Chapter 24: You Need To Leave Now!

"You’re free to move through the south and west wings," Sera said. "The north wing is restricted without direct summons. The east wing...." She hesitated. "The east wing is where pack business is conducted. The Alphas’ offices are there. Council chambers. Records rooms. You should avoid that area."

"Why?" Lilith asked.

"Because the Alphas value their privacy. And because...." Sera’s voice dropped lower. "Because you don’t want to be caught where you’re not supposed to be. They’re not forgiving about boundaries."

They turned a corner and Lilith saw a long corridor stretching ahead. At the far end, she could see an ornate door with guards posted outside.

"That’s the Alpha’s wing," Sera said, following her gaze. "That door leads to Alpha Nicholas’s office specifically. He’s in meetings all morning."

Lilith found herself moving in that direction without consciously deciding to.

"Miss Thorne.....Lilith" Sara’s voice held a warning.

But Lilith kept walking. She didn’t know why. Curiosity maybe. Or the stubborn need to understand what she’d gotten herself into.

She made it halfway down the corridor before one of the guards stepped forward.

He was massive....easily six-five, built like a wall, with the kind of scars that spoke of decades of fighting. His eyes were hard as he looked at her.

"This area is restricted," he said flatly.

"I was just...."

"The Alphas gave explicit orders. You’re not permitted in the administrative wing without direct summons." His hand moved to the weapon at his belt. Not threatening, exactly. Just a reminder. "Go back to the guest quarters. Now."

Behind her, Sera appeared. "Miss Thorne, please. He’s right. You need to leave now."

Lilith looked at the ornate door one more time. Wondered what was happening behind it. What they were discussing. Whether her name was being mentioned.

The guard’s expression hardened. "I won’t ask again."

"I’m going," Lilith said quietly.

She turned and walked back down the corridor, Sera falling into step beside her.

"I’m sorry," Sera said once they were out of earshot. "But he’s not wrong. The Alphas don’t tolerate people wandering into restricted areas. Especially not....." She stopped.

"Especially not prisoners," Lilith finished.

Sera didn’t deny it.

They walked in silence back toward the south wing.

"Thank you for the tour," Lilith said when they reached her room. "I appreciate it."

"If you need anything," Sera said, her voice softer now, "Mrs. Hallowell can help. She’s....she’s kinder than she seems."

She left before Lilith could respond.

Lilith stood in the hallway for a moment, then entered her room and closed the door.

***

The day stretched ahead of her. Empty. Endless.

She’d tried to find purpose. Tried to make herself useful. Tried to understand this place she’d been trapped in.

Instead, she’d been reminded that she had no power here. No agency. No control.

She was property. Payment. A body to be used when they wanted and ignored when they didn’t.

Lilith sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall.

Twenty-eight more days.

She could survive twenty-eight more days.

She had to.

***

The library was even more impressive than Lilith had imagined.

Two stories of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, connected by a spiral staircase and a balcony that wrapped around the upper level. Leather armchairs positioned near tall windows. A massive fireplace with a low fire burning. The scent of old paper and wood polish and something indefinably expensive.

It was the kind of room that demanded silence. Reverence.

Lilith had discovered it by accident during her restless wandering after Sera left. The door had been slightly ajar, inviting, and she’d slipped inside before she could talk herself out of it.

Now she stood in the middle of the room and turned slowly, taking it all in.

Books everywhere. Thousands of them. History, philosophy, warfare, pack law. Some looked ancient....leather-bound volumes with gold lettering that had probably been in this library for centuries. Others were newer, their spines still crisp and uncracked.

She moved to one of the shelves and ran her fingers along the spines, reading titles.

The History of Wolf-Witch Alliances.

Her hand stopped.

She pulled the book from the shelf carefully. It was heavy, bound in dark leather, the pages yellowed with age.

This was it. This was about the kind of alliance her father had died supposedly betraying.

She carried it to one of the leather chairs near the window and sat down carefully, wincing as her abused body protested. Opened the book.

The text was dense, academic. Dates and names and territorial agreements spanning centuries. She flipped through pages, scanning for anything relevant, anything that might help her understand what had really happened at that treaty meeting.

She was so absorbed in reading that she didn’t hear the door open.

Didn’t hear the footsteps crossing the room.

"Interesting choice of reading material."

Lilith’s head snapped up.

Sebastian stood a few feet away, leaning against one of the bookshelves with his arms crossed. Those dark eyes were locked on her, assessing. Calculating.

How long had he been standing there?

"I didn’t know this room was off-limits," she said quickly, starting to close the book. "I can leave...."

"I didn’t say leave." He moved closer, his presence overwhelming in the quiet space. "I said it was interesting. What part are you on?"

She looked down at the open pages. "The section about the failed alliance of 1847. When the hunters found the meeting location and slaughtered everyone."

"Ah." Something flickered in his expression. "History repeating itself. How poetic."

He reached the chair and looked down at her. At the book in her lap. At the way she was sitting....carefully, protectively, her body still marked and aching from what they’d done to her.

"Keep reading," he said.

"What?"

"I said keep reading." He gestured at the book. "Out loud. I want to hear what it says about failed alliances and dead wolves."

Lilith’s heart was hammering. This felt like a test. Like a trap.

But she didn’t have a choice.