Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

A crowd had gathered in House Aetheris.

One would have thought something important had happened, judging by the number of students gathered around the common room. But there was no emergency, no fight, and certainly no dragon involved.

There was only Charlotte.

The human sat comfortably in the middle of the room, surrounded by a collection of Aetheris beasts who had gathered to hear what had happened in the dining hall. Questions came from every direction, and Charlotte answered each one with far more enthusiasm than the situation deserved.

"So after Prince Rhydian fed her, he attacked her?" a raven shifter asked.

"Well..." Charlotte drew out the word, enjoying the attention before finally nodding. "I wouldn’t exactly call it feeding her."

Most of the students gathered around her were birds. The dragon shifters had kept their distance, pretending they couldn’t care less about the gossip. However, Charlotte had caught more than one of them listening from across the room, their attention suspiciously fixed in her direction whenever she spoke.

She didn’t call them out on it. Dragons were proud creatures and would rather pretend they weren’t interested than admit they wanted to hear what everyone else already knew.

That was fine by her. They could pretend all they wanted. Charlotte already had the attention of the lesser beasts.

It wasn’t the kind of influence she wanted yet, but it was a beginning. First, she needed to make herself loved. Once enough creatures knew her name, they would start talking about her and carry her reputation throughout the academy. The more powerful beasts would eventually have no choice but to notice her.

"I suppose Aria Aspen must have felt special for a moment there," Charlotte continued, her lips curling into a smile. "Our dragon prince personally feeding her? How romantic."

A few birds snickered.

"But Rhydian knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t trying to make her feel special. He was simply fattening her up for the kill."

Charlotte burst into laughter, and almost immediately, the birds around her laughed with her. For a moment, the entire gathering looked less like a group of students gathered around the academy’s latest gossip and more like a circle of friends enjoying themselves.

Charlotte smiled. To think earlier that morning, these same creatures had laughed when she fell from the balcony. Now they were hanging on her every word. It was almost satisfying.

Well, almost.

Her gaze eventually drifted across the common room and landed on a particular table.

Lord Plumage and Lady Mimic.

The two famous parrot shifters sat together, completely absorbed in their conversation. Neither had looked in Charlotte’s direction once, and that irritated her more than she cared to admit.

They were siblings, and despite being among the most recognizable birds in Aetheris, they seemed entirely uninterested in whatever spectacle was happening around them.

Plumage was impossible to miss. His hair was styled into a mohawk, the dark strands rising boldly from his head while the tips shifted through vivid shades of blue, violet, green, and pink. The colors blended together so beautifully they resembled the stunning lights of the northern sky.

Black eyeliner framed his eyes, sharpening his already striking features and adding to the aloof, almost rebellious aura he carried so effortlessly.

Charlotte had expected him to look like the stereotypical bookish parrot. Quiet, needy, and perhaps the sort who spent his evenings buried beneath piles of books.

She couldn’t have been more wrong. Plumage looked like the sort of bird who would rather start trouble than read about it.

His sister wasn’t any less striking.

Mimic shared the same unmistakable attitude, though her appearance was slightly different. One side of her hair was completely black, while the other exploded into the same dazzling blend of blue, violet, green, and pink, creating the appearance of a living aurora running through her hair.

Black eyeliner emphasized her eyes, while silver rings pierced her nose and lower lip, giving her an effortlessly rebellious appearance.

She looked cool, detached, and completely uninterested in impressing anyone. And that was precisely what made Charlotte want their attention.

Parrots were considered one of the less prestigious bird species in Aetheris. They weren’t higher birds like eagles or falcons, nor were they regarded with the same reverence as dragons.

Yet Plumage and Mimic were different.

They held power. Real power.

From what Charlotte had heard, the two siblings effectively led the parrot shifters in the academy. Even other beasts answered to them, and they had quite an influence within the academy.

They answered to no one except Rhydian. The dragon prince had given them complete freedom to run their own affairs. Hence, the siblings owned and operated The Rooster Report, Bestiaris Academy’s most popular gossip column.

