Chapter 4: The Step-Brother’s Move
1321 Words
POV: Lyra
The tray in my hands was shaking so much that the ice cubes were clicking against the glass, and I had to stop in the middle of the kitchen to take a breath because the humiliation from the library felt like a physical weight on my chest. I didn't want to go back in there and face Calla’s smug face or Ren’s fake cruelty, but I knew that if I didn't deliver these drinks, he would just find another way to make my mother’s life miserable.
"You're still carrying that tray like it's a death sentence, Lyra, but you should really learn to keep your head up when the sharks are circling," Leo said, stepping out from the shadows near the pantry with that same infuriatingly calm expression he always wore.
"I’m just doing my job, Leo, so please move out of the way before I drop something and give them a real reason to yell at me," I replied, trying to sidestep him, but he followed me toward the service stairs.
"Ren is just performing for his friends because he’s terrified they'll see he's losing his grip, so don't take it personally when he treats you like dirt in front of them," he continued, his voice dropping to a low murmur that made me stop and look at him.
"Why are you telling me this? You’re his brother, or step-brother, or whatever, so shouldn't you be in there laughing with them?"
"I’m not like them, and I think you know that by now, which is why I want to offer you a way out of this maid work that doesn't involve being a punching bag for Calla," he said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms while he watched me with an intense focus.
"And what exactly does a guy like you want with a girl like me, because I’m pretty sure nothing in this house comes without a catch," I said, my grip tightening on the tray.
"It’s a research position in the pack’s private archives, because my father wants a full inventory of the historical ledgers and I don't have the patience to read through a hundred years of boring records, but you have the best grades in the academy and a brain that actually works," he explained, ignoring my skepticism. "It pays better than the tutoring, and more importantly, it gets you out of Ren’s sight for a few hours a day so you can actually breathe."
"The archives are restricted to humans, Leo, so how are you going to explain me being in there without getting us both in trouble with the Alpha?"
"I’m the one in charge of the renovation project, so I can authorize whoever I want as my assistant, and since you're already a scholarship student, it just looks like a work-study program for your transcript," he said, stepping closer and lowering his voice even further. "Think about it, Lyra, you could spend your afternoons in a quiet room with old books instead of scrubbing floors while Calla throws insults at your head."
I looked at the tray in my hands and then back at the dark hallway leading to the library, thinking about how much I hated the way Ren looked at me when his friends were around, and the offer felt like a lifeline I couldn't afford to ignore. "If I do this, I still have to tutor Ren, right? Because the principal made it clear that my scholarship depends on his grades."
"Sure, you still have to keep him from failing, but at least the archives will give you some leverage and a bit of peace, so do we have a deal or are you going to go back in there and let them treat you like a servant for the rest of the night?"
"I'll do it, but if this turns out to be some kind of trick to get me fired, I’m going to tell your father exactly whose idea it was," I said, and he just laughed, a sound that didn't feel as friendly as I wanted it to.
"I’m looking forward to it, so come find me tomorrow after school and I’ll give you the keycard, but for now, you should probably get those drinks to the prince before he has a tantrum," he said, stepping back to let me pass.
I walked back into the library and set the drinks down on a side table without looking at anyone, and I could feel Ren’s eyes on me the entire time, but he didn't say anything else to humiliate me while his friends were busy talking about the upcoming basketball game. I gathered the rest of my papers from the floor and headed for the door, but as I passed Ren’s chair, I saw that the silver book was gone, and he was clutching a standard textbook so hard his fingers were turning white.
The next afternoon, I met Leo near the back of the academy library, and he handed me a small plastic card with a silver wolf emblem on it, telling me that the entrance to the archives was in the basement of the estate’s north wing. I went there straight after my last class, feeling like a thief as I swiped the card and the heavy steel door clicked open to reveal a room filled with rows of towering shelves and the smell of old paper and dust.
"You're late, but at least you showed up," Leo said, sitting at a desk in the corner with a stack of yellowed ledgers in front of him.
"I had to wait for the bus, so just tell me what I’m supposed to be looking for so I can get started," I said, taking off my jacket and looking around the massive room.
"I need you to cross-reference the medical records of the main bloodline from the last century with the birth logs, because I suspect there were some inconsistencies in the records during the time of the Great Betrayal," he said, pushing a heavy, leather-bound book toward me.
"Why does that matter now? That was a hundred years ago," I asked, opening the book and seeing rows of cramped, handwritten names and dates.
"History has a way of repeating itself, Lyra, and some secrets are worth more than gold if you know how to use them, so just focus on finding any mention of 'silver fever' or 'blood degradation' and write down every name associated with it," he told me, his voice sounding cold and professional.
I spent the next three hours lost in the records, my eyes aching from the dim light, but I found myself getting sucked into the stories of the families who had lived in this house before us. I was so focused on a page from 1924 that I didn't hear the door open, and I didn't realize someone was standing behind me until I felt a familiar, cold presence that made the air in the room feel thin.
I turned around and saw Ren standing there, his face pale and his eyes fixed on the ledger I was holding, and for a second, the look of pure, unadulterated fear on his face made me want to close the book and run.
"What are you doing with that book, Lyra?" he asked, his voice a low, dangerous whisper that vibrated in the quiet room.
I looked at the page I had been reading, which detailed the sudden death of a young heir who had shown symptoms of silver veins in his neck, and then I looked back at Ren, realizing that the "research" Leo wanted wasn't just a job, it was a hunt for the very thing Ren was trying to hide.
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