midnight when he broke in.”
“Did he leave with anything?” Aiden asked as she pulled out a small safe. There was a small handgun near the safe, but she left it inside.
“ No, but I could have missed something. I was scared.” Keira placed the safe on the bed, entered the combination which he stored to memory by instinct, and popped the lid. “He dropped this on the way out of the window.”
Aiden knew exactly what it was, and he’d never even seen it before. There was no mistaking the familiar markings and Pack insignia on the metal cover. The ability to detect a Caedmon relic on sight had been encoded in his blood from the moment of his birth. The book in the safe wasn’t just any book.
“Where did you get this?” Aiden’s eyes darted between Keira and the book.
She shook her head quickly. “I retrieved it from the floor of the study. It was the first thing he took from the nook behind the bookcase. It must have slipped from his jacket when it tore on the window sill.”
Aiden traced the markings on the front of the cover. This was impossible. What was Keira’s ex-husband doing with this?
“Had you seen the book before that night?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Of course, Jamison and I never had the same taste in books. The study is filled with nonfiction and literature. History books, he once told me. I had no interest in books like that. I read fiction. Romance.”
His fingers ran across the battered lock. “It’s broken.”
“It wasn’t me. Maybe it was like that. Or maybe the lock broke when the intruder dropped it. I opened to the first few pages. It’s not written in any English. There are symbols of some sort. It’s why I wanted to visit the museum. My searches at all of the local libraries turned up nothing.”
Curiosity pulled at him, as his fingers brushed the sides of the pages. He had to know if the book was legit, but it was forbidden to read the journal of a Caedmon leader without his sanction.
“What are you thinking?” Keira whispered.
Aiden swallowed dry air, and picked up the book without opening it. “You said there was a nook behind a bookcase.”
As Keira led the way back toward the study, it dawned on him that not only was her life in jeopardy, but so was the relic that he held. If it so happened to end up in the wrong hands, human or otherwise, the consequences could destroy his entire Pack. He needed to get the book back to where it belonged. It was a Caedmon relic. How did it end up here?
He felt helpless for not having all the answers. Devin Caedmon, current Alpha, was only a phone call away, but right now his duties rested with ensuring Keira’s safety.
“He pulled a book from this location.” Keira plucked out a book, going through the motions just as though she was reminiscing on that night.
Ai den pulled a few more books from the shelf. “Looks like a normal bookcase to me.” There were no nooks, crannies, or anything of the sort that would lead to a secret door. Then again, if the book had been hidden on purpose, making the contents easy to access would not have been the intention.
“This very bookcase detached from the wall…like a door.”
It seemed possible, as the structure was built in to the wall.
“What did he touch? Did you see anything else out of the ordinary? ”
She shook her head. “Nothing that I can remember.”
Aiden looked over the room, across the bookshelves, along the ceiling, and anywhere else that could have given him any hints or clues. “There are other ways to get to it…”
“I’ve thought of that before,” she said.
He turned and stared at her in surprise. “Damage to the structure would be a dead giveaway.”
“What would i t matter if Jonathan already knows that Jamison had been hiding something in this house?” Her eyebrow arched. “There is an ax in the shed.”
As Aiden contemplated that option, he saw something like a thread peeking out from the bottom of one of the bookcase s. He would
“Did he leave with anything?” Aiden asked as she pulled out a small safe. There was a small handgun near the safe, but she left it inside.
“ No, but I could have missed something. I was scared.” Keira placed the safe on the bed, entered the combination which he stored to memory by instinct, and popped the lid. “He dropped this on the way out of the window.”
Aiden knew exactly what it was, and he’d never even seen it before. There was no mistaking the familiar markings and Pack insignia on the metal cover. The ability to detect a Caedmon relic on sight had been encoded in his blood from the moment of his birth. The book in the safe wasn’t just any book.
“Where did you get this?” Aiden’s eyes darted between Keira and the book.
She shook her head quickly. “I retrieved it from the floor of the study. It was the first thing he took from the nook behind the bookcase. It must have slipped from his jacket when it tore on the window sill.”
Aiden traced the markings on the front of the cover. This was impossible. What was Keira’s ex-husband doing with this?
“Had you seen the book before that night?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Of course, Jamison and I never had the same taste in books. The study is filled with nonfiction and literature. History books, he once told me. I had no interest in books like that. I read fiction. Romance.”
His fingers ran across the battered lock. “It’s broken.”
“It wasn’t me. Maybe it was like that. Or maybe the lock broke when the intruder dropped it. I opened to the first few pages. It’s not written in any English. There are symbols of some sort. It’s why I wanted to visit the museum. My searches at all of the local libraries turned up nothing.”
Curiosity pulled at him, as his fingers brushed the sides of the pages. He had to know if the book was legit, but it was forbidden to read the journal of a Caedmon leader without his sanction.
“What are you thinking?” Keira whispered.
Aiden swallowed dry air, and picked up the book without opening it. “You said there was a nook behind a bookcase.”
As Keira led the way back toward the study, it dawned on him that not only was her life in jeopardy, but so was the relic that he held. If it so happened to end up in the wrong hands, human or otherwise, the consequences could destroy his entire Pack. He needed to get the book back to where it belonged. It was a Caedmon relic. How did it end up here?
He felt helpless for not having all the answers. Devin Caedmon, current Alpha, was only a phone call away, but right now his duties rested with ensuring Keira’s safety.
“He pulled a book from this location.” Keira plucked out a book, going through the motions just as though she was reminiscing on that night.
Ai den pulled a few more books from the shelf. “Looks like a normal bookcase to me.” There were no nooks, crannies, or anything of the sort that would lead to a secret door. Then again, if the book had been hidden on purpose, making the contents easy to access would not have been the intention.
“This very bookcase detached from the wall…like a door.”
It seemed possible, as the structure was built in to the wall.
“What did he touch? Did you see anything else out of the ordinary? ”
She shook her head. “Nothing that I can remember.”
Aiden looked over the room, across the bookshelves, along the ceiling, and anywhere else that could have given him any hints or clues. “There are other ways to get to it…”
“I’ve thought of that before,” she said.
He turned and stared at her in surprise. “Damage to the structure would be a dead giveaway.”
“What would i t matter if Jonathan already knows that Jamison had been hiding something in this house?” Her eyebrow arched. “There is an ax in the shed.”
As Aiden contemplated that option, he saw something like a thread peeking out from the bottom of one of the bookcase s. He would
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