Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

Maverick Nightshade should have been a chef instead of a professor. More importantly, was he trying to fatten her up?

Aria stared at the feast spread across the island in complete disbelief. There was enough food to feed several people, and the dishes looked like something that would be served in a five-star restaurant.

Except where the portions should have been tiny, the plates ridiculously expensive, and reservations made months in advance, Maverick apparently hadn’t gotten the memo about tiny portions.

He had made tender cuts of glazed meat arranged over roasted vegetables, creamy potatoes garnished with herbs, grilled fish resting beneath a delicate sauce, freshly baked bread still warm enough to release steam, and several smaller dishes Aria couldn’t immediately identify but desperately wanted to taste. Even the salad looked too beautiful to be called a salad.

"You made all of this by yourself?" Aria asked in disbelief, turning toward him.

"Yeah," Maverick answered so casually, as though this was something the average person could do.

Aria stared at him for several seconds. First the snowy welcome, then his Fae form, and now the food? The entire situation was beginning to feel suspiciously calculated.

"Why do I feel like you’re trying to bribe me, Maverick?"

Maverick stopped. "What are you talking about?"

Aria gave him a look. "You know exactly what I’m talking about here, Maverick."

And yes, Maverick knew, because the lightness disappeared from his expression. There was no point pretending anymore. He had provoked Rhydian until the dragon lost control, except what he hadn’t anticipated was just how badly everything would spiral afterward.

Aria folded her arms across her chest. "You invited me here because you wanted to talk. Then I walk in and you’re treating me like I’m someone important even though I’m human." Her eyes narrowed. "So either you treat everyone who comes into your home like royalty, or you’re trying to soften me up before we get to the part where I ask why the hell you deliberately provoked Rhydian into turning into a dragon and nearly got us killed."

Maverick couldn’t deny it because, when she put it that way, the food did look suspiciously like a bribe.

"You’re right," Maverick admitted. "I am doing all of this to please you because I’m genuinely sorry for my actions earlier. I don’t know what came over me, and I know I put you in danger. But I also knew you’d be hungry, and this isn’t the kind of conversation I wanted to have while you were sitting here on an empty stomach."

Aria hadn’t expected his honesty to affect her as much as it did. Warmth spread through her chest despite her best efforts to resist it, and for the first time since entering his home, she wondered if perhaps she’d been a little too hard on him. He wasn’t trying to manipulate his way out of what he’d done. If anything, he seemed to be trying very hard to make amends.

"Well, I can’t wait to try the food, then." Aria pulled out a chair and settled into it before Maverick could do it for her.

Maverick didn’t seem bothered. Instead, he reached for the pitcher of freshly made juice and poured her a glass before placing another glass of water beside it.

Aria watched him move around the island, becoming increasingly nervous as she took in the beautiful food, the private setting, and the handsome man personally serving her dinner. This was really beginning to feel suspiciously like a date. Her mother would probably give her an award if she knew Aria had somehow gotten herself invited into the private home of a man this wealthy and influential.

Except Aria wasn’t going down that path. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a date.

Maverick eventually took the seat opposite her, looking considerably more comfortable with the situation than Aria felt. He picked up his fork but didn’t touch his own food. Instead, he nodded toward one of the dishes on her plate. "Try the potatoes first."

Aria looked down at the perfectly roasted potatoes, their golden edges crisp and lightly coated in herbs. "What’s so special about the potatoes?"

"You’ll see."

That answer immediately made her curious, so Aria stabbed one with her fork and took a bite. At first, all she noticed was the texture. The outside had been roasted until perfectly crisp, while the inside was so soft and creamy it practically melted against her tongue.

Then the flavor hit her. Butter, garlic, and herbs blended together with a subtle sweetness so perfectly that Aria’s eyes widened, and her palm came down against the island before she could stop herself.

"Oh my God!" she moaned. "What witchcraft is this?"

Maverick chuckled, clearly pleased with himself. "Told you."

