Chapter 207
Poppy
I don't know why she picked me.
What's going on?
My feet carry me forward before I can think too hard about it. Hesitant. Careful. I keep my head low, ears angled down—not submissive, not entirely—but cautious. Controlled.
It's been a long time since any predator played jokes on me. Not since Felix turned. Not since he chose me, claimed me, let me on his lap in front of everyone else.
Predators don't mess with what's his. That's the unspoken rule.
But Daphne Nyxclaw?
She doesn't play by any rules. Or maybe she's above them.
Even the lecturers are afraid of her. You can feel it in the way their voices get thin around her, how they look anywhere but directly at her. There are rumors—so many rumors—but none of them ever sound like lies. Just warning signs.
I remind myself to breathe.
I've earned my place next to Felix. No one handed it to me. I clawed and kissed and worked my way to where I am. I know my strengths, and I know my weaknesses too.
