Chapter 179: Meet Tragic Ends At Bestaris

"Increase the security around the dorm," Maverick instructed Dimitri as soon as they were out of the room.

The jovial air he’d maintained around Aria disappeared the moment the door closed behind them, and in its place was the Alpha responsible for every member of Therion.

"Make sure not even a mosquito can squeeze in, much less a snake. Just because Caelis gave his word doesn’t mean I trust him or anyone from Ophidian."

"As you wish, Alpha." Dimitri nodded, committing the instruction to memory.

There was no need to ask whether Maverick was being excessive. He was merely doing what any responsible Alpha would do when his mate’s safety was at stake.

They were just about to enter the elevator when someone shouted, "Alpha Maverick!"

Both men turned at once, and Maverick watched a female shifter hurry toward them.

At an academy filled with beasts, it wasn’t unusual for students to walk around displaying some of their animal features. Claws, fangs, unusual eyes and even patches of fur hardly earned a second glance anymore. Still, the amount this particular student had allowed to surface was enough to make Maverick lift a brow.

The girl had blonde hair streaked with black, while darker stripes swept across the golden-brown skin of her arms and disappeared beneath the sleeves of her uniform, making her species unmistakable.

Tigress.

Her nails had lengthened into curved claws, each one wickedly sharp despite the ridiculous pink polish coating them, while her golden eyes carried the predatory gleam common to the great cats of Therion. Yet the moment those eyes settled on Maverick, the predatory edge vanished beneath unmistakable excitement.

Maverick might not have remembered her otherwise, but unfortunately for her, he hadn’t forgotten the little rat stunt she’d pulled on Aria and her roommates.

"Professor Maverick..." she said this time when she finally stopped in front of him.

At least she had enough sense to leave several feet between them. Everyone in Therion knew the unwritten rule surrounding their Alpha: you did not touch Maverick Nightshade without permission unless you were particularly attached to the hand doing the touching.

It had never stopped some of the more persistent females from trying, but most had enough survival instinct to keep their distance.

"What do you want?" Maverick asked impatiently.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"He’s standing right here. Talk," Dimitri said with equal impatience. He recognized her too, and judging by the look on his face, he hadn’t forgotten what she’d done either.

Felicity gave Dimitri an irritated look before she could stop herself. She clearly hadn’t expected him to interfere, but there was very little she could do about it.

Dimitri wasn’t just Maverick’s uncle or Beta. As second-in-command of Therion, he carried enough power and influence within the House to make an enemy of him a particularly stupid decision. And if she wanted any chance of getting closer to Maverick, antagonizing the male closest to him would accomplish the exact opposite.

So Felicity quickly smoothed away her irritation and replaced it with a sweet smile. "It’s about the humans you brought into Therion."

At the mention of the humans, Maverick’s attention was piqued.

"What about them?"

"Ever since they arrived at House Therion, none of us have really had the chance to bond with them," Felicity explained. "I’ve tried visiting their dorm a few times, but the guards refuse to let me through. They said it was your order, which is why I’ve come directly to you."

"Is that so?" Maverick asked, amusement creeping into his voice. Felicity mistook it for interest because her smile grew.

"Yes. I mean, we’re all females." She gave a small shrug, as if what she was proposing should have been obvious.

"No matter what species we are, girls need other girls. They’re human, Professor. They’re surrounded by beasts every day in an academy where half the students could probably kill them without much effort. They must be terrified, even if they don’t show it. I just thought it would be nice if the Therion females made an effort to welcome them properly."

Felicity paused before adding with convincing concern, "Besides, if they can’t rely on the females of their own House, then who are they supposed to rely on when the other Houses come after them?"

Maverick slowly nodded, appearing to consider everything she’d said. For a moment, it almost seemed as if Felicity had won him over.

"Is that all?"

"Well..." Felicity laughed softly, encouraged by his reaction. "Who knows? If we spend enough time together, the girls and I might even become like sisters."

"Sisters, huh?" Maverick chuckled.

