Chapter 59
A ruler who cannot control their own people eventually becomes ruled by them.
~ Rebel Beast
“Excuse me p>
Maverick didn’t even realize the question had left his mouth. He struggled to believe what he was hearing.
The same confusion rippled through everyone else. Aria looked from Liv to the other girls, only to find them just as bewildered. None of it made any sense.
As though that wasn’t enough, the remaining bedroom doors opened one after another. The rest of the girls descended the staircase in eerie silence, almost as though the entire thing had been rehearsed beforehand.
Just like Liv, none of them were carrying their luggage.
Trisha leaned toward Aria and whispered, “Is it only me, or does this smell like someone’s been pulling strings p>
“Karen,” Aria whispered back without hesitation.
It could only be her.
There was no logical explanation for this. Just moments ago, these girls had been screaming with excitement at the thought of living alongside the beasts. There was no way seven of them had suddenly changed their minds at exactly the same time.
No. Karen had done something.
The six girls quietly took their places beside Liv. Maverick’s eyes swept over each of them.
“What is the meaning of this?” he asked, his voice carrying a gravity that made the room feel colder.
Meredith was the one who answered.
“I’m not going to House Therion p>
“Me too,” Indigo added.
One after another, the same answer echoed through the common room.
“Me too p>
“I’m staying p>
“So am I p>
By the time the last voice faded away, all seven girls had made their choice.
Aria stood there completely dumbfounded. If she’d only suspected Karen before, this confirmed it. Now she had no idea how Professor Nightshade intended to deal with this.
Which was why his response caught everyone completely off guard.
“Okay then p>
That was all he said. Then he turned toward Aria, Brittney, Alek and Trisha.
“Let’s go p>
“Huh?” The four girls stared at him in disbelief.
What they didn’t know was that Maverick Nightshade wasn’t interested in convincing anyone to save themselves. He had already offered them a way out. If they chose to stay behind, that was their decision.
The only reason he’d involved himself in this mess in the first place was because of his blissfully ignorant mate. His responsibility began and ended with Aria Aspen. Everyone else could go to hell for all he cared.
Maverick had already turned his back on them, his silence making one thing painfully clear.
He had made his decision.
Only one person made him stop.
“Wait p>
Aria’s voice rang out behind him.
Maverick closed his eyes briefly before letting out a quiet sigh. When exactly was his softhearted mate going to learn that she couldn’t save everyone?
Still, he stopped walking.
Aria turned away from him to face the girls.
“I don’t know what’s happened or what Karen told you,” she began, giving each of them a disappointed look. “But trust me when I say this. Whatever she’s holding over your heads isn’t worth your lives. This place isn’t safe anymore p>
“And House Therion is?” Shannon shot back, her tone so sharp that Aria was taken aback.
Shannon continued, “Professor Nightshade was the one who told us beasts aren’t to be trusted. Now, all of a sudden, he wants us living under the same roof as them p>
She scoffed. “Or is that part of the plan between the two of you p>
“What?” Aria stared at her in complete disbelief.
Shannon’s features twisted with jealousy and suspicion.
“You think we haven’t noticed the way the professor looks at you p>
Oh… fuck.
Aria felt the blood drain from her face.
This was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid. She’d never wanted anyone thinking there was something going on between her and Professor Nightshade.
Seeing Aria’s expression only strengthened Shannon’s confidence.
“For all we know,” she went on, “this whole thing was your idea. You lure us over there, the beasts get rid of the rest of us, and then you get your happy ending with the professor p>
The weight of the accusation settled over everyone present, and none of the girls noticed the way Maverick stiffened. They were too busy watching Shannon, who had mistaken Aria’s silence for guilt and was growing bolder with every passing second.
“Except you’ve forgotten one thing,” Shannon sneered. “You’re just some poor, pathetic nobody, and once he’s done playing with you Her expression was openly cruel. “He’ll dump you just like every other beast dumps a human p>
It happened so fast no one had time to react. All they heard was Dimitri’s voice cutting through the room.
“Maverick, don’t p>
But he was already too late.
Maverick barely moved his hand, and a razor-sharp spear of ice shot through the air with terrifying accuracy before burying itself in Shannon’s side.
Her scream ripped through the residence.
Startled gasps broke out from every corner of the common room as the girls stared in horror, their eyes darting from the blood rapidly staining Shannon’s clothes to Professor Nightshade.
Or rather, the predator standing where their professor had been only seconds ago.
“Come on,” Maverick said, his voice so low it barely sounded human anymore. He took one slow step toward Shannon, whose knees buckled beneath her as she clutched desperately at her wounded side.
“Say it again p>
“Maverick!” Dimitri reached for him. “It’s not worth it p>
He caught hold of Maverick’s arm, hoping to snap him out of whatever had taken hold of him.
Instead, Maverick shrugged him off with frightening ease. Dimitri stumbled backward several steps, looking at his nephew with an expression that bordered on alarm.
That single movement shattered whatever composure the girls still possessed. Panic took over as several girls screamed outright while the others scrambled backward in blind terror. Half of them bolted for the staircase without even thinking, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the furious Alpha as possible.
Until this moment, Professor Maverick Nightshade had always protected them, defended them, and spoken to them with remarkable patience.
Now they were finally seeing what lay beneath all that restraint was not just a professor, but a beast too.
And one that looked ready to kill.