Mate Mysteries

Chapter 34

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Pip asked from the couch. He had taken away Krey's Alpha duties for the rest of the week. Krey needed time off to clear his head, have a bit of therapy, and start again with a fresh mind.

Pip watched the rain as it pounded the window.

"I don't know. What is there to do?" Krey mumbled. Activities were limited when they could only stay within the grounds. The last time Krey had left, he caused so much damage, he almost didn't come home. Krey then frowned, suddenly remembering his meeting with Daniel the farmer. He sat up so abruptly, Pip jumped. "We need to go to the office."

"Why?" Pip asked, scrambling off the couch and jogging to keep up with Krey's long strides.

"I think there's a hidden book."

"What?"

Krey hadn't yet explained where he went the morning after Sid was killed, so he explained on the way to the office.

"Daniel was friends with your father?" Pip said, astonished, and a little out of breath after running up the stairs. "And he took you into his home to tell you about your dad?"

"Actually, it was kind of like a telling off. I felt scolded in a way."

"Daniel has always been like that. Very wise, but stern. He told me off when I was younger for going to Crescent Hill by myself. He said the woods were not safe for small humans like me. I guess I know what he meant now. He knew werewolves were around the area. I wonder if he knew my parents were killed by wolves."

Krey hummed lowly and unlocked his office, twisting the key Pip had found behind his father's name, still wondering what it was for.

Pip sat on the desk as Krey stretched an arm to the top of the bookshelf. "So... a secret book?" he asked.

"Yeah." Krey dragged a chair across the room and stood on it when all he could reach was dust. On the chair, he could see the top, and all the spider webs and the dust his fingers had disturbed. Then, in the right corner, he saw a book. He almost tilted the chair trying to reach it. The tips of his fingers managed to slide it to the edge, and it hit the wooden floor with a heavy thud.

Dust flew from within the book's pages. "How long has that been up there?" Pip asked, jumping from the desk to crouch by it. He poked the book, expecting a big spider to crawl out from underneath it, though if there was one, it would've been squished flat. The book was bound in heavy black leather and a thick leather belt that fastened shut.

"I used to steal my dad's books to see if he'd notice, but I really just wanted to read them. He had told Daniel about it at the time and how he hid one in the top of the bookcase, but I never found it because I stopped paying attention." Krey crouched by the book too, suddenly sad. "I've never seen this one before."

"What do you think it is? A diary?" Pip asked when Krey rubbed the dust away and inspected both sides.

"It might be. It only has his initials on it, that's it. But why would he hide this for me to find?"

"Maybe he knew you'd visit Daniel one day to buy milk and eggs from him, and get told about the diary, just like how he knew you'd have to change the name on the door one day, and find the key."

"Why so secretive though?"

Pip shrugged. "Maybe only you are the one who can find these things?" Pip then pursed his lips. "Maybe I should leave and let you look at this by yourself?"

Krey lightly shoved Pip and he toppled from his crouching position. "Your eyes are my eyes."

Pip smiled to himself as Krey unclasped the rusted buckle on the front of the book. He opened the first page carefully, like he expected bugs to crawl out. The first page was tinted yellow around the edges and in the middle of the page, there was smudged writing that said To Krey Graymer, my son.