Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

Chapter 15: Arrival At The Academy

Twenty years ago, Bestial City had been known as Bristol Province, one of the largest human metropolitan centers in Novara.

Then came the territorial conflicts. The beasts claimed the region, renamed it, and transformed it into the capital of their society.

"It’s the statue of King Darius, the King of the Beasts!" Charlotte exclaimed as they passed beneath the arch and ventured deeper into beast territory.

Just as humans had their leader, President Callum, the beasts had King Darius. Unlike humans, however, beast society was built upon hierarchy. The strongest ruled. Somehow, despite the dragons’ overwhelming power, it was the hydra that had emerged as their king.

"Damn, seven heads," Brittney breathed. Then she looked around at the girls with a knowing expression. "Any of you into that?"

If looks could kill, Brittney would have died several times over. Unfortunately, the girl didn’t seem to know when to stop.

"Why the faces?" she asked. "Isn’t that... wait a minute. Not racism. What’s the word for it?"

"Speciesism," Alek supplied casually from behind.

"Bingo!" Brittney turned around and pointed at her. "That’s the one."

"That is enough," Aria told her under her breath. "We’re in beast territory now, concentrate."

She made a point of glancing in Karen’s direction. The blonde’s brows were furrowed together. Apparently, even Karen was finally realizing that things were getting real.

"Why is there no security?" Chelsea suddenly asked, referring to the complete lack of visible guards on the beast side of the border. Blackwater had been crawling with soldiers, watchtowers, and weapons. Here, there was nothing.

"Because they don’t need any."

The answer came from Abigail. Immediately, every head turned toward her.

"The beasts don’t fear invasion from humans," she explained. "If anything, some of them would welcome it. Moreover," Abigail added, "who says there are no guards?"

She glanced out the nearest window. "Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there."

A shudder crawled down Aria’s spine. She looked outside.

Dense forests stretched along both sides of the road. Thick trees, tangled undergrowth, and shadows filled the landscape. With the speed the bus was moving, it was impossible to focus on any one spot for long.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something might be watching them from within the woods.

"Beast shifters excel at stealth," Abigail informed them. "There’s a saying around here. Entering Bestial City is easy. Leaving is impossible."

The temperature inside the bus seemed to drop several degrees as a heavy sense of foreboding settled over the girls.

Then Abigail’s grave expression suddenly cracked.

"I’m joking."

"What?!"

A collective groan swept through the bus. Several girls looked ready to throw something at her. She had scared the absolute life out of them.

Still, Aria couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been at least a grain of truth hidden beneath the joke. The woman seemed less interested in reassuring them and more interested in easing the tension before panic could take root.

Abigail raised her voice. "Bestiaris Academy is located on the outskirts of the city. That means we still have another hour of travel ahead of us."

"Nooo!"

A wave of groans swept through the bus. Their butts were sore already from hours of sitting down. So much for the government caring about them when they could have easily shoved them onto a plane instead.

Fortunately, the collective misery didn’t last long. The forests gradually gave way to civilization, and their jaws nearly hit the floor.

Aria had no idea what she had been expecting from Bestial City. But it certainly wasn’t this.

Growing up, she had heard the stories on how the beasts invaded Bristol Province, conquered it, and claimed it as their own.

Yet nothing she was seeing suggested a ruined city. If anything, it looked as though the beasts had taken what once existed and improved upon it.

"Impossible," Brittney breathed, her eyes wide.

Outside the windows stretched a city unlike anything Aria had ever seen.

Towering structures rose into the sky, some built from glass and steel, while others were carved directly from stone. Massive spires dominated parts of the skyline while bridges connected buildings high above the streets below. Wide roads cut through the city, flawlessly maintained and crowded with vehicles.

The city was bustling. People, or rather beast shifters filled the sidewalks in their hundreds. Some of them appeared almost human until a second glance revealed slit pupils, horns, scales, tails, or patches of fur. The rest made no effort to hide what they were.

Aria spotted a man with antlers walking out of a café, a woman with golden scales running along her neck, and what looked suspiciously like a seven-foot lizard carrying groceries beneath one arm.

Aria let out a disbelieving scoff. All this time, humans had imagined the beasts living in caves somewhere beyond civilization. The reality couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The beasts hadn’t merely inherited Bristol Province, they had made it theirs.

Everything felt familiar enough to recognize yet foreign enough to remind her she wasn’t home anymore. No wonder they didn’t want humans here.

"This is unbelievable," Charlotte whispered. freeweɓnøvel.com

The girl practically bounced from window to window, desperate to absorb everything at once. There were beastmen everywhere.

At one point, she caught sight of two beastmen breaking into a fight on a crowded street corner. Their fists moved so quickly her eyes struggled to follow. The fight lasted less than ten seconds before they separated and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

It truly was another world.

