The Gazelle Who Caught a Lion (5 page)

gorgeous, funny, and he had a way of getting under a person’s skin.

Clark had seen it, and he knew his innocent Angel didn’t have a

chance if Alexis chose him as his next target.

Predictably, their werewolf friends still hadn’t come back, so

Angel remained stuck being Alexis’s roommate. Even if Clark wasn’t

quite over Angel’s words, he’d apologized to his brother, and they

were on good terms again. Therefore, since Angel spent a lot of time with Alexis, Clark often ended up with them, too. The knowing gazes

Alexis always threw his way annoyed him beyond measure. He

couldn’t shake the feeling the incubus had somehow realized Clark

lusted for his own brother. Incubi must have some sort of special

sense about these things. It was horrible since this meant Alexis had a powerful weapon against Clark. But if Alexis tried anything against

Angel, the incubus would pay. Even if it hurt Clark’s relationship with Angel, Clark would not allow the innocent antelope to get hurt.

He fidgeted uncomfortably on his chair, wondering how much

longer it would take Angel to get here. Usually, he liked to go pick up Angel from the H dorm, but since Angel had changed roommates, the

antelope had told Clark they would meet at the cafeteria instead.

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Thankfully, Clark soon sensed Angel approach. “Hey, here they

come,” Reed said, as if on cue. He actually sounded a bit excited,

which was a welcome change. Since he’d come back from his

weekend getaway, he’d seemed unexplainably upset and refused to

give them any explanation.

Similarly, Layton and Morgan had also been away, so this would

the first time the two brothers would actually meet Alexis.

Clark looked toward the approaching Angel and gritted his teeth

when he realized Alexis had an arm around Angel’s shoulders. Layton

whistled. “He sure does move fast.”

“They’re not like that,” Clark bit out. “Just friends.”

“No offense, Clark,” Morgan piped up, “but incubi don’t have

friends. They have friends with benefits.”

Morgan’s comment didn’t help Clark’s temper any. So far, he

hadn’t smelled sex on Angel, but that didn’t mean anything. God,

Alexis was stealing Angel from him.

The two young men finally reached the table. As usual, Angel sat

next to Clark, which made him feel a bit better. Of course, he’d have been even more pacified had Alexis not plopped down next to Angel.

“Hi, guys,” Angel greeted them. “This is Alexis Whitaker. Alexis,

my friends. Morgan and Layton Pierce-Cunningham and Reed

Denning-Holden.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Reed said.

Alexis grinned at them. “Likewise.” He tilted his head at Reed and

gave him an inquiring look. He seemed to want to say something but

decided against it at the last moment. He then turned toward the

bemused-looking brothers. “Oh, I know you. Well, of you. Your dad’s

Byron Cunningham, right?”

Layton nodded. “Yup. Well, one of them at least. My other dad is

Skylar Cunningham.”

Clark knew for a fact that Layton and Morgan practically

worshipped their parents, so the answer didn’t surprise him. However, Alexis’s next comment made his mind go blank for a few moments.

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“Is it true your dad has two penises? Oh, oh, and did you inherit

it?”

Alexis leaned over the table, looking very interested and eager to

hear about Byron Cunningham’s genitals. Layton had turned an

interesting shade of purple, and he released a noise that sounded like a cross between a muttered curse and a pop. Clark braced himself for

the explosion, but it never came.

Morgan placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder and smiled

pleasantly at Alexis. “And I hear incubi are gender-neutral. Does that mean you can’t get hard? Do you get a period like women? Can you

give birth?”

For a few moments, Alexis just stared at Morgan. He then burst

into laughter. “Touché.” He sat back down next to Angel. “I’d love to answer those questions but in private,” he purred.

“Then maybe you’ll find out then if I have two dicks, huh?”

“Maybe.”

By now, everyone in the cafeteria was paying attention to them.

Thankfully, Layton put a stop to the now-disturbing conversation. “All right, can we stop talking about penises and erections at breakfast, please?”

