CHAPTER 17: I CAN’T BEG THOSE ARROGANT BASTARDS!

Theo and Callum remained still, their bodies braced for the impact, heads bowed in silent acceptance. They didn’t flinch. They didn’t resist.

Victoria stood frozen, her gaze fixed on her two brothers who remained kneeling before Damien. Her heart pounded in her chest, the sound deafening in her ears. Why weren’t they defending themselves? Why weren’t they saying anything?

’Are they really going to get hit?’ she thought in disbelief. ’Isn’t this the moment when the mask is supposed to slip?’

She didn’t have long time to think as the first lash of the whip tore through the air, its tip striking Theo’s back with a sickening crack. His shirt split open, the fabric giving way to reveal angry red welts blooming instantly into blood.

Then came the second strike, this time aimed at Callum. Another rip, another red gash, staining his back.

Victoria’s eyes widened in shock and utter disbelief.

’Are they dumb?!’ she screamed silently. ’Wait... wait, are they letting themselves get punished so that I’ll be blamed for it later at home? So that I’ll be the one getting hit next?! I knew it. I knew it!’

As Damien raised the whip again, the leather ready to strike,Victoria stepped forward.

"Please stop, elder brother!" she cried, her voice etched with seriousnes. "My two brothers never did anything wrong!"

"I was the one who acted foolishly," she continued, swallowing hard as she forced the words out. "I was the one who spoke boldly before the academy heirs without knowing the consequences. I didn’t think... I didn’t realize it would make things difficult for our family."

She lowered her head, biting her lip to keep her emotions in check. Her voice was tight with remorse, but inside, her thoughts burned.

’Well, go ahead. Are you going to hit me now instead? Is this when you finally show your real face, Damien?’

She waited, ready to be striked down but Damien didn’t raise the whip again.

Instead, with a frustrated sigh, he let the weapon fall to the ground, the leather curling limply at his feet.

Victoria blinked, confused.

Behind her, the whip marks on Theo and Callum’s backs began to fade, the torn flesh knitting itself back together in seconds. The blood dried up, the gashes vanishing as if they had never been there at all. Their healing abilities....gifts of the moon goddess had done their work.

Victoria had no such gifts though. She didn’t possess healing powers. At nineteen, she had already passed the age when most werewolves awakened their wolves at eighteen. Hers had never come. Perhaps it was because her mother was human, or perhaps she had been born lacking altogether.

Any werewolf who failed to awaken their wolf by the age of eighteen or twenty was no werewolf at all....they were deemed human. Ordinary. Weak. Cast aside. And yet... Victoria sometimes wished she really was just human, like her mother.

But that seemed impossible.

Not with the way her senses sharpened when Alphas were near. Not when she could detect their scent in the air. Not when her body reacted...subtly, controllably but undeniably, to their presence. She always went into heat, not intensely like the others, but enough to feel the shift in herself.

Still... she had no wolf. And she had one year left before the chance was gone forever.

"You can stand up now, please," Damien finally said, breaking the silence with a long, weary sigh. "Stop looking at me like I’m a villain here."

Immediately, Callum and Theo obeyed, rising to their feet and brushing the invisible dirt from their knees. Damien turned toward his brothers, his tone lightly scolding.

"You should be thankful to your little sister."

Callum and Theo exchanged glances before offering Victoria identical smiles. They were smug, amused, and irritatingly proud of her sacrifice. Victoria’s jaw clenched as she looked away, swallowing down the retort that threatened to rise in her throat.

Then Damien softened.

"How have you been?" he asked gently as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. His embrace was warm and firm, and he patted her back as though she were still the little girl he used to carry on his shoulders.

Victoria scoffed inwardly.

’Oh, you’re all driving me insane,’ she thought bitterly. ’But I won’t be fooled by your nice behavior.’

"I’m fine, brother," she said aloud, her voice carefully composed.

Damien released her and gave her a small nod. "Good. That’s good."

Then his expression grew serious again. "You should worry about the tests for entry into this school. Yes, they might try to make life a living hell for you...as punishment for defying them but they won’t go so far as to kill you."

He paused and glanced at Callum and Theo, then added, "We’re your brothers. We’ll protect you as much as we can. But to reduce the punishment they’re planning, you have to meet with them and apologize so that your test will be simple and I can assist you without them being involved anymore."

What?! Victoria screamed inwardly.

Damien continued, unaware of the storm rising in her chest. "Just let them know you’re sorry. Say it’s your first time here, that you didn’t know who they were. I already explained things to them over the phone, but they insisted that you apologize in person."

He sighed again, running a hand through his hair.

That was it.

"Over my dead body," Victoria said, her voice low, trembling with fury. Her expression turned hard, her spine straightened.

"I’m not begging anyone, brother," she added firmly.

Her words dropped like a bomb.

Damien stiffened. Callum and Theo’s expressions froze.

Callum and Theo, for all their irritation with the heirs, knew how to play the game. Knew when to bow, when to bite their tongues, when defiance could cost not just them, but everyone they cared about.

They hated the heirs. Hated the way they treated Damien. But hate didn’t stand a chance against power. Not here. Not in a school where defying the wrong person could turn you from a student into a servant.

Damien’s brows furrowed. "Why wouldn’t you beg them, Victoria?" he asked, confusion and urgency lacing his tone. "You have to listen to me, okay? Everything I do here is for you. For our family."

"I can’t beg those arrogant bastards!" Victoria spat, fire burning behind her eyes. "What’s so special about them? They act like gods because they’re full-blooded Alphas? Because their families are rich? Because the rest of you bow down to them like trained dogs every time they appear?"

"T...t..trained dogs?!" Theo stammered and swallowed hard, his face contorted with shock and utter disbelief.

She scoffed, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "You all gave them the attention they lacked at home. It’s obvious their parents are never around. Money raised them. Not love. So now they crave attention and get it from students who can’t even look them in the eye. How pathetic."

A thick, suffocating silence followed her words. Damien, Callum, and Theo stared at her, utterly speechless.

Then....

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Theo began applauding with a smirk, but stopped abruptly when Damien shot him a glare that could kill.