CHAPTER 55: THIS IS CRAZY!

"What is the new rule then?" she asked, her question directed at Leo. "Do the Alphas choose us now, or what?"

Leo heaved a heavy sigh as he reclined lazily in his chair, a smirk plastered across his face.

"Well... I’m not exactly sure," he began, drawing out his words. "But if the heirs are the ones who get to choose now, then your brother would definitely pick you. Still, the other three Alphas would want to choose you too hence your brother picking you might not be easy for him. If all of them start fighting just to choose you the , people will start whispering again. Another rumor would spread like wildfire. But then I believe the Alpha’s have a plan which your brothers might not even be aware of."

"That’s crazy!" Victoria suddenly yelled, her voice resounding through the entire compound. The sudden outburst made every student in the vicinity turn to look at her, eyebrows raised in confusion and mild annoyance.

"What is wrong with you? How could you say that out loud?" Rose asked, his brow furrowed and concern lacing his features. "We all know this is crazy but saying it loud...." She added her voice now barely above a whisper.

"Are you okay, dear?" Joe chimed in, his voice gentle, worry clear in his eyes.

"What exactly is crazy, Miss Victoria?" Auren asked, raising an eyebrow. His tone was sharp, his words edged with irritation. "The change of rules? Or are you perhaps implying that we, the heirs, are crazy?"

"No, no, no! I’m sorry," Victoria blurted quickly, shaking her head. "I wasn’t referring to any of you. I was just... thinking about something entirely different. I didn’t mean to shout. That was thoughtless of me. I truly apologize, everyone." She bowed deeply, her face burning with embarrassment as she swallowed hard. Slowly, the students turned their attention back to the podium, and the heirs followed suit....everyone except Auren, whose angry gaze remained fixed on her.

Victoria clenched her fists and murmured under her breath, "I’m pissed right now, Leo."

Leo gave a short laugh, still lounging carelessly.

"Your brothers agreed to this new rule anyways just to protect you as they think you’ve gone crazy ," he said in a low, conspiratorial tone. "Let Damien choose you and it’s done as there’s no doubt he has had that conversation with the other Alpha’s who must have agreed. But considering that conversation you had with Darius earlier....you know, about him being your ’teacher’....he’s definitely got another plan. He’s clever afterall. He’s definitely cooked up something to make you his student no matter what."

Victoria let out a slow, exhausted sigh. "That’s better then. I shouldn’t be worried," she thought, though doubt lingered in her eyes. "But then I hope Alpha Auren and Zephyr don’t have any plans too as I have a feeling that might be bad."

Then, as if on cue, Darius stepped forward, his voice slicing through the murmurs with cold finality.

"The Alphas will be the ones selecting students. The list has already been compiled and approved by the Council," he announced, seriousness etched deep into his tone. "Note this.... being assigned under any heir means you’re essentially in their service. You’ll accompany them wherever they go, assist with their duties, and fulfill whatever tasks they assign to you all while they teach you in return."

Victoria’s lips pressed into a thin line. "The Council, huh? Of course that bastard had a plan," she thought with a smirk. "And judging from the silence of Auren and Zephyr, it’s clear they’re in on it too. They’re not surprised at all, which means they’ve been briefed. Damien though, despite being one of the heirs? He look clueless....probably assumed it would just be a standard selection process with no Council interference. He and my other brothers didn’t see this coming."

Leo laughed darkly beside her, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"They didn’t expect the Council to step in. That’s where Darius played them. I’d bet anything he used the others’ motives...Auren’s hatred and Zephyr’s obsession...as leverage to get them on board. Now all three of them have a hand in it since they’re all going to get an advantage. Good then."

Without wasting another second, the burly men who had been standing by the heirs began distributing the documents to the gathered students, each list bearing names and their assigned Alpha.

Victoria stood still, tension rippling through her frame as she waited for the paper to reach her. "I’ll definitely end up under one heir," she muttered to herself. "But not my brother." Her heart pounded with realization. "Since Darius, Auren, and Zephyr orchestrated this....whether I fall under Darius or not doesn’t matter to them. Either way, they’ll all have access to me to make life a living hell. Auren hates me, Zephyr just wants to claim me, and Darius? He’s the mastermind pulling every string."