“Sure. We can continue at lunch,” Alexis replied.

Angel sighed deeply, something that told Clark he dealt with this

kind of attitude on a regular basis. “Let’s just get some food, Alexis, okay?”

“Whatever you say, my sweet seraphim,” Alexis replied cheekily.

He winked at Clark and got up. “Let’s go.”

As Angel and Alexis headed toward the cafeteria counters, Reed

released a breathless laugh. “Wow.”

“Wow is right.” Morgan grinned. “He’s hot.”

Layton elbowed his brother in the stomach. “Don’t even think

about it.”

Clark was actually quite pleased about Morgan’s apparent interest

in the incubus. If he could get the shark to distract the incubus, Angel
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would be safe. “Well, he does seem to be interested in you, so if you like him…”

Layton gave him a betrayed look, but the conversation couldn’t

continue, as Angel and Alexis returned to the table. They were

carrying trays with their respective breakfasts. Idly, Clark noticed Alexis’s only held an apple. He wondered if it was an incubus thing or just vanity that made Alexis wanted to be on a perpetual diet.

Alexis bit into the apple and grinned over the table at Morgan.

“So, where are you taking me for our first date?”

Morgan seemed a little surprised, but took the comment in stride.

“I don’t know. Where would you like to go?”

“Your room,” Alexis replied with a smile.

“Whore,” Layton murmured under his breath.

Alexis snickered. “You bet.”

Morgan shook his head and smiled. “You’ll get there eventually,

but not today.”

The words were spoken softly, kindly, but with authority, and

Clark saw a small shudder course over Alexis. If he were someone

else, he’d have done a happy dance and even kissed Morgan on the

mouth for his help. As it was, the mere idea of kissing Morgan

disgusted him—the man was hot, but Clark was a one-antelope lion—

and he’d never in his life let loose enough so as to dance gleefully.

Instead, he discreetly nudged Angel with his knee. His brother owed

him a hunt.

“So, will you be okay by yourself today?” Angel asked,

understanding the gesture.

“Of course, my little cherubim,” Alexis replied. “I’ll be fine. You

can go do your own thing.”

He didn’t seem offended. In fact, he hugged Angel with an

effusiveness that roused the beast inside Clark. He didn’t want the

incubus to touch Angel. Only Clark had the right to do that.

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Thankfully, Alexis soon released Angel from his hold. He got up

and went around the table. Before anyone knew what was going on,

he plopped down on Morgan’s lap.

Morgan didn’t seem affected. He grabbed a piece of sushi off his

plate and offered it to Alexis. Obediently, Alexis took it in his mouth and ate it. It was a bit disconcerting to see, but the relationships between paranormal creatures often were.

After breakfast, they had classes, but today, Angel and Clark

shared most courses, so Clark didn’t mind. Layton, Morgan, Reed,

and Alexis took off together, with Angel and Clark going their own

way.

Clark was one of the older students, in his fifth year at the

university now. Here, the minimum age of attendance was twenty

years old, so Angel had not been able to join him in the beginning.

That period had been the longest in Clark’s life, and many times, he’d wanted to give up and go back home to be with his brother.

Thankfully, he’d managed to withstand through the one year necessary until Angel at last applied as well. Most of their friends were first years, just like Alexis, so Layton, Morgan, and Reed were probably

more suited to stand by Alexis’s side. Clark had no doubt Alexis

would be in good hands.

For the moment, Clark just enjoyed his brother’s presence. As they

entered the sports building, they ran into Mr. Ruiz. “Oh, Angel, hello.”

Clark suppressed a grimace at the teacher calling Angel by his

given name.

“Where’s your new friend?” Ruiz inquired.

“Off to his classes,” Angel replied.

Mr. Ruiz frowned. “But shouldn’t you be leading him there?”

