Scent of the Alpha

15 THE BLOODY ARCHIVES AND THE HOWLS OF WAR

"Kaelen... ah! Stop... please stop..."

I woke up with a violent jolt, clutching my chest which felt as if it had been struck by a burning iron mace. My breath was ragged in the darkness of room 302 at Verdant Castle. Cold sweat poured down my body, and at the base of my neck, an unbearable pain throbbed wildly, as if a hot silver chain was forcefully peeling off my skin.

This pain wasn't mine. It was an ancient mental bond screaming from afar. Kaelen was being tortured in Eros's dungeon, and my soul received every drop of his suffering without mercy.

"I can't just sit here like an i***t. I have to move," I whispered to the silence of the night, trying to steady my trembling body.

I glanced at the single silver rose Kaelen had given me, which had now crumbled into ash on my desk. His internal message still echoed clearly in my head. *The basement library. Search for the journal from three hundred years ago.* The soul of Elena inside me seemed to demand its right, urging me to find out who I really was and who the man named Julian was.

I snatched the thick black cloak hanging behind the door, using it to cover my nightgown, and stepped out with extreme caution.

Miraculously, my newly awakened silver senses allowed me to walk without making a single sound on the marble floor of the quiet castle hallway. I could even hear the ticking of a wall clock from dozens of meters away, and the deep breathing of the castle staff sleeping soundly in their rooms. My footsteps led me down to the ground floor, where Verdant Castle’s ancient library was located.

"Leo, are you sure the eastern area is secure? I've been smelling something wrong since this afternoon," Julian’s deep baritone voice suddenly drifted faintly from the front corridor, forcing me to immediately press my body behind a massive pillar.

"It's secure, Jul. Calm down, the silver barricade at the northern gate is active. No furry wolf can break through it without being roasted alive. You're too tense, you should go get some sleep," Leo replied over the walkie-talkie in a casual tone.

I held my breath, waiting until Julian's heavy footsteps moved away from the library area. As soon as it was quiet again, I slipped into the room filled with thousands of musty old books.

My eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for the way to the underground archive room Kaelen had mentioned. My instincts guided my fingers to touch a large oak bookshelf in the darkest corner of the room. I felt a small rose carving hidden behind a row of thick books and pressed it gently.

*Click. Creeeeak...*

The massive bookshelf slid open silently, revealing an ancient stone staircase that went sharply down into pitch-black darkness. Without hesitation, I stepped down, letting the darkness swallow my body as the bookshelf above closed automatically.

The underground archive room was freezing and dusty. On the walls, rows of ancient weapons were neatly arranged—ranging from crossbows and longswords to daggers, all radiating a porcelain-white glow. Pure silver. This place was a secret weapons depot belonging to the Order of Hunters.

I walked past the rows of old archive shelves until my silver eyes caught an old iron box locked tight at the end of the room. On top of the box was a silver rose carving, exactly identical to the necklace pendant I had found next to my pillow the other day. I grabbed the iron padlock instinctively, calling upon the cold power from my veins.

*Crack!*

The large padlock snapped in my hand just like that. Inside the box lay a deer-hide journal that was incredibly fragile. I opened page after page with trembling hands, reading the faded black ink.

*"Year 1726. Elena, my own daughter, has betrayed us. She gave her heart to a wolf monster named Kaelen. The cleansing task must be completed by her own brother, Julius. Let the silver blood flow to purify this land."*

Tears fell uncontrollably as I read the next page, which featured a sketched illustration of the executioner's face. His jawline, his haircut, even his cruel gaze in the drawing... everything was completely identical to Julian.

"Julius... Julian... they are the same person," I whispered in a hoarse voice that shook violently from the sheer shock. "Kaelen wasn't lying. My own older brother from my past life... was the one who tortured my lover to death."

I pressed the journal to my chest, feeling the immense pain of the past crashing fully into my consciousness.

