Chapter 225: Defend Their House Honor

Zainab and Indigo saw it happen and knew without a doubt what was going on.

Across the gathering, a secretive smirk touched Tamara’s lips. The humans had done well. Before the night was over, Charlotte would be dead, and she wouldn’t even know what had killed her.

Guilt gnawed at Indigo until she couldn’t take it anymore.

"Why don’t you go to the infirmary?" she suggested. "They might have something for the trembling."

It wasn’t much, but it was the only way she could think of to help without openly betraying Tamara. If Charlotte went to the infirmary, perhaps one of the healers would realize something was wrong before it was too late.

Charlotte stared at her as though she’d lost her mind.

"Go to the infirmary because of a little hand tremor? Are you serious?" She gave her a dirty look. "I’m fine."

Indigo opened her mouth to insist, but Zainab subtly jerked her chin toward Tamara.

She followed the gesture, and the moment her gaze collided with the dragoness’s, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

Tamara was watching them.

"Never mind," Indigo muttered, quickly retreating into herself.

Charlotte snorted. This time, she took a breath and concentrated on keeping her hands steady before reaching for the Chibun again. Her fingers still felt strangely weak, but she managed to secure the little creature against her chest without dropping it.

"There you are." Charlotte grinned victoriously and stroked the thick fur of the silver-grey Chibun. "Much better."

At the same time, Aria and her friends were having the time of their lives. She’d been given a mottled grey-and-white Chibun, and despite everything she’d heard about how unpredictable they could be, this one seemed perfectly content in her arms. It had settled against her without the slightest struggle, its enormous fluffy tail curled comfortably over her wrist.

Brittney received a black one and stared directly into its face.

"You look evil. I’m calling you Lucifer."

"Brittney!" Trisha chastised. "That’s racist!"

Brittney gasped, realizing how that had sounded.

"It’s not because he’s black!" she defended herself. "He just has this cunning look in his eyes. Actually, he reminds me of someone."

"Who?" Trisha asked.

"Just someone." Brittney grinned, subtly scanning the crowd for her snake boy.

Trisha shook her head before glancing down at the sandy-brown Chibun she held cautiously in her arms. The creature seemed perfectly harmless, but after watching one chew through a handler’s sleeve earlier, she wasn’t taking any chances.

"You and I are going to have an understanding," she told it. "I don’t trust you, and you don’t give me a reason not to."

Aside from the faint twitch of its nose, her Chibun all but ignored her.

Then Brittney asked, "Is Lucifer a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," Aria answered without looking.

Brittney regarded her strangely. "How would you know that?"

"I used to work at an animal shelter, remember? You get pretty good at spotting these things after a while." Aria glanced between the two Chibuns. "Look at Trisha’s. She’s female. Her head is a little narrower, and her body is slightly rounder through the middle. Lucifer’s head is broader, and he’s a little leaner. Males also tend to have a slightly wider gap between the openings underneath the tail."

Brittney blinked. "You got all that from looking at his face?"

"Mostly experience. But if you want proof..." Aria held out her hands. "Give him to me."

Brittney passed Lucifer over, and Aria carefully supported him before turning him just enough to check beneath his tail. He remained surprisingly cooperative as she parted the thick fur.

"See?" Aria pointed out the difference. "Definitely a boy."

Brittney leaned closer. At that exact moment, Lucifer turned his head and met her gaze with those enormous black eyes.

She froze. For some ridiculous reason, Brittney suddenly felt like a pervert.

"Okay, we’re done here." She promptly took Lucifer back from Aria and settled him against her chest. "Thank you very much for the demonstration."

Aria laughed. "You were the one who asked."

"I asked whether he was a boy. I didn’t ask for a guided tour of the man’s private property."

Trisha snorted.

Brittney stroked Lucifer’s fur as though nothing had happened. Then, once Aria and Trisha were distracted, she lowered her head toward him.

"Sorry about that," she whispered.

Lucifer’s nose twitched before he made a strange little sound that Brittney interpreted as judgment.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don’t judge me. You could’ve just told me you were a boy."

Ridiculous as it was to argue with an animal, Brittney felt they’d understood each other perfectly.

Around them, the mood of the party changed completely.

