Chapter 190: Maverick Would Punch Some Faces

Breakfast with Variant and Valerie was filled with laughter, teasing and enough jokes to make them forget, if only for a while, everything that had happened since they arrived at Bestiaris.

As Aria watched the women interact, she found herself wondering if perhaps she had been a little too hard on the beasts. Humans were capable of both good and bad, so why had she never truly considered that the beasts could be the same? Perhaps some of her distrust was simply years of conditioning at work.

After all, the beasts had once lived in a world without humans, where strength determined almost everything. Survival of the fittest wasn’t merely some saying to them. It had been their way of life for a long time.

Then suddenly, they found themselves sharing a world with creatures physically weaker than them, only to be told they had to coexist under laws created by those same creatures. Aria couldn’t imagine how strange that must have been. A beast could kill a human with a squeeze of its fingers. The only reason humanity could stand against them at all was because humans had weapons and technological advancement on their side.

Nothing else.

For the first time, Aria could actually understand the reasoning behind the Concordia Program. If humans and beasts were ever going to coexist without constantly fearing or trying to overpower each other, then someone had to make the first move. If only the government had been one hundred percent honest about what they were doing.

She couldn’t help but snort at that last thought.

The beasts weren’t stupid. They knew the human government wanted something from them, and disguising that intention beneath pretty speeches about unity probably wasn’t helping. Perhaps if the humans had offered genuine friendship first instead of trying to force cooperation, the beasts might have eventually learned to trust them. And from friendship, who knew what could happen?

"Aria—?"

She startled, realizing she’d been lost in thought for longer than she intended.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I was asking what you’re wearing for the party tonight."

"Oh, about that..." Aria scratched the back of her head. "I’m simply picking out a few good pieces from Brittney’s wardrobe."

Aria expected to see at least a little judgment in Valerie and Variant’s eyes, but the exact opposite happened.

"Thank the goddess." Variant pressed a hand to her chest in relief. "For a second there, I thought we were going to have another sweatpants dilemma. But Brittney’s wardrobe? We can work with that."

And just like that, Aria was dumbfounded. Was her fashion sense really that horrible? She just liked being comfortable. What was wrong with it?

"And I, for one, am more than excited to get started!" Brittney announced in a singsong voice, already rising to her feet.

That was Aria’s cue to get up as well. Everyone followed, far too excited by the prospect of dressing her up. Aria couldn’t exactly blame them. There was something oddly therapeutic about forgetting all their problems for a while and fussing over clothes instead — she was just the unfortunate model.

Before they could even make it to Brittney’s room, she had already rushed ahead and started pulling clothes from her wardrobe. By the time Aria and the others walked in, several outfits still on their hangers had been laid across the bed. Brittney wasn’t done either. She dragged out a heavy suitcase from the bottom of the wardrobe and dropped it onto the other side of the mattress with a thud.

Aria’s eyes drifted toward the two other suitcases still tucked inside the wardrobe, but Brittney closed the doors before she could dwell on them for too long. At this point, Aria wasn’t sure whether Brittney had packed for Bestiaris Academy or permanently relocated her entire closet.

The girls immediately descended on the clothes, picking through them with far more enthusiasm than Aria thought the situation required.

Valerie held up a black halter top, only for Trisha to dismiss it with a shake of her head. Variant found another with thin straps and held it against Aria from a distance, tilting her head as she considered it, while Alek rummaged through the pile in search of something that could go with it.

Then Brittney finally pushed her way into the middle of them. "Actually, there’s something I’ve had in mind for Aria."

That immediately caught everyone’s attention. Brittney crouched beside the open suitcase and began digging through it, tossing aside one piece after another until she finally made a triumphant sound and pulled out a fitted black top with a structured, corset-like shape.

Valerie took it from her and held it up for a better look, examining the cut and structure before glancing toward Aria.

"Mmm," Variant hummed in approval. "This is exquisite."

"Yeah," Valerie agreed. "It’ll define her waist, no doubt."

