Chapter 6 SECRET
CHAPTER SIX | SECRET
LYRA
After speaking, I planned to ignore the words Alpha Adrian said, thinking he was only trying to get on my nerves to prove a point, but when I turned around, I froze when I saw the nervous look on the Valentino twins' faces.
“What is going on?” I asked cautiously, feeling my heartbeat accelerate.
Adrian's mocking laughter drifted back into my ears, and I hurriedly turned around to observe him. I wanted nothing more than to wipe off the smug expression on his face. “What do you mean by what you said? Orion is the father of my child.” My voice came out harsh and defensive, but with every word, my confidence faltered.
My mind went back to that night. I closed my eyes, straining to recall how things went, only to be greeted by excruciating pain. Fragments of my memory were missing, and when I tried to force myself to remember them, it felt like my head was on fire.
Was this why the sacred cursed scroll did nothing to Orion even after he blatantly lied that he wasn’t the one who impregnated me? Could someone else have been with me that night and not Orion?
“Why don’t you ask the brothers about that night? I’m sure they remember everything.” Adrian pointed out, making Damien freeze on the spot.
“They weren’t there.”
Adrian’s mocking laughter rang across the room, making me doubt my own words. He seemed to know much more than he let on, and although I didn’t want to believe they had anything to do with me that night, their reaction wasn’t helping matters.
Their reaction alone was enough to brand them guilty.
Damian got up suddenly, startling everyone. “I think that’s enough dinner for today. Why don’t you follow Damien into his office and sign the alliance? You didn’t come here to chat meaninglessly. Lyra, let’s go.”
My feet were rooted to the floor despite the dark look on his face. Something told me that once I left without finding out the truth of that night, I would never get the opportunity to do so again. “No. I want to—”
Damien cut me off, his eyes red with rage. “Go with Damian, Lyra.”
“You heard them, Lyra. Go with your masters as they have commanded,” Adrian grinned smugly. “I wonder if you also know that Damien was also the—”
The sound of a gunshot rang through the room, silencing everything at once. I crouched, covering my ears at the deafening sound. When I stood up, shaky and terrified, I saw Adrian — eyes closed and cold.
He had been shot. And Damien held the gun.
Damien turned to his brother, his gaze red, pupils dilated. I couldn’t recognize him. He wasn’t the man I knew. He looked foreign, unrecognizable, and worse, uncontrollable.
I knew his wolf had taken over.
“Take her out of here. Now.” I barked at his brother.
I was still frozen in shock when Damian picked me up bridal style and carried me up the stairs. His steps were quick and controlled, almost like he was running from something.
Screams echoed from the room we had just left, and I watched as warriors hurried to the dining hall, weapons in hand, bloodshed on their faces.
I knew it meant war. Adrian’s men wouldn’t leave without avenging their Alpha.
“Stay here. Don’t leave until I come back, unless you want to get killed.”
He didn’t wait for a response before running out, leaving me there, cold, suspicious, and filled with a million questions and a new reason to fear the twins.
They were obviously hiding something important from me, but what was it?
The screams grew louder. Gunshots rang out at consistent intervals. I covered my ears, terror flowing through my body in waves. My legs shook as I slowly walked to the door, but when I got there, my hands wouldn’t move. I was too frightened to open it, so I stayed still until everything went silent again.
I only took my hands off my ears when the atmosphere grew calm. “Damian? Damien?” I called out, reaching for the door hesitantly.
I got no answer in response, which made my fear worse. I slowly turned the door knob and walked out, surprised to see no bloodshed. It was as if the fight never happened, as if I had only imagined it.
I tiptoed around the house, never coming across a single soul, until I got to a room and heard voices… voices I could recognize even in my sleep.
“Do you think she remembers the night?” Damian asked.
I couldn’t see their faces, but I could almost picture the look on them.
“No, I don’t think she does. She’s suspicious though, and it’s only a matter of time before she finds out the truth,” came Damien’s cold reply.
“How do you think he found out? Someone else might know since Adrian learned so easily.”
I couldn’t hear what Damien’s response was, but from their conversation, I was sure they were hiding something big from me.
I couldn’t keep staying with people this dangerous. I needed to escape, and since the place looked free of any guards, I took it as the best chance to do so.
But it was too late. I hadn’t even taken a step when the door opened, and the faces of the twins stared at me. They must have heard me.
“Lyra, don’t try running off again. There are a lot of things you don’t understand, and you might get hurt by the people who want you for selfish reasons. You just have to stick with us until you’re out of danger. You can leave if you want when everything is calm.” Damian’s voice was gentle and soothing, and for a second, I trusted him.
Damien growled, shattering any flicker of trust I had for them. “She goes nowhere. She stays here no matter what. Take her back to her room and lock her in until I say so.”
I was forcefully taken back to the room, and the door was locked even as I screamed and begged them not to.
When a note slipped under the door, I thought it was just Damian apologizing for his brother’s behavior, but an unfamiliar handwriting greeted me when I opened it.
The writing was rough, an indication that whoever wrote it did so in a hurry, and it stated: “I can help you escape for good. In exchange, I need you to kill the twins.”
At the middle of the letter was something wrapped in a small bag. One sniff of it, and I knew what it was instantly.
It was poison. The poison to kill them.