Students dragged benches and tables away from one stretch of the inner court while others marked a broad starting line across the stone and another farther down for the finish. Shallow dishes were placed beyond it, filled with whatever Chibuns considered irresistible enough to justify the public humiliation they were about to endure.

"Humans!"

Caelis’s voice boomed across the court, and the surrounding chatter gradually died down as attention shifted toward the nine competitors.

"You are about to represent your respective Houses, so do try your best." His mouth curved into a smirk. "House pride is apparently a terribly fragile thing, and I’d hate for any of you to be responsible for permanently damaging it."

The response was immediate.

Cheers came from all three sides of the court, students shouting for their Houses as the competition suddenly became far more real.

For once, the humans weren’t being hunted, protected, or treated like fragile guests. They were representing the Houses themselves, and judging by the noise around them, the beasts had every intention of taking that very seriously.

Venus eventually took over, stepping toward the marked course and clapping his hands once to get everyone’s attention.

"All participants, take your Chibuns to the starting line. The first round is about to begin."

All nine of them began moving into position, but Aria lingered for a moment. She looked down at the mottled grey-and-white bundle nestled comfortably in her arms before turning toward Maverick.

"So, wish me luck."

Maverick raised an eyebrow. "Good luck."

"No." Aria held the Chibun toward him. "Give him a name."

That clearly wasn’t what Maverick had been expecting.

For a second, he simply stared at her. Then a broad smile spread across his face, one so genuinely pleased that Aria wondered why something as simple as asking him to name an animal had made him that happy.

Maverick studied the Chibun seriously. His mate had just entrusted him with a responsibility of tremendous importance.

"Karios," he decided.

Aria glanced down at the Chibun. "Karios?"

Instead of answering immediately, Maverick bent and planted a kiss right on top of the Chibun’s fluffy head.

Aria’s heart practically melted.

It was such a ridiculous sight. This powerful wolf prince, who could freeze someone where they stood, solemnly kissing a ball of grey-and-white fluff for good luck.

Maverick lifted his head. "Good fortune. That’s what it means." His thumb brushed over the Chibun’s soft head. "Now he has a name and my blessing. You can’t possibly lose."

Aria smiled. God, she loved this man. So she leaned forward and kissed him.

Maverick responded immediately, one hand settling at her waist as his lips moved against hers. Somehow, he kept finding new ways to prove she’d made the right decision by giving them a chance. Every time she thought she’d gotten used to him, he did something unexpectedly sweet and made her fall a little harder.

She might have kissed him considerably longer if an irritating voice hadn’t come from behind her.

"Being Professor Maverick’s girlfriend doesn’t mean the rest of us have to stand around waiting while you finish making out with him."

Aria broke the kiss with a sigh.

Of course. Karen.

She turned and found her already standing near the starting line with her Chibun in her arms and impatience written all over her face.

Aria really didn’t have the energy for her tonight.

"Then don’t wait," she said simply before turning back to Maverick. Aria gave him one last quick kiss before adjusting Karios securely against her chest.

"Come on, Karios. Let’s go protect your new father’s fragile House pride."

Maverick laughed behind her as she headed toward the starting line.

Aria took her place beside Brittney and Trisha, lowering Karios carefully onto the stone behind the starting line. The moment his paws touched the ground, she expected him to dart off, but he merely sat there and looked up at her, waiting to see what she intended to do next.

Not all the Chibuns were quite so cooperative. Some sniffed the ground, turned in circles or attempted to wander away before their handlers quickly redirected them.

Lucifer was one of them.

"Excuse me." Brittney caught him before he made it two steps and placed him back where he’d started. "We haven’t even begun yet. Save that enthusiasm."

Venus announced. "There will be three rounds, and all nine of you will compete in each one. You’ll receive a different Chibun every round."

He gestured toward the starting line.

"Place your Chibun behind the line. Once the signal is given, you cannot touch it again until it crosses the finish. You may call, whistle, gesture or do whatever else you think will convince it to run, but you cannot cross the boundary or interfere with another Chibun. Either will get you disqualified."

Venus pointed toward the dishes of bait beyond the finish line.

"First Chibun across earns three points for its House, second earns two, and third earns one. The points from all three rounds will be added together, and the House with the highest total wins."

The noise around the court rose to a deafening level as Venus finally stepped away from the starting line.

Then the countdown began.