The Alpha's Prickly Porcupine
I heave it open, the heavy iron screeching in the quiet air; a sound that vibrates in my teeth and sets my nerves on edge.
Inside, buried beneath layers of protective, damp peat and ancient, magical sealing wax, is an iron lockbox. My fingers tremble, raw and scraped, as I pry it open. I don’t find gold, I don’t find heirlooms, and I don’t find jewelry. I find a small, leather-bound diary; my mother’s handwriting, frantic, slanted, and terrified, the ink still dark and sharp as if she wrote it only moments ago.