A few moments later, the document finally landed in her hands. Her eyes scanned the paper quickly and there it was. As she had expected....her name fell under Alpha Darius.

Before she could even react, a voice rang out beside her.

"Oh my goodness! I’m so happy!" Rose squealed, her eyes wide with excitement as she clutched her own paper. "My name fell under Alpha Damien....your brother!" She turned to the others with a bright smile. "What about you all? Which Alpha did you get assigned to?"

"I guess out of all of you, only I ended up under Alpha Auren... along with a few other students," Jamaila’s voice trembled as she stared at the paper in her hands. Her body was already shaking with fear. "And those few are all from ridiculously wealthy families who basically paid their way into this academy. I guess I’m screwed."

"I’m under Alpha Damien too," Joe chimed in eagerly. Then, before Victoria could utter a single word, he snatched the document from her hands.

"I really hope you got assigned to your brother too," he added, peering down at her name.

"What the actual fuck?! You got under Alpha Darius?!" Blonde shouted, her eyes widening with shock as she took a step back. "That damn wish of yours actually came true?!"

Around them, students began murmuring and glancing at their own papers. It quickly became obvious.

"Looking around... it seems almost everyone ended up under Alpha Damien," Dickson said, frowning as he scanned the faces and papers of nearby students. "Only a handful landed under Auren or Zephyr. But you? You’re the only one under Alpha Darius. Girl, you’re fucked. This can’t be a coincidence, right?"

"What? She got under Alpha Darius?" came Nicole’s voice, sharp and smug as she folded her arms across her chest. A slow, wicked smile crept across her lips. "Oh, damn. I honestly thought the Alphas had already decided to spare you, considering how rude you’ve been. But turns out... your punishment is just about to begin."

"How could my sister end up as the only student under you, Alpha Darius?" Damien’s voice was calm, but his eyes were blazing with restrained fury as he approached. He gently placed a hand on Victoria’s shoulder, as if trying to steady her. "Everyone else gets assigned to a variety of Alphas. But you? You take just one student and it just happens to be my sister? Just what are you planning, Darius?"

A wave of murmurs spread across the courtyard, the tension rising with every passing second.

"Gosh... her brother is hot," Rose whispered with a dreamy look in her eyes, a deep blush coloring her cheeks as she gazed at Damien.

"You better control yourself," Blonde hissed under her breath. "Just because you got assigned to him doesn’t mean he’s some easy target. His training is brutal even if he’s not a sex freak like the others."

"Whatever," Rose murmured with a sigh, her eyes still fixed on Damien. "I love protective guys. They’re always the hottest."

Darius suddenly stepped forward, his voice cutting through the loud murmurs . His eyes were locked on Victoria as he walked towards her, a confident smirk playing on his lips.

"Out of everyone present in this academy," he said, his tone rich with self-assured authority, "she’s the only one who hasn’t awakened her wolf yet." His steps were deliberate as he closed the distance between them. "You should be grateful, Victoria. The Council has done you a favor...assigning you to me so I can help awaken your wolf faster. I’ll be giving you all the training you need...personally."

Victoria could only let out a scoff.

"That’s bullshit, Darius!" Damien snapped, his voice suddenly rising, sharp and filled with rage.

Gasps echoed across the courtyard as, to everyone’s utter shock, Damien grabbed the collar of Darius’s robe with one hand, yanking him forward violently.

"You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?" Damien growled through clenched teeth, his voice low and dangerous. "You introduced this new rule....we Alpha’s get to choose the students we want. You gave me the chance to choose my sister after much apology only for you to ran to the Council behind my back and changed everything! You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Just to punish her. Just because I’ve always been a pushover, you thought you could do this to my sister and I’d just stand by?"

Before anyone could intervene, Damien pulled his fist back and delivered a brutal punch across Darius’s face.

The impact sent Darius staggering backward, his head snapping to the side. The onlookers gasped in collective shock, some stepping back while others stood frozen in place, eyes wide with disbelief.