What had he just said there?
“No,” I whispered. “No, there is a mistake. I’m Larissa Champson.”
Bastien ignored my desperate attempt.
“From now on, your name isLarissa DeLoughrey.”
“No…”
I was confused, swooning inside.
“Get changed. The others are already waiting,” were his last words, and then he nodded to me, turned, and disappeared through the large, ebony-colored door, not without first glancing at his luxury watch.
I couldn’t quite keep up and stood there motionless, speechless, and confused.
Whatever sick movie I was in, I had to find a way to escape. And I had to find Bayla.
Chapter 4
Miles
Alpha
JordanBeats
As I punched, I hit his left cheek, and a crack sounded.
I couldn’t help but grin, because how often did you punch your mentor and hit the bull’s eye? But as much luck as I sometimes had, just as much bad luck followed.
Laurent grabbed me by the upper arm and threw me against the stone wall of the training hall. This time it wasmyneck that made a sickening noise.
“Your successful hits are making you reckless,” my mentor rebuked me, looking down at me sternly as I straightened my shoulders. “At least you’ve managed to build up muscle mass.”
Did he have to bring that up now? I knew well enough myself that my upper body wasn’t exactly broad, and it had taken an awful lot of training to have the body I had now, not to mention the masses of protein-rich food.
Laurent held out his hand to me, but instead of pulling me up when I gratefully accepted it, he flung me back over his head. I wasn’t as good as him, but I already knew this move, so I managed to land on my two feet and hold him in his spin so that he couldn’t move.
“Reckless?”I laughed triumphantly.
Laurent grabbed my wrists, skillfully twisted his way through my arms, grabbed me by the neck, and smashed me down powerfully.
My head bounced painfully on the mat, and any ordinary mortal would have lost consciousness by now.
“Indeed,Miles.”
Shaking his head, he let go of me and pulled his black DUIO tracksuit jacket over his black T-shirt, so I jumped up too, but didn’t put on my shirt or tracksuit jacket. My body was boiling, and I didn’t want to soak another shirt. My skin was crying out for a cold shower, but I had something to do first. My fingers moved to the hidden pocket in my training pants, where one of my steel blades was located.
“Forget it, Miles,” Laurent grumbled without turning to me, and I pressed my lips together before taking my hands off the blade.
Of coursehe had noticed.
I watched as my mentor packed up the nasty wooden stakes, he had been throwing at me ten minutes ago.
“Done already?” I asked challengingly, undoing my short man bun so that my straight, dark brown hair fell down to my chin. The front strands fell into my forehead, so I had to wipe them out of my face. Andno,I absolutely didn’t see the point in going to the hairdresser, even if Adrian was teasing me about it. As long as the women were into it, it was appropriate. End of discussion.
“Tonight is our last dinner before Nicolaj comes back. Besides, we have someone new among us, and we both know you should shower beforehand.”
I had completely blocked out the fact thatshewas here now because I was still trying to process what I had learned two days ago. If I had known beforehand, I would have doneeverythingI could to prevent her from coming here, but unfortunately, in this family, you learn a lot of things only when it is too late.