"So, you will be leaving tomorrow?" Victoria asked, observing Gabby's expression. So far, it looked calm— too calm. Was she not scared about everything that had happened to her so far?
Sebastian had already told Victoria that Gabby was different, but she never thought she would be this… different.
But was this really the case, or was she merely pretending?
"Yes," Gabby answered. She looked at the leader of the Devereux family, wanting to ask so many questions. She had to stop herself from doing this.
Sebastian had told her it would not be any good to do it now. The best course of action was to let the storm pass by. Sadly, Gabby needed to leave this place tomorrow.
he Christmas and New Year vacation was done, and Dr. Gomez's wake would happen two days from now. With Dr. Gomez gone, the facility was going to undergo some changes.
"Sebastian told me you agreed to meet the Elders?" Victoria asked. "You do not have to do that; the elders are quite traditional. While we have adapted over the years, there are still Lycans who believe that humans are… different."
Gabby nodded. In fact, Sebastian had already told her about this. However, all this risk was simply worth it. Just thinking about the things that she would be able to do with Sebastian was simply….
For some reason, her train of thought was once again turning in the wrong direction.
"Then—"
"Grandmother…"
Their conversation was interrupted by a woman who walked into Victoria's office. The woman was wearing an all-black pantsuit. Her gray eyes immediately reminded Gabby of Sebastian.
"Sera… I am glad you could immediately come."
"Is this her?" Sera asked, her gaze landing on Gabby. "Sebastian's mate?"
Just like Victoria or Sebastian, Sera was tall, but not as tall as Victoria. From Gabby's estimate, the woman should be about five foot nine or ten. However, unlike Victoria, she looked graceful and regal.
She was slimmer too, which made Gabby wonder if she was some model. Looking at her only solidified Gabby's previous assumption that all Lycans were born like this. However, this was not the time to think about this now.
Gabby immediately got up. "Hi… my name is—"
"I already know your name," Sera said. She did not spend time looking at Gabby as she looked at her grandmother. "She's small."
"Isn't she?" Victoria laughed.
"And weak."
"Does she?" Victoria answered almost immediately.
"I never thought brother would find his mate," Sera said.
Gabby was speechless. Did these two people forget that she was here?
"Where is he?" Sera asked.
"He had some things to attend to," Victoria said.
"He left his mate with you?"
Victoria immediately cleared her throat. "I made him leave."
"Why?"
"That— Must we talk about this in front of Gabby?"
Sera snorted. Again, she looked at Gabby. "A human, huh."
"Please, Sera…"
"I did not come here to create trouble, Grandmother. I simply came here because of curiosity, and to be honest, I wanted to show Miss Gabrielle what Lycans truly are."
"Sera… this is not the time to—"
"I came to have a duel with Sebastian's people. I brought two of mine," Sera said. "Wouldn't it be easier to show her what we are capable of than tell her about the Lycans?"
Hearing this, Victoria's gaze darkened. Clearly, the older woman had many things to say but was probably preventing herself from saying something harsh in front of Gabby. Which made Gabby wonder why. Was it because she's human?
"What do you think, Gabby?" the corner of Sera's lips lifted into a curl as she looked at Gabby. "Do you want to see?"
"Sera—"
"I would," Gabby answered as she tried to stop herself from smiling. She was too excited; she could barely hide it. Sadly, showing too much excitement would not end well for her.
"See, grandmother? Even Gabby had no problems whatsoever…" Sera said. "Please, follow me. I will take you to where the Lycans hone their strength."
Gabby immediately got up and followed Sera. She was not surprised when Victoria followed them as well. The trio soon went outside of the mansion and into another building that Gabby had never seen yet.
The building Sera led them to was impressive. It wasn't as grand as the Devereux mansion, but it had a certain rugged charm. Built with thick red bricks, it looked strong and purposeful, like a fortress.
They walked in through the double doors swung open with a heavy groan. A massive, open space stretched, welcoming her gaze. It immediately reminded her of a gladiatorial arena.
Sand covered the entire floor, its golden color contrasting the dark, exposed beams overhead. Rows of wooden benches lined the sides.
She could hear grunting as the smell of sweat and blood filled the air.
"You do not mind that, right?" Sera asked. "Blood is normal when fighting. Our sparring sessions are not some boxing that you humans tend to like. They fight for survival.
"Sera—"
"Grandmother… we're fine. Gabby agreed to watch them. It's not like we're going to bite her… right, Gabby?" Sera turned towards Gabby. To her surprise, however, Gabby still looked calm despite all the blood and fighting in front of her.
Seeing Gabby's calm reaction, Victoria did not stop Sera anymore. A part of her actually understood her granddaughter as humans have been very well-known for their trickery in the past.
Lycans and other supernaturals have worked with countless humans before. They were not difficult per se, but they cannot be trusted. Everyone in Aetheria knew how humans had so much greed; they would do the impossible just to get what they wanted.
Stealing resources, lying, and even attempting to expose Aetheria to the world were only a few things that humans had done in the past.
In fact, Sera had the same reaction as the Elders, except Sera was simply more direct about her emotions. She did not hesitate to show her dislike for Gabby.
"Of course," Gabby smiled, her eyes glinting with something that the two other women did not recognize.
Gabby was tempted to get a piece of pen and paper just to write down her observations, but she was scared to miss anything during the fight!
Sadly, a phone does not work in this place, so she couldn't actually record the fight. Somehow, this made her a little disappointed.
Seeing the change in her reaction, Sera smirked inwardly. She could not wait to see Gabby's reaction once the real sparring session started.