Free Web NovelChapter 37: The Aftermath
When the crows descend, even old enemies forget why they were fighting.
~ Rebel Beast.
____________
"Wonderful morning, Uncle Dimitri," Maverick said over his cup of steaming coffee, his back turned to him. He didn’t need to look to recognize who usually entered his room without knocking.
"Ahh," Dimitri breathed. "Finally, someone decided to respect me." There was a hint of amusement in his tone.
Maverick smiled into his coffee before taking another sip. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
While Dimitri was technically his uncle, he was also younger than him by an entire month. Their family tree was, err... complicated.
His mother, Violet Purple, had been raised by Nancy, her legal human mother. The details involving her biological Fae mother were a story for another day.
Years later, Nancy married Ezra King, who had once served as his father, Asher Nightshade’s sub-alpha. Which was where the complication began.
Violet married Asher Nightshade while Nancy married Ezra King. Then both women had children, except Violet gave birth first.The result was that Dimitri became his uncle despite being younger than him.
Family gatherings tended to be very confusing to outsiders. At least Nancy and Ezra were happy together. The same could be said for Violet and Asher.
Unfortunately, this meant Maverick was stuck with Dimitri reminding him at every available opportunity that he should respect his elders.
"You are fashionably late to class today," Dimitri pointed out, coming to stand a few meters away from him. He wrapped his arms around his chest, muscles bulging from the action.
"After the terror I suffered at the hands of the humans yesterday, a little rest was needed." Maverick grimaced as he recalled the events.
He added, "Besides, I believe I’ve earned enough goodwill around this academy to disappear for a morning without being questioned."
"Hmm," Dimitri said. "So the workaholic Maverick Nightshade does know when to catch his breath?"
Maverick gave him a look but ignored him, knowing Dimitri was just trying to get a reaction out of him. He placed his empty mug on the counter before leaving the area.
Logically, he should have been living with the other staff in the staff quarters, but Maverick stayed in House Therion.
Part of it was to keep the beasts in line. Left to themselves, the dormitory would have returned to the same disastrous state it had been in before he arrived at the academy. Not that he could have stayed away even if he wanted to.
House Therion recognized him as the strongest land beast on campus. It was his responsibility to rule over them. Otherwise, chaos would eventually descend.
His Alpha suite occupied the highest floor and was easily the largest living space in the entire dormitory. Dimitri stayed in the suite next door as his Beta.
Maverick returned to the living area where floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked House Therion’s grounds. Dimitri followed after him and plopped down onto one of the couches.
"So, are you ready to talk?" Dimitri demanded.
Maverick made a face, already knowing this was either a conversation about the humans or the beasts. Around here, there was rarely any other topic other than that.
"What do you want to say, Uncle?" freewebnσvel.cѳm
Maverick chose to remain standing. A fitted charcoal shirt hugged his broad frame while the sleeves had been neatly rolled just below his forearms. Over it sat a dark tailored vest embroidered with bronze detailing. His black trousers were perfectly pressed while polished black loafers completed the look.
There wasn’t a single crease on him, nor stains from the coffee either. Everything about Maverick Nightshade was perfect.
From the way his purple hair had been styled to the expensive watch resting around his wrist, he looked less like someone preparing to teach a class and more like the heir of one of the most powerful families in the United Dorminia.
Unfortunately, he was painfully aware of the effect he had on people, especially the
students. There was a reason his classes were always filled to the brim, and it certainly wasn’t because the teenage girls were suddenly fascinated by beast history.
"How long do you intend to keep the human girls locked up before they start attending classes?" Dimitri asked him.
Maverick stared out the windows. Students crossed the grounds heading to class while others lingered in small groups near the courtyard.
"As long as it takes," Maverick answered. "I won’t release them until I can prove it’s safe for them to attend classes."
Dimitri sighed. "You do realize what’s scarier than a beast?"
Maverick didn’t respond.
"A bunch of teenage girls trapped in the same house with nothing to do."
A muscle twitched in Maverick’s jaw.
"I’m doing everything in my power to keep them alive. The least they can do is behave."
"You’re right," Dimitri concurred, "Sorry about that. You’re obviously under a lot of stress already. However, I just think that after practically delaying a war between the beasts last night, keeping the girls confined to the same house all day might provide the perfect opportunity for some idiot kid to eliminate them all at once."
That finally got Maverick’s attention because he wasn’t wrong.
He did think about that. Maverick had simply assumed his authority would be enough. Moreover, it was a mind game.
The dragons and serpents were practically at each other’s throats. If one faction was seen eliminating too many humans and repeatedly getting punished for it, eventually they would realize they were paying the price while their rivals were gaining ground.
Maverick had been hoping both sides would reach a stalemate and leave the girls alone.
Any humans who survived long enough for that to happen? Well. Good luck to them.
Now, he could only hope he hadn’t given them too much credit.
Suddenly, Maverick’s phone rang. At the exact same moment, Dimitri’s phone rang as well. The both of them looked at each other and said nothing. They didn’t need to. Not when they could sense something was wrong.
Maverick frowned before pulling his phone out.
It was Mike, the captain of the patrol team assigned to the human residence. A bad feeling settled in his stomach.
He answered immediately.
"Mike?"
The response that greeted him was chaos. There was shouting in the background. Most of all, the harsh cawing of birds.
For a moment, Maverick couldn’t make sense of any of it. Then Mike’s voice finally broke through.
"Alpha!" The man sounded breathless.
"What is going on?" Maverick demanded with a growl.
"A murder of crows!" Mike shouted over the noise. "Someone sent a murder of them!"
Another scream echoed in the background.
Maverick’s expression darkened.
"We’re trying to contain them but they’re everywhere!"
A loud crash sounded through the phone.
"I’m trying my best!" Mike yelled. "But I can’t say the same for the humans! They’re too much to handle!"
The line suddenly dissolved into static before going dead. Silence settled between both men.
Dimitri slowly lowered his own phone too.
"Guess the dragons aren’t afraid of their grades after all."
It wasn’t difficult to guess who had orchestrated the attack. The lower beasts rarely moved without the approval of an apex beast.
And crows were an Aetheris specialty.
Maverick’s jaw clenched hard. Without another word, he stormed out of the suite.
Dimitri immediately followed behind him.
The doors slid open and Maverick stepped into the corridor with such force that several students jumped.
One unfortunate boy failed to move fast enough and Maverick shoved him aside. The student stumbled into the wall.
The others learned quickly. By the time he reached the staircase, students were already getting out of his way before he arrived.
Whispers followed behind him.
"What happened?"
"Why is Professor Nightshade in such a hurry?"
"Was there an attack?"
"I bet it’s the humans."
"Well, it was only a matter of time. Did anyone really think the dragons or serpents would happily accept those rules from last night?"
Maverick ignored every word. Moments later, he reached the parking area and entered his vehicle. Dimitri climbed in from the other side.
The engine roared to life, and they were gone. The journey should have taken five minutes but Maverick made it in three.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel, his eyes set on the road. There was a strange dread sitting in his chest, which made absolutely no sense.
Since when had he started caring this much about the humans? They were here because of their own stupidity. They were not his responsibility. At least, not beyond a certain point.
That was what he kept telling himself. Unfortunately, one particular human kept surfacing in his mind.
The one human whose thoughts he couldn’t read.
The one who had somehow managed to catch his attention despite all his efforts not to care.
The vehicle screeched to a stop outside the human residence. Before it had fully settled, Maverick was already stepping out.
His gaze immediately lifted toward the sky. In the distance, dark shapes were flying away from the residence.
The crows were leaving, their mission complete, leaving him to stare at the aftermath of their destruction.
