The Hidden Room and Unseen Forces

“Who was Lillian really?" Diva asked herself. “Could it really be Lillian, or who is the person calling my name?"

She barely slept, her mind filled with questions she had no answers to. Who was Lillian? And why did it feel like she was still here?

By morning, the mansion felt cold, heavier, and isolated. Every creak of the floorboards sounded like a baby’s cry, and every flicker of shadow in the corners made her skin pale.

“This morning feels unusual. I hope it goes well," Diva said as she walked toward the hallway. She was about to take the left path when she spotted Derek from a distance. Quickly, she squatted and tried to leap away like a frog, but she suddenly bumped into a muscular pillar—Derek’s leg.

“Oh—fuck!!” she cussed.

“Tiny thing, where are you leaping off to?” Derek asked with an unreadable expression.

“What do you want this time?"

“Nothing much." He squatted to her level and locked eyes with her. Then the mate bond started pulling, making both of them forget their differences. Derek was about to pull her in for a kiss when Caleb ran in, stopping the thrilling moment.

“Alpha Derek! The rogues have made their first move. They are attacking the northern pack,” Caleb explained, panting heavily like a chased dog.

“I have a question for you," Diva said to Derek.

“Save it for later," Derek chipped in.

Derek stared at Diva with a look that clearly said—Don't leave this mansion.

“What else did you notice?" he asked Caleb.

“Alpha Derek, I think they are regrouping in a different way this time," Caleb shared.

“Get the soldiers ready. We’re going in with a different formation.”

After Derek and Caleb left the mansion, Diva—due to her stubbornness—decided to look for answers herself. If Derek refused to give her time to ask questions, she’d find the answers herself.

The mansion was massive, with spacious hallways and locked doors. Today, she would change that.

“This mansion is huge, but that stingy dog can’t offer some rooms to those homeless werewolves out there,” she muttered dramatically.

"I have to find Derek’s room. He’s gotta be hiding something from me.”

As she wandered through the corridors, her fingers brushed against the glossy wallpaper, feeling for anything out of place.

Then she spotted a door that was slightly open. She tiptoed forward and pulled it, the door creaking as it moved. She stared at the wall and saw Derek's portrait. She had found it—Derek's room.

She touched the walls, knocking and tapping as if molding pottery. Then she noticed an old wooden shelf decked with scrolls. She walked over and grabbed some, dust filling the air as she lifted them. As she was about to open a scroll, she saw a door—dustier than the shelf itself.

It looked as if it had been forgotten.

The air in the room was thick with silence. At the very end, the door stood slightly ajar.

Diva hesitated, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. Something about this place felt… wrong. But she had come too far to turn back now.

“Oh God…” she whispered, her lips trembling.

Slowly, she pushed the door open.

The room was nothing like the rest of the mansion. It was small, dimly lit, with tattered curtains covering the windows. The scent of old books and something ancient lingered in the air.

Her eyes scanned the room, landing on a stool covered in dust. A single hairbrush lay on top of it, as if waiting to be used. Beside it, a delicate silver locket.

Diva reached for it hesitantly, her fingers grazing the cool metal. When she opened it, her breath caught. Inside was a tiny portrait of Derek—looking younger, his expression softer. And beside him—Lillian.

Diva’s pulse quickened. This was her room. Lillian’s real room.

“This is Lillian’s room. Then what is that room?" Her eyes widened as realization hit her.

She quickly turned to leave when a gust of cold air brushed against the back of her neck.

She turned around, expecting to see someone standing behind her. But the room was empty.

Then the whispers came again—but this time, they were much closer.

“Diva…”

Her blood turned cold. The voice was close—too close. It wasn’t just inside her head this time. It was around her.

She took a shaky step back, her heart pounding in her chest. The shadows in the corners of the room seemed to shift.

The door suddenly slammed shut.

Diva turned, rushing to grab the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Panic struck her chest.

“Let me out!” she yelled, pounding against the door.

No response.

The temperature in the room dropped, and her breath came out in visible puffs. Then, from the stool, the locket snapped shut on its own.

Diva’s stomach twisted. She wasn’t alone. She knew she wasn’t alone in the room.

“Who are you?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then—the voice came again.

“Find the truth.”

The whisper was softer this time, almost pleading.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, everything stilled. The heavy atmosphere lifted, the door creaked open on its own, and warmth returned.

Diva stumbled out of the room, her breaths coming in short gasps. She didn’t stop running until she reached her own bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

She pressed her back against it, trying to steady her heartbeat.

She had entered Lillian’s room.

And something—someone—had been there with her.

~~~~~

The soldiers marched boldly toward the northern pack. Derek sat firmly on his horse, his right-hand man—Caleb—beside him.

“Try to distract them with fire," Derek ordered.

“Yes, sir!!" Caleb roared, raising his hands to signal the soldiers for a change of plan.

“The rest of the soldiers should surround the northern border so none of the rogues will have a chance to escape this time,” Derek announced.

"This time, I'll make sure to get their master,” Derek thought.

“Any rogues you find on your way, do not hesitate to kill them. But make sure to take one alive,” he stated.

~~~~~

That night, Diva lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The locket she had taken from Lillian’s room rested on the nightstand beside her.

Something inside her told her she had stumbled onto a secret Derek didn’t want her to know.

But before she could think further, the air in the room shifted again.

Her eyes moved to the locket.

It was open.

She was sure she had closed it.

And then, just as she reached for it—

The candle by her bedside flickered and went out.

Darkness swallowed the room.