3

VICTORIA

It had been months since my last nightmare. Since that night, Oliver had climbed into my bed like the brother I missed so desperately and just held my hand. Similar to the way Damon had. I had watched the warriors of our pack training, but it was nothing like what we did at Artamas. I was beaten daily by full-grown wolves, werebears, vampires, creatures I didn't know existed. There was a girl in the room next to mine who was a vampire witch. I didn't think those could exist. Witches were natural beings. They used life, the earth, to gain power, but vampires were dead and evil and the opposite. They had to kill to become more powerful. I guess nothing in this world is ever the way it seems. I stood in the shower of the change room after training and watched the blood from my wounds wash down the drain.

I wondered what Damon was doing? If he knew where I actually was or just that I was at my fancy school. I turned the tap off and went to get dressed. I had history of ancient spells next. I like this class. At least I was allowed to use my magic, and it didn't drain me the way it had before. Now I felt stronger, and I knew how to use my magic where it left little to no smell. My teacher Gwen was amazing. She was a dark witch, but she had a kindness to her. I slipped on my jeans and t-shirt before heading to class. It was this and then lunch. I was excited about lunch because Oliver would be there. My only friend. He had a lot of friends. He was the kind of guy everyone liked. It was my birthday tomorrow, and they were letting me go home for the week. I was turning seven, but I felt like I was turning sixteen most days. Most of the kids at Artamas were more mature than the average. Being forced into learning abilities and not being normal children played a role in that, I think.

The class went by fast. Gwen said I was getting stronger, that she could feel my wolf. Oliver had his wolf already. They had forced him to shift as a toddler. That gave him special healing abilities. I hoped I could shift early, too. I wanted to heal faster. My muscles still ached after training, and I wasn't allowed to heal them. I rushed from class to get changed, I needed to get to the library after lunch, and I didn't want to wear my jeans and top if I was going to curl in a chair reading for the next five hours.

I passed Matice in the hallway. She never looked at me, but I always said hi. I felt a weird pull toward her.

"Hi, Tori! You kicked ass in training this morning, Anton said to me as they walked by.

"Hi! Thank you, I have been practising that heart rate trick you taught me so they can't hear me coming." I winked at him. He reminded me a lot of Damon. Serious but sweet too.

"Shhh, don't say that too loud. That is something they teach two levels up from you. They will kick my ass and burn my wings again." I laughed and went into my room. Anton was part dragon. They suppressed his dragon enough he couldn't fully shift, but he could use his wings to fly. I pulled on my leather pants. They felt like butter against my raw skin. Oliver had ordered these for me. He said the cooling material would helo the road rash you get from training. I had just graduated level 8, and level 9 was brutal. He, of course, was in the top tier. He only trained to keep in shape. He had mastered everything else early on. I had moved quickly up the ranks due to my pain tolerance, and being so small made me fast and deadly.

I rushed down to the dining room, hoping to catch Oliver before too many people sat with him. I wanted to tell him about what I found in the library. I walked into the dining room, a large room with six long tables. There were about forty students in the school all ranging from preschool to high school. Once you were old enough, they let you get your own apartment for when you aren't away on assignments. I found Oliver sitting with one other person. Cassandra, ugh, how I hated her. She was Fae, perfectly beautiful and tall, she had pointed ears and long limbs, her honey brown hair never seemed to ever get sweaty or ruffled. She always looked like a runway model. I stopped walking toward them and turned to grab food instead. I would have to tell Oliver later, maybe at dinner.

"Hi Mason," I said a little bummed as I passed another one of Oliver's friends he was my age.

"Hi Princess of Darkness, what has you so glum?" he chuckled like I was a child.

"Nothing, I just wanted to tell Oliver something but it can wait." He glanced over at Oliver and Cassandra.

"Ya I try to avoid her too. Grab me another bun when you grab your food. I want another one." He smiled, I knew that was his way of saying come eat with me. I grabbed my plate and a bun for Mason and went and sat down with him.

"So what did you want to tell Oliver? That you love him and he is so dreamy?"

"Haha, no I found his family histories and I thought he would wanna know about his family."

"Ya he probably does, if they are still alive." He looked away as if remembering his own family being murdered by Lucian. Lucian Stone was the retriever. He came and took the kids when they were small enough. Either paying the parents a handsome amount of money or killing them when they refused. Mason was a pure bread Alpha like Damon. He seemed normal, I wasn't sure what they wanted him. He didn't have any special skills except that his wolf was huge. The biggest I had ever seen. I was about to drop my plate off in the wash bin when I felt something sticky run down my back.

"OOPS" I heard that nasally voice say. I just knew she had dumped something on me. Her magic was stronger than mine. I had fought against her in training enough to know, I just had to take what she gave me. I turned to confront her when the lights flickered and when they came back on she was covered in red ketchup. Her white nearly see-through tank top was smeared with dark red. She let out a whiny shriek and ran for the main bathroom. I looked around everyone just looking down at their food except my eyes met a pair of beautifully green ones, with a gold ring around them. I nodded and Matice just smiled while brushing her golden hair over her shoulder while she giggled at something Daniel and Oliver said. Like nothing had happened at all. Then she winked at me. It was so suddle and quick you might miss it.