CHAPTER TWENTY FOURL CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR KAIA'S POV . The old pack library sat on the far edge of the territory , hidden behind tangled trees and moss - covered stone walls it looked more like an abandoned temple than a library , with its cracked stained - glass windows and heavy oak doors that creaked like ghosts when pushed open . This place had been abandoned for years , with half the pack forgetting its existence . Practically no one ever came here anymore . No one except me . I came here often when I needed space to think - especially these days when I barely even knew what to do with myself . It helped take my mind off things a little bit . Just for a little while . Silver stood in the doorway , squinting inside as I pushed the door open with both hands . " This ," he said flatly , is the mysterious place ? " I gave him a side glance . " What , this not mysterious enough for you ? Were you expecting a portal to another dimension ? " Silver shrugged . " Well , considering the way you made it sound , " he said , stepping inside with exaggerated caution , " I thought we were headed into a haunted battlefield or some hidden dungeon . I must confess , I'm quite disappointed . " Well , he had a point . I did make the whole thing sound some type of way didn't I ? But then whoever said I was wrong ? If only Silver knew the history of this library . If only he knew half the things it contained . But he doesn't . He doesn't know it like I do , so yeah , I guess I can't blame him for saying that . If he did , he would know that some of the things here were even far worse than the haunted battlefield and hidden dungeon he just spoke of I smirked , letting the door close behind us with a thud . " Don't underestimate the library , Silver . Legends say knowledge is the most dangerous weapon , remember ? " He looked around at the towering shelves of old , dust - covered books and parchment scrolls . " Looks more like a dust museum to me . " " Ah ," I said with mock seriousness , " dust museum , you say ? But within these pages are things most people aren't supposed to know . Forgotten names . Forbidden runes . Creatures that haven't walked this world in centuries . The kind of stuff that keeps even alphas up at night . You don't know the half of you , Silver , you do not want to know . " I'm telling Silver snorted , brushing cobwebs from a nearby bookshelf . " Right . Because dusty paper is way scarier than fangs and claws . Got it . That doesn't sound ridiculous at all ." I moved toward a carved stone table in the center of the room , pulling out Mia's drawing and laying it out carefully . " Oh , well , keep talking then . But remember , don't say I didn't warn you when something hisses at you from between the pages . You have no idea what kind of legends lie in those books . " Silver rolled his eyes but followed , sitting across from me . "Okay , storyteller . You've got me curious now . Hit me with one of these legends . " CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR " Gladly , " I said with a grin , scanning the nearest stack of leather bound volumes . " Let's see … how about the Grievers of Gormath ? Ever heard of them ? " Silver raised an eyebrow. " I wouldn't know . But they sound cheerful , " I nodded solemnly . " Oh , they weren't . Centuries ago , a village was wiped out overnight . No screams , no signs of struggle . Just silence - and markings left on the ground . The villagers who came to investigate from the neighboring village said they heard crying in the woods , weeping so heavy it made the ground shake . They called the entities the Grievers . Legend says they were once priests cursed for opening a forbidden gate . But you want to know the strangest part about all of this ? " " What ? " Silver asked , his voice barely a whisper . My lips pulled into a smirk as I leaned forward on my elbows . " The strangest and scariest part is that there were supposedly no screams that night . The village was wiped out in complete silence . So legend asks - how come the neighboring villagers claimed they heard cries that night ? A cry so loud it woke the entire village . causing the women and children to lock themselves up in their rooms while the men grabbed their weapons and ran into the woods to see what was happening . Whose cries did they hear ? Who exactly was crying in the woods that night ? That question remains unanswered . " Silver frowned . "And these villagers , the ones who went to investigate - what did they find in the woods when they got there ? " " No one knows , " I answered truthfully as I flipped another page .. I only know as much as legend told us about the unthinkable that happened on that night and nothing more . Silver leaned in , his brows furrowing . " So then why exactly are we here ? You think the people who attacked Mia were connected to that ? " " I don't know , " I admitted , flipping open an old scroll , " But for some reason that symbol seems to spark some memories for you too , even though you're not even from this part . At least I don't think you are . So wherever it was you saw it before , it can't be the same place Mia did . Or on the same men , for that matter . So if the symbol has appeared more than once - different times , different places - it definitely means something , Silver . It has to . And I don't believe in coincidence . Not in cases like this , anyway . " as he listen As I spoke , I couldn't help but notice something wired . Silver's fingers kept rubbing at his neck as -even while he spoke . " Hmm . Perhaps you're right . But then what if- " " Are you hurt ? " I asked when I couldn't hold in my curiosity any longer . Silver frowned , looking confused . " What ? " I " Your neck , " I said . " You keep rubbing at it . I thought maybe you got hurt . Perhaps a sting or something . " Silver sighed , nodding . " Yeah , I … I've kind of been doing that a lot since I woke up . I have no idea why , though . " I frowned in confusion , still not really understanding what he meant . " So … you're not hurt ? " I asked , and he shook his head . " No. I'm not hurt . " CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR He hesitated for a moment , then sighed . " At first , it only happened whenever I'm in the shower ," he started . "T find my hands going to my neck and rubbing without being