Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

Dimitri stopped as well, taking in the baffled look on her face.

"Oh." Realization slowly dawned on him. She was uncomfortable with the idea of being alone with Maverick in his private space.

"The conversation..." he began carefully, "is a little private, and at Bestiaris, walls have a lot of ears."

Aria didn’t answer, her hesitation written plainly across her face.

"Trust me when I say Alpha Maverick is an honorable man..." Dimitri trailed off halfway through the sentence, seemingly remembering that said "honorable" man had sneaked into her room just last night.

He cleared his throat. "The point is, I’m only a phone call away, and you can leave whenever you want."

Aria was suddenly at a loss for words.

How was she supposed to explain that she wasn’t afraid Maverick would do something to her? The problem was being alone with him.

After that dream, Aria barely trusted her own thoughts around the man, much less herself inside his private living quarters with no one else around. She was already flustered just thinking about seeing him again. What would happen when they were standing face-to-face with no one around and no convenient distractions between them?

God help her.

"Fine. Let’s go," Aria said, lifting her head with far more confidence than she actually felt.

Dimitri said nothing and took the lead this time. They headed toward the elevator, and once they were inside, he pressed the button for the fifth floor.

An awkward silence descended between them. Perhaps sensing her tension, Dimitri glanced at her and decided to strike up a conversation.

"As Alek’s friend, what kind of date do you think she’d like?"

"What?" Aria turned to him, completely caught off guard by the question.

"I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I like Alek," Dimitri said.

Aria tried to keep the judgment off her face, but apparently she didn’t do a very good job because Dimitri caught it immediately.

"I know what you’re thinking," he said. "I’d probably think the same thing if the tables were turned. Just yesterday, it didn’t exactly look like I was searching for anything serious. But then..." Dimitri paused, a smile slowly appearing on his face as his thoughts wandered back to Alek.

"I’ve never felt like this before. Ever." His expression grew thoughtful even as he spoke. "It’s like I’ve been missing something my entire life without even knowing it, and suddenly, there she is. Like I’ve finally found what my soul has been searching for all along and—oh shit."

Aria frowned. "Shit?"

"No, no, not her." Dimitri’s entire expression changed as something seemed to click into place. "I think I just figured something out."

"Figured out what?"

Dimitri didn’t answer. Whatever realization had struck him seemed to have completely stolen his attention.

"And yes," he added distractedly, "Alek is about to become the best thing that’s ever happened to me."

The more he talked, the more confused Aria became. Then, without warning, Dimitri reached for the panel and pressed the button for the second floor.

Aria stared at his hand. "What are you doing?"

"I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to see Maverick alone."

"What?!" Aria felt her head reel. "What is going on?!"

Dimitri looked at her. "I’m sorry, Miss Aria, but this is something Alek and I need to discuss first. I’m sure the Alpha would tell you the same."

"Eh?"

Right at that moment, the elevator doors slid open.

"You have to go now. He’s waiting for you." Dimitri pointed toward the hallway. "It’s the first door over there."

"But wait—!"

"I’m about to face my fate, Aria," Dimitri said with a sudden seriousness that was nothing like his usual playful self.

That gave her pause.

His gaze held hers as he added, "It’s time you faced yours too."

Aria swallowed. She had no idea what he was talking about, but some instinctive part of her recognized the weight behind those words. Something was happening, something bigger than she understood, and the strange certainty in Dimitri’s voice left her with the unsettling feeling that she was standing at the edge of it.

Without another word, Aria stepped out of the elevator.

She turned around just as the doors began sliding shut, watching Dimitri disappear behind them with a finality that made her stomach tighten.

Just like that, she was alone. And like Dimitri had said, it was time to face her fate.

All it took was a few steps through the empty hallway before Aria found herself standing directly in front of the door. Maverick’s flat.

Aria lifted her hand to knock, but before her knuckles could touch the wood, the door shifted with the movement of air and creaked open slightly.

She froze. The door had been left unlocked.

Fuck. He really was waiting for her.

Taking a deep breath, Aria pushed the door open and stepped inside. To be honest, she had no idea what she’d expected Maverick’s home to look like, but it certainly wasn’t winter.

And no, she wasn’t exaggerating.

It was snowing inside Maverick Nightshade’s living room.