Aria stared at the top. Even she had to admit it was beautiful, but it was certainly not something she would have picked for herself, especially considering how much cleavage it would show. Then again, this was a party. If there was ever a time to crawl a little way out of her comfort zone, perhaps tonight was it.

"And then..." Brittney said, already rummaging through another pile. A moment later, she pulled something free and held it up proudly. "This is for the skirt."

Aria stared at the tiny piece of black fabric dangling from Brittney’s fingers, and the first words out of her mouth were, "Hell, no."

"Hell, yes!" Trisha countered, taking the textured black mini skirt from Brittney and inspecting it herself. Paired with the structured top, it would look incredible, and judging by the approving looks passing between the others, Aria was horribly outnumbered.

"If tonight goes to hell—and knowing Bestiaris, it probably will—I am going to end up flashing half the academy while running," Aria protested.

"No, you won’t," Trisha assured her. "That’s why there are shorts underneath." She turned the skirt around, showing Aria the fitted shorts hidden beneath the outer layer. "See? You can run, jump, fight for your life or do whatever else Bestiaris decides to throw at us without giving anyone a free show."

Aria wanted to cry a little on the inside. She wasn’t a skirt person to begin with, much less one that barely seemed to qualify as a skirt. She might as well walk outside in her bedroom shorts. These girls weren’t simply trying to coax her out of her shell anymore. At this rate, they were going to smash the damn shell to pieces and make sure she could never crawl back inside.

"Come on, no wussing out now," Variant told her. "Just try it on already." She pushed the top into Aria’s hands while Trisha tossed her the skirt, which Aria caught against her chest before it could fall.

Aria undressed in front of them, taking off one cloth after another. She pulled her tank top over her head first, freeing her breasts in the process. It felt a little strange changing under the attention of five other women, but when her eyes met Brittney’s and the girl wriggled her brows at her in that insinuating way, Aria simply rolled her eyes. That weirdo.

Aria had no doubt the look had something to do with her breasts again. Her B-cups were perfectly normal compared to Alek’s C-cups—which Brittney had affectionately dubbed bazookas—but the girl had made it her personal mission to appreciate every body type in the room. Aria supposed it was body positivity, even if Brittney had the strangest possible way of spreading it.

She ignored her and pulled on the structured top instead, adjusting it until it sat properly against her body. The snug fit immediately drew in her waist while lifting her breasts higher than Aria was accustomed to seeing them, leaving just enough cleavage above the neckline to make her stare at herself for a second. Goodness. Brittney hadn’t been joking when she’d said the top would work.

Even before Aria had finished pulling on the skirt, she could already hear the low murmurs of approval coming from around her. By the time she straightened and turned around, the room had gone suspiciously quiet as everyone took in the complete outfit.

"Sweet Mother," Variant muttered, giving her a slow once-over. "Alpha Maverick is going to be punching a lot of wandering eyes before the night is over."

Valerie shook her head. "We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t send her straight back here and lock himself inside with her instead."

Aria blushed hard beneath the sudden outburst of compliments.

"I knew this would work!" Brittney squealed, looking ridiculously delighted, like a mother whose child had just done her proud. "All we need now to complete the outfit is a pair of black leather boots."

"Oh, I have just the pair for her," Trisha said. "I’ll be back." With that, she hurried out to retrieve them.

Alek studied Aria for another moment before a practical thought seemed to occur to her. "Since the party is outdoors, won’t she get cold dressed like this?"

"You’re right." Valerie rubbed her jaw thoughtfully as she looked Aria over again. Then her eyes brightened. "Actually, I think I have the perfect solution for that."

"You do?" Variant asked, clearly surprised.

Valerie turned to Variant, and for several seconds, neither of them said a word. Aria watched their eyes meet, some silent understanding passing between them that she couldn’t decipher. Whatever it was, Variant’s lips slowly curved into a knowing smile.

"Oh, I see..." she murmured, a strange sort of mischief entering her eyes.