Amaya's POV
I hold my breath, still crouched on the floor, and count to ten in my head. I can no longer hear the footsteps, but I know better than to move in that moment.
"Shit!" I whisper.
In my head, I try to think of possible excuses to explain why I am in the west wing of the packhouse, when I know no one comes in here. If Evelara finds me in here, I might as well just say goodbye to my chances of getting revenge on the pack.
She already despises me so much, and one wrong move is bound to force her to throw me out of the packhouse, maybe meeting the same fate as the rest of the rogue pack.
The footsteps resume again, and I almost start hyperventilating. The crest is still in my palm, held so tight like it's my lifeline.
It stops at the other side of the door, and I stare at the handle, waiting for it to be twisted. My wolf is alert, her senses heightened as my pulse races. Fear slowly dissipates from me as another emotion takes over.
Curiosity.
It feels like the person is giving me enough time to run away, but there is nothing in here for me to hide myself.
I wait as the door pushes open, slowly. A figure strolls in. At first, all I see is his silhouette, framed by the light coming in from the stained glass. But as soon as he moves away from its glare, I am able to make out his features.
He is almost as tall as Darian, but their presence feels different. While Damian fills the room with so much power and dominance, this person envelopes the room with strength. His amber eyes meet mine in the silence.
He watches me with curiosity in his gaze, and just when I think I am going to combust from the intensity of the moment, his upper lip twitches.
"Well," he drawls, his tone laced with amusement. "You're not exactly what I thought I would find hiding in the forbidden west wing of the pack house."
I got on my feet, keeping the crest behind me. "I wasn't hiding."
"I don't doubt that." He moves closer to me, and I take an unconscious step back. Who the hell is this? "You just happened to get lost in here and were trying to find your way back. The family crest, of course, has nothing to do with it."
He knows what I was holding.
"How do you know it's a family crest?" I whisper, so painfully aware of every part of him.
He shrugs. "Because I kept it in here."
"It's the Grayhide's crest?"
His laughter sounds like rainfall on a hot day, the patters gently hitting the roof. I shift under my feet, my eyes darting towards the door.
"Gods, no!" He shakes his head and then stretches out a hand like we are meeting at some ball and not inside a room in the west wing, where anyone can find us. "I am Lucian, Darian's younger brother. Well, I guess it's Alpha Darian to you."
I don't take his hands, partly because the crest is still nestled in mine. "It's Darian to me, too."
"Ah!" Lucian's eyes glow in realization as he lets his hand drop to his side. "So the rumors are true."
"What rumors?"
"I heard there is a pretty rogue girl living under Evelara's eagle eyes. I thought the stories were exaggerated, especially the part about your looks. I didn't doubt Evelara's part. She's scary."
Lucian is cocky, the kind of person who is aware of his charms. Why is he striking up a conversation with me instead of reporting me to Darian? He already mentioned that this part of the packhouse is off-limits.
"What do you want?" The question falls from my lips.
"I usually come here when I get back home, to escape the Beta's daughter most times and all the girls that think they have a claim to me. They are lining the gates of the pack house now. I should have come in later at night."
I don't blink.
"And there's one more reason why these walls will see me more often. Evelara. How do you guys tolerate her?"
"Lucian…"
"I saw you when you came in. You looked like you were looking for something, so I figured I'd help."
"I wasn't looking for anything." He will not be this enthusiastic if he finds out the reason I came here is to find something that I can use to destroy the pack and his brother.
"You sure?" he eyes the floorboard I pried the crest from. "Because I know a lot more than you do. I spent an odd amount of hours in here, trying to get away from everyone."
"You look like you love attention, so why try to get away?"
"You look compliant, yet here you are, breaking rules." He takes a deep breath. "I guess we both don't look like the things we really are. What are you searching for?"
"I don't need your help."
"That crest," he begins, bringing his attention back to me. "It's not just a crest. It is a lock."
I raise my brows. "A lock? What does it open?"
"Something you probably shouldn't bother about." He walks past me to one of the trunks, his hands grazing it longingly. "Have you thought about why this wing is off-limits?"
I shake my head.
"It was sealed off by the former Alpha, our father. For good reasons."
Lucian walks back to the door. "You won't listen to me if I tell you to stay away, so if you want answers, Amaya, look in places where you were told not to."
Now, I am just more confused.
"How do you know my name?"
His hand is on the handle of the door. "I told you. The rumours. Besides, Evelara does not get worked up about nothing. I had to know the one person who has managed to get under her skin."
Heat patches glue themselves to my cheeks, and my wolf starts acting all odd.
"Be careful, Amaya. Some things are better left dead," he murmurs, before walking out.