Clark was beginning to get irritated. “Alexis is not an idiot. He

can take care of himself just fine. Besides, we introduced him to our friends, and they committed to taking care of him when we’re not

around.”

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Ruiz looked a little horrified. “Your friends? The Pierce-

Cunninghams?”

Clark had forgotten that Byron Cunningham had quite a scary

reputation, and his two sons were benefitting, or suffering, because of it. He wasn’t too concerned though. Layton and Morgan were great

guys, and Alexis must be as happy as a pig in shit at the shark shifter’s side.

“Alexis will be fine,” Angel answered. “Layton, Morgan, and

Reed will take care of him. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re late for PE.”

The teacher didn’t continue the conversation, so Angel and Clark

headed to the indoors sports facility. The Academy placed a lot of emphasis on its students training their abilities and learning how to control them. A very important section was strong physical training, each according to each shape-shifter race. To that, psychology and

sociology were added, so that the students could understand

themselves and their society. There would also be a course in practical magic once enough students from magical races applied. For the

moment, they only studied it in theory.

Of course, the PE class was one of the most difficult ones for

Clark, not because of the actual exercises, but due to the way Angel looked in the shorts that emphasized the swell of his bottom and the delicious scent of his sweat. Angel was on the track team, while Clark had gone with wrestling. He could run track, too, but other felines

were faster and he got easily distracted by Angel.

The main sports room was huge, and each team had their own

coach. Here, shifters were not separated according to what they ate.

PE focused on teamwork, so it was very likely for students from

various races to be paired together. The track team, for example, held a lot of herbivores, but also their traditional predators, like cheetahs. It was a way for the coaches to point out that here, between the walls of the Academy, they needed to learn to control their hunting instinct.

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For Clark’s part, he needed to cooperate with rhinos, hippos,

boars, and gorillas, as well as with other carnivores. Thankfully, they each had their own weight category, so Clark would never risk being

squashed by an out–of-control elephant. It was actually an interesting exercise because his lion always rose inside him when challenged. It took a good deal of control to keep the beast leashed. In a sense, PE

class was always the most dangerous because all their instincts were simmering, just waiting to be let loose.

They first went to the lockers, where they quickly changed in their

PE clothes. Clark couldn’t help but steal the occasional glance at

Angel. He caught a glimpse of Angel’s tight ass and forced himself to look away. He’d already gotten hard, and he needed to keep his

arousal in check.

He counted to ten in his head and summoned the most distasteful

images he could think of. His cousins naked. Tate and his girlfriend fucking. Alexis and Angel together at lunch. Well, that did. His

erection started to flag, and he finished dressing in a morose mood.

When he and Angel headed toward the main PE room, though,

Clark pushed aside his own jealousy. As always, he squeezed his

brother’s shoulder in a wordless advice to be careful. Angel gave him a brief smile then rushed toward the track team area.

Usually, most everyone practiced outside, but the weather on

Academy grounds didn’t always allow for it. While shifters could

easily run in the rain and were often forced to, coaches preferred to alternate easier with difficult tasks. Today, clouds had gathered above the Academy, so it seemed the track team would run inside. Clark was thankful for this because, this way, he could keep an eye on Angel.

The football and basketball teams had chosen to risk it and go outside regardless.

The class started, and Clark was placed in front of his opponent,

another lion shifter named Jonathan. A hippo from Clark’s team

whispered a warning in Clark’s ear. “Careful,” he said. “I heard he

was boasting he’d knock you out.”

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Clark suppressed a grimace. Sometimes, the competiveness

typical to felines tired him. Right then and there, he just wanted to be with Angel and ignore the stupidity of his fellow students.

He shrugged, unconcerned. He could take the other lion,

especially with his new motivation. Now that Alexis was busy, he’d

be able to spend some time with the sweet antelope.

Clark and Jonathan circled around each other, two predators in a

face-off made serious by the egos involved. Jonathan lunged at Clark, but Clark managed to avoid him. With the corner of his eye, he kept