Aria stood just inside the doorway for several seconds, staring as delicate flakes drifted lazily from somewhere above and settled across the furniture, the floor, and even her shoulders. Yet when she brushed one from the sleeve of her hoodie, there was no damp spot left behind.

The temperature inside his home was perfectly comfortable, and warm enough that she didn’t even feel the need to rub her hands down her arms. It was almost as if the snow existed purely for decoration.

Of course Professor Maverick would have decorative indoor snow. What else couldn’t he do?

Aria finally stepped farther inside, and once she’d gotten over the bizarre weather situation, she properly took in his living room.

Holy shit.

Their suite downstairs was luxurious, but Maverick’s quarters made it look modest by comparison. His living room alone appeared nearly twice the size of theirs, although Aria supposed that made sense. Four separate bedrooms took up most of the space in their suite, while Maverick apparently had this entire place to himself.

The room was beautiful in a way she hadn’t expected from him. Ice blue dominated the space, appearing across the walls and enormous rug beneath the sitting area, while deeper shades of purple softened the coolness and gave the room an almost regal quality. Dark furniture grounded the lighter colors, and somehow, the combination worked.

A massive sectional occupied the center of the living room, arranged around a low glass coffee table that looked so spotless Aria wondered whether anyone had ever actually used it. Not a single item sat out of place.

The cushions were perfectly arranged, the curtains fell in precise folds beside the tall windows, and even the few decorative pieces scattered around the room looked like someone had measured exactly where they ought to sit. Professor Maverick was definitely a neat freak.

Aria wasn’t surprised.

One entire wall had been converted into a library, with shelves stretching almost all the way to the ceiling. They were packed with textbooks, leather-bound volumes, folders, and what appeared to be years’ worth of academic material.

Aria wandered farther into the room, still looking around as the strange snow continued drifting harmlessly around her. Then something on one of the shelves caught her attention.

A photograph.

Aria walked toward it. There were six people in the picture, and she recognized Maverick immediately. He stood near the center, looking considerably younger, with one arm thrown around the woman beside him while four men surrounded them.

Aria’s eyes widened. Wait. She knew that woman. That was his mother, Violet Purple.

If Aria hadn’t seen her on television before, she would’ve assumed she was Maverick’s older sister rather than his mother. The woman barely seemed to have aged at all. Her blackish-purple hair was unmistakable, falling beautifully around her face as she smiled at the camera, while Maverick leaned against her with the comfortable familiarity of a son who had probably done it a thousand times before.

The four men surrounding them could only be his fathers.

Good Lord.

Aria knew the story, of course. Almost everyone did. Violet Purple and the four men she’d married had become practically legendary long before Aria was old enough to understand why everyone found their relationship so fascinating. But seeing them together somehow made it more real.

Four husbands.

Aria stared at Violet with newfound respect. How in heaven’s name did one woman handle four men?

Her gaze moved across the photograph again, and despite there being four possibilities, figuring out Maverick’s biological father wasn’t difficult at all.

Asher Nightshade.

The eyes gave him away immediately. Maverick had inherited those unmistakable slitted eyes from him, along with enough of his facial structure that Aria could see the resemblance once she knew to look for it.

The strong jaw, the shape of his eyes, even something about the intensity in his expression seemed to have come straight from his father. The purple hair, however, was entirely Violet.

Maverick looked like someone had taken the most striking parts of both his parents and decided it would be unfair not to combine them. No wonder the man was gorgeous as sin. He had two sets of ridiculously good genes to thank for it.

But it wasn’t their appearance that held Aria’s attention for long. It was the way they stood together. This wasn’t one of those stiff family portraits where everyone dressed nicely and smiled because someone behind a camera told them to.

Violet had one arm wrapped around Maverick while Asher stood close on his other side, his hand resting firmly on his son’s shoulder. One of the other men with green hair had apparently been saying something when the picture was taken because Maverick was caught halfway through laughing, while another had an arm draped casually around Violet. Everyone seemed crowded together without caring about personal space, their attention divided between the camera and one another.

Maverick looked ridiculously, unquestionably loved.

For some reason, that realization softened something inside Aria. She’d only ever known him as Professor Maverick Nightshade, the wolf prince who carried enough authority to silence a room of beasts. It was strange seeing proof that somewhere beyond Bestiaris, he was simply someone’s son.

"I see you’ve met my parents."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!