Chapter 191: Ready For The Party

No sooner had Valerie left to get the suspicious "solution" she refused to tell Aria about than Trisha returned with the boots and immediately had her put them on.

And they were beautiful.

They were made of sleek black leather and rose almost to her knees, fitting closely around her calves before ending in low, solid block heels. The boots gave Aria enough height to sharpen the outfit without making it difficult for her to move normally. Or run. Or kick someone—preferably in the groin.

"Damn, girl. You look hot." Even Trisha couldn’t help but comment as she stepped back to admire the finished look.

"Thank you," Aria said sincerely. "I don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness..." Her eyes moved around the room, settling briefly on each of them. "All of your kindness."

As the eldest child, Aria had always been the one expected to look after everyone else. She had practically raised Davina while trying to raise herself, because Quinn could barely manage being a mother to her youngest daughter, much less spare enough attention to care for Aria too. Her mother was always busy chasing after the next man she believed would finally make her feel complete.

So being taken care of like this by a group of strangers who had somehow become sisters in such a short time still felt strange to Aria. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve them, but somewhere between surviving Bestiaris together and refusing to leave one another behind, they had become hers.

"Oh, come on. Stop the nonsense already." Brittney waved her off before Aria could get emotional. "You’re the one who told us we’re in this together, remember? You don’t get to say something like that and then act surprised when we actually take it seriously."

Aria smiled at her, affection warming her chest.

"Aww," Variant cooed. "Look at you all. Some people spend their entire lives searching for a bond like this. I believe the Goddess brought you four together."

Aria, Brittney, Alek and Trisha exchanged glances. None of them were particularly devoted followers of the Moon Goddess, but wolf culture had spread so deeply into the human world over the years that she was hardly an unfamiliar figure anymore. Even humans who didn’t worship her knew the stories, adopted expressions associated with her and sometimes invoked her name without thinking much about it. Apparently, Variant had decided the Goddess deserved credit for their friendship too.

Then Valerie returned.

"Here it is..." she announced, finally revealing what she had been hiding behind her back, and the girls gasped.

The coat was out of this world. Thick, pale-grey fur spilled over Valerie’s arms, so soft and luxurious that Aria could tell from across the room it was expensive. It was long too, clearly meant to fall well past the hips, with enough weight to actually keep someone warm rather than merely look pretty.

Brittney was the first to hurry over and run her fingers through the fur. "Is this—"

"Yeah, it’s real," Variant answered. Then, before any of the humans could look horrified, she quickly added, "They didn’t kill the wolf, though. It’s made from naturally shed fur. And it’s expensive as hell because collecting enough of it and turning it into something like this takes a ridiculous amount of work and time. Her parents practically broke the bank getting it for her."

Valerie held the coat toward Aria. "And now I’m giving it to you."

"Oh, no. No, I couldn’t possibly take that." Aria immediately shook her head. "It’s a gift from your parents."

"A gift I never liked," Valerie corrected. "Now that I’ve finally found someone who’ll actually make good use of it, I’m over it already. Take it."

But no matter how casually Valerie said it, Aria remained hesitant. What if the coat had some sentimental value Valerie wasn’t admitting to? Worse, what if her parents eventually asked about something that expensive and Valerie ended up in trouble because she’d handed it over to a girl she’d barely known for long?

"No, I really couldn’t." Aria shook her head again.

"Aria—"

Variant placed a hand on Valerie’s shoulder, stopping her before she could argue. "Then don’t take it permanently. Wear it tonight, and if you like it enough to keep it afterward, you can. If you don’t, give it back. Problem solved."

At that, Aria finally nodded. "Okay."

"Good." Variant smiled. "Now put it on. Let’s see."

Aria took the coat, still a little awed by how soft it felt beneath her fingers, before slipping her arms inside. The thick pale-grey fur surrounded her from her shoulders almost to mid-thigh, oversized enough to soften the harder edges of the black outfit beneath it without swallowing her completely. She could easily pull both sides closed if the wind picked up tonight, and against the lighter shade, the blue of her eyes seemed even brighter.

Brittney gave an appreciative whistle. "If Maverick doesn’t get you pregnant tonight, I will."

