Free The White Wolf (Half-Breed Book 1) by Brittany Comeaux

Varg answered.
    “Let me look,” the half-elf said as she shifted through any container, shelf, and corner she could find. Varg did the same on his side of the room, but neither of them could find anything that even resembled a key.
    Just when Varg was about to search the other rooms, he spotted a peculiar spot on the frame of Lionel's family portrait. A small section at the bottom was discolored compared the the rest of the frame, and upon closer inspection, Varg could see a small latch in the carefully carved wood. He gently fiddled with the small latch and soon opened a small secret compartment in the frame. The compartment held an old, iron key, and Varg had a strong hunch it was the one he was looking for.
    Varg turned back towards the desk and without looking at Milea, he said, “I think I found it.”
    Milea replaced the lid back on the tack box she was sifting through and said, “Oh good. Let's hope it works.
    Varg knelt before the drawer and slowly pushed the key into the hole as it if would disintegrate if not handled properly. He turned the key to the left and upon hearing the click, heaved a sigh of relief and opened the drawer. He looked inside expecting to find treasures and terrible secrets only to discover the drawer was empty.
    “What in the world . . .?” Milea uttered.
    “Why bother locking a drawer if nothing was inside?” Varg said.
    Milea examined the drawer further, and then said, “Wait a moment.”
    Milea grabbed lowered the candle to get a better look inside the drawer. After a quick examination, she seemed to have spotted something peculiar, so she reached under the drawer and knocked. Then she used her other hand to reach inside the drawer. Within a minute, she pulled the bottom of the drawer up, revealing a secret compartment.
    Varg stared in awe as Milea propped the piece of wood to the side of the desk and asked, “How did you know?”
    “I could see a tiny gap between the edge of the drawer and the bottom, and when I knocked I could tell that the wood was hollow. Then I felt a hole in the back and pulled the false bottom outwith my finger,” she explained. “Now let's see what Lionel was so desperate to hide.”
    From the secret compartment, Milea pulled an old leather book. She opened it to reveal messy handwriting on crumpled pages. She ran her cautious fingers over the illegible text and gently turned the pages as though they were thousands of years old.
    “I think this is Lionel's journal,” she said.
    Varg peeked at the writings and couldn't understand a word of it. “What use is a journal if we can't read the handwriting? I think Lionel mixed his writing and wine a bit too much.”
    Milea stared at the document and ran her fingers over the pages and said, “This is Elvish, Varg.”
    “Elvish?” Varg asked in disbelief, “But how—?”
    “I haven't the slightest idea. Aside from me, there hasn't been a single elf outside the Crystal Wood in centuries,” Milea said. “As far as the human realm is concerned, Elvish is a dead language.”
    “What could be so important in that journal that Lerington would write in an unreadable language to keep anyone from finding out?” Varg wondered.
    “There is only one way to find out,” Milea answered. She began at the first page and skimmed the text, then said, “I am not as fluent in Elvish as I used to be, but I may be able to translate this.”
    She began to flip through the pages when Varg suddenly stopped her.
    “Look here,” Varg said, “a page is missing.” He then fished the old scrap of paper he took from Lionel's possessions and held up the left side to the tear mark to compare it. Despite having been soaked, torn, and folded, the paper was a perfect match.
    Varg nodded and exchanged a glance with Milea. “No doubt about it, this paper came from Lionel's journal.”
    “You're right, and look here.” She then pointed to the opposite page where there was a tiny sketch of a man in a black hood in the corner and