Chapter five: Dangerous Secrets

The symbols on the walls were watching me.

I ran my fingers over the strange carvings hidden behind a tapestry in the east wing. They looked ancient. Almost alive. My heart would not slow down after what I overheard in the kitchen this morning. Two servants whispering about the heir’s true nature. About how the full moon changed everything.

I needed answers. Vincent would not give them to me, so I had to find them myself.

Footsteps echoed behind me. Strong hands grabbed my arm and spun me around. Vincent’s face was dark with anger.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he demanded, dragging me down the hallway. "I told you to stop digging."

I tried to pull free but his grip was firm. "Let go of me. I heard them talking about you. The heir. What are you hiding?"

He did not answer until we reached the empire tower. He pulled me into his private office and locked the door. The city skyline stretched out behind him through floor to ceiling windows, but I could only focus on the storm in his eyes.

"You never listen," he said, voice low and rough. "I keep trying to protect you and you keep running straight into danger."

"Protect me?" I stepped closer, refusing to back down. "By kissing me one minute and pushing me away the next? By telling me half truths and expecting me to just accept it?"

Vincent slammed his hand on the desk. "Yes! Because the full truth could destroy you. It could destroy us both."

I laughed but there was no humor in it. "I am already destroyed, Vincent. My mom is dead. I am living in a house full of secrets. And the only person who makes me feel alive is the one who keeps lying to me."

He moved fast. One second we were arguing, the next he had me lifted onto his desk. Papers scattered to the floor. His mouth claimed mine with raw hunger. This kiss was different. Deeper. More possessive.

"You drive me crazy," he growled against my lips. "Every time I try to stay away, you pull me back in."

"Good," I gasped, wrapping my legs around him. "Because I am tired of fighting this too."

His hands roamed over my body, possessive and sure. He pulled my shirt over my head in one smooth motion. Cool air hit my skin but his palms warmed me instantly as they explored. I tugged at his shirt buttons, needing to feel him too.

"God, Ella," he murmured, kissing down my neck. "You taste like sin."

I arched into him, fingers in his hair. "Then sin with me. Stop holding back."

He lifted me higher on the desk, settling between my legs. His mouth returned to mine, hotter, more desperate. I could feel how much he wanted me. The hard press of his body against mine made me dizzy with need.

His hands moved to my jeans, working the button open. "Tell me to stop," he said, voice strained. "Tell me right now."

"I do not want you to stop," I whispered, pulling him closer. "I want all of you."

For a moment he gave in completely. His fingers slipped inside my jeans, touching me in ways that made me moan loudly. The pleasure was sharp and overwhelming. I had never felt anything so intense.

Then he froze. Breathing hard, forehead pressed to mine. "We cannot. Not like this. Not yet."

"Why?" I asked, frustration and desire mixing painfully. I tried to pull him back but he stepped away, fixing his clothes with shaking hands.

"Because there are things about our families," he said finally. "Your mother. My father. Our bloodlines are connected in ways that make this attraction dangerous. Deadly even."

I slid off the desk, still breathing fast. "What do you mean connected? Tell me everything."

Vincent looked torn. "Your mother knew things. She tried to hide you from this world. From me. The prophecy. The Blood Moon. It is not just stories. It is real and it is coming for us."

Before I could ask more, alarms blared through the building. Red lights flashed. The floor seemed to vibrate.

Vincent’s head snapped toward the door. "They are here. For you this time."

"Me?" Fear gripped my chest. "Why would they want me?"

"Because they know what you are to me." He pulled me close for one brief second. "Stay behind me. No matter what happens."

The door to the office burst open. Armed men poured in, eyes cold and determined. "The girl," one of them shouted. "Take her alive."

Vincent pushed me back toward the window. "Stay there."

I watched in horror as he faced them. Then something incredible happened. His body began to change. Bones shifted. Muscles expanded. In seconds the man I knew transformed into the massive black wolf I had seen before. Powerful. Majestic. Terrifying.

The wolf snarled, eyes glowing bright gold. It launched at the intruders with deadly force. Claws slashed. Jaws snapped. The sound of fighting filled the office.

"Vincent!" I screamed, terrified for him.

One of the men broke through and grabbed my arm. His grip hurt. "Come with us quietly."

I fought back, kicking and hitting. "Let go of me!"

The wolf roared and slammed into the man, knocking him away from me. Blood sprayed. The intruder did not get up again.

More men came. The wolf fought fiercely but they had weapons that sparked with strange energy. I could see Vincent tiring, protecting me with everything he had.

"Run, Ella!" his voice seemed to echo in my head even though he was in wolf form.

But I could not leave him. I grabbed a heavy lamp from the desk and swung it at the nearest attacker. It connected with a sickening crack.

The wolf turned to me for one second. Our eyes met. In that moment I felt everything. The bond. The fear. The undeniable pull.

Then another wave of enemies broke through the doors. The wolf positioned itself in front of me, ready to fight to the death.

I pressed my back against the window, heart pounding.

Whatever secrets still remained, whatever danger our families carried, one thing was crystal clear.

Vincent would die before he let them take me.

And I would rather burn the whole empire down than lose him now.