"Yeah, sisters." Felicity laughed along with him, although she wasn’t entirely sure what he found so amusing. Still, if Maverick was laughing, she saw no reason not to join him.

Then Maverick’s laughter stopped so abruptly that Felicity’s own died with it.

"Just how fucking stupid do you think I am?"

The friendliness vanished from the conversation so quickly that Felicity’s smile remained frozen on her face for another second before slowly fading.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, forcing herself to hold his stare despite the uneasiness beginning to crawl through her.

"I’m talking about you standing here and lying to my face." Maverick’s voice had dropped, the darkness in it making Felicity instinctively straighten.

"You cleared your thoughts before approaching me and put up a mental wall because you knew exactly what I would find if I looked inside your head. Did you really think that would be enough?" His eyes traveled over her slowly, not with attraction, but with the cold assessment of a predator deciding how much of a threat stood before him.

"I don’t need to hear your thoughts to smell the malicious intent behind all this supposed ’bonding’ you suddenly want to do."

Felicity’s confidence faltered, but only for a moment. "I think you’re mistaken here and jumping to conclusions," she rushed out, forcing another smile despite the tension creeping into her face.

"But I’ll just pretend this conversation never happened..." She turned to leave, only to discover that her feet wouldn’t move.

Her brows drew together as she looked down, and her stomach dropped. Ice had formed around both her feet, trapping them against the floor.

"What is the meaning of this, Professor?" Felicity demanded, raising her voice. She made no attempt to hide how loud she was being, clearly hoping the passing students would notice what Maverick was doing to her.

But if she expected someone to intervene, she had badly miscalculated. Students slowed down and stared, while others stopped altogether. A few even pulled out their phones and began recording. No one stepped forward to help her. None of them were stupid enough to interfere when Alpha Maverick was angry.

Maverick stepped closer to Felicity, careful to leave enough distance between them that she couldn’t touch him, but close enough that she had no choice but to look him directly in the eyes.

"I moved you out of the room, yes, but I compensated you far more than I should have. As your Alpha, I have the right to reassign rooms within my own House however the fuck I see fit. You don’t have to like it, but you will accept it."

A faint purple gleam suddenly bled into Maverick’s gray eyes, and the air around them tightened beneath the weight of his power. Felicity felt it immediately. Goosebumps rose across her skin while beads of sweat gathered along her forehead despite the ice encasing her feet.

Even the students watching from a distance reacted to the suffocating force rolling from their Alpha. Their conversations died, and several students instinctively backed away as their beasts recognized a power they had no desire to challenge.

"I’ll consider the rat stunt nothing more than a female throwing a tantrum because she didn’t get her way," Maverick told her.

"But if you try anything against Aria or any of the other girls again, rest assured, I’ll freeze your ass..."

As he spoke, the ice around Felicity’s feet began climbing. It swept over her ankles and raced toward her knees with frightening speed, and Felicity’s eyes widened in horror as the cold sank painfully into her flesh.

"...and then I’ll blow you into so many fucking pieces there won’t be enough left of you to give a proper burial."

Felicity swallowed hard as the threat painted a gory image in her mind she desperately wished it hadn’t.

Maverick offered her no further explanation. He simply turned and entered the elevator with his Beta. Felicity remained trapped where she stood, staring after him as he faced her one last time. There was a coldness in his eyes she had never seen before, and he held her stare until the elevator doors slid shut between them.

Almost immediately, the ice imprisoning her melted away. Felicity stumbled forward with a gasp, shivering violently as the lingering cold burrowed deep beneath her skin. All around her, students were still watching, whispers already beginning to spread through the hallway.

"What the fuck are you looking at?!" she roared, startling several of them.

That was enough to break whatever spell had held the crowd. The students turned away, and within moments everyone was suddenly very interested in continuing whatever they had been doing before.

Felicity’s claws dug painfully into her palms. Those pathetic humans must believe they had protection now. Aria especially.

The tigress scoffed beneath her breath. The Alpha had forgotten one very important thing. There were countless ways for weak little humans to meet tragic ends at Bestiaris Academy, and not all of them could be traced back to the person responsible.