Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

Chapter 67: What The Humans Want

"Loyalty isn’t proven when you agree with your leader. It’s proven when you don’t."

~ Rebel Beast

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At that moment, Aria, Brittney, Alek, and Trisha felt like exhibits on display, standing behind Dimitri on the staircase while the entire House Therion stared at them.

Dimitri began, "I’m sure some of you are wondering what’s going on, while others have already heard bits and pieces of what happened today."

The statement immediately stirred fresh murmurs throughout the residence. Students exchanged puzzled glances and whispered questions to those beside them, trying to determine who actually knew what he was talking about.

Dimitri waited until the noise eased before continuing.

"With me are the human students Aria Aspen, Brittney and Trisha Thorne, and Aleksandra Bellville. Effective today, they will be residing in House Therion."

The words had barely left his mouth before the residence exploded.

"What?!"

"That’s impossible!"

"Humans living here? Since when was House Therion turned into a charity?"

"This has never happened before!"

A donkey shifter let out a contemptuous snort. "Caelis and Rhydian were right," he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Maverick Nightshade is turning Bestiaris into another Lunaris. He’s destroying everything that makes beasts different from humans."

His accusation only poured fuel onto the fire.

Unlike the wolves, who had lived alongside humans long before the academy was founded, many of the other land beasts reacted with open hostility.

Bulls stamped their feet in frustration. Mule and donkey shifters argued loudly with anyone willing to listen, while several goat shifters voiced their objections just as passionately.

Within seconds, the hall had dissolved into a wall of overlapping protests.

"Enough!" Dimitri’s voice rang across the house, and a handful of students immediately fell silent.

The rest did not.

If anything, the more stubborn beasts raised their voices, refusing to be drowned out. Their defiance emboldened others, and before long, the uproar swelled louder than before, threatening to drown Dimitri out entirely.

Trisha swallowed hard. "Should we be concerned at this point?"

Although none of the beasts had become violent, their protests were growing increasingly heated. The hostility in the room was impossible to ignore.

Aria was about to assure her that nothing would happen when an unfamiliar tug pulled at her chest. A shiver raced over her skin, raising goosebumps along her arms.

She didn’t have to turn around. Somehow, Aria already knew who had just arrived.

One moment, the Therion beasts were arguing among themselves.

The next, a wave of icy air swept through the residence, sending a chill across the room despite the warmth of the evening.

Every head turned toward the entrance, and the effect was immediate. Their voices died away one after another until complete silence swallowed the foyer.

No one dared utter another word. Some of the beasts didn’t even seem to be breathing anymore. All that remained was the measured sound of approaching footsteps echoing across the marble floor.

Maverick hadn’t even reached the staircase before his voice echoed through the residence.

"I hear some of you disagree with my decision."

There was no shouting or threats, yet every word settled over the room with undeniable authority.

Aria had met confident people before. Even charismatic ones. But whatever surrounded Maverick Nightshade went beyond charisma. Authority clung to him as naturally as breathing. He didn’t have to demand attention. Everyone surrendered it willingly.

Her heart gave an infuriating little flutter.

Seriously? After everything that had happened today?

She inwardly scolded herself and forced her attention back to the matter at hand.

By then, Maverick had reached the staircase, and their eyes met.

There was only one question in hers.

Where did you go?

For the briefest moment, something shone in his gray eyes, and then it vanished. Maverick looked away without a word, his expression revealing nothing.

It shouldn’t have mattered. Yet for reasons Aria couldn’t explain, her chest ached with disappointment.

"How long do you think you can avoid humans?" Maverick began, standing before them with the effortless confidence of one who had never doubted his authority.

"Forever!" one of the beasts shouted.

Despite the gravity of the situation, a portion of the beasts laughed in agreement.

Maverick wasn’t the least bit fazed.

"The humans will continue sending girls."

"And we’ll continue killing them," a bull shifter growled, his crimson eyes flashing as they drifted toward the human girls. Had Maverick not been standing there, he looked ready to charge.

Maverick met the challenge without so much as blinking.

"Until the day the tables turn," he replied evenly. "Until the humans stop seeing frightened beasts hiding behind walls and begin seeing enemies worthy of extermination. Tell me, how long do you think they’ll tolerate burying their daughters before they decide to bury us instead?"

The laughter vanished, replaced by low murmurs as several beasts shifted uneasily.

Maverick continued.

"You call yourselves predators, yet your solution is to hide from the very world you claim to dominate. How long do you honestly believe that’s sustainable?"

Silence spread through the room.

"You ask why we’re expected to coexist with humans. I’ll ask you something in return. What happens when they stop asking?"

A handsome lion shifter with a full mane of honey-blond hair spoke out.

"You know why they’re really here, Alpha Maverick. They call it coexistence, but we know what they truly want."

His lip curled in disgust.

"They want a union. Our offspring. Human greed has never known restraint."

"Yes!"

Several lion shifters voiced their agreement, their support echoing throughout the house.

"And if that’s true?" Maverick challenged. "The lion population continues to decline with every passing generation. You speak of preserving pure blood, but bloodlines mean very little once they’re extinct."

The lion shifter’s jaw tightened.

"So tell me, what matters more? Your pride? Or your legacy?"

This time, neither he nor the other lions answered.

Maverick let the silence linger before speaking again. "Fortunately for all of you, none of these girls are here for that purpose."

His expression hardened.

"And let me make something equally clear. If I catch anyone making advances toward any of them, you’ll discover very quickly that dying at human hands would’ve been the kinder fate."

An uncomfortable tension settled over them.

Aria’s brows lifted. Since when did Professor Nightshade start deciding who they could or couldn’t date?

Maverick looked across the room one final time. "Whether you approve of this decision or not is irrelevant. These girls now reside in House Therion. And every member of this House lives by the same principle. We protect our own. Not from each other, but from anyone foolish enough to threaten them."

He paused.

"Am I understood?"

A few reluctant murmurs answered him.

Maverick’s expression remained unchanged. When he spoke again, Alpha authority rolled through the room with invisible force.

"Am I understood?"

The command struck everyone like a physical weight. Even Aria felt it. The feeling swept over her, pressing against every instinct she possessed. It was terrifying—and yet intoxicating.

"Yes, Alpha!"

The reply thundered through the residence in perfect unison.

Only then did Maverick turn toward the girls, and his gaze found Aria almost immediately.

Heat rushed through her body so suddenly she had to curl her fingers into her palms just to steady herself.

He looked away first.

"Dimitri."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Get the girls settled. They’ve had a long day."

Without another word, Maverick turned to leave.

"Wait!" Aria’s voice escaped before she had time to think.

Maverick stopped. Slowly, he glanced back over his shoulder.

"Don’t you think this is becoming a habit, Aria Aspen?"

There was the faintest trace of dry amusement beneath the words. This made it the third time.

Aria immediately regretted opening her mouth. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, and now every pair of eyes in the residence was fixed on her.

Taking a steadying breath, she finally managed,

"Thank you, Alpha Maverick."

Maverick looked at her in surprise. So that was the title she’d settled on this time.

Nonetheless, he gave the slightest inclination of his head, a low, almost inaudible sound rumbling at the back of his throat.

Then he turned and walked away.

It wasn’t much, yet the crushing weight he’d been carrying since the incident with Shannon eased a little. At least he had managed to do one thing right.

No sooner had Maverick stepped outside than he noticed papers raining from the sky. One drifted toward him, and he caught it with ease.

It was an envelope.

His brows drew together as he broke the seal and unfolded the letter. Except the further he read, the darker his expression became.

He cursed.

"Rhydian, that old, shrewd bastard...."