Chapter 216: Where Is Brittney

Trisha would have answered for him, except she realized she didn’t know enough about Luther to introduce him as anything, much less a friend. And considering she’d almost kissed him a few seconds ago, that realization made her feel incredibly stupid. What the hell had she been thinking?

"You heard her." Trisha turned a pointed look on him. "Do answer her, my friend."

Luther stared at her as if he couldn’t believe she’d thrown him under the bus that quickly.

Trisha held his gaze without an ounce of sympathy. The silent exchange went on long enough for Valerie and Variant to glance at each other before Luther finally broke it and rose to his feet.

"I’m Luther." He offered them a charming smile that probably worked on most people.

Valerie and Variant only frowned.

"I don’t know anyone here named Luther, and I pretty much know every beast at this academy," Variant said, her eyes narrowing.

Valerie stepped closer and sniffed the air around him. Her frown deepened. "I can’t get a scent from him." She leaned back and studied him from head to toe. "And maybe it’s the face paint, but I don’t recognize him either."

"What are you?" Variant demanded. "Which House are you from?"

Variant had shifted completely into the role Maverick had entrusted her with tonight, and Trisha found herself rising too as the situation suddenly became more serious than she’d realized.

Luther lifted both hands. "There’s no need for the hostility, ladies. I didn’t come here to cause trouble."

"If you didn’t come here to cause trouble, then tell us who the fuck you are."

"He said he’s an outsider," Trisha supplied. "He came because of the party."

That answer only made Valerie and Variant more suspicious.

"An unidentified beast sneaks into Bestiaris on the one night the human students are here," Variant said. "Do you understand how that looks?"

Luther did.

The beasts within Bestiaris were dangerous enough, but at least they lived under academy rules. Beyond these grounds were beasts with no reason to tolerate humans at all, and some hated them far more openly than the students did.

"I have no intention of harming any human." Luther’s gaze slid to Trisha. "Especially Trish."

Her head snapped toward him.

"Trish?" Valerie and Variant echoed at the exact same time, their suspicion momentarily giving way to identical looks of intrigue.

Trisha glared at Luther.

The bastard had done that deliberately.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but the words never came. Two familiar figures approaching through the crowd caught her attention instead.

"Oh, look. Maverick and Aria are finally back."

Valerie and Variant immediately followed her gaze.

"Perfect." Variant glanced meaningfully at Luther. "Perhaps Maverick will finally be able to tell us who you are."

She turned toward the approaching couple.

Their arrival drew attention almost immediately. Earlier, one kiss between Maverick and Aria had practically shut down the entire party. Now they were returning from the woods together, hand in hand, and everyone who had spent the last hour wondering where they’d disappeared to suddenly had something new to stare at.

Aria noticed. There was no way she couldn’t.

Conversations lowered as they passed, heads turned, and several beasts made absolutely no attempt to hide their curiosity. Aria ignored them all. Her fingers remained intertwined with Maverick’s as she walked beside him, her chin lifted with considerably more confidence than she felt.

Variant’s eyes narrowed the longer she watched them. They seemed closer now.

There had already been something between them before they disappeared into the woods, especially after that kiss, but the awkward tension was gone now. Maverick kept Aria tucked close to his side, and Aria wasn’t fighting him for space. If anything, she seemed perfectly content to stay there.

Then Variant caught their scents, and her mouth slowly curled into a wicked grin.

Valerie smelled it a second later.

"Oh."

Variant looked at her. Valerie stared back.

Neither needed to say it.

They weren’t the only ones who noticed either. Beast senses were far too sharp for Maverick and Aria to disappear into the woods together and return carrying each other’s scents so strongly without everyone drawing the most obvious conclusion.

They had fucked.

At least, that was what every beast watching them seemed to believe.

It was a miracle Aria didn’t trip over her own feet with so many eyes following her. Maverick seemed completely unaffected by the attention, his hand firm around hers, and Aria drew what little courage she could from him. She searched the crowd for familiar faces until she spotted Valerie and Variant waving at her.

Thank God.

"There they are." Aria immediately changed direction, tugging Maverick along with her.