Unfortunately, the feeling was mutual. As much as the girls stared at the city, the city stared back. Heads turned as they passed and conversations paused as pedestrians stopped to watch.

It was unsettling how quickly the beasts seemed to identify them as outsiders. Not merely because of the convoy, but because they somehow knew. The predatory intensity in some of those gazes made Aria very grateful for the reinforced glass separating them.

Judging by the silence inside the bus, the other girls felt the same way. Just like that, nobody seemed interested in beast men anymore.

The journey continued.

Eventually, the scenery outside began to change again. At first, the shift was subtle enough that Aria almost missed it.

The roads widened as four lanes became six. The median separating traffic grew broader, filled with carefully maintained hedges, flowering trees, and decorative stonework.

Massive pillars appeared every few hundred yards along the roadside, each bearing the same crest she had seen countless times on television broadcasts.

Bestiaris Academy.

"We’re here," Aria whispered.

"Huh?" Brittney leaned toward the window. "We’re here? But there’s nothing."

The academy itself was still nowhere in sight. Yet somehow Aria could already feel its presence. Perhaps it was simply the growing knot in her stomach.

Then Abigail spoke. "Buckle up, girls. We’re here."

A gasp came from somewhere near the front of the bus. Then another.

Aria followed their gaze and for a moment, she thought she was looking at part of the city’s skyline. Until she realized it was a single building.

Her breath caught because Bestiaris Academy dominated the horizon.

The Central Hall stretched across so much land that Aria couldn’t immediately judge where it began and ended. Dark stone walls gleamed beneath the afternoon sun while massive windows reflected the sky above.

Steel supports framed sections of the structure, blending modern engineering with the sort of grand, oversized craftsmanship that only made sense once you remembered some of its students could turn into dragons.

Their bus rounded a curve and the entrance finally came into view.

Their surfaces were carved with intricate reliefs depicting beasts of every kind. Dragons seemed to emerge from both pillars with their wings spread wide. Suspended between them hung a massive metal crest.

BESTIARIS ACADEMY

Beyond the pillars stood a wrought-iron gate nearly thirty feet tall. A security checkpoint occupied the area just beyond the entrance. Apparently, the officers had already been informed of their arrival because they simply waved them through.

Aria’s heart lurched because crossing this gate felt final. There was no turning back now.

The bus continued down a broad avenue lined with trees, fountains, and carefully maintained gardens before entering the central grounds.

If one had to describe Bestiaris Academy, it looked like someone had combined an airport, a university campus, a government capitol, and a dragon palace into one impossible structure.

The main courtyard alone was larger than Aria’s entire high school. Water flowed through narrow stone channels built directly into the pathways while benches curved around fountains carved into the shapes of winged beasts she couldn’t identify.

At the center of the courtyard stood a massive dragon statue with its wings spread wide and its head lowered as if preparing to unleash fire.

Curiously, there wasn’t a single student in sight. It almost felt as though the academy had hidden them away before the girls arrived.

Up close, Aria noticed that the Central Hall dominated everything around it because the rest of the academy had been built around the structure. Even the open terraces extending from the upper floors suddenly made sense.

They weren’t observation decks but landing platforms for dragons. It dawned on Aria then that everything about this place had been designed with the dragon shifters in mind.

Finally, the bus slowed to a halt and the engine shut off. No one moved. It was as if the girls were still trying to adjust to the reality that this place would be their home from now on.

Then Abigail broke the silence.

"As you step out of this bus, I want you to stay together. I don’t think I need to explain why."

For once, nobody had a clever response. Not even Brittney.

"Let’s go."

Abigail stepped off first, and just like that, the spell broke.The girls immediately began filing out after her, excitement returning almost as quickly as it had disappeared.

Aria could understand why. The beastmen from the convoy had stepped out of their vehicles.

But that wasn’t all.

The academy had clearly prepared for their arrival because a line of personnel stood waiting nearby. Security, Aria assumed. Yet that didn’t explain the sudden commotion spreading through the girls.

Curious, Aria pushed her way toward the front until she finally saw the source of the disturbance.

Or rather, him.

The dark purple hair was the first thing that caught her attention.

Though he walked alongside two other broad-shouldered men, they may as well not have existed.

The pictures hadn’t done Maverick Nightshade justice. Not even close.

Sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw gave his face an almost unfair symmetry. He looked less like a professor and more like someone who belonged on the cover of a magazine.

The girls lost whatever composure they had left. Their whispers swelled into a deafening wall of noise.

"Oh my God! That’s Maverick Nightshade!" Chelsea shrieked.

"Someone hold me. I think I’m going to faint."

In the past, Aria would have rolled her eyes at such theatrics. Except she found herself staring too. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she just couldn’t seem to look away.

Then Maverick’s gray, slit-pupiled gaze landed directly on her. And for the first time in her life, Aria Aspen forgot how to breathe.