CHAPTER 61: FROM QUIET TO A FIERCE BODYGUARD.

Meanwhile, a sleek black car rolled to a smooth stop in front of a magnificent golden double-door entrance. A pair of servants in sharp office suits immediately moved forward to open the car doors, bowing respectfully.

Victoria stepped out first, her heels clicking against the marble floor, followed by Darius, who adjusted the cuff of his coat with a casual air and then Eric her bodyguard.

"Where are we?" Victoria asked, her eyes scanning the sprawling compound. The building was grand and opulent. "We’re at your house?" she asked again, this time turning toward Darius.

Oh yeah, we are, she thought to herself with a smug smirk. But I can’t let him know I already figured that out. Let’s play dumb for now.

Darius chuckled, as if reading her mind. "Of course. Isn’t it obvious?" He gestured toward the entrance with a small wave. "But for the record, this isn’t my personal house. It’s a shared estate where the three Alphas live. So, technically, it belongs to all of us."

"Are you trying to say the other two Alphas are inside too? Not in school either?" Victoria asked, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms across her chest. She let out a scoff, clearly unimpressed. "What’s going on with the other students then? And why am I the only one here if there are no classes happening?"

Darius gave a careless shrug. "How the other Alphas manage their students isn’t my concern. You’re my student. And I’m telling you now...lectures have begun."

Without giving her a chance to retort, he began walking toward the towering golden doors.

"Now hurry up and stop asking unnecessary questions. Besides," he added with a quick glance over his shoulder, "your bodyguard is with you. There’s no need to be afraid."

Victoria turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on Eric...the silent bodyguard.

But her focus quickly shifted.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked deeper....beyond the physical. Leo.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Aren’t you supposed to take over his body by now?" she muttered under her breath. "You said you could. So why haven’t you?"

"I was actually waiting for you to say so," came Leo’s voice in response...soft and layered.

Victoria blinked, startled but before she could say anything else, he vanished into thin air.

"I can’t just make a decision when you haven’t given me the go-ahead," Leo added calmly, though he was now invisible to her eyes.

Victoria looked around in confusion.

"Where did he go?" she murmured to herself, reaching for the locket around her neck. "Is this the time to disappear into the locket...?"

"I’m standing right in front of you, young lady," came Eric’s voice again....but this time, it wasn’t Eric.

Victoria didn’t need further confirmation.

"Leo!" she gasped, throwing herself into his embrace without hesitation.

"I’m glad you’re here," she whispered against his chest.

Leo smiled warmly and gently peeled her off him.

"Oh, trust me, I’m glad too. But let go of me before people start whispering. Let’s go inside before that Alpha starts complaining," he said with a wink.

Victoria nodded, and together, they walked toward the entryway, hand in hand. But just as they crossed the threshold...

Boom~

A deafening explosion erupted from within the estate.

Smoke and fire burst out from the main hall, swallowing everything in its path. The force of the blast hurled Victoria off her feet but before she hit the ground, Leo was already holding her, shielding her body with Eric’s.

The blast wave knocked them both down, and they landed hard....Leo’s body sprawled protectively over hers.

"Victoria?!" Leo called out, panic lacing his voice as he coughed violently. Thick smoke clouded the air around them. Victoria was coughing too, her lungs burning, her dress stained with soot and ash.

They could barely see, barely breathe.

"Well, well, well," came a smooth, taunting voice through the haze. "Seems the bodyguard is more capable than expected. Impressive."

It was Zephyr.

Leo’s head jerked up, his gaze locking onto the figure emerging from the smoke. Seated calmly at a long obsidian table, Zephyr reclined like a guest at a dinner party. Beside him, Auren lounged just as elegantly....completely unbothered by the chaos.

"You two planned this?" Darius voiced out, furious, brushing dust and smoke off his shoulders as he stared at them both. "Are you out of your minds?! I told you not to pull any of this shit!"

Zephyr just smiled coldly, raising a wine glass and swirling its contents lazily. "You told us a lot of things, Darius. Doesn’t mean we listened."

"Just stay still, Darius. I’m not killing her... yet," Auren said coldly, his voice laced with calculated menace. His eyes remained locked on Victoria, unblinking. "I’m just letting her feel fear....nothing more than a little scare with firecrackers. Her death, when it comes, will be far more brutal than this."