But even with the autonomy Rhydian had given them, they weren’t afraid to write something unfavorable about the dragon prince. No one could understand why Rhydian allowed it or what fueled the birds’ audacity.

Charlotte had heard they had published more than one article criticizing the dragon prince. Apparently, even royalty couldn’t buy their silence.

That was why students trusted them. If you wanted rumors, you went to the students. But if you wanted the truth?

You went to The Rooster Report.

Charlotte’s eyes remained fixed on the siblings. They were exactly the kind of beasts she needed to notice her. Powerful, influential, and connected. Unfortunately, neither of them had even bothered to look her way.

Charlotte’s smile slowly faded.

Perhaps if they wouldn’t make the first move, she would. After all, powerful people didn’t go after small chops. It was the other way around.

Charlotte suddenly pushed herself to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Zainab asked.

Charlotte’s gaze shifted toward the side of the common room, where Plumage and Mimic were seated at their table, completely absorbed in their own conversation.

"I’m going to build real power with real people."

Indigo and Meredith followed her gaze and immediately understood who she meant.

Neither of them said a word.

Since the beasts had approached them to hear what had gone down in the dining hall, Charlotte had taken over the conversation. She kept the attention on herself, and it didn’t take long for the two girls to realize Charlotte wasn’t interested in sharing the spotlight.

As long as they stayed beside her, they would always remain beneath her. So neither bothered trying to advise her anymore. If Charlotte wanted to embarrass herself, that was her business.

Charlotte straightened her clothes and began walking. The birds surrounding her noticed immediately. Their storyteller was leaving?

Several heads turned, conversations quieting as they watched her cross the common room.

Charlotte didn’t slow down. She walked straight toward Plumage and Mimic’s table, aware of every pair of eyes following her.

When she reached them, she stopped.

"Hello." She waved at them. "My name is Charlotte Greenwood."

Plumage and Mimic merely lifted their heads. Their eyes moved over her once before returning to their conversation as if she hadn’t spoken at all.

Charlotte stood there in silence. She should have taken the hint, walked away, and pretended she had never approached them in the first place. But there were too many eyes on her, and she couldn’t leave like some loser.

They were birds. Fucking parrots. She had approached them respectfully, and they had dared to treat her as though she didn’t exist.

Charlotte’s smile tightened.

"Perhaps it’s because you’re beasts," she said, her voice carrying across the table, "but where I’m from, when someone greets you, the least you can do is reciprocate."

The conversation between the siblings stopped. Slowly, almost simultaneously, Plumage and Mimic lifted their heads.

They looked at Charlotte. There was something unsettling about the way they stared at her now.

Mimic was the first to speak.

"Charlotte Greenwood. Eighteen years old."

Charlotte’s expression changed.

"Daughter of Rick and Eva Greenwood. Your father owns Greenwood Holdings, while your mother sits on the board of three charitable foundations."

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

Mimic continued as though she were reading from a file.

"You’ve been friends with Karen Donovan since childhood. You spend most of your time around her despite the fact that she rarely considers you an equal. You follow her because of the connections she provides and the things you hope to gain from being associated with her."

Charlotte’s lips parted. The color began draining from her face.

"How..."

Mimic ignored the interruption.

"You have an unhealthy fascination with dragons. Your bedroom at home contains an entire collection of dragon memorabilia, including books, figurines, paintings, jewelry, and several commissioned portraits. You even have a small shrine dedicated to dragons."

A few birds nearby exchanged uncomfortable looks.

Charlotte couldn’t move.

"You begged your parents to register you for the Concordia Program after they refused. When they still wouldn’t agree, you threatened to kill yourself."

Charlotte’s heart dropped. No. That wasn’t supposed to be known. It was private. That was something only her family knew.

Mimic’s expression remained completely calm. "You eventually got your way and were accepted into the program."

The common room had gone completely silent. Not one bird laughed or whispered.

Charlotte stood frozen before the two siblings, every carefully constructed piece of herself suddenly exposed beneath their gaze.

Mimic tilted her head arrogantly.

"Do I need to mention more?"

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