Chapter 6 Secrets Behind Silk and Stone

The moment the door shut behind Prince Darian, Rielle didn't move.

She listened for the retreating footsteps, for the final echo of his presence leaving the chamber. But even with him gone, the air still crackled with heat. His scent clung to the curtains and rugs, storm-wild and male. Her wrists still burned from the cuffs under her sleeves, and her heart hadn't slowed.

But beneath the tension... was something deeper.

Curiosity.

She wasn't just a maid anymore. Not in this moment. She was a wolf in the den of a king. And this den was layered with secrets.

She exhaled slowly, and turned.

The chamber was beautifully intimidating. Stone walls veined with obsidian. Shelves stacked with ancient tomes and relics, some glowing faintly with old magic. Weapons displayed beside ceremonial armor. A sword stood next to the bed, polished and clearly used. There was something primal about all of it. Like it wasn't just a room-it was a warning.

Rielle's fingers skimmed over a marble table, then the shelves, careful not to disturb the fine dust that settled between volumes. Most were old history books. Political treaties. War journals.

Until her eyes landed on one that didn't belong.

It was newer, thicker, bound in midnight blue leather, and tucked behind a false spine labeled The Lycan Reign: Volume III.

She tilted her head, narrowed her eyes-and pulled it free.

No title. No crest. Just blank leather with a silver clasp holding it shut.

Her fingers hovered over it. The cuffs on her wrists pulsed faintly.

She undid the clasp.

The book fell open, like it wanted to be read.

She flipped through the first pages-messy, rushed handwriting. Not the same neat scrawl she'd seen earlier in the scrolls. This was... personal. Darian's thoughts, maybe. Observations.

But then-

A diagram.

A heart split in two. On one side: a rune she didn't recognize. On the other: a wolf's paw.

She leaned closer.

> "Two souls cannot share one fate unless one dies first."

The sentence chilled her.

She flipped faster.

The pages blurred-notes on cursed bonds, forbidden mates, wolves born with shadow-souled bloodlines, and then-

Her fingers froze.

A drawing.

Of her cuffs.

She didn't imagine it. It was exactly the same-down to the veins that had begun to glow recently beneath her skin. Below the drawing was a label:

"Marked Ones. Only one exists. Presumed extinct."

She swallowed hard.

There was more.

Another page, filled with predictions. A prophecy torn from an older text, translated in Darian's own handwriting.

> "The Marked One shall awaken beneath the Prince's gaze."

"To love her is to risk ruin. To leave her is to forfeit the crown."

She couldn't read anymore. Her fingers trembled.

She wasn't just some curious girl pretending to be a maid. She was something ancient. Something people feared.

Something even he might fear.

Just then-

---

Meanwhile, in the War Chamber

Darian stood tall at the head of the stone table, arms crossed, eyes colder than the torches lining the walls. Around him, the council murmured in anxious tones.

"The Eastern Border was breached again last night," General Varic said, voice tense. "Three wolves dead. One body found with silver runes carved into the chest."

"They're sending messages now," another growled. "They want us to fear them."

"They already fear her," said a high-voiced noble in red robes. "The girl in your chambers. The one you haven't reported."

The room fell silent.

Darian's golden eyes flicked up, slow and dangerous.

"Careful," he said softly, "how you speak about my decisions."

A few flinched.

"She's not an ordinary maid," the same man pressed. "You know it. She wears marked cuffs. That hasn't been seen in centuries. What if-"

"Then let her be seen," Darian cut in. "I want them watching."

The council stilled.

Darian leaned forward.

"Let them wonder what she is. Let them feel the shift in the wind and fear it. We are not hiding. We are warning."

The room pulsed with silent agreement.

But something in Darian's chest ached. The more he tried to observe her from a distance... the more he wanted to unravel her up close.

He needed to know.

He needed to see what she would do in his absence.

---

Back in His Chamber

The flames in the hearth shifted suddenly-crackling louder.

Rielle looked up, startled.

And that was when she heard it.

The door.

Opening.

She turned just as Darian stepped in, quiet as a shadow. She didn't even have time to close the book-her eyes met his across the room.

She froze.

Then, snap-she shut the book fast, locking it instinctively. The silver clasp clicked into place.

Too late.

His golden eyes caught everything.

He raised a brow.

"Snooping?" he asked, stepping forward.

She straightened, clutching the book like it was nothing more than a dusty journal.

"Cleaning," she said flatly.

"Oh?" he smirked. "Does the cleaning involve decoding ancient bloodline curses?"

She didn't answer.

He took another step.

"Next time," he said, voice low, "try hiding the book before I walk in."

"You left it unlocked."

"You were never meant to find it."

She tilted her head, fire dancing in her eyes.

"Then maybe your secrets want to be found."

He stared at her for a long moment. A muscle ticked in his jaw. The silence stretched-tension thickening like honey.

Then he chuckled. Just once. Dark and amused.

"Careful, little wolf," he said, voice rough. "You're playing with fire you don't understand."

She stepped forward, matching his tone.

"Then teach me. Or are you afraid of the truth?"

He blinked.

And there it was again-that moment. Where anger and attraction blurred. Where curiosity and fate tangled like vines.

He reached forward, took the book from her hands without force.

Held it.

Then leaned close.

"Don't turn your back on a wolf, Rielle."

"Especially not one who's just starting to crave you."

Her breath caught.

The cuffs burned.

She didn't move.