Feral

Chapter 7

Adrian could feel the tension in the air as soon as he stepped into the breakroom. Several lions were seated at a table to the right of the kitchen, with three teachers standing around the table, keeping an eye on the young adults.

Three more adults were seated in the middle of the room, separating the two tables or more specifically, their occupants. Three others stood by the only other occupied table.

Adrian didn't need to be a genius to sense the tension in the room. To watch the adults twitch at the slightest sound, eyes wary and posture tensed up.

Judging from the raised hackles on the lions, the wary looks of the adults and the scent of blood in the air, there had been a fight among the lions, or perhaps with another group.

As Adrian glanced to the side, he easily found the reason of the tension in the room. His nostrils detected a hint of blood coming from a freshly wounded female Hyena, eyes furious as she glared at the table.

The side of her face was scored with claw marks, the edges of the wound raw, still oozing blood. And judging from the way she scowled each time she used her jaw, the wounds only pulled and tightened whenever she chewed.

Her entire table was snarling, excited cackles sometimes slipping from between the groups' bared teeth. The three teachers were standing guard around them, allowing both groups to feed in relative peace.

A rather fragile peace, Adrian could tell. He didn't know the reason of the sudden aggression, presumably caused by being natural enemies forced to share a room.

Especially around a meal. Hyenas and Lions were notorious for stealing each other's kills, after all. And they wouldn't shy away of attacking one another, killing the competition whenever they could.

Which was why Adrian was rather surprised to find nine adults in the room that didn't seem frightened at all. Hell, they even observed him with a lazy yet calculating look before dismissing him.

They were another new species that Adrian had never encountered, but instinctively, he realized that he probably shouldn't mess with nine adult honey badgers.

Fearless little predators, honey badgers were renowned fighters that never backed down and fought to the death. Their thick yet loose skin was hard to pierce and allowed them to retaliate with a crushing bite to anyone that managed to get a hold of them.

If anything was enough to pause lions and hyenas in their tracks, it would be these nine adults. It wouldn't be a fair fight, especially not if the hyena clan and the lion pride attacked at once.

But the honey badgers didn't care. They would fight off anyone in their path, or die trying.

The hyena clan was digging into their meal, cackling on occasion and cracking bones with their teeth. But every single member was glaring, eying the female worriedly before snarling at the lions.

One of the lions with dark brown, nearly black hair let his eyes roam over the table, landing on the Hyena female before he bared his teeth and licked his lip.

Adrian didn't need to be a genius to spot trouble like that. The glare in the lion's eyes, the way clawed and bloodied fingers dug into his table....

The quick little flick of his eyes towards the females and young, lighter maned males at his table....

A territorial brat that needs to prove something.

As if the lion heard his thoughts, his eyes locked onto Adrian's. The boy didn't lower his eyes as the lion growled lowly, baring his elongating fangs and drawing the attention of the rest of his pride.