C1 The Night My Fiancé Chose My Death

I knew something was wrong the moment Darian stopped smiling at me.

It was such a small thing. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed. He was standing beside the grand fireplace, holding a glass of red wine, while guests filled our family hall with laughter and quiet talk. My father had invited half the pack leaders in the region to celebrate the signing of a new trade deal. Music played near the stairs, servants carried trays between the tables, and the smell of roasted meat drifted from the kitchen.

Everything looked perfect.

Then Darian glanced at the door behind him, lowered his voice, and slipped out of the room without saying a word to me.

I stood there with a half-eaten piece of cake on my plate.

"Elara?"

I turned. Mira was beside me, looking far too pleased with herself.

"Are you going to eat that or just stare at it?"

I looked down at my plate. "I was eating it."

"You've been holding the same fork for ten minutes."

"Have I?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You're doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"The thing where you pretend you're fine when you're clearly not."

I let out a short laugh. "I'm fine, Mira."

"Then why are you watching Darian like he's about to jump out of a window?"

I almost smiled. Almost.

"He's been acting strange all evening."

"Strange how?"

"I don't know. He keeps leaving. Every time I ask where he's going, he says he has something to handle."

Mira glanced toward the door he'd used.

"Maybe it's business."

"At my family's celebration?"

"Men like Darian think business is more important than everything else."

"He's not like that."

The words came out too quickly.

Mira looked at me for a moment. Then she shrugged.

"All right. If you say so."

I hated the way she said it. Like she didn't believe me. Like she knew something I didn't.

Before I could ask what she meant, my father called my name from across the room.

"Elara! Come here, sweetheart. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

I forced myself to smile and walked toward him.

But I kept looking at that door.

And for the first time in a long while, I wondered whether I really knew the man I planned to marry.

My father had always warned me not to judge people by the way they treated me when everything was going well. He said the truth about a person came out when they had something to lose.

I used to think he was being too careful.

Now, standing in a room full of people who loved my family, I couldn't stop thinking about his words.

"You're miles away," my father said when I reached him.

"Sorry, Dad."

He studied my face. "Is something bothering you?"

"No. Just tired."

He didn't look convinced.

"Have you seen Darian?"

My stomach tightened.

"No. Why?"

He took a slow breath and glanced toward the same door I'd been watching.

"Nothing. I need to speak with him before the guests leave."

"About what?"

"Family business."

I waited for him to say more, but he only patted my shoulder.

"Enjoy your evening, sweetheart. And don't let that young man disappear before I get my chance to talk to him."

I laughed because I was supposed to.

Then my father walked away.

Family business.

Those two words stayed with me long after he left.

I knew there had been trouble over our inheritance. Everyone in the pack knew. My grandfather had left behind a large piece of land, several old buildings, and a fortune that had been passed down through our family for generations.

But there was something else, too.

A sealed document.

I'd heard about it when I was younger. My grandfather had made sure it was kept safe, and only a few people knew what it contained. My father had once told me it was connected to the future of our pack.

Whenever I asked what that meant, he changed the subject.

Darian had never wanted to discuss it either.

In fact, he'd once told me I worried too much about things that didn't concern me.

I hated that answer.

I was a Voss. Whatever threatened my family concerned me.

A burst of laughter rose from the other side of the room. Someone had started telling a story about an Alpha who'd fallen into a pond during a hunting trip. The guests were enjoying themselves, completely unaware that my thoughts were getting darker by the minute.

I set my plate on a passing tray.

Then I headed for the hallway.

I told myself I only wanted to find Darian. That was all.

The hallway was cooler than the main room. The music grew softer behind me, replaced by the sound of rain tapping against the windows. Our estate was old, built from dark stone with wooden floors that creaked when you stepped on the wrong board.

I'd spent my whole life here.

I knew every turn, every door, every little mark on the walls.

I also knew Darian had gone through the narrow passage near my father's study.

I followed it.

At first, I heard nothing. Then a man's voice drifted through a partly closed door.

Darian's voice.

"The document must stay sealed until the council meeting."

I stopped.

My heart gave one hard thump.

Another man answered. I couldn't make out his words, but his voice sounded older.

Darian spoke again.

"I said I'll handle Elara."

My fingers curled around the edge of the wall.

Handle me?

What was that supposed to mean?

I leaned closer, trying not to make a sound.

"She's going to ask questions," the older man said.

"Then I'll give her answers."

"And if she doesn't believe you?"

There was a pause.

I held my breath.

"She trusts me," Darian replied. "She always has."

Something inside my chest twisted.

It wasn't what he said. It was how he said it.

There was no warmth in his voice. No hint of the man who used to bring me flowers after an argument or hold my hand when I couldn't sleep. He sounded cold, almost bored, as if my trust were a tool he knew exactly how to use.

The older man spoke again.

"What about her father?"

"He's becoming a problem."

I pressed my hand over my mouth.

No.

I must have heard wrong.

My father was the kindest man I knew. He'd helped families who had lost their homes, settled fights between pack members, and spent years protecting the land my grandfather had left us.

Why would he be a problem?

Darian lowered his voice.

"If he finds out what's inside that document, everything changes."

A chair scraped across the floor.

I stepped back, my shoe catching on a loose board.

The sound was small.

But inside that quiet hallway, it seemed as loud as a gunshot.

The voices stopped.

I froze.