There was a heavy silence in the air, tense and crackling with suppressed power.

Before Darius could respond, Leo swiftly helped Victoria up from the floor. But before she could even catch her breath or speak, Leo stepped forward, fury radiating from his entire being. His fists were clenched, his jaw set, and his eyes burned with a supernatural light.

However, just as he approached the seated Alphas, three of their bodyguards moved in, stepping forward to block his path.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Auren said with a mocking smirk as he lounged back in his chair. "I thought the bodyguard was supposed to be the silent type. Didn’t know he had a fierce side."

Leo’s lip curled into a sneer, rage etched into every syllable of his voice.

"You really think you’ll walk away alive if anything ever happens to Victoria, you spoiled bastards?!" he barked. "Let go of me now or I swear you’ll regret ever being brought into this world."

He directed those last words toward the bodyguards restraining him. They gripped tighter, but unease was beginning to flicker in their eyes.

"If anything does happen to her," Auren replied coolly, "then that would only prove your incompetence, not ours. You’d be blamed for it, not us. I was merely testing the strength of the so-called bodyguard assigned to Darius’ precious student."

He stood and approached Leo slowly, mockingly, then raised his hand and patted him on the head like a child. "But since you passed the test... maybe you deserve a reward."

That was a mistake.

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind exploded from Leo’s body like a shockwave. The force hurled the three bodyguards across the room, slamming them against the wall with bone-cracking impact. They collapsed in unconscious heaps on the floor.

In the same swift motion, Leo surged forward, his hands gripping Auren and Zephyr by the collars, lifting them off the ground. His fingers tightened around their throats, choking them both as they gasped for air.

"You must be really tired of living, huh?" Leo growled, his voice low, deadly, and vibrating with barely contained power.

"Darius... help!" Zephyr managed to croak out as he clawed at Leo’s arms, his legs kicking weakly in the air. "This bodyguard’s gone insane!"

Darius quickly stepped forward, trying to summon his power to free his friends...but no matter what he did, his efforts crumbled against the invisible force Leo radiated. His abilities, for the first time in his life, were utterly useless.

"What’s going on?!" Darius shouted, frustration and disbelief twisting his features. "Why can’t I fight back?! What kind of cursed power is he using?!"

Victoria, still coughing from the smoke, stood to the side. Her lungs burned, but her heart... her heart was swelling. With pride. With joy. With something deeper.

He’s protecting me... and nothing is stopping him.

"Victoria!" Darius yelled, turning toward her in desperation. "Tell your bodyguard to stop! Right now! If anything happens to Auren or Zephyr, you and your family won’t make it out of this alive!"

"Victoria will live, you motherfucker!" Leo roared before she could respond. "I don’t give a damn about this broken world, and I sure as hell don’t care about her ’precious’ family. The only one I care about is Victoria!"

Darius clenched his jaw, trying to hold back his fury, but his helplessness was painfully obvious now.

"Just... just tell him to stop, okay?" he finally said, his voice losing its arrogance. "Auren and Zephyr won’t do anything like this again. I swear it."

Leo glared at him with burning eyes. "Then they owe Victoria an apology. And so do you. Now."

Darius’s jaw tightened further. His pride warred against the reality of the situation. But he had no choice.

"I’m sorry, Victoria. They’re sorry." he said finally, the words tasting like poison in his mouth. "Now... please... let them go."

At that, Leo released Auren and Zephyr, dropping them to the floor with a heavy thud. The two Alphas fell to their knees, coughing and gasping for breath, completely shaken.

Leo stood tall, his expression unreadable.

"Next time you try something like this," he warned, his voice a dangerous calm, "I won’t be so merciful. I won’t spare anyone who tries to hurt Victoria."

He turned toward Victoria then, his features softening as their eyes met.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently, his voice full of concern.

Victoria nodded, a small smile curling at her lips. "Yes... I am, Leo. Thank you."

Before she could say anything more, Leo reached for the collar of the bodyguard uniform he wore and with one swift motion, he tore it off.

The shirt came apart in a dramatic rip, and then the pants followed, falling in a clean motion to the floor revealing his bare, perfectly sculpted body beneath.

He stood naked before Victoria and the three stunned Alphas, completely unbothered by their gaping stares.