Page 17 of Prey It By Ear

Aubrey is cut off when we reach our cabin and Fitz plugs the security in fast enough to rival Chessie. He throws the door open and holds his free arm out, glaring at everyone until we all hustle inside. Once we’re in, the hyper tiger slams the door shut and locks it before he blows out a long, annoyed breath. Even Felix is looking at him curiously, but Fitz holds up his hand to keep his twin from speaking.

“Chessie, are you okay? They didn’t upset or hurt you?”

My heart melts as the younger tiger walks over to cup his mate’s face and examine him. Chess smiles brightly, and then clears his throat to reply, “I’m fine, baby. I promise.”

“Thank fuck.” Fitz lets go and steps back, his posture relaxing immediately. I walk over and wrap my arms around him from behind, laying my cheek on his back. “I didn’t think you couldn’t do it, but I was so fucking worried they’d step in something painful.”

“Like my parents’ death? Come on, Fitz, I highly doubt the Raj has told anyone outside of the inner circle of the Society what happened on that island. Certainly not random relatives of the inner circle.”

Frowning, I lift my head and spin the tiger around to look at him. “What did you think they would use to hurt him? I… I’ve got a basic idea of why Chessie was taken in, but not all of it. If you thought our enemies would use it to fuck with him, it must be worse than I imagined.”

Felix’s lips press together as he looks anywhere but at me, and I know I’ve hit a sore spot.

That’s just too damn bad because we will not keep things secret that others will use as weapons.

Guilty As Charged

Aubrey

The Raj seems more bothered by our indomitable bunny’s demand for another painful piece of backstory than Chester. That feels odd to me, as it’s his story and his parents, but… Felix has been self-flagellating for shit outside of his control from the moment he set foot on Apex grounds. Dolly’s love and support has helped him come out of that in the same way it has for the rest of us, but it is hard to explain how responsibility is drilled into the young when they are future rulers of their kind.

Renard and I understand this best of all, as we also were raised with that sense of duty to protect and shield.

“Angel, you’ll want to sit down,” Chess says gently. “It’s not a long story, or even an unusual one for the time and place. But it weighs upon Felix and Fitz because despite how young we all were, they both feel like they should have been able to stop their dad.”

“Mes amis⁠*, you must know that you could have prevented nothing as cubs anymore than I could have as a teenager,” Rennie says softly. He’s moved to the couch, settling in where I can join him. “Nor can our petit lapin⁠* be held accountable for her parents’ murders or crooked dealings. Children do not succeed in controlling adults often at all, much less determined killers.”

Felix rakes a hand through his hair, turning away for a moment as he blows out an audible breath. “There are… extenuating circumstances.”

“Bro, you can’t dance around it; you have to just say it,” Fitz murmurs lowly. “Baby Girl will understand.”

I clear my throat as I sit next to my mate and pat the couch, so Dolly comes to settle in as well. The other may need her eventually, but if Chester believes she should sit, then I will listen. “The story is Chester’s primarily, yes? Let him tell it the way he remembers, and you can add to it. It’s not fair to speak over him, Fitzgerald.”

The younger tiger slumps a little, nodding as he flops into one of the chairs facing us. “You’re always so wise, Naughty Newt, and it’s more helpful than I give you credit for.”

Oh, that’s not a good sign; Fitz doesn’t compliment me.

“Fitzy,” the lunchable says as she finally sits down next to me, perching on the edge of the sofa. “I know you weren’t trying to invalidate Chessie’s story, and so does everyone else. You want to protect him and your twin and me, right?”

Sighing, the tiger in question slumps in a chair and looks up for a moment before saying, “Yeah. And I still feel like shit about it, no matter how many times Chessie tells us he doesn’t blame us or anyone says it’s not our fault. Like, I know it’s not, but…”

Chess walks over, pointedly looking at his lover as he gestures for him to make room. Once Fitz complies, the cheetah gets comfortable on his lap as he says softly, “Felix, sit with us. I know you both hate this, but my angel is right about how we all have to share the hard stuff. And since we have time tonight with virtually no interruptions, it’s my turn to share a bit more.”

“Thank you, Chessie,” Dolly murmurs with a proud smile. “I promise I’ll do the same if you ask me.”

Fitz grumbles, “I already know about that terrible moment, and I failed to kill that douchebag, too.”

The sound of Renard clapping behind me gets all of our attention and the gargoyle waits until everyone is quiet before he says, “Out of everyone, I have the most recent experience with realizing that I should not have held all that guilt for so long. Perhaps we can agree that we must let go of the hurts that shaped us, even those we have witnessed, and move forward without carrying that luggage around, oui?”

“Baggage, love,” I say with a soft chuckle. “Not luggage. However, I believe you’re on to something.”

Dolly arches a brow. “I’ll accept that if you brood less, rock man, and if my scaly guy opens up about his stuff at some point soon.”

Ouch. She has me there.

“I’d be interested in knowing what sent Old Scaly Balls flying to the new world,” Fitz says with a hopeful grin. “In detail, of course. We have only broad strokes.”

“Tonight isn’t about me,” I say as I blow a few smoke rings at the tiger. “But yes, I will have to face my past as well.”