Alpha Rising

Chapter Twenty-One

Alvira's P.O.V.

Irena tensed her hand over mine; her nails dug in softly to the skin of my wrist, and she looked like she was liable to start shaking. Anxiety flashed in her eyes as her nostrils flared slightly. “That scent,” she said low, pulling me closer. “What is that?”

I c****d my head to one side; my brow furrowed deep in confusion. “What scent, Irena?” Though I had a feeling as to what she meant, I still had to ask to be sure. A lump rose in the back of my throat, and I felt my wolf start to growl.

The older woman leaned closer and sniffed at the air around my wrist- the hand that was on the doorknob of my closet door. “It’s almost like daisies,” she said, and my eyes went wide.

“I could smell it too,” I said, dropping to my knees to be closer to eye level with her. Alban moved behind us, going over to Nell and quietly filling her in through quieted whispers behind raised hands so as to remain respectful in front of the aging former Luna. “It’s almost familiar,” I said quietly, looking down at the other woman’s hand.

Nell came up behind me and let her leg brush against my back. She always did like being close to me when things were stressful, so having that familiar comfort was certainly welcome in a time like this. She was keeping me grounded. Every nerve in me was screaming to go and hunt down that shadowy wolf, to fight and protect my new home. But I had to think about things more rationally now. I couldn’t just blaze off on my own anymore.

Irena spoke up again, clearing her throat to catch my diverted attention. “Not offhand,” she said. “But it’s worth noting to remember for later.”The older woman gave my arm a gentle pat before letting me go again. Something seemed off about the way she was carrying this information. It was like she wasn’t fully ready to tell me everything that was on her mind. Honestly, that was a fair point to make. But it still didn’t hold my confidence too well.

She wheeled herself back from us and looked at me with a blend of concern and fear like she wasn’t even sure if she should be near m. Slowly, I stood and brushed off my knees before giving her a soft nod of understanding. “I’m sorry that we have to move things around again, Irena,” I said to her in some show of compassion.

But she was quick to cut me off. “Never apologize for being threatened.” A darkness fell over her eyes at this advice, as though she’d once been told something very similar herself.

The moment was broken just a second later by Alban coming over to drape his arms over both mine and Nell’s shoulders. With that wry twist to his grin, he gave a polite thanks to Irena before escorting us away, off to a stairwell that I had never actually noticed before. I tossed a glance back over my shoulder at Irena, who was already reaching up to hold her son’s hand as he sat to tell her everything in more detail.

He caught me looking and met my eyes with a stern glare, though there was something else behind it that I couldn’t quite place.

Alban gave my shoulder a squeeze as he ushered me up the stairs and waited until we were out of earshot before handing over a small brass house-key to me. “That’s for the door at the top,” he said. “Apparently, this hall goes right to Nikolai’s office.” I looked back at him questioningly, but he was too busy looking around at the decor to notice. Nell, however, was right on the same level with my confusion. Only she was far more eager to blurt out her thoughts as they came to her.

“What the hell kind of office has a private staircase to it?” She snorted.

As we reached the top of the stairs, we were met by a large solid oak door. The dark finish was smooth to the touch, and the large brass handle matched the color of the key in my hand. With some care, I unlocked the door and let it swing open inward. With a flick of the light switch, warm yellow light revealed the rich and intricate interior of a study- or more aptly, a library. I could hear the simultaneous gasps sound behind me, and I had to agree. It was definitely something.

“I think this is why,” I said, half in shock. Two of the tall walls were lined entirely with built-in bookshelves jam-packed with books on every available inch. Oddly enough, one of these was where the door sat. A section of the shelving had moved with the door frame to allow us entry. Several free-lying stacks stood around the room with some books open on the large wooden desk to the left.

The third wall held a large brick fireplace that looked like it had been somewhat recently used. There were foot and paw prints in the soot on the stone, and white ash was still settled in the grates where logs once sat. Over the mantle hung a large baroque-style golden frame, and in it was what appeared to be an old and hand-drawn map of the alliance territories. It was stunning.

“Goddess above,” Nell said, walking over to the fireplace and running her hands over the stone mantle with wonder. “Is there a room like this in our pack house?” Her eyes were bright with excitement as she met mine, though I could only shrug in response.

“I have no idea,” I answered. If Dad has one, we’ve never seen it. From the corner of my eye, I could see Alban nod his head in agreement with that and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The three of us stepped further into the room, just taking everything in, letting the soft light from the ceiling globes help our eyes adjust. We were otherwise speechless at the splendor of the study.

But more impressive than even the mantle was the fourth wall. It stood a stark contrast against the style of the study otherwise, but it was striking nonetheless. Several large monitors were mounted to the wall over top of a writing desk kept neat and clear of everything but one small notebook, a mouse, and a keyboard. The leather office chair before it was neatly pushed back, as though it was exactly where it was meant to be in this perfectly pictured paradise of books and technology.

The door behind us slowly closed on its own, though I could hardly discount the possibility that some kind of mechanism was behind it. Once it hissed and clicked shut, the tumbler locked, and I looked over to Alban. “Did he happen to tell you how not to get trapped in his evil lair?” I said only half-jokingly.

He looked puzzled for a moment and c****d his head to one side like a lop-sided puppy, staring at the other wall of shelves. “Actually,” he said as he walked over to the wall of books. “He did.” He raised his hand, and I expected Alban to pull a book from the shelf to reveal yet another staircase. But instead, he pushed at one of the decorative knots on the shelf. That section of the wall groaned and moved in a track, sliding out of the way to reveal a much brighter room beyond the threshold.

“Vi,” Alban said as he jumped back from the wall, startled at the movement. “I think you might actually live in a f*****g mystery house.” He stood there blocking a part of the doorway, and I let him know how much I appreciated his humor with a firm knock on his arm as I walked past him.

I certainly did live in an interesting house now, didn’t I?

The room that opened up before us was what I assumed to be Nikolai’s suite. Thankfully there was a lot more natural light in here, so I was able to go to one of the large windows and beckon Nell and Alban over to stand beside me. “We’re going to go out there tonight,” I said to them. Even without looking at them, I knew that they would roll their eyes or groan. But they also knew me and knew that I was growing restless with inaction.

“I don’t like letting other wolves do my hunting for me.”