Page 131 of Alpha Dragon's Mating Contract
Walren ducked his head. Suddenly, he was too shy to come clean about what he felt for his alpha.
He would tell Raptor. Just... not right now.
32
THE SECRET ROOM
Walren’s bellywas half the size of a watermelon when he finally cracked the secret of the locked room.
Therewasanother entrance.
It just wasn’t on the same floor.
The first floor of Raptor’s mansion was made up of several rooms: the living room, kitchen, dining room, a second living room, an office, and a library.
The library was filled floor-to-ceiling with shelves, and packed with books both new and old. The bookshelves were not only on the edges of the room. They were floor-to-ceiling in the middle of the library, too, with three ladders that slid on a steel track through the entire room.
Walren found the tiny square in the vast ceiling, in the corner furthest from the windows.
When he first saw it, excitement exploded in his belly.
It was obvious once he knew where to look for clues—there were extra handholds on the shelves, and little scuff marks on the ceiling.
Then he realized that everyone would hear him if he tried to access that hidden panel.
With his belly obviously round now, Raptor wasprotectiveof him. Which meant that Walren could not climb ladders without eagle-eyed supervision.
He carefully paid attention to Hassel’s sleeping habits.
He also practiced creeping quietly through the mansion, especially down the stairs to the library. Then he practiced climbing the library ladders when both Hassel and Raptor were asleep.
It was on a dark and stormy night, with thunder and rain drowning out his footsteps, that he decided to make the final leap.
Walren brought his phone along when he left Raptor’s bedroom, keeping it tucked safely in his pocket while he crept down the grand staircase.
This late, the hallway lights were on low, just bright enough for a regular person to see with.
Walren slipped into the library and quietly pushed the nearest ladder under the trapdoor. He painstakingly climbed it, twisting his hips and lifting his bad leg sideways to raise his foot high enough.
He was panting a little by the time he reached the ceiling. This was the highest he’d ever been on the ladder, and he clung to it with a death grip.
The ceiling panel took a while to figure out. Walren pushed on different parts of it, before finding a hidden latch that unlocked it. Then the panel swung open to reveal a pitch-black room, and his heart thundered.
He had to climb through the opening because he didn’t trust his limbs to hold out for much longer. Once he had collapsed onto the floor in a panting heap, Walren shuffled away from the trapdoor, turning on his phone’s flashlight to find a light switch.
He realized that there was a lot of empty space in the room. The walls and floors were padded.
What the hell is this room? Why does it need a security scan?
Walren found the light switch and flicked it on, at the same time the steel door burst open.
“Ahh!” Walren leaped backward, almost falling through the open trapdoor.
Raptor grabbed him and yanked him away from the hole in the floor, slamming the trapdoor shut. “Sweetheart! What the hell!”
Walren pouted. “You said I’d get a reward if I managed to get in here!”
“I meant while you had someone looking out for your safety!” Raptor frowned more deeply. “How did you get all the way up the ladder? I was going to catch you in case you fell.”
