Chapter 188: The Spy Among Them
"You said the same thing last moonfall." Brandon leaned against the table beside him. "And I told you already—I trust them. They’re the most reliable guards I have."
Emma crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
"Did anyone tell you something about them?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"No one told me anything." Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her sleeves. "I just know."
He studied her. "So no one warned you that one of them could be spying on me?"
She met his gaze without hesitation. "My instincts did."
His tongue dragged slowly across his lower lip as he studied her face.
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"The chauffeurs are waiting," she said, moving toward the door.
But Brandon stayed where he was.
His eyes never left her.
The door opened, and Elara walked in, already dressed for the trip home. Her gaze moved between them before settling on Emma.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." Emma forced a small smile. "I’m just tired of staying here. I want to go home and deal with my problems."
Elara frowned. "Tired?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah."
Elara studied her face. "What problems?"
Emma let out a slow breath and rubbed her forehead. "The mating preparations. They’ve been exhausting."
Elara let out a soft scoff. "The High Luna already hired the best planners. They’ll handle everything." She crossed her arms. "All you have to do is choose your mating gown and jewelry, so what’s really bothering you?"
Emma opened her mouth, but Brandon suddenly pushed himself out of the chair.
His eyes had dropped briefly to her stomach before he looked away again.
"Let’s go, ladies."
He held out his right hand.
Emma slipped her hand into his and glanced around the chamber one last time, making sure she hadn’t left anything behind.
By eleven in the moonrise, they arrived at the skyport. After nearly thirty minutes of clearance checks and departure procedures, the skycraft finally lifted into the air, rising steadily as it left the city behind.
Elara joined them in the private suite halfway through the journey. She tried more than once to get Emma to talk, but Emma only smiled faintly or looked away. Eventually, Elara gave up and quietly left the suite.
They arrived at Nightclaw Estate at exactly eight-thirty that moonfall.
The moment Emma stepped out, her device vibrated.
Her chest tightened.
She already knew who it was before checking.
Welcome home,my moonheart.
Her jaw clenched.
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath.
Her thumb slammed against the screen, deleting the message immediately, but the word moonheart still echoed in her head like a gunshot.
The estate workers lined up near the entrance, smiling warmly as they welcomed them home, but Emma barely slowed down. She gave a quick wave and headed straight for the elevator.
"Emma!" Elara hurried after her heels clicked against the marble floor.
She pressed the elevator button.
"Are you guys fighting?" Elara asked when she finally caught up.
"No."
The elevator doors slid open.
"Then what’s going on?" Elara stepped closer. "Brandon barely said a word during the whole trip, and I know it has something to do with you."
She walked into the elevator without answering.
Elara slipped inside before the doors closed.
"What happened?"
Emma stared ahead at the glowing numbers above the door.
The elevator hummed softly around them.
"Emma, are you mad at me?"
"No."
The doors opened.
Emma stepped out and headed straight for her chamber.
Elara followed behind her, then dropped onto the edge of the bed while Emma moved around the chamber.
She kept watching her.
Waiting.
"Lunara is blackmailing me." Emma lowered her voice. "Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t even trust all the workers in this estate anymore."
Elara straightened so fast the mattress dipped beneath her.
"What?" Her eyes widened. "Why?"
Emma rubbed her palms together. "I don’t know." Her voice came out thin. "She has spies everywhere. Even in the palace."
"No." Elara shook her head immediately. "That can’t be true. The palace workers hated her when she lived there."
Emma looked toward the door before speaking again.
"She still has some allies there."
Elara stared at her for a second. "What did you do?"
"Nothing." Emma’s head snapped toward her. "I didn’t do anything."
"Then why is she blackmailing you?"
Emma swallowed hard.
"She and Brandon were together three winters ago." Her fingers twisted together in her lap. "What happened back then... it was because of me."
Elara’s face softened slightly. "I know. Brandon told me."
Emma let out a shaky breath.
"Somebody hacked the palace CCTV system." She looked down at her trembling hands. "They pulled out the old footage from Brandon’s chamber from that moonfall."
Elara slowly sat back.
"And now?" she asked quietly.
"Lunara and her moonmate are threatening to release it if I don’t go see them." she laughed bitterly under her breath. "They want everyone to think Brandon used her and threw her away."
"Oh, my Goddess."
Elara covered her mouth for a second before dropping her hand again.
"So that’s why he barely spoke during the trip."
Emma looked up quickly. "He doesn’t know."
"What?" Elara’s voice rose again. "Emma, why would you keep this from him?"
"They warned me not to tell him." her eyes drifted toward the windows. "And I’m not telling him until I find out who the spy is."
Elara stood up from the bed.
"You think some allies close to him is involved?"
Emma nodded slowly.
"When I was at the beach yesterday, Lunara’s moonmate told me one of his eyes was watching me." Her jaw tightened. "I looked around, and the only ones nearby were Leo and Teddy."
Elara frowned deeply.
"You think one of them betrayed Brandon?"
"I don’t know." Emma pressed both hands against her forehead. "But Brandon trusts them with his life."
"Emma, you have to tell him."
"They’ll know the second I do." Emma looked back at her. "A traitor’s watching us too closely."
She turned as the bedchamber door swung open. Naomi and Paige stepped inside with her luggage, the wheels rolling softly over the floor.
"Just drop it there," she said, nodding toward the closet.
They didn’t linger. The bags were set down, zippers still half-shut, then both maids slipped back out the door almost at the same pace they came in.
The chamber fell quiet again.
"Oh my Goddess," Elara blurted, eyes wide as she looked toward Emma. "What does she even want?"