Maverick allowed himself to be dragged without complaint, although he caught the expressions on Valerie’s and Variant’s faces before Aria did.

He knew those looks.

Trouble.

"Finally..." Valerie drawled when they reached them, giving Maverick a very knowing look. "The two of you decided to crawl out of your little nest, Alpha."

Maverick didn’t miss a beat. "It was a lovely nest, wasn’t it?"

He turned to Aria as if seeking her agreement.

"Don’t encourage them, Maverick. Moreover, nests are for birds."

Valerie and Variant burst out laughing.

Aria’s eyes narrowed. "What?"

That only made them laugh harder.

"Why? What’s funny?"

"Nothing," Valerie managed.

"Clearly, it’s something."

Variant recovered first. "She’s laughing because beasts nest too."

Aria blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Nesting," Valerie explained, still grinning. "It’s something females of certain beast species do when they need comfort or security. Different species have their own version of it, but wolves are especially known for it."

"Clothes, blankets, pillows," Variant added. "Anything soft or carrying their scent or their mate’s. They gather everything together somewhere private and make themselves comfortable."

Aria glanced at Maverick, dumbfounded. He looked quite entertained by this conversation.

"It’s especially common among mated females," Valerie continued. "Stress can trigger it. Sickness too. Heat, pregnancy, after giving birth. Basically, whenever instinct decides she needs somewhere safe."

"And before you ask," Variant cut in, already anticipating the question forming on Aria’s face, "human mates have been known to do it too."

Aria’s brows shot up. "Humans?"

"Sometimes." Valerie nodded. "The bond doesn’t give you a beast, but your body can still respond to your mate in ways you aren’t used to. Some human females start stealing their wolf’s clothes, gathering blankets and pillows, even getting territorial when someone messes with their nest."

Variant grinned. "Worse, some don’t even realize they’re doing it."

Aria’s mouth slowly fell open. Then her gaze swung accusingly toward Maverick.

Maverick raised his hands. "Don’t look at me. You would have learned about it once classes started."

Aria threw her hands up. She was so done with this.

"Thank the fuck I’m single," Trisha muttered.

Variant’s attention snapped toward her, and the look that appeared on her face made Trisha immediately regret speaking.

"Are you sure?"

Trisha gave her a long look. "Really?"

Valerie grinned. "Trisha made a new friend tonight."

"Oh, for God’s sake."

"Actually..." Valerie turned toward where Luther had been standing. "You should meet—"

She stopped because the space beside Trisha was empty. Her smile vanished.

Variant straightened. For a second, none of them spoke.

Trisha stared at the vacant spot where Luther had been standing only moments ago, then searched the people around them.

He wasn’t there.

Her gaze swept farther across the party but there was nothing. Luther was gone.

Maverick’s attention snapped to Trisha. "Who’s Luther?"

Trisha shifted under his stare, suddenly looking nervous. "Just some guy I met at the party."

"Not just some guy," Valerie corrected. "A beast who doesn’t belong to the academy."

A low growl emanated from Maverick’s throat.

"What?"

"He said he was an outsider," Variant added. "We don’t know what kind of beast he is either."

Maverick’s expression hardened. An unfamiliar beast was dangerous enough, but one from outside Bestiaris was another matter entirely. The academy had rules its students were expected to obey, especially where the humans were concerned. An outsider had no reason to respect any of them.

And tonight, the academy was filled with humans.

"How the hell did he even get into the school?"

"I don’t know," Trisha admitted. "He told me he came for the party. I thought he was just some guy who snuck in because he wanted to have fun."

Before Maverick could question her further, Aria looked around, suddenly realizing someone else was missing.

"Wait. Where’s Brittney?"

Variant and Valerie went still. Their eyes immediately swept the crowd.

"Oh, shit," Variant muttered.

Aria’s stomach dropped. "What?"

"She said she needed some air," Trisha answered. "I tried to follow her, but she left me with Luther—!"

"Oh my God," Aria could feel a headache growing.

Valerie cursed beneath her breath. They had been so distracted by Luther that neither of them had noticed how long Brittney had been gone.

Maverick eyes abruptly went blank and

Aria recognized the look immediately.

He was mindlinking someone.