Claimed by a vampire prince

Chapter 9: The Alpha's Journal

Emerald's POV

The hidden chamber was silent.

Only the soft glow of Lucian's lantern lit the ancient stone walls.

Dust floated through the air as though time itself had stopped inside this place. The room smelled of old parchment and cedar wood, and every shelf was packed with scrolls, maps, and leather-bound books that had not been touched in years.

I tightened my grip on my father's journal.

Even after all these years, it still felt warm in my hands.

My fingers traced the Blue Moon crest engraved into the faded leather cover.

"This really belonged to him," I whispered.

Lucian stood beside me, his sharp crimson eyes scanning every corner of the chamber.

"Your father went through a great deal of trouble to hide this room," he said quietly. "He didn't build it to hide treasures."

His gaze settled on the journal.

"He built it to hide the truth."

My heartbeat quickened.

For years, I had begged the Moon Goddess for answers.

Why had my parents died?

Why had my wolf fallen silent?

Why had Victor hated me so much?

Perhaps...

The answers had been here all along.

I slowly opened the journal.

The first page was filled with my father's familiar handwriting.

The sight of it made my chest tighten.

I remembered sitting on his shoulders during pack festivals.

I remembered him teaching me how to braid wildflowers into my mother's hair.

I remembered his laughter.

It had been so long that I had begun to fear I had imagined those memories.

A tear rolled down my cheek.

Lucian didn't interrupt me.

He simply stood beside me, giving me the silence I needed.

I turned the first page.

"If you are reading this, then I have already failed as your father."

The words blurred through my tears.

"I prayed every night that you would never find this journal because that would mean you had lived a peaceful life."

I swallowed hard.

"If fate has led you here, then the enemies I feared are still alive."

The room seemed colder.

Lucian stepped closer.

"What does it say?"

I continued reading.

"Emerald, there are many lies surrounding your birth. Do not believe everything the elders tell you."

My hands trembled.

"They lied to me..."

Lucian frowned.

"Keep reading."

"Your mother and I discovered a secret that should never have existed."

"The war between wolves and vampires did not begin because of hatred."

"Someone created that hatred."

My eyes widened.

"What?"

Lucian took the journal from my shaking hands and read the lines himself.

His expression darkened.

"So the war was planned..."

A heavy silence settled over us.

Every story I had ever heard growing up spoke of centuries of bloodshed between wolves and vampires.

Every child in the Blue Moon Pack was taught to fear vampires.

Every vampire, no doubt, had been taught to fear wolves.

But what if...

None of it had been true?

Before either of us could speak again, a sudden sound echoed through the passage above.

Footsteps.

Heavy footsteps.

Lucian immediately closed the journal.

"They're here."

My breath caught.

"Victor."

He extinguished the lantern with one quick movement.

Darkness swallowed the chamber.

Only a thin stream of moonlight filtered through a c***k in the ceiling.

We listened carefully.

The footsteps stopped directly above us.

A voice echoed through the office.

"Search every inch of this room!"

Victor.

"There has to be another entrance!"

More footsteps followed.

Furniture scraped across the floor.

Wood splintered.

They were tearing the office apart.

I instinctively moved closer to Lucian.

He leaned toward me until his lips were almost against my ear.

"They don't know where we are."

His voice was barely a whisper.

"We have the advantage."

I nodded.

But my racing heart refused to calm.

Suddenly...

A loud bang shook the ceiling.

Dust rained onto our heads.

"They're breaking the floor," I whispered.

Lucian looked upward.

"No..."

His expression turned serious.

"They're looking for the chamber."

He drew his sword without making a sound.

"If they find us, stay behind me."

I shook my head.

"I don't want to keep hiding."

His eyes met mine.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then, to my surprise...

He smiled.

Not because he thought I could defeat Victor.

But because he saw something changing inside me.

The frightened girl who had lowered her head for twenty years was beginning to disappear.

In her place stood someone who wanted the truth.

Someone willing to fight for it.

A deafening c***k echoed above us.

The hidden door began to move.

Victor had found the entrance.

Lucian tightened his grip on his sword.

I clutched my father's journal against my chest.

As the stone doorway slowly opened...

One thought echoed through my mind.

Whatever happened next...

There was no turning back.