Chapter 1: Brothers and Bullies.

Twenty Years Ago.

GIOVANNI.

My eyes fluttered open and I was more than shocked to find myself trapped inside a cage. As I looked up, I saw the kids that I thought were my good friends surrounding me. Their faces wore twisted expressions of delight as they watched me struggle within the confines of the small enclosure they had confined me to.

"G... Gaston! Please, I don't enjoy this kind of game," I pleaded, reaching my hands out through the bars. Tears welled up in my eyes as I desperately tried to grab hold of my older brother's fabric as if my life depended on it.

"And who said we were playing? You're nothing more than a slave, destined for cages and filth. Stop your whining," he retorted, his friends joining in with uproarious laughter as if he had just cracked the greatest joke of the century.

"But... but... we're brothers," I stammered, the word catching in my throat.

"Not by choice, but by force. Call us brothers again, and next time it won't be a cage, but a swift river. Let's go, guys," Gaston concluded, striding towards the path that led out of the woods—a path I had never been familiar with, no matter how hard I had tried. His friends followed suit, engaged in lively conversation, their silhouettes fading into the distance as tears streamed down my face.

We had been sent to a summer camp to mingle with humans and gain knowledge about human relationships. Our lives had been confined to the walls of our lavish mansion, home-schooled and hidden from the outside world. To the public eye, we were merely a wealthy family, but behind closed doors, we were what humans referred to as werewolves.

In Italian society, there were several families like ours, interconnected and acquainted. We gathered for meetings regularly. Our father held the esteemed position of the alpha, a title he had acquired through cunning and subterfuge, overthrowing the previous alpha. He was a fearsome figure, not only as the leader of our pack but also as a dangerous mafia boss with a vast empire of legal and illegal enterprises. Additionally, he inherited the prestigious Callisto label, a brand synonymous with our family name, which he had successfully expanded to twelve countries worldwide after our grandfather's untimely demise.

The callisto label was actually what the public knew our family for. The label was known for manufacturing fashion luxury goods. lifestyle accessories, furniture, fragrances, watches, jewelry, ready-to-wear, lingerie, shoes, heels, cosmetics and many more. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, makeup, fragrances, and home decoration. Callisto label was founded in 1901 by Alessandro Callisto, our grandfather.

Now, coming to united states for summer camp was supposed to be a whole new experience and one full of good memories for me but Gaston being the bully that he was had succeeded in turning most of the kids against me by fabricating lies and spreading stories about me. We were both popular as soon as we walked through the gates of the camp, partly due to the limousine that dropped us off and the other part due to the fact that we were the only Italians. I remember a kid asking me why we had come all the way from italy just for summer camp and I only kept mute, not wanting to tell her that father just wanted us to be faraway from home and learn to be on our own. To him, it was some kind of training we had to undergo before we become men.

I remained seated in the uncomfortable cage, hoping that Gaston would have a change of mind soon and come to unlock the cage. I heard a little rustling coming from the dried leaves on the ground as I immediately looked up to see a girl around my age coming towards me with a confused look on her face. As she moved closer, her familiarity hit me, she was the same girl who had asked why I came all the way to United states from Italy for summer camp. She had told me that her name was Kiki.

"Oh my God, are you okay? Did your brother do this to you again?" She questioned, her voice laced with utmost concern as she began to look around for what she could use to open the cage. It wasn't news that Gaston bullied me, although most of the kids and adults saw it as normal sibling playful rivalry.

After a while, she finally succeeded getting me out of the cage.

Ever since then, we became friends, she would always stand up for me whenever Gaston and his friends tried to bully me and we did almost everything together. Then Gaston began to make the kids bully her too for hanging out with me and always standing up to him, but she didn't mind.

Few days to the end of camp, she was accused of stealing some amount of money from the finance master, a total of five thousand dollars. She kept saying she didn't do such a thing but when her bag was searched, they had found the money in it. She was to face the panel the next day when we both overheard Gaston and his friends talking a night before that day.

"Did you see her face when they found the money in her bag, it was so hilarious. We did such a good job, Nate, I hope that will teach her to always mind her business and to know whose path she shouldn't cross." Gaston said as he laughed.

"Right? It's even more believable since she looks as poor as a church rat anyways." Nate added as they all burst into another fit of laughter.

Kiki and I exchanged looks before she decided to make her presence known, "Looks like your secret is out, Gaston." She said as she walked towards them.

Gaston looked surprised but was able to mask it quickly, " and who's going to tell?" He asked smiling mischievously.

"Me." Kiki replied with so much confidence.

"Oh, nobody's going to believe you, Stronza. Vaffanculo!" Gaston cursed at her in Italian language as I shook my head while still hiding in the shadows. Father had always warned him not to use those words, they meant asshole and go fuck yourself respectively.

"Speak in English, idiot. And of course they would especially since I've got an additional witness!" She replied as she pointed at me. And then she stormed off, probably to report the situation to the adults. Gaston stomped towards me and then he dragged me by my collar.

The next day, Kiki and I was summoned, so were Gaston and his friends. She narrated all that she heard the previous night to the adults, looking towards me at intervals as if expecting me to back her up, but I was so scared to even look at anybody's face.

"She's lying, she's such a liar. She's trying to frame me up for something that she obviously did. I mean, you know me, you know who my father is. Why would I steal, my parents can give me way more than that." Gaston defended himself shamelessly.

"It's not about the money, its about the fact that you just want to make me the thief. Even your brother knows that you're lying." Kiki retorted.

"Really? Giovanni, we are going to depend on you to get to the end of this matter. Did you and kiki really hear Gaston and his friends talking about stealing the money just to frame kiki up like she said?" One of the adults seated directed at me while I struggled not to meet any of their eyes.

"She...she..." I then looked up only to meet my brother's eyes, he smiled mischievously at me as if daring me to throw him under the bus. The memory from the night before came rushing, "remember what dad always told us, family over friends, family over girls, family over everything. If he discovers that you did otherwise, imagine how angry he'd be at you."

And then I answered, "She's lying."