Page 99 of Eat. Prey. Love.
TigerWoody: Tell us when you have Baby Girl, Saucy Skink. I can’t focus when I worry about her—and we all know what happens when I get antsy.
Gettingup, I head for the back exit of our suite with a sense of urgency that has my heart thundering in my chest. Dolly should be in the Shirdal Arts building for her dance class, so as soon as I clear the doors, I head in that direction. I’m too close to the edge to half-shift and fly, which would be faster, so I speed up my stride.
Yanking the gilded doors open, I stomp into the fancy ass foyer of the building and sneer at the ridiculously overdone bronze of an eagle swooping down to grasp a raccoon. It occurs to me that Rennie’s prey friends have to pass this eyesore daily and it makes me want to smash it. But I don’t have time today because Dolly’s in here somewhere. I look at the directory on the wall, then head down the hallway to the right. She’ll be amongst the flurry of dancers and the echo of pointe shoes against hardwood floors, so I poke my head in every single studio door.
She should be here—except she’s not.
My gut clenches as I rush back into the atrium, spotting her unmistakable hair and leotard-clad form being escorted none too gently by two shifters dressed in security uniforms. Their smirks are as clear as day, and they exude a smugness that sets my scales to itching beneath my human facade. They have no idea that they’re risking their limbs by laying even a single digit on her—much less five—when Fitz finds out about this nonsense.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, quickening my pace until I’m almost jogging. Dolly’s posture is relaxed, head held high with that trademark defiance that runs in her blood. I whip out my phone, fingers flying over the keys with an unusual precision born of fury and fear. Farley, our girl’s honey badger lawyer with the reputation for being as tenacious as his animal namesake, needs to know about this yesterday.
LordDraconis: 911. Dolly’s being taken to Headmistress Midori’s office by school security. Looks serious and follows two emails about plagiarism and school policy on misconduct that came out of nowhere this a.m. Send your goons immediately.
The message flies through the digital ether, and the response is almost instantaneous.
CornbreadCounselor: Team is leaving now. Will crash the gates myself if I have to; I’m tired of this shit. Keep me posted.
The cryptic anger Dolly’s toxic mother expressed on the phone this weekend now makes a sick sort of sense. Whatever this is, it’s got the sticky fingerprints of someone powerful all over it and Lucille Drew fits the bill. But then… so do her ex-friends, the Khan cousin, the shitty counselor, the Irish Pred Games bitch, and a host of other enemies who have it out for our girl.
Dolly has too many hostiles gunning for her; we have to pare it down.
I pause long enough to send another rapid-fire text to the guys, wanting to ensure there are cooler heads than mine here as we wait for the badger couriers. My dragon is restless, wanting vengeance on the people who are hurting our mate. The bad part is that right now? I don’t want to stop him.
LustyLibrarian: Admin building. ASAP.
This is risky, but I’m teetering on the edge as I storm across the green behind the goons and our girl. Dolly may be calm, but inside, my dragon roars for battle. Fitz alone brings the wrath of a psychotic enforcer trained to kill his enemies without batting a lash and they’ve taken his mate. I’m not sure what will happen when his royally inclined brother, his other mate, and my romantic gargoyle get involved, but it’s likely going to get messy.
Muscles tense, I shove my way through a phalanx of security guards, their attempts to block me as effective as tissue paper against a torrent. The door swings open under the force of my push, almost flying off its hinges—a premonition of things to come. I barge into the administrative sanctum, my dragon nature clawing beneath my skin, demanding retribution, breathing silent threats of fire and destruction.
The office is a tableau of self-satisfied smirks and bureaucratic intimidation. Headmistress Midori, flanked by Asani Khan and Carina Rockland, who can barely contain their glee, turns her reptilian gaze on Dolly. My snack sized mate is perched on a chair in the center of the room, her expression a mask of nonchalance that mocks their authority. They’re all circling her like carrion birds confident in their kill, not just Rockland.
“Ms. Drew,” Midori Aung begins in a voice as brittle as ice shards, “the allegations against you are severe. This is no laughing matter.”
I glance at Dolly, smiling as she channels Lucille’s insufferable arrogance, and exudes an eerie calm. The Headmistress turns away from her, looking at me with an arched brow. “And what areyoudoing here, Mr. Draconis? This doesn’t involve you or your family, pathetic as they are.”
The serpent inside of me roars and I have to bite the inside of my mouth to keep my cool. My family has endured a lot of flack since my… childhood accident, but the Aungs are no saints, either. When I think I can respond without flaming the entire room, I open my mouth, but suddenly, the door flies open behind me.
Felix, Rennie, Fitz, and Chess burst in, ready to stand sentinel beside Dolly. Felix is blocking his twin from leaping into the fray without thinking, and oddly, Chess is doing his best to stand in front of an onyx-skinned, half-shifted gargoyle.
Perhaps I underestimated how unbalanced we might be now that two of us have completed the matingprocess.
“Headmistress Aung,” I cut in, hoping to stem the tide of protective fury from the others, “this student has legal counsel. Continuing this inquisition is a violation of her rights, especially since you have been informed of this on multiple occasions.”
Midori dismisses me with a wave, her yellow, snake eyes never leaving Dolly. “This is a school matter, not a legal battle. That is inconsequential.”
“Like hell it is,” Fitz growls, his voice a dangerous rumble. Felix stands in front of him like a living barricade, holding back his brother with a firm grip on his shoulder. “This is a bullshit con job pulled by those idiots next to you.”
The standoff is cut short by an almighty crash as the door, now completely unhinged, topples to the floor. Skelly and Monstro stride in, their intimidating presence commanding immediate attention. They radiate power and unyielding resolve as well fury, and they focus on the anaconda shifter commanding this kangaroo court.
“Enough!” Skelly roars. “You will cease this illegitimate interrogation immediately.”
Monstro steps forward, his eyes scanning the room as if marking targets. “We advise you to acquaint yourselves with the concept of due process before we educate you in a more... lasting manner.”
“Explain to me in explicit detail,” Skelly demands, fixing Midori with a stare that could turn lesser beings to stone, “what precisely are these baseless accusations about?”
Midori watches the two badgers carefully, then moves to her desk. “We recieved a signed statement from both Professor Khan—the one whoisn’texiled by his entire family—and his student, Amity LaPorte. Both families are of high standing with the Council, so as Headmistress, I sought out evidence of their claims. Once they were confirmed as true, I amended our school policy to address this issue and sent for the guilty party to adjudicate her punishment.You’ll find that I’ve documented that process meticulously. This is all above board.”
“Amity’s accusations are quite credible,” Asani declares, his sneer as sharp as the talons I keep hidden beneath my human facade. “She claims Miss Drew plagiarized what work she shared, then used AI tools to fabricate the rest when Amity refused to complete the entire project on her own. Based on my own observations in class, the work handed in, and the technology acquired by our gracious Headmistress, her story is true.”