Aria immediately took another bite and made another embarrassing sound of happiness. At this point, she didn’t even care. If Maverick had somehow enchanted these potatoes, she would gladly suffer the consequences.

"They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach," she said without thinking. "I think I understand that now."

"You do?" Maverick’s attention settled entirely on her. "So I’m touching your heart right now?"

Aria stilled with her fork halfway to her plate. Her eyes slowly lifted to his, and whatever playful response she’d been about to make disappeared beneath the intensity of his stare. She swallowed before forcing out a nervous laugh. "You know that was a joke, right?"

"Nothing about you is a joke to me, Aria," Maverick said, and there wasn’t the slightest trace of humor in his voice.

The smile on Aria’s face vanished.

An awkward silence settled between them, made worse by the fact that Maverick didn’t look away. The delicious bite she’d been chewing suddenly became considerably harder to swallow because Aria knew exactly what he’d just done.

She slowly lowered her fork and placed it on the plate before leaning back in her chair. There was no point dragging this out any longer. Aria had come here for answers, and if she allowed Maverick to keep distracting her with delicious food, she might leave knowing even less than when she’d arrived.

"What is going on between us, Maverick?" She went straight to the point. "The other night, you snuck into my bed, and then we did things that were completely inappropriate and shouldn’t have happened in the first place."

Aria took a deep breath, forcing herself to continue despite how uncomfortable the conversation was becoming. "I don’t know what your intentions are, but you should know I’m not that kind of person. If this is some kind of game to you, or you’re only interested because I’m human and you think that makes me something new and exciting—"

"This is no game, Aria. It’s fate," Maverick told her severely.

Aria stared at him with raised brows, unsure whether she’d heard him correctly.

Maverick remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "I honestly didn’t want to spring this on you like this. I wanted to give us time to get closer first, enough for you to naturally lean into the bond. I thought that when I eventually told you the truth, you would already feel enough of it yourself that it wouldn’t overwhelm you."

"What are you talking about, Maverick?" Aria asked, no longer comfortable with the direction this conversation was taking.

Maverick looked directly into her eyes. There was no teasing in his expression now, no attempt to flirt his way around the subject or soften what he was about to say. "You’re my mate, Aria."

"Excuse me?"

Maverick released a slow breath. "You’re my fated mate. The other half of my soul. The woman my heart would recognize in any lifetime and long for in this one."

For several seconds, Aria didn’t move. She simply stared at him across the island with such complete stillness that Maverick briefly wondered whether he’d actually broken her.

Then she burst into laughter.

It was not a nervous chuckle or an embarrassed little laugh, but full, uncontrollable laughter that had her pressing a hand against her stomach. Maverick watched in silence as she laughed harder, tears beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes.

Of all the reactions he’d prepared himself for, this hadn’t been one of them.

"I didn’t know you could joke around like this, Maverick."

Maverick’s face hardened. "This is not a joking matter, Aria. I’m serious."

The laughter gradually died in Aria’s throat. She searched his face, waiting for anything that would tell her he was messing with her. But Maverick wasn’t smiling. Those slitted eyes remained fixed on her with a seriousness that erased the last traces of humor from her face.

Oh God.

Her stomach turned as the truth finally sank in. He wasn’t joking. Maverick Nightshade genuinely believed she was the other half of his soul.

Suddenly, everything that had happened between them took on a meaning Aria wasn’t prepared to deal with. Him sneaking into her room. The kiss. His strange possessiveness. The way he’d reacted to Rhydian. Even Dimitri’s cryptic words about facing her fate now made horrible sense.

Aria pushed away from the island and stood so hastily that her chair scraped loudly against the floor. "I need to go."

Maverick immediately rose from his seat. "Aria—"

"No." She lifted a hand before he could come any closer. Her thoughts were moving too quickly for her to make sense of any of them, and the room suddenly felt far smaller than it had a few minutes ago. "I can’t do this right now. I need to leave."

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