CHAPTER 26: YOU DON’T HAVE A SAY IN THIS, GOAT.

Master Austin stepped forward, adjusting the cuffs of his long coat with a sigh. "Yes. He happens to be the top student of Master Joe, who was originally assigned to teach you swordsmanship. Unfortunately, Master Joe is unavailable, which means Alpha Darius will be stepping in to teach you instead."

Victoria took a step back, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What?! I don’t want him!" she snapped, unable to contain the rising panic in her chest. "How can a student be allowed to teach another student? If anything, I’ll wait for master Joe have have the time and teach me."

’Darius will never teach me anything useful! He’ll sabotage me instead....He only agreed to get by tutor to make life a living hell for me and also that I’d fail the examination! Then he’ll pretend to be generous and grant me admission out of pity, just to make himself look good while everyone mocks me!’

Her thoughts were spiraling, fury and suspicion clouding her judgment as her gaze were fixed on Darius and if looks could kill, then he would have dropped dead.

"What a manipulative bastard..." she muttered inwardly.

"You don’t have a say in this, goat," Darius cut in coldly, his voice laced with mockery.

Victoria’s face turned red with her eyebrows raised up in confusion. "Goat?!"

Darius smirked. "Yeah, goat. That’s your new name from me. You’ll answer to it whenever I call."

Victoria’s hands balled into fists at her sides. "My name is Victoria. If you don’t know someone’s name, the polite thing to do is ask, not insult them," she said, folding her arms across her chest in defiance."Now tell me how could someone like you teach another student when you yourself lack manners."

"Oh really?" Darius raised an eyebrow as he let out a smirk.

But before Victoria could say anything more...

Crack!

Miss Ameera struck her sharply on the arm with the wooden training stick again.

"Ow!" Victoria yelped, instinctively dropping her arms.

She turned, furious, ready to ask why she did that again but a firm hand suddenly wrapped around her mouth from behind, muffling her retort. It was Theo.

"You’re only making things worse for yourself by arguing," he whispered in her ear, his tone low and calm. "Just breathe, alright? Callum and I will be with you the whole time. We’ll escort you to wherever this training is happening."

He released her slowly, offering the others a chuckle to defuse the tension before stepping back into line.

Darius spoke again, completely unbothered. "I have no interest in using your real name, goat. You should get used to it now, consider it part of your training."

Victoria trembled with restrained anger, her glare hot enough to burn, but she said nothing.

Miss Ameera eyed her coldly before turning to address Mr. and Mrs. Ashford. "Your daughter clearly lacks discipline, but don’t worry. She’ll learn. Eventually. That said, we won’t be staying for refreshments. There’s much to do, and time is short hence we have to leave now."

"Alright then. Maybe some other day. Goodbye," Master Austin added curtly before he and Miss Ameera turned on their heels and began walking toward the exit, Darius trailing behind them. He paused just long enough to shoot Victoria a venomous look...one filled with challenge and contempt before disappearing from view.

The moment they were gone, Victoria turned to Theo and Callum, frustration bubbling up.

"He’s not going to teach me anything. None of them are. It’s obvious they only listen to Alpha Darius. He practically controls them!"

Theo placed a hand on her shoulder with a grin. "Then we’ll teach you. Looks like Father will have to trust us after all. He may have called us ’inexperienced,’ but it might just be that our so-called inexperience ends up saving our little sister."

Before Victoria could react, Theo pinched her cheek playfully, making her flinch in surprise.

"Ow!" she protested, swatting his hand away.

He only laughed and reached out to ruffle her silver hair. "You’ll be fine, goat....I mean, Victoria."

"Anyways," he added, his mood lightening, "I raided the kitchen and brought a ton of food for the road."

At his words, several servants emerged from the house, each carrying large boxes packed with food. The rich aroma of fresh bread, roasted meats, and spiced fruits filled the courtyard.

"You idiot!" Mr. Ashford bellowed, smacking the back of Theo’s head with a sharp thwack. "You’re thinking about food at a time like this. You’re going for training and not a vacation.!"

Theo rubbed his head and let out a laugh. "We won’t be bored during training, that’s for sure. Life’s too short to be serious all the time. We need breaks and snacks."

Mrs. Ashford stepped forward and gently took Victoria’s hand. Her eyes were soft, her voice tender.

"Take care of yourself, alright? Your brothers will be with you, but please no matter how frustrating those teachers may be, listen to them. Learn what you can. You’re stronger than you think."

Victoria hesitated, then gave a small nod. "I’ll try, mother. I can’t promise anything until the training starts, but now that I think about it... I’m actually curious." Her silver eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I want to see what that arrogant bastard Darius is really capable of. And maybe... make him talk."

"And you should watch how you address the Alpha dear. It wouldn’t end well if other people hear how you insult him and that might actually bring you another trouble." Mr Ashford said with a calm tone.

"I will father." Victoria replied as sfe swallowed hard while Mr and Mrs Ashford nodded their heads in approval.

Callum chuckled. "Alright then, warrior princess. Let’s move out before our dear teachers decide to leave without us...we still don’t know where this mysterious training ground is."

Without another word, he grabbed Victoria’s hand and began leading her toward the exit. Theo followed, humming to himself as the servants loaded the last of the supplies into the waiting cars.