Chapter 182: The Change In Him

For a moment, Maverick stood motionless in the middle of his room. The call with his mother had left his head reeling. Father Roman was coming to the academy?

Maverick was positive he wasn’t prepared for the chaos that was sure to follow in Roman’s wake. If even his mother was sending him away because she couldn’t handle him right now, what made her think he stood a chance?

Then Dimitri’s absurdly chaotic thoughts began spilling into his head before the man himself even appeared in the doorway.

"Hello, Marvy," Dimitri greeted in the same sickeningly sweet voice Violet had used moments ago, leaning against the doorframe with a smile that was probably meant to be charming, but instead turned out downright creepy.

Maverick simply stared at him. "Don’t start."

He should have known better.

"I’m having another baby, Ricky." Dimitri rubbed his stomach in an exaggeratedly maternal fashion, mimicking something he’d probably seen pregnant women do countless times before. "You’re going to be the oldest big brother." He finished the performance in such a nauseatingly sweet voice that Maverick’s patience finally snapped.

Maverick flicked his hand, and Dimitri suddenly discovered he could no longer speak. A thin sheet of ice had sealed his lips firmly together.

"Mmm! Mmm!" Dimitri protested through his frozen mouth, undoubtedly demanding to know why Maverick had to do him like this.

But Maverick merely smirked and turned toward his wardrobe to find a change of clothes, foolishly believing he had won.

You do know your papa and I worked very hard to fertilize this baby, right? Dimitri’s thought suddenly filled Maverick’s head, loud and perfectly clear.

Except the Beta hadn’t projected it in his own mental voice. Somehow, the bastard had managed to think the entire sentence in a disturbingly accurate imitation of Violet Purple, making it sound exactly as if his mother had whispered those horrifying words directly into his head.

That did it.

"For fuck’s sake!" Maverick exploded, slamming the wardrobe door he’d just opened with enough force to rattle everything inside. Turned out freezing Dimitri’s mouth had been a terrible miscalculation.

At the same time, the ice sealing Dimitri’s mouth melted away, and the bastard immediately burst into laughter. He guffawed so hard he had to brace one hand against the wall, which only made the entire thing feel like a personal mockery of Maverick, who watched with the blank expression of a man seriously reconsidering why he hadn’t frozen his uncle’s entire head instead.

"Okay, fine..." Dimitri managed between bouts of laughter, raising a hand in surrender. "I’m going to be serious now."

But then the thought of Maverick having to attend yet another baby party crossed his mind, and whatever control Dimitri had managed to regain disappeared. He doubled over, laughing all over again.

"I’m so sorry..." Dimitri wheezed, wiping the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "I just can’t help it. All I can imagine is you going home and being forced to attend another tea party organized by one of your sisters."

Unfortunately, Maverick didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore because he could see that exact future unfolding with horrifying clarity. Another baby meant another sibling to spoil, another tiny person following him around whenever he visited home, and several more years of being dragged into whatever ridiculous games his younger sisters decided their eldest brother had no choice but to participate in.

At this point, Dimitri wasn’t even mocking him. The bastard was practically predicting his future.

"Control yourself," Maverick ordered.

As though someone had pressed a remote and switched him off, Dimitri’s laughter stopped. His shoulders straightened, the amusement disappeared from his face, and within seconds, Maverick’s ridiculous uncle was gone and his Beta stood in his place.

"If my mother’s made up her mind, then there’s no stopping her," Maverick said, deciding Father Roman was a problem for another time. "I’ll worry about that later. For now, let’s focus on tonight."

Dimitri nodded before studying him more carefully. "How do you feel?"

Maverick knew exactly what he was asking. Dimitri had warned him about taking the suppressor last night, and after witnessing Feral’s reaction to being forcibly silenced, there was no mistaking the concern behind the question.

"I feel perfect."

Dimitri lifted a brow, clearly not believing him. Not after the way Feral had reacted before eventually forcing his way back to the surface.

"He was pissed at first," Maverick added, keeping his voice casual, "but I guess spending time with Aria calmed him down."

"Oh, that’s good." Dimitri breathed out in relief.