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"Obviously, I can’t," Brittney added with a laugh. "But I feel like my point was very clear."

The others sighed and shook their heads. That was simply Brittney being Brittney.

Aria knew without a doubt that she looked good. What she didn’t know was that the fur had not been an entirely innocent choice.

Valerie and Variant had suspected Maverick was interested in one of the humans from the moment he personally sent them to look out for Aria and her roommates. Then he’d saved Aria when the dining hall collapsed, and there hadn’t been much left to figure out. Of all the women who had arrived at Bestiaris, she was clearly the one who had captured his attention.

As long as Valerie and Variant had known Maverick at the academy, he had never shown any interest in women. Add that to his well-known aversion to being touched by them, and plenty of students had eventually concluded that perhaps women simply weren’t his preference. Valerie and Variant had believed it too—until Aria.

The fur only made their little scheme more entertaining. Valerie and Variant knew wolves. They knew what fur could stir in them—the warmth, the scent, the softness of it, all feeding into something primitive and possessive when wrapped around a woman they considered theirs. With Maverick already interested in Aria, they were curious to see how much of the Alpha’s famous control would survive the combination.

In conclusion, they were merely giving Maverick a little push. Whatever he did afterward was entirely his responsibility, and they would accept absolutely no blame for the consequences.

Besides, Valerie had her own reasons for wanting the coat gone. Her parents had originally bought it hoping she could use it to catch the attention of a male wolf. As a squirrel who ranked nowhere near the top of the beast hierarchy, Valerie had grown up hearing what an achievement it would be to attract a more powerful beast.

To some families, marrying upward meant status, security and stronger offspring. But to Valerie, the whole idea had always sounded like telling a human girl to put on her prettiest dress and hope a prince noticed her.

Yeah, it was what it was—a dream.

And Valerie hated that her parents expected her to chase that dream simply because they thought being chosen by a powerful male would somehow make her life more valuable. So watching Aria stand there in the coat, completely oblivious to the effect it might have on the wolf she actually wanted, Valerie couldn’t have been happier to finally see the damn thing go.

With Aria’s outfit finally settled, attention naturally shifted to everyone else. Not that the other girls needed nearly as much help as she did.

Trisha had gone for black and something that showed quite a lot of skin. Not that it was surprising. Her top was a fitted crop top, sleeveless and high around her neck, leaving her stomach completely bare before the patterned maxi skirt began low on her hips. The skirt reached her ankles, but the sheer cutout design offered plenty of glimpses of her legs whenever she moved.

Instead of risking her life in heels at an outdoor party, she too went for ankle boots with thick, sturdy heels. By the time she was done, everything suited her far too well. Trisha looked stylish and sexy as hell.

Alek, on the other hand, went for something more subtle. She chose a fitted black strapless midi dress that followed the shape of her body without clinging obscenely to it.

The neckline ran cleanly across her chest while the hem fell below her knees, interrupted only by a slit climbing one side of her thigh. There were no sequins or glitter, nothing dramatic enough to demand attention. Just a flattering dress and enough exposed skin to remind everyone that Alek knew how to be sexy too.

They knew her red hair would do most of the work, and she also flat-out refused to wear heels, settling for leather ankle boots with a low block heel.

The result was very much Alek. Pretty without advertising it and comfortable without looking underdressed. The girl could probably disappear into the crowd if she wanted to, although Aria had a feeling Dimitri would make that impossible the moment he saw her.

Finally, there was Brittney. Unsurprisingly, Brittney had taken the party as an opportunity.

A deep burgundy halter top wrapped around her upper body, the gathered fabric flattering her chest before narrowing around her waist. Her shoulders and most of her back remained bare, and she’d paired it with a long light-blue denim skirt that should have made the outfit more casual if Brittney hadn’t chosen one that looked as though someone had attacked it with a pair of scissors.

The denim was heavily distressed down the front, ripped open high along one thigh before continuing in frayed sections toward her ankles. Every time Brittney walked, the torn pieces shifted enough to reveal flashes of her leg.

For once, she listened to them and abandoned the knee-high burgundy stilettos she’d originally considered for leather boots in the same shade with sturdy block heels.

And with their outfits finally settled, they were ready for one hell of a party tonight.