Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

At the same time....

"Hey—you!"

The shout rang across the ruins of the collapsed dining hall but Tamara didn’t stop.

Workers were at the site clearing away the wreckage left behind by Rhydian’s shift. Twisted metal, and chunks of concrete had already been separated into piles while others worked carefully around the portions of the structure that remained dangerously unstable.

The staff member who had called out frowned when the student in House Aetheris uniform continued walking straight toward the restricted area like she hadn’t heard him.

"Hey! Students aren’t permitted beyond this point!"

She kept on walking.

Annoyance flashed across his face, leaving him no choice but to abandon what he was doing and hurry after her.

"I said you can’t—"

Tamara turned, and the rest of his warning died immediately. Recognition crossed his face, followed almost instantly by unease.

"Tamara Ironwing?"

Of all the students he could have confronted, it had to be the dragon prince’s second-in-command.

Tamara regarded him with an unreadable expression, neither confirming nor denying her identity. She didn’t need to. Everyone at Bestiaris knew who she was.

The staff member recovered quickly enough to straighten himself. "What are you doing here, Miss Tamara? This entire section is not safe ."

Tamara glanced beyond him toward the ruins. "Then I suggest you continue with your work and pretend you never saw me."

He hesitated. "But—"

She walked past him.

The staff member turned after her, clearly debating whether stopping Tamara Ironwing was worth whatever consequences might follow.

Apparently, it wasn’t. He returned to work.

If anything happened to her, everyone here had seen him try to stop her. He certainly wasn’t taking the blame when Maverick Nightshade came looking for answers.

Tamara came to a sudden halt, her gaze sweeping over the destruction around her. She had been in class when news reached her that Rhydian Drakhar had attacked a human in the dining hall restroom.

Honestly, there were so many versions of the story circulating around the academy that Tamara no longer knew which one was true.

Some claimed Rhydian had deliberately cornered the human. Others swore he’d lost control of his dragon and nearly killed her. She’d even heard one particularly ridiculous version where Maverick had wrestled Rhydian to the ground and dragged Aria Aspen from his claws.

But one fact remained absolute in every version. Rhydian had destroyed the dining hall, and Aria Aspen had been with him when it happened.

Seeing the damage for herself only confirmed that much, and for once, she didn’t know what to feel.

She had tried contacting Rhydian several times, but he wouldn’t answer. Tamara knew exactly where he would be. His lair. Unfortunately, tracking him down there would be a death sentence.

Just because Thamas tolerated her presence around his lair on occasion, didn’t mean Rhydian would do the same. Prince or not, friend or not, he would snap her neck before allowing her to trespass on a ground his dragon considered sacred.

So here she was, trying to figure out what the hell had happened on her own.

No matter how much Tamara thought about it, the story simply didn’t make sense. It was beneath Rhydian to attack some defenseless human female, especially one he’d been showing such unusual interest in since the moment she arrived at Bestiaris. Sure, he could be reckless, destructive, and downright impossible when his temper got the better of him, but this was different.

Something wasn’t right.

Tamara was still lost in thought when her sensitive hearing picked up an excited voice somewhere among the workers.

"Whoa, dude, come check this out."

Her attention shifted.

One of the workers was crouched among the debris, beckoning frantically to another man a few feet away. He brushed the dust from something he’d just uncovered before holding it up toward the sunlight.

"Isn’t this real gold?"

His partner leaned closer, inspecting the ring between his fingers. The moment sunlight caught the metal and the gemstone embedded within it, his mouth fell open.

"Shit. That’s real gold. Where the hell did you find that?"

"Right here." The first worker laughed in disbelief, gesturing toward the rubble at his feet. "I was clearing out the debris and stumbled across it."

Apparently unwilling to let his partner have all the luck, the second man immediately crouched and began shifting smaller pieces of rubble from the same area, digging eagerly through the dust.

It didn’t take two minutes.

"You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."

His hand disappeared beneath the bricks and emerged clutching a tangled string of jewelry. Several delicate chains hung between his fingers, accompanied by bracelets that glittered brilliantly beneath the afternoon sun.

"Dude." The first worker stared. "What kind of luck is this? Who the hell leaves something like that lying around?"

Their discovery didn’t remain private for long because the commotion quickly drew the attention of the surrounding workers.

The moment they realized what had been found, clearing the debris suddenly became considerably more enthusiastic.

Men who had been moving carefully moments ago began searching through the rubble with renewed interest, each hoping the wreckage might surrender another piece of forgotten treasure.

Tamara didn’t move. Her gaze had locked onto the jewelry, watching as the second worker untangled one of the smaller bracelets and lifted it toward the sunlight, admiration and satisfaction gleaming in his eyes as he examined his discovery.

Unfortunately, his satisfaction lasted all of three seconds and the bracelet disappeared from his fingers.

"What the—" A growl had already started in his throat when he spun around, only to find Tamara standing directly behind him.

As an outsider who had only been hired to work on the reconstruction, he had no idea who Tamara was, but whatever furious demand had been forming on his tongue died the moment he met her gaze. He might not know her name, but he knew a dragon when he saw one.

"M-Miss..." he stammered, taking a hesitant step back.

But Tamara was no longer looking at him. All of her attention had settled on the bracelet in her hand. She turned it slowly between her fingers, examining the unmistakable gleam of precious metal beneath the dust. There was no doubt about it. This was real gold, and only one dragon had been anywhere near this place before the entire dining hall came crashing down.

It didn’t take long for Tamara to put two and two together. Rhydian hadn’t... had he?

Her stomach twisted.

He had to have lost his fucking mind. A human?

Tamara wanted to dismiss the possibility immediately, but the evidence was sitting right there in her palm.

Her expression slowly turned cold as her fingers closed around the bracelet.

The worker took another nervous step back when her attention finally returned to him, clearly expecting the dragon female to turn her anger on him. Tamara barely seemed to notice. Instead, she swept her gaze across the ruins, taking in the workers who had begun searching eagerly through the debris.

"Stop."

The single command carried loudly enough to halt everyone within earshot. Heads turned in her direction, and Tamara raised the bracelet for them to see.

"Every piece of gold, jewelry, or gemstone you find in these ruins belongs to me. I don’t care how small it is or how deeply it’s buried. Search every inch of this place and bring everything you find directly to me."

The workers exchanged uncertain glances.

Tamara’s eyes narrowed.

"Am I understood?"

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