"Will what happened hundreds of years ago repeat itself??" The question slipped from my trembling lips, echoing softly in the quiet basement room.

"That's an excellent question, Miss Writer. And I really want to know the answer too."

*Click!*

The spotlights on the ceiling suddenly turned on brightly, stinging my eyes instantly. I turned around quickly and found Julian standing tall at the entrance. His arms were crossed, staring at me with a cold, lethal gaze, while his long-barreled rifle was slung securely over his broad shoulder.

"Julian..." My voice caught in my throat.

Julian stepped closer, the heavy thuds of his military boots echoing against the stone floor. "I've been watching you since you left your room, Aira. I was curious, what is a city girl who claims to be a romance novelist looking for in our Order's secret weapons depot?"

I hid the ancient journal behind my black cloak, trying to act as calm as possible even though my heart was pounding. "I... I was just curious. I got lost and accidentally found this secret door."

"Stop playing fool with me, Aira Amelia!" Julian barked, his voice booming, ruthlessly cutting off my words. "An ordinary human cannot snap a heavy steel padlock coated in pure silver with their bare hands! And an ordinary human wouldn't have silver rings glowing around their pupils when they're terrified!"

Julian stopped exactly two steps in front of me. He stared at me with a gaze filled with deep hatred for the supernatural, yet there was a faint spark of confusion. "Tell me the truth! What kind of creature are you?! What is your connection to that Obsidian wolf who came looking for you this afternoon?!"

"I have nothing to do with him!" I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks. I stared at his face, looking for any trace of a brother's love that might be left in his soul. "Why do you always want to kill them, Julian? Why do you hate something so much that hasn't even hurt you in this lifetime?!"

Julian frowned, looking shocked to hear me mention 'this lifetime.' "What do you mean—"

*BOOM!!!*

Julian's sentence was instantly cut off by a massive explosion that shook the entire structure of Verdant Castle. The stone floor beneath us vibrated violently, causing several old archive shelves around us to fall and shatter. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and the castle's emergency sirens immediately wailed loudly, piercing the night.

*Auuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!*

The synchronized howls of hundreds of wild wolves, filled with murderous intent, echoed from outside the castle, shattering the peace of the night with a terrifying dominance. It wasn't an ordinary wolf howl; it was the war cry of the entire Obsidian Pack.

*Bzzzt... Static...*

The walkie-talkie on Julian's chest suddenly went off with Leo's voice screaming in absolute panic amidst the noisy sounds of gunfire. "Julian! Julian! This is insane! It's completely insane! The Alpha of Obsidian brought his entire army to attack Verdant Castle! They are burning the border forest and recklessly smashing through our silver barricades! They don't care if their bodies get roasted! They are attacking like possessed monsters!"

Julian gripped his walkie-talkie, his face turning as pale as a shroud. "Leo! Hold your position! How many of them are there?!"

"Hundreds, Jul! And their Alpha... Eros Obsidian... he is screaming like a maniac in front of the main gate! He says he won't stop slaughtering this place until we hand Miss Aira over to him right now! Jul, what should we do—*static...* ARGHHH!" Leo's voice was cut off by a loud crash and a brutal wolf roar.

Julian lowered his hand, his handsome face now turning utterly fierce, filled with a pure aura of bloodlust. He slowly turned his body, staring at me with a lethal gaze as if I were the greatest curse in his life.

"So, all this chaos is because of you..." Julian hissed, his voice so low and cold it made my skin crawl.

Without any warning, Julian drew his engraved silver pistol from his waist with lightning speed.

*Click.*

The muzzle of the firearm loaded with pure silver-coated bullets was now pressed right against my forehead. Julian’s hand was completely steady, without a shred of doubt in his eyes as he prepared to pull the trigger.

A furious and dying Eros had recklessly triggered a massive war just to take me back, while in the darkness of this archive room, I was trapped right under the barrel of my own older brother's gun, ready to end my life for the second time.