"Did you hear that?" the older man asked.

My mouth went dry.

I turned to run, but the door opened before I could move.

Darian stood in front of me.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

His eyes moved from my face to the hallway behind me.

"Elara?"

I tried to smile. It felt like forcing a cracked cup to hold water.

"There you are. I've been looking for you."

He stared at me.

"Why?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Because you're my fiancé?"

His expression changed. The cold look vanished, replaced by the familiar smile I had seen a thousand times.

He reached for my hand.

"Of course. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I had something important to discuss."

"About the sealed document?"

His fingers stopped moving.

Only for a second.

But I noticed.

"What document?" he asked.

I looked straight at him. "The one you were just talking about."

Darian let go of my hand.

Behind him, I caught a glimpse of a man standing near the desk. He wore a dark coat, and his face was hidden in shadow.

Before I could get a better look, Darian stepped forward and blocked my view.

"You shouldn't listen to conversations that aren't meant for you."

I stared at him.

"Conversations about my family?"

"Elara, please."

"No. You don't get to tell me to calm down when you're whispering about my inheritance behind closed doors."

His jaw tightened.

"I was trying to protect you."

"From what?"

"Things you don't understand."

I laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"Then explain them to me."

He looked toward the room behind him.

That tiny movement hurt more than I wanted to admit.

He was worried about someone hearing us. Not about how I felt. Not about why I was standing in a hallway, wondering whether the man I loved had been lying to me.

"Let's go back to the party," he said. "We'll talk later."

"When?"

"Elara."

"When, Darian?"

His voice dropped.

"Not here."

I pulled my hand away when he tried to touch me again.

"Fine. Later."

I walked past him before he could answer.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to turn around and demand the truth. Most of all, I wanted to believe there was a simple explanation.

Maybe the document was harmless. Maybe my father had asked Darian to keep it secret. Maybe I'd misunderstood everything.

I repeated those thoughts as I walked back toward the main hall.

But they sounded weaker each time.

When I reached the party, I found Mira talking to two guests near the windows.

She took one look at me and hurried over.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Lie to me."

I stared at her.

She sighed and lowered her voice.

"Elara, you've been acting strange all night. Now you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I heard Darian talking about the inheritance document."

Mira's face changed.

It happened so quickly that I almost missed it.

Her smile disappeared. Her eyes widened, and she glanced toward the hallway.

"What did he say?"

I grabbed her arm.

"You know something, don't you?"

"No."

"Then why do you look scared?"

"I'm not scared."

"Mira."

She looked away.

For one terrible moment, I thought she might tell me everything.

Instead, she gently removed my hand from her arm.

"Go to your room," she whispered. "You look tired."

"Why?"

"Just go, Elara."

Before I could stop her, she walked away.

I watched her disappear into the crowd.

My best friend had just looked me in the eye and lied.

At least, that's what it felt like.

The party suddenly seemed too loud. Every laugh made my head hurt. Every time someone touched my shoulder, I jumped. I couldn't stand another minute in that room, pretending nothing was wrong.

I needed air.

I needed to think.

Most of all, I needed to get away from Darian.

I climbed the stairs to the upper floor, where the bedrooms stood along a long hallway. The lights were dimmer there, and the rain sounded louder against the roof.

My room was at the end.

A guard was supposed to stand outside my door whenever we held a gathering this large. My father insisted on it, even though I'd told him a dozen times that I didn't need someone watching over me.

But when I reached the hallway, the guard was gone.

I stopped.

"Hello?"

No answer.

I looked toward the stairs.

Nothing.

The empty space outside my room made my skin prickle. I had never seen the hallway without a guard during a family event.

I stepped closer to my door.

The lock looked strange.

I bent down.

There were fresh scratches around the keyhole, thin lines in the metal that hadn't been there that morning. Someone had tried to force it open.

My stomach dropped.

I touched the marks with one finger.

They were rough and sharp.

"What happened here?" I whispered.

I pushed the door open.

My room looked almost normal. The curtains were drawn, my bed was made, and the small lamp beside the window was still burning.

But the drawer where I kept my family papers stood open.

I knew I'd closed it before the party.

I crossed the room and checked inside.

The papers were still there, but someone had moved them around. My old letters had been pushed aside, and the wooden box my grandfather had given me sat crooked at the back.

I lifted it with shaking hands.

The little silver key inside was gone.

I stared at the empty space.

No. No, no, no.

That key was the only thing I had that belonged to my grandfather's hidden collection. My father had told me never to lose it, though he'd never explained why.

I turned toward the door.

Someone had been in my room.

Someone had searched my things.

And whoever it was had known exactly where to look.

I hurried to the hallway and reached for the handle.

It wouldn't move.

I pulled harder.

Nothing.

My breath caught in my throat.

I tried the handle again, then shoved my shoulder against the door.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Silence.

I banged on the wood.

"Open the door!"

Footsteps sounded outside.

I stumbled backward.

For one hopeful second, I thought the guard had returned.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

Darian.

"She's in there?"

A second voice answered, too low for me to understand.

I pressed my ear against the door.

My heart was beating so hard that I could barely hear anything else.

Then Darian spoke again, and every last bit of warmth drained from my body.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Elara is in there."

A pause followed.

Then came the sound of a key turning in the lock from the other side.

I backed away, staring at the door as the handle began to move.

Why had Darian locked me inside and who was standing beside him?