that I’m going to kick the moper’s ass for not sharing whatever that gem is with the rest of us.

“Have fun, I assume?” Chessie calls from the kitchen.

I can imagine the face he’s making while he works on something that smells fucking amazing. “About that…”

Before I can admit it, Dolly bounces into the middle of the room. “Fitz and I mated; isn’t that great?”

Wincing, I look around, waiting for all the alphas to lose their shit. Instead, my twin comes up and claps me on the back, grinning broadly. “That’s fantastic, bro.”

Huh?

Chess comes out with a big plate of cheesy, greasy deliciousness, handing it to our girl with a broad smile. “I’m so happy for you both.” Once she takes the food, plopping on the couch to dig in, he turns to me, cupping my face. “Truly, love.”

Dolly points at me as she mumbles through a mouthful of food. “I fink he fought you all were goin to be mah.”

I blink, tilting my head until Ren translates. “She said he thinks you thought we’d be mad. Judging from the look on your face, I’d say she’s right.Mais, mon ami, you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s joyous news.”

“It is?” I frown then shake my head. “I mean, Iknowit is, but why is it foryou?”

Aubrey comes out of the kitchen with a scotch, shrugging. “Because if she’s ready with you, she’ll be ready for us eventually. Don’t be dense.”

Ohhhhh.

“I get it now,” I say as I put my arm around my cheetah. He looks down pointedly and I realize I’m still flapping in the breeze. Moving behind the counter until I rectify that, I continue. “Andyou’ve all been busy here. The Captain is scary in his efficiency sometimes.”

Felix rolls his eyes, but he comes over to sit at the other end of the huge piece of furniture. “Well, a bunch of money helps, too. But not having this room look like an eighty year old woman threw up in it is worth every penny. If they can get the other rooms done as quickly, we’ll be set within the week.”

“That would be great,” Dolly says as she pauses eating then looks at us in confusion. “Is this ravenous feeling part of the bond thing? I think it is because I really feel like I could eat a water buffalo. I don’t know if this will be enough.”

Chess jumps up, bolting for the kitchen to join me. “Don’t worry, Angel. I’ll whip up some more stuff for you.”

I smile fondly then look at her. “See? I told you it didn’t matter what you needed or how you shift, Baby Girl.”

“How does she shift?” Ren says as he drapes over a chair. “What do you mean by that?”

My grin widens. “I forgot to tell you. Baby Girl’s full shift is like… a sexy sparkly bunny girl, not a teeny rabbit. She didn’t even know, either.”

Her face turns red again and she hides behind her long rainbow hair. “He’s right; I didn’t. The only time I ever shifted all the way was the night Todd and I…”

A chorus of growls fills the room and I chuckle. “Best move on fromthatsubject, love.”

Rolling her eyes, Dolly continues, “Well, it was dangerous because a bunch of people I trusted almost ate me. So I decided I wasn’t going to do it again, especially not at Apex. It was easier to half-shift and I was stronger in that form. I didn’t worry about it, really.”

The gargoyle tilts his head, studying her for a moment. “Did your magic react to the mating?”

Now it’s my turn to look sheepish. “I don’t know about her, but something pretty big smacked into me and I was out like a light. I woke up next to her as a tiger, then I figured out she was a hottie bunny girl. I don’t have a fucking clue what happened in between.”

“He’s right,” Dolly says as she munches on another cheesy delight. “I woke up after Fitzy and was just as surprised. Welcome to my crazy life, as usual.”

“That means we’ll have to add it to the boards when they come in,” Chess says. “Maybe you can search for alpha females with odd shifts, Aubrey?”

No one even reacts to the news that our girl doesn’t shift like a normal pred or prey—we’re becoming jaded as fuck about the weird shit that surrounds Dolly.

The dragon sighs, sipping his scotch slowly. “I can add it to the list, but you should be aware it’s already unmanageable. I don’t know how we’ll be able to look intoallof this while avoiding killers and poison, teaching, and the rest of it.”

“Oh!” Everyone looks at me and I shrug. “I’m a tool for not thinking of it before. We need to… branch out. There’s too much for us to do alone and we need help that won’t question why we’re looking right?”

Dolly tilts her head and I see her trying to gauge why I’m asking. “We do, Fitzy. What’s your idea?”