Emma exhaled slowly, lowering herself onto the edge of the bed. Her fingers tightened once on the fabric before she spoke.
"To end the matebond."
Elara straightened. "That’s what she told you?"
She gave a small nod.
"Her moonmate gave me two choices," she continued, gaze fixed ahead. "Either I accept the gift he planned for my guests... or they cut the matebond off."
Elara’s face tightened. She stepped closer. "She wouldn’t dare. What gift is she even talking about?"
Emma’s jaw shifted slightly.
"The clip."
Silence hit the chamber for a beat.
Elara let out a sharp breath. "Oh, poor Brandon..." She shook her head, pacing once. "How are you even going to get out of this?"
Emma’s shoulders dropped a little. She looked down at her hands.
"I don’t know," she said quietly. "I want Lyn back here. Immediately."
Her fingers pressed into her palm.
"I can’t handle this alone. I need support."
Elara stopped moving. Her voice softened.
"Emma... do you mind if I tell Bernard?"
Her head snapped up.
"Yes, Elara. Don’t breathe a word of this to him."
Elara hesitated, her brow tightening. "Bernard is smart. Just like Brandon. He’d figure out who’s behind this in two days, tops."
"No." Emma’s voice came out sharper this time.
Elara tilted her head. "Then what do you want to do?"
She leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing as she stared at nothing in particular.
"I came back here to think," she said. "To figure out how to stop Lunara from leaking that video online."
Her voice dropped.
"They gave me forty-eight hours."
Elara’s eyes widened. "No... no, I’m not letting you go anywhere," she said, stepping closer and folding her arms tight.
"I can’t go there alone," she said quietly. "And I can’t go with guards. I don’t trust them anymore."
The chamber went still.
Emma’s gaze dropped for a moment. Her fingers pressed into her palm as a memory slipped through Brandon’s face when she kissed Evan in front of him. The way he went quiet after that. She made him believe she was dating Evan and decided to move on with Lunara but he couldn’t.
She swallowed and looked away.
Elara’s voice broke the silence. "They do know what they’re doing is a punishable offense, right? That could land them in a dungeon term."
"They know," Emma said.
Elara clicked her tongue. "We need to warn Brandon about his guards."
"I tried," she replied. "Last moonfall. He said he trusts them with his life."
Elara exhaled sharply and turned toward the window, thinking out loud. "Then who got into the CCTV server?"
She paced once.
"Only the royal family can access it... unless..." Her voice slowed. "Bernard."
Emma’s expression tightened.
Elara kept going, counting it off on her fingers. "He’s the only one who can get in without a password. That tech brain of his... he can break into anything. But he hasn’t been with his pal..."
She stopped.
Her eyes lifted to Emma.
The realization hit them at the same time.
"He came with us," Elara said, slower now.
Emma didn’t answer right away. Her throat tightened as the memory settled in.
"In the bathchamber," Elara said finally, voice low. "He was standing by the window. Watching you both."
She frowned slightly.
"I thought he wanted to go to the beach," Elara added. "But after that... he didn’t say anything again."
Emma’s eyes sharpened. "Was he holding his device?"
Elara didn’t answer immediately.
She quickly grabbed her wrist. Hard.
"Emma, let me go," she said, already pulling back toward the door. "I need to confront him.
If it’s really him... it better not be. I swear, what I’ll do to him will be all over the news."
"Calm down, Elara."
"No." She shook her head hard. "I just gave myself to him."
Her gaze softened, but her voice stayed steady. "Did you trust him?"
"Yes," she snapped, then hesitated. Her shoulders dropped slightly. "I did. But now... I don’t even know what to think. Emma, I saw him. He was staring at you through the window."
She stepped closer. "Elara," she said gently, "do me a favor."
Elara blinked, breathing uneven.
"What?" she asked, quieter now.
She held her gaze. "Act like you don’t know anything. Keep watching him."
Elara frowned.
"Does he let you use his device?"
"Yes," Elara said slowly.
"Then use it," she said. "Check his calls. Everything. I think he knows more than he’s showing."
Elara let out a shaky breath, eyes glossy. "I hope I don’t find anything," she whispered. "Because if I do... I might kill him... and myself."
Her voice cracked at the end.
Emma didn’t answer. She just stepped in and pulled her in close.
She didn’t resist.
"Remember, we don’t know for sure," she said softly. "We’re only suspecting him."
"Yeah."
Elara dragged the back of her hand across her wet cheeks and pushed herself to her feet. She pointed at the blinking intercom light beside the bed.
Emma picked up the remote and answered the call.
"Come to the feeding chamber, Alpha’s mate."
Mr. Richard’s warm voice filled the chamber.
"I’m not hungry," she replied.
Static crackled softly from the speaker.
"What is going on?" he muttered, though they still heard him clearly through the speaker.
"Something like what?" she asked.
"My Alpha said he isn’t hungry, and now you’re saying the same thing." His voice softened with concern. "My alpha’s mate, what’s going on?"
"Nothing. We’re just tired."
"I made special food to welcome you home."
She glanced at Elara before answering. "Thank you, Mr. Richard, but I’m really not hungry. Good night."
She ended the call.
Silence settled over the chamber again.
Elara wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor. "Only the Goddess knows where he is right now."
"Brandon?"
Elara shook her head slowly. "Bernard."
"Probably at his house."
"Waiting for me," she whispered. Her mouth tightened. "But I’m not going there."
She stepped closer. "Don’t forget, we’re only suspecting him. He could still be innocent."
Elara gave a faint nod and moved toward the door. "I’ll see you tomorrow."
The door clicked shut behind her.
A second later, Emma’s device buzzed again.
