Where The Library Hides: A Novel Novels & Stories

I think about going back to my dorm, but the idea of being in that tiny box alone makes my skin itch. I wander the halls instead, like I’m sleepwalking. I ended up in the library annex, it was quiet and out of the way. A few students are scattered at the far end. I grab a stack of dusty old strategy books and settle into a corner table no one’s paying attention to. I don’t even try to read. The words blur before I can take them in. I’m just here to disappear for a while. To hide from whatever the hell this is. “You look like hell.”

“Do you think I don’t see you watching? Every move you make shows it clearly, Octavia. You’re hiding something.” The words cut sharper than I expected. My fists clenched. “Everyone hides something, Alpha Dorian.” His eyes sharpened. “True. But not everyone walks straight into the Alpha’s private library to pry open doors they shouldn’t even know exist.” My heart stopped. Private library. Doors… I had been right. A door hid behind that shelf. But why? What was he hiding? And yet he accused me of keeping secrets. I steadied my breathing. “I didn’t know it was yours.”

Nine remained. And one of them? Was crossed out by someone else. LOCATION: EDGE OF THE OLD CITY – ABANDONED LIBRARY TIME: 8:33 a.m. The books here were rotting. Histories no one wanted. Bloodlines no one respected. Solene moved through them like a shadow without a past because the stories left inside these walls were the kind that erased people like her. She knelt in the back corner. Pulled a volume from the stone shelf. Dust covered the title:

This was my haven, a secret space where no one could find me—away from everything, from the pressures of my role, from the expectations that weighed on me. In my hands, I held the book I had stolen from the secret library. It was bound in dark leather, and its pages crackled with age. I had barely managed to slip it from its hidden resting place without anyone noticing, and now I was finally going to read it. The title was unassuming, but the stories it held, the knowledge it promised, stirred something deep within me.

Some were covered in ivy and flowers that seemed to bloom even in the rain. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered again. Ivy gave a small smile. “It always feels like magic here. Like time slows down.” “How far is the library?” I asked. “Not far,” she said. “It’s at the center, hidden beneath the hill.” I nodded, gripping the wheel tighter. I couldn’t explain why, but something in my chest tightened the closer we got. A pull. Like I was heading somewhere important. Like I was supposed to be here. Soon, the car reached a round stone archway. It was covered in vines, with glowing runes carved deep into the stone.

Lucien calls again, his voice sharper this time. I didn’t stop, I just kept going. The hidden library feels different now. Like the walls are watching me. Like they’ve been waiting for this exact moment to finally speak. I pull a book off the shelf at random, an old leather bound book. It feels much heavier than it looks. The title is faded, but my fingers do not hesitate as I open it. I scan through the pages one after another, and Lucien follows me, though he keeps his distance now, as if he understands I am no longer fully present with him.

If he wanted to be like that, then I could play that game too, and I was exceptionally good at the silent treatment. I had been staying here, but I had never gone into the library. I decided it would be my hiding place for the day. I walked down the hall and pushed the heavy door open. The room was beautiful, like a traditional library but warmer and more inviting. I went to the shelf on my right and let my fingers drift across the spines of the books, reading the titles softly.

He rushed almost yelled. "But the first 30 pages were missing," I added immediately meeting his same tone. "Go to the North Pole, there you will find the library and if you have luck you can get a spare copy of that book. But please don't trust anyone. Do it by yourself." He almost pleaded then his eyes widened with fear when he spotted something behind me, it's like he has seen the ghost and to prove the dismay his skin turned pale like me, his breathing became abnormal. What happened to him?

I was about to enter when I heard footsteps, so I hid so no one could notice me around. When I felt their presence was far from me, I looked at different corners. I need to make sure that no one will witness me coming into the library. I felt guilty for keeping a secret from Almera. I feel like I am sinful and wasting their trust in me. I was in the library for the whole day; what's the use of the library if they don't have a book containing contents about the disease? “Useless book!” I screamed in frustration; I wanted to burn all of these useless books in front of me. I was about to leave when I saw a big book; it was the only book at the top of the shelf.

The guards are predictable at this hour half-alert or half-bored, their routines ingrained and easy to avoid if you know them well enough. And I do. Tonight, I don’t want questions I wants to get answers myself. I move towards the library and pushed open the heavy wooden door to the library. It creaks softly. I freeze and wait to listen for footsteps. No footsteps. Great. I slip inside, closing the door behind me with careful precision. The library is vast, dimly lit by a few dying candles and the faint silver glow of moonlight filtering through tall windows. Dust clings to everything—the shelves, the tables, the forgotten corners where knowledge has been left to decay.