Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 74

**Change Begins With You — Jayden Collins**
**Chapter 74**

**Maya**

Elise was darting glances over her shoulder, her eyes flickering like a candle flame as we rushed through the dimly lit back hallway of the university library. Each door we passed felt like a portal to a world I had never even known existed. The usual hum of conversation from the main reading area faded into silence, swallowed by the thick walls and the musty air that seemed to cling to the very fabric of the place, as if it had been untouched for ages.

“Elise,” I whispered urgently, my heart pounding in my chest. “Where exactly are we headed?”

After the unsettling events that had unfolded, I had sent Elise a lengthy text, detailing every reason I could think of for why I needed answers. I was desperate for clarity, for understanding.

And then, out of the blue, she had called me, her tone insistent and commanding, instructing me to meet her here without delay.

She didn’t break her stride. “To a place we’re definitely not supposed to be.”

“Oh, fantastic,” I muttered under my breath, sarcasm dripping from my words. “One minute I’m half-naked in front of my bully, and the next I’m breaking into some restricted archives. Just my luck.”

Elise rolled her eyes at my dramatics, then came to a halt in front of a door that bore the ominous label ‘Authorized Personnel Only.’

With a self-satisfied grin, she produced an ID card that looked like it had been forgotten in the depths of history.

I blinked in confusion. “Whose card is that?”

“My dad’s,” she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. “He used to conduct research here. I never bothered to return it.”

The lock emitted a beep, followed by a click, and I felt a rush of adrenaline course through me.

“Elise—”

“Shh.” She seized my wrist and pulled me inside with a determined yank. “You said you wanted answers, right? This is where we’ll uncover them.”

As the door swung shut behind us, a chill enveloped us, the air thick and still, as if it had been preserved in time. Towering shelves loomed overhead, filled not with ordinary books, but with ancient stone fragments, sealed scrolls, and leather-bound journals that seemed to whisper secrets from a bygone era.

A low hum of the lighting provided an eerie backdrop to our clandestine exploration.

Elise took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Welcome to the Lunar Archive.”

I traced my fingers along the nearest shelf, a thin layer of dust coating everything like a shroud.

“What is this place?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

“Long before Blackridge became a university,” Elise explained, already moving deeper into the archive, “this land was sacred to the first wolves who settled here. They documented their histories, their trials, and their prophecies. The Council acts like this section is a secret, meant only for their eyes, but…” She waved her ID card playfully. “They forgot that wolves are inherently curious.”

We paused at a table cluttered with shattered stone tablets, strange symbols etched into their surfaces glowing faintly in the dim light.

Elise snapped a quick picture with her tablet, then handed me one of the journals, her excitement palpable. “Start here.”

We didn’t have to search long.

The leather creaked as I opened it, revealing the words within.

**Moon Court Trial, Year Unknown**

**Accused: Astrid of the First Light**

My pulse quickened as I scanned the lines, my heart racing with each word.

*Accused of mind-binding thousands of wolves…*
*Accused of raising a rogue army…*
*Accused of attempting to overthrow the Lunar Hierarchy…*

A tightness gripped my throat. “Elise… she mind-controlled wolves?”

“That part caught my attention as well,” Elise murmured, her brow furrowing in thought. “Consider this: rogues typically act in disarray, wild and chaotic. But the ones stalking you? The ones who’ve tried to capture you twice? They’re acting with a level of coordination that suggests strategy—almost as if they’ve been trained.”

A wave of dread washed over me, draining the color from my face. “You’re implying that someone could be wielding Astrid’s powers.”

Elise nodded, her expression grave. “Or perhaps someone has inherited them.”

Inherited.

The word twisted in my stomach, a knot of anxiety tightening.

I flipped the page, and a sketch caught my eye—Astrid, standing tall, her eyes glowing like twin moons. She didn’t appear malevolent, nor did she seem benevolent; she looked like a being forged from starlight and sorrow.

Yet beside her was another figure.

Smaller, softer, with wolf ears peeking through her flowing hair.

“Aelera,” Elise read aloud, leaning closer to inspect the name inscribed beneath the image. The name struck a chord deep within me. Elise might not have recognized its significance, but I knew it all too well. My suspicions were confirmed: Aelera was indeed a wolf.

But if this record held any truth, Astrid and Aelera were centuries old. How could she possibly be… my wolf?

And what could have drawn them together?

As I continued to read, my heart nearly stopped when I came across the words beneath the sketch.

“Aelera was her wolf? But they managed to separate?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes. But keep reading,” Elise urged, her eyes already scanning ahead, seemingly unfazed by the revelation.

The next entry sent a chill down my spine.

*Aelera attempted to break Astrid’s control over her army… Astrid retaliated… The wolf fled but was suspected to have died due to the bond being severed between wolf and vessel… Only the vessel survived.*

“That means…” I breathed, my mind racing. “Aelera didn’t die. She’s just hidden. And she wants me to find her before…”

I struggled to piece it all together, desperate to make sense of the chaos because this couldn’t merely be a coincidence.

I reread the section that detailed Astrid’s abilities.

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