The lock clicked beneath my trembling fingers. It was an old, ornate door—one I hadn’t noticed during Damian’s forced tour earlier. His mansion was a maze of dark hallways and locked rooms, but this one felt different, like it was daring me to open it.
I pushed the door open, the creak slicing through the silence. The scent of old paper and damp earth filled the air. A dim bulb hung from the ceiling, casting flickering shadows over shelves packed with dusty tomes, jars of strange substances, and artifacts that seemed to hum faintly with unseen energy.
In the center of the room sat a cluttered desk. My gaze fell on an open journal, its yellowed pages filled with diagrams and hurried notes. One word stood out, bold and underlined across the top: “Lunar Wolves.”
The phrase gripped me, its weight pressing down on my chest. My pulse quickened as I skimmed the pages, piecing together fragments: “hierarchy,” “alpha bloodlines,” “moon cycles.” The scattered notes hinted at something deeper, something dangerous.
“Curiosity can be fatal, little Omega.”
The voice sent ice through my veins. I spun around, clutching the journal to my chest. Damian stood in the doorway, his towering frame cutting off any escape. His dark eyes pinned me in place, sharp and unforgiving.
“I—” My voice broke, the journal trembling in my hands. “I wasn’t—”
“You weren’t what?” He stepped forward, closing the door behind him with a deliberate click.
“I wasn’t looking for trouble,” I stammered, though the words felt meaningless.
“Trouble?” His smile was cold and humorless. “You’ve found more than that.”
He advanced, each step measured and predatory. I instinctively backed away until the desk’s edge dug into my spine.
“What do you know about Lunar Wolves?” His voice was calm, disarmingly so, and it terrified me more than a shout would have.
“Nothing,” I whispered, my throat tight.
“Lying again?” His fingers brushed the journal, still clutched to my chest. “You’re growing bold, aren’t you?”
Before I could react, he snatched the journal from my grasp. He flipped through the pages, his expression unreadable, but the air around him grew heavier.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” His voice was low, dangerous.
“I didn’t mean to—”
“To what?” he cut me off, his tone sharp as a blade. “Pry into things beyond your comprehension? Invade my privacy?”
“If it’s so private,” I shot back, my fear warring with defiance, “why leave it somewhere it could be found?”
His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might lash out. Instead, he leaned in, his face inches from mine. “Because no one would dare defy me. No one… except you.”
The tension crackled like a storm. “What are you going to do?” I forced out, my voice steadier than I felt.
His smile returned, cruel and deliberate. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Before I could protest, his iron grip closed around my arm. He dragged me from the room, the journal abandoned on the desk, its secrets waiting like a trap left unsprung.
“You wanted answers,” he said, his voice cold as steel. “Now you’ll face the consequences.”
The door slammed shut behind us, and dread sank deep into my chest. I’d opened a door that should’ve stayed locked—and now, there was no going back.
