<h4>Chapter 566: In Search of Trapdoor</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    The moment we stepped into the West Tower, it felt like the world exhaled and forgot us.


    Darkness swallowed everything whole... thick, heavy, ancient. It wasn’t the kind that merely dimmed shapes or softened edges. It was absolute, pressing in from every side, clinging to skin and breath alike. The air smelled old, like damp stone and time itself had decided to rot here.


    Before I could even register how still it was, River and Kieran moved in perfect sync.


    Both of them reached into their pockets and pulled out moonstones.


    The crystal rocks red to life instantly, flooding the tower with a warm, golden glow that cut through the darkness like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. The light bounced off stone walls, catching on drifting dust particles and thick cobwebs that clung to corners and beams like forgotten memories.


    As werewolves, none of us truly needed light. Nor even me. Darkness had never been an enemy to our kind. But this wasn’t just another abandoned building.


    This was an investigation.


    And none of us were willing to gamble with something like this.


    I let my gaze roam as we moved forward, the light revealing just how neglected the tower had be. Cracked stone floors, peeling paint, websyered upon webs. No footprints. No signs of recent life.


    It screamed... forgotten.


    We headed straight for the basement, our footsteps echoing faintly as we descended. The ground floor and the stairs leading down looked exactly the same - abandoned, untouched, as though no one had stepped foot here in years.


    The basement greeted us with the same stale air, but something about it felt... different.


    It was still dusty. Still wrapped in cobwebs.


    Yet cleaner.


    More intentional.


    It was subtle, but undeniable.


    There wasn’t much in the space - two old tables, a few mismatched chairs, faded paintings leaning against the walls, and several rugs spread unevenly across the floor. But unlike the rest of the tower, the basement felt like it had once been used. Lived in. Someone had cared enough to arrange things instead of leaving them to rot.


    We spread out instinctively.


    Marcus had mentioned a secret trapdoor and that’s what we needed to find.


    We checked everything.


    Oscar lifted rugs, shaking dust loose as he examined the stone beneath. Kieran pushed tables aside, inspecting the floor and walls with sharp, focused eyes. River moved with calcted precision, scanning every inch of the space, his moonstone casting shifting shadows as he went.


    I inspected the walls and paintings, brushing my fingers along stone seams, my heart slowly sinking as minutes passed with nothing to show for it.


    There were no hinges, no cracks, no hidden levers.


    Nothing.


    A quiet disappointment settled over us, heavy and unwee.


    Had Marcus been wrong? Was everything he said a lie?


    I straightened, struggling with the questions that were filling my head. I turned to my mates, ready to speak when...


    <strong>ck.</strong>


    The sound was sharp. Wooden. Out of ce.


    It echoed through the basement, slicing through the silence like a de.


    All four of us froze.


    River looked down at his feet. Slowly, carefully, he lifted his boot.


    The tile beneath it shifted slightly, no longer flush with the rest of the floor.


    We exchanged looks - wide-eyed, alert, adrenaline sparking instantly.


    Without speaking, we all moved.


    Oscar crouched near the floor, inspecting the tiles. Kieran scanned the walls again, this time sharper, more deliberate. River stepped aside, careful not to disturb the area further.


    And then my gaze snagged on something we hadn’t touched much and stopped there for some unknown reason.


    The only cab in the ce.


    It sat against the far wall, tall and old, its wooden surface worn smooth with age. We had looked inside it, around it. Inspected the floor beneath and nearby rugs.


    But we hadn’t moved it.


    Because it was fixed into the wall.


    I walked toward it slowly, my heart pounding with every step.


    The wooden door creaked softly as I pulled it open. And my breath caught. Where the back wall of the cab should have been, there was nothing.


    Just a dark opening.


    Waiting.


    "Here," I whispered.


    The others were beside me instantly.


    Oscar crouched, his expression sharpening as he examined the opening. He reached out, touching the edges of the back of cab.


    "So it turned out to be hidden here," he said finally.


    He nced at River. "That tile triggered the mechanism. And the back wall of this cab slid open."


    And there it was... a hidden passage, leading even deeper.


    River didn’t hesitate.


    He stepped forward immediately, cing himself in front of Oscar in one smooth motion, his body a silent barrier.


    We all knew that gesture.


    <i>I’ll lead.</i>


    And we also knew better than to argue.


    Still, my instincts red.


    Before he could crouch and enter the cab, I grabbed his arm.


    He stopped instantly and turned to look at me.


    I didn’t say a word. I didn’t have to.


    His gaze softened, understanding blooming there without effort. He covered my hand with his free one, his palm warm against my skin, and gave me a reassuring squeeze... firm, steady, grounding.


    "I’ll be careful, angel."


    A part of me wanted to hold on. But I did let go... slowly, reluctantly.


    He ducked, the cab clearly too small for his build, and disappeared into the opening, his broad shoulders scraping against the sides as he crouched. The stairs beyond swallowed him, and within seconds, the golden glow of his moonstone vanished into the darkness below.


    Oscar moved next. "I’m going next."


    He slipped through the opening with practiced ease.


    I followed immediately, the stone steps cool beneath my boots as I descended. Kieran camest, his hand settling securely on my waist, keeping me close as we moved downward together.


    The stairs seemed endless.


    Rough rock walls pressed in on either side, the air growing cooler, heavier with every step. The light from our moonstones barely reached ahead, shadows stretching long and distorted along the stone.


    My heart pounded loudly in my ears, every sense on high alert.


    And then...


    We saw him.


    River stood on thest step.


    His body seemed rigid, shoulders tense, head tilted slightly as he stared into whatevery beyond the stairway.


    The light from his moonstone spilled forward, illuminating a view that had me gasping out loud the moment my gaze fell on it.