Chapter 10

Irene's POV

Those four words hadn't left my head.

>> She's asking questions now.

Two days had passed since I'd caught my mother whispering those words into a mirror charm, low enough that she clearly believed nobody else could hear. For two days I'd turned them over in my head, wondering who she'd been talking to and why it sounded like she meant me without ever saying my name.

I hadn't told Matthew. Not because I didn't trust him, but because some stubborn part of me wanted to hold on to one piece of this mystery before everyone else took it out of my hands.

The whispers around the estate hadn't helped my paranoia either. I'd gotten used to a lot since coming to Blackwood Territory. I was used to the cold looks, the awkward silences, and the way conversations ended the moment I walked into a room. But over the past two days, something had changed.

People weren't just watching me anymore. They were avoiding me. Two maids stood outside the east sitting room, folding fresh linens into neat piles. One of them was talking about "the old records" and "before the wedding" when she noticed me and she topped talking instantly.

"Morning," I said, forcing a smile.

Neither of them responded tome. One dipped into a stiff bow while the other suddenly became fascinated by the towel in her hands. I kept walking and heartbeat picked up.

Farther down the hallway, two guards stood outside a corridor I didn't remember ever being guarded before. They weren't saying much, but the moment they spotted me, one leaned toward the other and whispered something.

The second guard looked at me. Then he quickly looked away and I stopped walking.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Miss Irene."

The answer came too quickly.

"You were talking about me."

"No, Miss."

I studied him for a moment. His face stayed calm, but the muscle in his jaw tightened. I'd seen that expression before. Matthew wore it whenever he was hiding something.

Maybe it was nothing and I was reading too much into it, turning ordinary pack gossip into some grand conspiracy. Probably two sleepless nights had made me suspicious of everything. But the whispers, the hurried silence, and the way everyone suddenly seemed afraid to look directly at me didn't feel imagined.

I thought about my mother's voice again. Whatever she was protecting felt like it was getting closer and somehow...I had become part of it.

---

The old records room sat at the far end of the west corridor, tucked behind one of the oldest sections of the estate, back when my mother gave me the world's shortest tour on my first day here. I hadn't given it another thought until this morning.

If this family kept records, I mean real records, then names like Selene had to exist somewhere. That room was the obvious place to start. So I turned the corner. Then I stopped after seeing that a guard stood directly outside the door.

I frowned because I hadn't seen him there before and I was certain of it.The last time I'd walked through this hallway, there hadn't been anyone guarding it.

"Can I help you, Miss?" he asked politely as I approached.

"I need access to the records room."

"I'm sorry, Miss. Access is restricted."

My furrowed eyebrow deepened.

"Since when? Because it wasn't restricted last week."

"I couldn't say."

"You couldn't say..."

I looked him straight in the eye.

"...or you won't say?"

He remained silent and that was answer enough.

"I'm the High Alpha's stepdaughter."

The title still felt strange every time I said it.

"I think that gives me the right to look through a room full of old paperwork."

"I'm sorry but I have my orders, Miss. Nobody enters without direct clearance from the High Alpha or Alpha Matthew."

"Then get me clearance."

He shifted awkwardly.

"That's not something I'm able to arrange right now."

I folded my arms and stepped closer, close enough that he had to hold his ground instead of just standing there looking uncomfortable.

"Somebody decided very recently that this room needed a guard."

He said nothing.

"And I don't think that was a coincidence."

The guard didn't say anything still, his face just remained carefully blank, but I could tell I'd hit something.

"Does this have anything to do with the woman from the perimeter?"

For the first time, his blank expression cracked and his eyes widened but only for a second before he caught himself.

"The woman who was relocated," I continued. "Does this have anything to do with her?" I asked again.

"I wouldn't know anything about that, Miss."

"Hmm. Really? But you flinched."

"I didn't."

"Are you calling me a liar?" I raised a brow feigning annoyance.

He straightened his shoulders.

"Miss Irene, I'm going to have to ask you to leave this corridor."

"Who gave you those orders?"

Silence settled between us.

"My stepfather?"

No answer.

"Or someone else?"

"I'm not permitted to discuss the details of my orders."

"That isn't a no." I pressed.

"It isn't meant to be an answer, Miss Irene."

His face became softer and something like regret crossed his face. Then he sighed quietly.

"I've got a family in this pack, Miss."

His voice had dropped.

"A mate and two pups."

He looked away for a brief second before meeting my eyes again.

"I can't afford to be the man who will be used as a scapegoat."

That stopped me. There was no challenge or attitude in his voice. I could only sense fear. The same fear I'd seen in Marta's eyes when she'd whispered about Luna Selene. The same fear I'd heard beneath every careful answer since all of this had begun.

Whatever was hidden inside that records room wasn't simply important. People were terrified of it. I wanted to keep pushing, but I already knew I wouldn't get anything else out of him. Not without an order from someone higher than him.

Unfortunately, the only people who could give that order were the very people least likely to help me. My mother, who would rather choke on her own secrets than share them.

And Matthew? If I asked Matthew, I'd have to explain why I suddenly cared so much about the records room. That meant telling him about my mother, the mirror charm, and the whispered words I'd been keeping to myself. I wasn't ready for that yet.

"Fine," I said at last. "I'll come back with clearance."

The guard gave a small nod.

"Of course, Miss."

I turned away but my mind was already racing through different ways of getting into the room. There had to be another entrance. Maybe Julian would know something. Maybe... A sudden breeze swept through the hallway and the heavy curtain hanging just inside the doorway shifted just for few moments.

The opening was small, but it was enough for me to catch sight of something inside. I saw a large portrait that stood against the far wall. It was framed in dark wood and partly covered by a black drape that looked as though someone had hurriedly pulled it back into place instead of leaving it naturally.

The fabric slipped again and for the briefest moment, I saw part of the woman's face. Then my breath caught as I saw her eyes. They had the same color and shape as my eyes.Even the slight arch of her brows looked painfully familiar.

I knew my own face too well to mistake it. Whoever that woman was, she looked like me. No...She looked like family. The guard moved immediately, stepping into the doorway before I could see anything else.

The curtain settled back into place and the portrait disappeared from view.

"Miss Irene."

His voice remained polite, but there was something firmer behind it now.

"I really must ask you to move along."

I couldn't answer because my entire body had gone cold. Not because of the wind but because of what I'd just seen. So many things were suspicious in this place. First, an old woman had looked at me and called me Luna Selene.

Now I'd just found a hidden portrait of a woman with my eyes. That wasn't a coincidence anymore.

Anyways , I forced myself to walk away. If that portrait had been hidden on purpose...Then someone had worked very hard to make sure nobody like me would ever find it.

But who was that person? And why had they made sure that woman name was erased. I needed to find out.