Scent of the Alpha

Chapter 2: The Guest in the Forbidden Tower

The driver told me I only had to walk for ten minutes along this path, but it felt like I had been dragging my heavy suitcase for an hour.

A light rain began to dampen the old asphalt, adding to the weight on my shoulders, which were already aching from a minor accident earlier. The shuttle car that was supposed to take me to this "writer's paradise" ended up in a ditch because of a flat tire.

"Just go straight, Miss. You will see a small castle there," the driver had said while busy calling for help.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, and then my eyes caught a tall building towering behind the thick pine trees. I stopped right in front of a rusted but very sturdy iron gate.

"A small castle?" I whispered, staring at the stone towers that seemed to pierce the cloudy sky.

This wasn't a small castle; it was a magnificent building that looked like a medieval relic ready to swallow anyone whole. Maybe people back then considered a building this size "small," I thought, trying to find some logic.

It was late afternoon, and the fog began to roll in, making the atmosphere around me feel even more eerie. With no other choice and being too tired to look for another address, I decided to go inside. I knocked on the giant wooden door—which was as thick as my pillow—multiple times.

"Hello? Is anyone inside? I'm a guest for the writing retreat!" I shouted, but only the echo of my voice answered.

I cursed my own decision. I should have stayed by the road with the driver instead of coming here. This area was known for having many old castles far apart, and there was a high chance I was at the wrong place.

I turned around, intending to drag my suitcase back to the main road before darkness completely locked this place down. But after only two steps, a heavy creak sounded behind my back. I turned around and found an old man standing there, looking very stiff. He wore a black suit in an old-fashioned noble style and held a cane with a shiny silver head.

"What is your business here, Miss?" he asked in a deep, unfriendly voice.

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was a human in this creepy place.

"Sorry, Sir. I’m Aira, the winner of the writing competition. I’m supposed to have a two-month retreat here," I said, handing him my ticket and official letter.

The old man—whom I later learned was named Silas—took the letter with pale fingertips. He read it slowly, his sharp eyes watching me from behind small glasses perched on his nose. I didn’t wait for his answer; I walked straight into the hall because my legs felt like they were about to break.

"Can you show me where my room is? I'm exhausted and I just had a car accident," I said bluntly.

Silas seemed shocked by my boldness. He folded the letter, and his face hardened. "Miss, you have the wrong address. This is not a place for a writing retreat. You should—"

Silas's sentence stopped abruptly. He clutched his head as if he had been hit by a sudden, sharp pain. His body bent slightly, and his eyes snapped shut, as if something was forcing its way into his mind.

"Sir? Are you okay?" I asked, worried, trying to move closer to help.

Within seconds, Silas stood tall again, but his gaze was now hollow and obedient. "Follow me, Miss Aira. I will take you to your room," he said in a flat tone that made my skin crawl.

I followed Silas through a vast, dark corridor lit only by dim wall lamps. However, when he opened a door at the end of the hallway, I could hardly believe what I saw. The view inside was a total contrast to the outside of the castle. It was a magnificent, modern room with high-tech facilities. There was a king-sized bed that looked incredibly soft, a giant flat-screen TV, and beautiful lighting.

"It's beautiful... why does it look so bad on the outside?" I muttered in awe, but Silas had already vanished from the doorway.

I was too tired to think about the old man's strangeness or the mixed architectural styles. I threw myself onto the lavender-scented mattress and fell asleep in seconds.

I don’t know what time it was, but I woke up because of a very disturbing sound outside the window.

*Sret... sret... sret...*

The sound of scratching or clawing on the wall was very clear, as if something was trying to climb the castle. My heart raced. I got up slowly and walked to the large window overlooking the backyard. I pulled the curtain slightly, trying to find the source of the sound.

Down there, in the middle of the large courtyard lit only by the moon, I saw a figure. The man was shirtless, his broad shoulder muscles glistening in the moonlight as he walked away from the castle wall.

"Eros?" I whispered. My breath caught in my throat because the figure looked exactly like my ex-boyfriend. His posture, the way he walked, even his haircut—it was identical to the man who had dumped me.

I shook my head hard, trying to push the crazy thought away. "I came all this way to heal, so why is his shadow still haunting me?" I complained, closing the curtain.

Sudden hunger hit me. I hadn't eaten dinner before falling asleep. I braved myself to go out of the room, walking through the corridor which now felt much colder than before. My steps led me to a large dining room downstairs. On a long table, plenty of food was neatly arranged as if prepared for a grand banquet. Steam was still rising from some dishes, but not a single person was sitting there.

"Why is there so much food here at two in the morning?" I wondered as I approached the table.

I was just about to touch a piece of warm bread when a voice startled me from a dark corner.

"Miss Aira, what are you doing here this late?" asked Silas, who appeared out of nowhere.

I jumped and almost dropped a silver plate. "I... I’m hungry, Silas. I saw this food, so I thought..."

Silas stared at the table with a strange look, as if he were hiding a big secret. "This food is not for you, Miss. I will bring a special meal to your room immediately," Silas said urgently.

"Why? This is too much to waste, Silas," I tried to argue because the aroma was so tempting.

Silas stepped forward, blocking my view of the banquet table with his stiff body. "You should go back to your room right now and lock the door tight, Miss Aira," he ordered.

"Are there other guests here besides me?" I asked, curious, thinking of the shirtless man in the yard.

Silas didn't answer. He just looked at me with eyes that seemed to give a warning of lurking danger. "Quickly, go to your room before the Master of this castle sees you wandering around at this hour," Silas whispered in a very low voice.

I went silent, feeling the real fear in the old man's voice. Just as I was about to turn around, I heard a deep, low growl from the corridor behind me. It wasn't a human growl; it sounded like a very hungry predator.

"He is already here..." Silas whispered, his face turning as pale as a shroud.

I turned my head slowly. At the end of the dark hallway, I saw a pair of glowing golden eyes staring sharply at me. Those eyes didn't belong to an animal, but the gaze was far more deadly than any human I had ever met.

I froze. My feet felt glued to the floor as a large, dark shadow began to step toward the light. The sound of heavy footsteps and my own heartbeat were the only things I could hear.

Was Eros really here, or had I just stepped into the den of a much more terrifying monster?