"Come on, sister," Theo said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder in a gesture of familiarity. "We still have so many places to see. Oh, and..." He turned to glance over his shoulder at his mother. "We might eat out today."
Without waiting for permission or response, he led Victoria out of the living room and down the marble-floored corridor.
When they arrived at her bedroom, Victoria stopped dead in the doorway.
The entire room had been redecorated. Gone were the ridiculous pink frills and lace curtains. Instead, the space was awash in shades of white and black. The tiles, the ceiling, the walls...even the sleek furniture had all adopted a monochrome theme.
It looked like a funeral had been staged in her honor.
Is this symbolic? she wondered, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. Are they telling me I'll be dying soon?
"Do you like it?" Theo asked, one brow arched in casual curiosity. "Tell me honestly, so I'll know whether to rip it all down again."
"I'll do it myself, if I may," Victoria said quietly. "I'd like to pick the colors... if I'm allowed, brother."
She exhaled a slow, heavy breath. "Also, could we postpone the outing until tomorrow? I need to rest. And I'd like to meet my eldest brother. I'm eager to see all of you together."
Theo studied her for a moment, then nodded with a thoughtful hum. "Oh. Right. You must be exhausted. I should have considered that." He flashed a wry grin. "And sure, you can redecorate it yourself. I'm a man....I admit, I have no talent for feminine tastes. I'll leave this to you."
He paused, then added, "As for our eldest brother... well, he won't be home today. Or tomorrow. Or who knows when, really. He's at the Elite Lycan Institution. Stuck there, actually. He's one of the four heirs who run it alongside the Elders. Big responsibility, you know. Our family's influence made it possible....he was chosen, after all."
Through bribery and corruption, no doubt, Victoria thought, swallowing back her disgust.
But Theo's mention of the Elite Lycan Academy triggered something deeper inside her.
That place. That cursed place.
The three heirs of the academy had bought her in her first life. Used her blood to cure the infected. Or perhaps themselves. She wasn't sure anymore.
What she did remember was the agony and the humiliation.
Those three were just as guilty as her family. They had made her suffer, stripped her of everything. And just like she planned to ruin her family, she would destroy them too.
"I suppose since we're going out tomorrow," Theo continued, oblivious to the storm rising behind her eyes, "you might as well stop by the academy to see him. He's been asking about you. I'm sure he'd love the surprise."
A slow smile curved across Victoria's lips.
A surprise visit, hmm?
That sounds good but also planned.
"Anyway," Theo said with a stretch, heading toward the door, "get some rest. Later, come down and eat with us. I still want to get to know my sister."
With that, he slipped out of the room, leaving Victoria alone.
She stood there for a long moment, and finally whispered to herself...
"Sure! I could meet my enemies at once before knowing the next step."
The Elite Lycan Academy was the pride of their kind....a place where future leaders of the werewolf world were shaped. Alphas who would rule vast pack territories, Betas who would serve as healers, advisors, and educators, and Gammas trained to be elite warriors. Omegas, mostly female, attended to compete for Luna positions, and the rare few male Omegas struggled to challenge for Alpha roles. It had always been that way....a hierarchy embedded in tradition and cruelty.
Victoria had never seen the three heirs with her own eyes, but their presence...she always felt. The scientists in the lab always whispered about them in reverent, fearful tones too.
"Hurry up and get more of her blood before the heirs arrive."
That was what they always said. She remembered the words clearly....spoken as they strapped her down and drained her slowly, cruelly, as though she were nothing more than livestock.
Now, thanks to Theo's casual mention, she would be visiting the very academy where they reigned.
A sharp smirk curved at her lips.
'Tomorrow will be the day I confirm everything I guess. Since I'm meeting my first brother, let's see if he can hide his disgust when he sees me though. Probably my suffering is going to start right from the academy.'
A bitter chuckle escaped her lips.
"A kind family? How ironic. But if this new kindness is really sincere, due to the fact that fate had rewritten itself then I'll go with it. Make use of it till I take my revenge." She murmured under her breath.
The locket around her neck gave a sudden tug, shifting unnaturally against her skin. It wasn't the first time this had happened. In fact, it had happened often....always during moments of heightened emotion. When she'd manipulated her stepsister into revealing the truth, the locket had moved. When she'd silently cursed her stepmother and felt her hatred bubble up, the locket had responded.
'What's going on?' she wondered, clutching it gently in her palm. The movement stopped immediately, as if the locket had heard her thoughts.