Chapter 11

Lucy.

The silence of the night wrapped around me like a warm blanket, the only sounds were the soft rustle of leaves outside and the rhythm of my own breathing. Sleep had come easier than I expected, especially after the emotionally draining week we’d all had. 

A sharp, guttural scream pierced through the quiet, jerking me upright. My heart stuttered in my chest. I blinked against the darkness, trying to shake the lingering fog of sleep. Another shout echoed down the hall—raw, pained, and unmistakably male.

“Alpha Ellison.”

I didn’t think—I just moved. I threw off the covers, the cold air biting at my legs as I raced out the door, my bare feet slapping against the cool marble floor. The hallway was dark and the only light that came in was the moonlight filtering through stained glass windows, casting ghostly colors across the walls. His screams only grew louder, more desperate.

I was nearly at his door when something slammed into me from the side.

“What the—?”

My body hit the floor hard, and a sharp pain flared in my elbow. I groaned and turned my head. Ivy. Of course it was Ivy. Sometimes I wonder if this bitch was an actual wolf or a possessed demon.

She scrambled to her feet, tossing her hair dramatically over her shoulder as if she hadn’t just barreled into me like a charging bull. Her eyes were wide with faux concern as she reached for the doorknob. “Move, you’re in my way.”

I saw red.

“No, you’re in my way,” I snapped, grabbing her ankle and yanking hard.

She shrieked as she fell forward, catching herself just before her face met the door. I stood quickly, fury fueling me as I grabbed a handful of her platinum curls.

“Hey! Let go of me!” she screeched.

But I wasn’t listening. Damn! I've had a lot of this woman's nonsense and I'm tired. I was beyond words. I dragged her, kicking and screaming, all the way down the hallway, ignoring her threats and insults. When I reached her door, I shoved it open with my shoulder, flung her inside, and slammed it shut behind her. Before she could recover, I locked it.

“Crazy bitch!” she yelled from inside.

I turned, breathing heavily, and stalked back toward Ellison’s room. His cries hadn’t stopped. They were lower now, guttural and filled with such anguish it twisted something in my chest.

I didn’t bother knocking—I just pushed open the door and stepped into the darkness.

The room was in chaos. Pillows and sheets were thrown to the floor, and Alpha Ellison was thrashing on the bed, his face contorted in pain. Sweat soaked his shirt, his arms flailing as though he were fighting off invisible enemies.

“No—no, don’t touch her! Get away from her!” he shouted, his voice cracking.

My breath caught. Who was he dreaming about? Who was he trying to protect?

“Ellison,” I whispered, moving toward the bed.

He didn’t respond, only twisted harder, his body trembling. I hesitated for only a second before I climbed onto the bed. The moment I touched him, he flinched, like my fingers burned him. But I didn’t pull back.

“Ellison,” I said again, more firmly this time. “You’re dreaming. It’s not real. I’m here.”

Still he struggled. Tears—actual tears—slipped from the corners of his eyes.

“I can’t lose her… I can’t lose them again…”

Something inside me cracked. I pulled him into my arms, wrapping around his trembling form. He fought for a moment longer, then stilled, his body molding to mine like a drowning man grabbing hold of driftwood.

“Shh,” I whispered into his ear, my lips brushing the side of his neck. “I’ve got you. You will be fine.”

His breathing slowed, the tension melting away from his muscles. Slowly, his arms came up and circled my waist. His head found the crook of my neck. And just like that, he fell asleep—peaceful, quiet, as if the storm had never happened.

I lay there with him for a long time, even after his breathing turned deep and even. I didn’t want to move. His scent surrounded me—warm spice and something darker, more primal—and the steady beat of his heart against my chest was oddly comforting.

But eventually, as dawn began to creep in through the tall windows, I slipped out of his embrace and tiptoed out of the room before he could wake.

The palace was quieter in the early morning, its usual grandeur softened by the gold-pink light of sunrise. I wandered through the halls, unsure where I was headed. My heart was still pounding from what had happened. I didn’t know what any of it meant—his dream, the way he’d clung to me, or the way I hadn’t wanted to let go.

I found myself in a long, narrow corridor I didn’t recognize. The air was cooler here, the walls lined with thick, ancient-looking bookshelves and paintings I’d never seen before. Most people probably didn’t come this way. It felt… forgotten.

My fingers trailed along the edge of the wall as I walked, until they caught on a seam—barely noticeable, but there. A faint groove in the wallpaper.

Curious, I pressed against it.

A low click echoed through the corridor, and a panel slid open.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat. A hidden room?

I stepped inside.

It was small and circular, lit by a single stained glass window high above that bathed everything in soft hues of blue and green. The air smelled faintly of dust and aged paper.

Portraits lined the walls.

I stepped closer to the nearest one—a tall man with stern features and familiar eyes. Ellison’s eyes.

“His father,” I murmured aloud.

I turned to the next. A woman with wild dark curls and soft, intelligent eyes. There was something in her smile—gentle, but fierce—that made my throat tighten.

“His mother.”

There were others too—old photographs, letters framed behind glass, a cracked locket hanging on a hook. This room… this was sacred. Personal.

My fingers hovered over a journal resting on a pedestal. The leather cover was worn, the edges frayed. I opened it carefully.

The first page was filled with tight, slanted handwriting.

"If something happens to us, and Ellison finds this, I hope he understands why we had to protect the truth for so long."

I swallowed hard.

As I read on, the words blurred together—the weight of their fears, their warnings about betrayal within the pack, about someone trying to usurp their bloodline. And then… the final entry. A date, two days before their deaths. No signature.