Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

"Hi, Tamara."

"Hey, Tamara."

Students greeted the dragoness as they passed, but Tamara didn’t answer. She barely even noticed them, too lost in the thoughts that had been tormenting her since she left the dining hall.

No matter how much she thought about it, it was simply too difficult to believe. Yet the weight of the jewelry tucked inside her pocket was enough evidence to keep her from dismissing the possibility entirely.

Rhydian had given that human pieces of his hoard? Wasn’t he aware of the implications? What exactly was his plan here? Did he honestly think the dragon clan would accept some pathetic human as his chosen female? What the fuck was he doing?

Tamara felt like she was going insane with all the thoughts running through her head.

Maybe she was mistaken. Perhaps Rhydian had taken the jewelry from his hoard for some other reason, and whatever happened in the restroom had caused him to lose it before the building collapsed.

That was far more believable. She was the one jumping to conclusions. Rhydian wasn’t stupid. He was their prince, the future of the Drakhar bloodline. Whatever fascination he had with Aria Aspen could only ever amount to some stupid fun before he eventually grew bored of her.

Yes, that was it. She was simply overthinking everything, and when Rhydian returned, he would clear up this entire misunderstanding himself. Until then, she would keep the jewelry safe for him.

With that settled in her mind, Tamara continued toward House Aetheris. Except the last thing she expected to find when she arrived was Thamas Draco carrying an unmistakably unconscious Charlotte in his arms.

What the fuck?

Perhaps it was the lingering anger from discovering Rhydian’s hoard scattered throughout the dining hall, but rage immediately surged through Tamara so violently that her entire body trembled.

What the hell was this sudden obsession dragon males had developed with human females? Were they all trying to drive her insane? Did she need to start knocking their heads together until their brains began working properly again?

And then there was Quest standing in the middle of the commotion, surrounded by a multitude of Aetheris students who looked as if they couldn’t wait for a fight to break out.

"What would you have me do, brother?" Quest’s voice rang across the courtyard. "Let a human humiliate me in front of the entire house and walk away without consequence?" His expression hardened. "Would you have me swallow that shame, or let me have my revenge?"

None of them had noticed Tamara yet, too engrossed in whatever madness was unfolding before them.

"You already threw her off a building. That should be punishment enough. I’m sure the human will think twice about laying a hand on you next time," Thamas told him.

Wait a minute—who threw who off a building?

Tamara lifted a hand to her temple. Mother of dragons, these people were after her life. Why couldn’t she have one moment of peace? It had been one disaster after another since morning, and apparently, House Aetheris had decided she hadn’t suffered enough.

"Unfortunately, there will be a next time," Quest said with annoyance. "The entire point of punishment is to make certain there isn’t one. So hand her over, brother. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be."

"I wish I could," Thamas said. "But handing her over already makes me an accomplice to whatever insane revenge you’re planning." He shifted Charlotte carefully in his arms before glancing pointedly at the cast around his broken one. "I’m still serving out my own punishment, and I’m not particularly interested in losing the other arm. Unlike you and that bird brain of yours, I actually possess some sense of self-preservation."

Quest’s expression darkened. "What did you just call me?!"

He took a threatening step toward Thamas, but before he could get any farther, Tamara finally interfered.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Her voice cut straight through the commotion.

Quest stopped at once.

The students who had gathered eagerly around the dragons immediately began backing away, their earlier excitement disappearing now that House Aetheris’s second-in-command had arrived. Whispers spread quickly through the crowd.

"Shit, Tamara’s here."

"I don’t want to get implicated."

"Thank the Mother of Dragons I wasn’t the one who pushed the human off the building."

Tamara ignored the whispers and took a good look at Thamas. He looked considerably better than the last time she’d seen him in his lair, when his injuries had left him weak and barely capable of standing without assistance. Then her gaze dropped to Charlotte lying unconscious in his arms, and hot rage mixed with another emotion she couldn’t quite identify twisted inside her.

He had obviously only just returned, so how the hell was he already involved with that pest Charlotte? More importantly, Thamas hated humans. He’d made that perfectly clear from the beginning. So why was he suddenly sticking his neck out for this one?

First Rhydian and Aria Aspen, and now Thamas carrying Charlotte around like she’d become his personal responsibility. Were these humans using some sort of charm on the dragon males? Was there something Tamara was missing here?

Perhaps her gaze lingered on Charlotte for a second too long because Thamas caught the ugly look that crossed her face, and just like that, a wicked idea occurred to him. Without breaking eye contact with Tamara, he deliberately adjusted Charlotte in his arms and pulled the unconscious woman closer against his chest.

Tamara lifted a brow at the gesture. Thamas merely held her gaze, the faintest hint of amusement dancing in his eyes.

"You’re finally here," he said.

"And you’re here too." Tamara tried to keep her tone neutral, but the slight rise in her voice betrayed her irritation. "Never thought I’d see the day when you’d protect the same human you once wanted dead."

Thamas smirked. "I suppose I had plenty of time for self-reflection while I was locked away. Besides, what better way to earn some brownie points with Rhydian than by saving one of his precious humans?"

The words precious humans immediately dragged Tamara’s thoughts back to Rhydian and Aria Aspen. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides before she could stop them.

Rhydian Drakhar was not interested in humans.

Simple as that.

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