And yes, Maverick was lying his ass off. Since waking up that morning, Feral had remained silent. Completely silent. Maverick hadn’t felt so much as a growl, an irritated thought or the faintest push against his consciousness, and considering how difficult it usually was to get the bastard to shut up, the absence was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell Dimitri that. His uncle would panic, and knowing him, he might even go as far as trying to cancel the match.

Maverick believed he still had hours to get his wolf back on his side. Besides, no matter how furious Feral was with him, there was no fucking way he would sit quietly by and allow Rhydian Drakhar to beat their ass.

Feral’s pride was every bit as vicious as his own. When the time came, Maverick was counting on that shared hatred of losing to drag the stubborn bastard out of whatever hole he’d crawled into.

"Any update on Rhydian Drakhar?" he asked at last, pulling off his shirt as he prepared for the shower.

"He’s back on campus."

Maverick stopped, one brow lifting. "Since when?"

"Came back early this morning while most of the beasts were still asleep."

"So he snuck back in like some coward after trying to steal my mate?" Maverick snarked.

Dimitri said nothing to that.

"Tell Selene to take over my classes today. I’m not sure what I’ll do to that bastard if I see him before the fight."

"As you wish. Anything else?" Dimitri asked.

"Send Variant and Valerie to Aria and the girls. If they need any feminine help preparing for tonight, those are the only female beasts I trust around them."

Dimitri nodded before turning and leaving to carry out his Alpha’s orders, leaving him alone in the room.

Maverick stepped into the bathroom and twisted the shower knob, steam curling upward almost instantly as scalding water pounded down onto his shoulders.

He braced one forearm against the tile, letting the heat work into his muscles, and allowed his mind to wander. Except instead of dwelling on his father’s impending visit, his thoughts drifted, unbidden, straight back to his mate. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

He recalled what they had done earlier. Her beautiful body. The way her breasts filled his hands, nipples tight and flushed dark under his mouth. The slick heat of her wrapped around his fingers, impossibly tight, clenching down every time he’d curled them just right.

The way she’d bitten her own lip raw trying to stay quiet, even though her hips rolled shamelessly against his hand anyway, chasing exactly what he’d been giving her.

His cock was already hard by the time his hand slid down his stomach, and he wrapped his fist around the base with a low grunt, the water sluicing over his knuckles as he gave himself one slow, testing stroke.

Fuck.

Maverick let his eyes fall shut, chasing the memory further. He imagined her mouth instead of his hand, Aria on her knees in front of him right now, water running down her bare skin as she looked up at him with those same blue eyes, half-lidded and glassy the way they’d been that morning, right before she came apart on his fingers.

His strokes picked up speed, rough and unhurried at first, then faster, his fist twisting on every upward pull the way he imagined her tongue would. Her lips would wrap tight around the head of him, sucking hard the same way he’d sucked her nipple into his mouth. He pictured her hollowing her cheeks, taking him deeper, that same twinkle of amusement in her eyes even with him buried in her throat, teasing him even now.

"Fuck, Aria." His voice came out wrecked, barely recognizable, hips snapping forward into his own grip.

Maverick thought about the sounds she’d made, muffled against her own palm, and imagined instead her moaning openly around his cock, the vibrations traveling straight up his spine. That image alone had his balls drawing tight, his rhythm turning erratic and sloppy as he chased the edge hard now.

He came with a broken, guttural groan, his hips jerking forward as thick ropes of release splattered against the shower wall, his whole body shuddering violently through it. His knees nearly buckled from the force of it, but he kept stroking through the aftershocks, milking every last pulse, until the oversensitivity finally made him release himself entirely.

For a long moment, Maverick just stood there, his chest heaving, forehead resting against the cool tile, water running down his face and dripping off his jaw.

He could see it. Something had changed in him completely. He hated sex — even though he needed it. He once couldn’t endure even the mere thought of being touched by another woman.

Now all he could think about was getting inside Aria properly, feeling her walls clench around his cock instead of just his fingers, feeling her come apart around him instead of just his hand.

Maverick looked down only to find himself still hard.

He sighed.

How the hell was he supposed to make it through the rest of the day like this?