aware of it . And then there's also my left middle finger . I keep rubbing it too . " My frown deepened . " And you have no idea why it happens ? " I asked , and he shook his head . " Oh ," I said simply , for lack of better words . Because what more could I possibly say ? Surely there's a reason he does it he just can't remember . We were quiet for a moment , then Silver spoke . " Okay , so . I'll admit , your creepy priest story earned a point . Come on , princess . Give me another , " It was obvious he was trying to stir the discussion away from the topic , and even though I wasn't sure why, I figured I'd just let it go . For now , at least . I chuckled , nodding my head . " Alright then . Ever hear of the Crimson Binder ? " He gave me a skeptical look . " Should I have ? " " It's obscure , " I said . " Even in our pack's oldest records , only whispers about him remain . They say he was a warlock who specialized in blood seals - binding people , creatures , even souls , using runes carved into flesh . Guess what his mark was ? " Silver shifted to get comfortable . " The same symbol from the first story ? " I blinked . Once . Twice . I had no idea how he was able to do that , but he actually got it right . It was , in fact , the same symbol from the Grievers of Gormath . At least that was what legend says . If it's a lie then it's totally on the people who wrote the books . Not me . " Exactly , " I said finally , giving him a thumbs - up . " And now I have reasons to believe that the exact same symbol might be making an appearance once more . Only this time , it has another thing coming , because it's going to get a hell of an ass - kicking from me if I so happen to find out that this pack is truly being targeted by it . " " Damn ," Silver muttered , sitting back . " So you're telling me that it's actually possible this isn't just a random tattoo Mia saw ? " " Nope , " I said . " I don't think it's a random tattoo . I think it might be the symbol . You heard her say earlier that she couldn't shift when they were around , didn't you ? Those people clearly did something to her wolf to keep her from coming out . It's either some kind of spell or dark magic . That symbol has been around for a long time . And every time it shows up , something bad follows . For all we know , this could be ar or attack . It could be coming alive again after all these years , Silver . And unless I can find something the proves me wrong , I'm choosing to work with what I have . And what I have is that this is simply too serious to be keeping quiet about . Which is exactly why I'm here . To dig . " Silver was quiet for a moment before he nodded , standing up . " Let's get to work then . " We searched in silence for a while after that , with nothing but the sounds of turning pages breaking the quiet . The deeper we went into the collection , the weirder the titles became . Chronicles of the Hollowed Veil , Ashes of the First Pact , The Thirteen Who Vanished . It was getting creepier by the minute . CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR Silver eventually broke the silence again . " Okay , no question . Why are you so familiar with this place , anyway ? You said earlier it's somewhere you're ' well acquainted with : What's up with that ? " I hesitated for a moment , then gave him a wry smile . "When I was a kid , I wasn't that great at fitting in . Don't get me wrong , it wasn't like I was bullied or disliked by the pack . That wasn't it . Far from it , in fact . I think I was quite friendly with everyone in the pack - just like now . But the problemn was , I was a little … what do they call it again ? … socially awkward , so to speak . I was okay having friends . But I mostly preferred to be on my own . I liked my own company better than anyone else's . I used to sneak out here to get away from everyone No one came out this far . I'd read the strangest stories , protend I was hunting ghosts or cursed relics . You know , stuff like that . " Silver nodded slowly. " Let me guess - you were the scary kid who knew all the old horror stories and kept other pups awake during sleepovers ? " " Guilty , " I said with a laugh . " You're looking at the unofficial queen of campfire scares . You do not want to challenge me on that one ." He gave me an amused smile . " Well , your royal darkness , I have to admit - this place is cooler than I expected . Told you ," I said . " Now keep flipping . " Minutes passed . We both worked through book after book , scanning for any sign of the symbol . Just as I was about to call it a dead end , I felt Lilac stirring inside me . At first , I ignored her , not thinking too much of it . But then she continued to stir , and I could feel her pushing against the walls of my mind . Having had enough of the discomfort , I sighed , reaching out to her in my head . " What ? " I asked , feeling annoyed at the disturbance from her while I was already locked in an impossible mission here trying to figure out what the hell was - or might be - coming for our pack . " I don't know , I just feel kind of odd , " Lilac muttered , causing me to frown . " Odd ? " I asked in confusion , and she hummed . " I just have this really weird feeling , Kaia . I don't know how to explain it , but it's there . I don't know what it is . " y eyes and sighed . " Well , go figure it out and stop bothering me , would you ? You're distracting me , I rolled my Lilac . " No , Kaia , you don't understand . I think- " " Kaia , Silver called , pulling my attention to him . " Come take a look at this for a minute . " I completely forgot whatever Lilac had been about to say and moved to his side instantly , peering over his shoulder to see what he had in his hands . The book was brittle , the writing nearly faded . But there it was . The exact symbol . The circle . The triangle . The s *** h . And next to it , there was a name : "The Mark of the Hollow Binding ." I read in a low whisper . Underneath the name was a single line of faded text , handwritten in red ink : " Used to bind the soul to a pact of silence and blood . Borne only by the ones who serve the Hollow King in CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR truth and in loyalty . " I stared at it , feeling a cold chill creep down my spine . " Hollow King ? " Silver whispered . 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