Chapter 6: THE JOURNAL.
The castle corridor stretched endlessly before Caden as he made his way towards the dungeon. Two guards flanked him, their boots echoing against the floor in rhythmic thumps.
"Check the eastern border first", Caden ordered " the guards who brought in the rogue are stationed there, ask them to bring me the keys to his cell."
One guard nodded and peeled away with a curt "yes,beta" as he vanished through a bend.
Caden continued towards the dungeons, but his mind wandered elsewhere, back to the girl with amber eyes and ginger hair. He had seen the way Arden's hands trembled slightly when he returned from her room.
His friend could pretend all he wanted, but he knew him too well.
That man is struggling . Caden thought with a smirk. She definitely has a strong effect on him, he just doesn't know it yet.
............
Hazel sat cross-legged on the massive bed, staring at the ornate ceiling above her, the room was easily thrice the size of her dingy cell she had slept in at shadow moon pack. Silk sheets, velvet curtains. A fireplace that crackled actual fire, not the dying embers she was used to.
"Pinch me" she muttered to herself
You are not dreaming, Akira replied, rolling her eyes.
" Then why does this feel like a trap?"
Because you have been used to bare minimum so this looks surreal to you I guess.
Hazel flinched at her wolf's bluntness.
Akira wasn't wrong, but the truth still stung.
A soft knock interrupted her spiralling thoughts.
"Come in", she said, bracing herself for another encounter with the intimidating wolf king.
Instead a young girl slipped in through the door, she couldn't have been older than nineteen, with curly brown hair and a face full of freckles with a happy smile on her face.
Her hand clutched a tray loaded with food : warm bread, honey butter, sliced meats, and a steaming bowl of stew.
"Hi." The girl chipped. "It's me piper, I have served you before" the beta has instructed to be your personal maid".
Hazel blinked. "My.... Personal maid?
"Yes!, I'm so excited, I have never been a personal maid before. I usually clean the west wing and serve food to visitors in the palace, but beta Caden said I had the friendliest face so I should take care of you, "I get to take care of our Luna." Piper said happily as she set the tray down on the bed side table
"You're really pretty, by the way. Like a fox. A ginger fox."
Hazel opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again.
A maid?, she asked herself sounding confused, she does not need a personal maid, she was once one herself.
Akira rolled her eyes, you need someone to keep you company and I think she's perfect for that.
After much deliberation Hazel accepted,
" Okay... thank you", Hazel managed.
Piper beamed "eat up you look like you haven't had a proper meal in years."
Then I get to take you round the castle, and show you every beautiful thing.
I promise you will enjoy it, she said, beaming with so much joy.
She's not wrong, Akira muttered amused.
Hazel has never seen anyone so happy to be a maid she thought, shaking her head.
Hazel picked the bread tentatively, she took a bite. Then another. Then she was devouring the entire tray like a starving animal.
Piper watched with joy and satisfaction "Good right?, chef Marco makes the best honey bread in all the territories."
"It's incredible", Hazel said between bites, not caring how undignified she looked.
Slow down,Akira scolded. You will choke and embarrass yourself.
I don't care, this bread is worth dying for. She said back savouring the taste.
............
Meanwhile, Arden stood in the eastern watchtower, staring out at the dense forest beyond his borders.
The wind carried the scent of pine and distant rain, but underneath it, he could still smell her.
Hazel.
The mate bond was already working its magic. Weaving invisible threads between them. Every breath he took felt incomplete without her scent. Every silence felt too loud.
"Found anything yet?" He asked without turning around.
A guard stepped forward nervously. " Not yet, your majesty. But we are still searching the perimeter where we found her".
"Search harder". He said, sounding frustrated.
The guard scurried away.
Axel growled in his mind. You're being an idiot.
I'm being cautious.
There's a difference between caution and cruelty. She's our mate. Our other half. And you're treating her like a criminal.
Arden's jaw tightened. "Because she might be one", he said aloud
She's not.
"You don't know that".
I feel her, Arden, through the bond. She's scared, not sneaky. She's hurt not hiding. When will you stop seeing ghosts in every shadow?.
Arden had no answer for that, only the hollow throb where his heart used to be rational.
.......
By evening, the guards finally found the jade green bag, they brought it straight to Caden who brought it to Arden, his expression carefully blank.
The Alpha king. Held the worn leather bag in his hands, turning it over. It was old. Patched in several places the strap frayed, it smelled faintly of her and that alone made his wolf snarl possessively.
"Did you open it?" Arden asked, throat tight.
"No, Alpha. You said to bring it to you untouched".
Arden nodded slowly, his fingers found the tarnished clasp. He hesitated.
Don't do this, Axel warned, respect her privacy.
If she's innocent, she has nothing to hide, Arden reasoned.
That's not how trust works and you know it.
Arden ignored his wolf and opened the bag. Inside, and wrapped in a fade cloth, was a necklace and a leather bound journal. The cover was scratched and stained, the pages yellowed with age, he pulled it out carefully, his heart pounding.
He ran a thumb through the worn cover
He opened the journal and had his heart clenched for what he saw.
