Chapter Four – The book called LUPIN
586 Words
I woke up early the next morning, my thoughts tangled and restless.
Instead of going down for breakfast, I asked Rae to bring it to my room. I didn’t want company. I wanted answers.
As soon as she left, I pulled the book out from where I had hidden it.
LUPIN.
The moment I opened it, my breath caught.
Written in bold letters on the first page:
THE MASONS.
My fingers trembled.
I turned the page.
The story unfolded slowly, like it had been waiting for me.
There were three sisters—Maya, Rhea, and Freya. Two married for wealth and power. One refused.
Rhea.
She wanted love.
Her father didn’t care.
She met Ralph in the woods. He was kind. Different. Dangerous.
A vampire.
Half-wolf.
A Mason.
My heart pounded as I read about their forbidden love, about how the Lupins of the Mason bloodline forbade unions with humans. About how Ralph was killed for choosing Rhea.
I swallowed hard.
Rhea raised their daughter alone.
Tanya.
Strong. Aware. Unafraid of what she was.
She married within the bloodline.
And when she gave birth to her first child—
Renetta.
The book slipped from my hands.
“No,” I whispered. “That’s not possible.”
A sudden voice made me scream.
“Renny!”
I nearly dropped everything as I turned.
“Beryl!” I shouted. “You scared the s**t out of me.”
“What are you reading?” he asked, his eyes flicking to the book.
“This,” I said, picking it up. “It’s called Lupin. I found it in the secret library. It’s telling me… things.”
His expression darkened.
“Give it to me.”
“What? Why?”
Before I could stop him, he took it from my hands. The book vanished as if it had never existed.
“Beryl!” I cried. “Why would you do that?”
“I looked it up for you,” he said quietly. “And I wish you hadn’t seen it.”
“That book had my name in it,” I said, my voice shaking. “You expect me to forget that?”
He stepped closer. “Forget the book. Right now, I’m here for you.”
“For me?” I asked.
“Yes.”
We stood there, too close, too quiet.
My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.
“Beryl,” I said softly. “Do you have anything to say?”
“I don’t know how,” he admitted. “But I know you feel it too.”
“Feel what?”
“Don’t lie to me, Renny. I see it in your eyes.”
He moved closer. I could feel the warmth of his breath, the calm energy around him. When his hand brushed mine, electricity shot through me.
And then—
He kissed me.
The world trembled.
The ground beneath us cracked open, splitting violently as light burst through the maze.
“What have we done?” I cried.
“I think,” Beryl said, panic flooding his voice, “we just committed a sacrilege.”
A voice thundered from nowhere, shaking the air itself.
“BERYL. RENETTA. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
“It’s not my fault!” I shouted. “I’m Lupin—and so is she!”
“I know!” Beryl yelled back. “That’s the problem!”
The ground continued to open beneath us.
And I knew—
there was no going back.
- Writer
