Chapter 196: Spyware in the Royal Chamber
"Who’s that?" Brooklyn asked.
"It’s Morgan. She said Evan came here," Emma replied, eyes still on the screen.
Brooklyn leaned in, voice firm. "Emma, we don’t need distractions. Let’s focus on finding the traitors."
Elara’s mouth curved slightly as she watched Emma’s device buzz again. She tilted her head, almost playful. "Yeah... I’m glad we’re making progress. Emma, switch off your device. We don’t need any distractions."
Emma stayed locked on her device, thumb still scrolling.
Elara stepped in quietly, bent slightly, and in one quick move pulled it from her hand.
"Hey..." Emma blinked.
Elara turned and handed it to Brooklyn without a word.
Brooklyn slid it into her pocket.
A beat of silence hung in the air.
Then she just stood there, mid-reaction, while Elara and Brooklyn broke into laughter at the way she froze, still staring at her empty hand.
She didn’t blame Brooklyn and Elara for being so excited. They knew how dangerous Lunara was and how far she was willing to go to make sure she stopped the royal mating.
She headed back to the executive feeding chamber and settled into a chair to wait for her mate. Every few seconds, her gaze dropped to the watch on her wrist.
The door opened.
Teddy stepped inside and took his usual spot by the window. For once, he said nothing.
She smiled and lifted a hand.
"Good day, Alpha’s mate," he said with a grin.
"Where is everyone?"
"They’re coming."
She turned at the sound of footsteps. Brandon walked in with the rest of his guards close behind.
He bent, brushed a kiss across her lips, and ran his fingers through her hair. His eyes moved to the empty table, then back to her.
"We’re eating together today," she said, slipping her hand into his. "Come on."
She led him out of the executive chamber and into the main family’s feeding hall.
As soon as they entered, Brooklyn and Elara greeted him.
Brandon pulled out a chair and sat down.
"What’s going on?"
"Nothing," Elara said as she started serving the food.
Brandon glanced around the table. "One of you must have good news."
A few smiles appeared.
Emma met Elara’s eyes.
Elara gave the slightest nod.
Emma reached for her device and pulled it closer.
Twenty minutes later, Bernard walked into the feeding chamber with the spy detector in his hand.
Brandon’s gaze flicked from Bernard to Elara.
Emma caught the look and fought back a smile.
"Starlit, Bernard has good news for us."
Brandon dabbed his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair.
"Bernard, what good news?"
Bernard pressed a finger to his lips.
The chamber fell silent.
He switched on the spy detector.
Then he walked over to Teddy and slipped the gold wristwatch off his wrist.
Brandon straightened.
Bernard turned and removed Brandon’s watch as well.
"What is..."
Emma quickly shook her head.
Brandon stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.
Bernard handed both watches to Elara and pointed toward her chamber.
Elara took them without a word and walked out.
Bernard turned back to Teddy.
"Teddy, where did you get that wristwatch?"
"The Alpha gave it to me."
Bernard shifted his eyes to Brandon.
"Alpha, where did you get the wristwatch?"
"I ordered it online two months ago. It arrived the same day you all went to the palace. Teddy received the package, and I gave him one."
"How many were there?"
"Seven," Bernard replied.
Emma held up the detector. "Some wolf got to it first, planted spyware, then sent it on to us."
"What?" Brandon shot to his feet. His chair scraped across the floor. "No. That’s impossible. Teddy?"
Teddy straightened. "One of our trusted fulfillment associates delivered the package, Alpha."
Emma swallowed. "Lunara and her moonmate have been listening to me through this. They’ve been blackmailing me. They warned me not to tell you. They hear our conversations and..."
The words stuck in her throat. She glanced at the guards and looked away.
Brandon dragged a hand through his hair and paced once. "No. No." He spun toward the door. "I’m turning this over to the authorities right now!"
"Emma, did they tell you where they are?" Brooklyn asked.
She shook her head. "We were supposed to meet somewhere, but they haven’t given me the location yet."
Brandon whirled toward Bernard.
"Call Kingdom Security Services. Now!"
Before anyone could answer, he stormed out of the feeding chamber.
Emma hurried after him.
The moment they stepped into his chamber, his arms wrapped around her. He pulled her against his chest and let out a long breath.
Emma lifted a finger to her lips.
"Shhh."
She tapped her wrist, then pointed toward the closet.
Brandon’s eyes flickered in that direction. Understanding settled on his face. His mouth snapped shut.
He tightened his arms around her instead and rested his chin lightly on her head.
Neither of them spoke.
The chamber fell silent as they waited for Kingdom Security Services to arrive.
A few hours later, Bernard returned with more than five security officers. They rolled in a larger spyware detector and swept the chamber again.
One by one, they collected the wristwatches that carried spyware and locked them inside a metal case. When the scan was complete, they pulled off the protective masks covering their mouths.
"Good day, Alpha Brandon."
The chief of security shook Brandon’s hand, then gave Emma a polite nod.
She sat on the sofa and told them everything from the beginning.
The chief listened without interrupting. When she finished, he closed his notebook and rose to his feet.
"Don’t worry. No one is stopping the royal matebond. We’ll trace their location and bring them in tonight."
She nodded.
The security team gathered the evidence and left with the watches.
Brandon remained where he was, staring at the empty doorway. After a long moment, he rubbed a hand over his face.
"I had a spy detector in this chamber," he muttered. "I turned the alerts off last winter. No one was supposed to have access to this place."
Silence settled between them.
"I’m sorry for how I treated you yesterday," he said again.
She crossed the chamber and rested against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist.
"We need to find the person who got into the palace server and pulled up that old footage."
Brandon shook his head.
"No one hacked the server. She knew the password."
She lifted her head.
"Who gave it to her?"
"The king, I guess. Don’t forget she locked everything that happened in her chamber behind a code. The only place she could’ve done that was from the control chamber."
"You’re right." She nodded. "We still need eyes on the domestic staff. If some wolf’s working for her, we’ll find out. There are also files on the server that need to disappear."
A notification chimed from her device.
She glanced at the screen and frowned.
"What is it?" Brandon asked.
She turned the device around.
Emma, you have twenty hours to come and see us.
He read the message, pushed back his chair, and got to his feet. He pulled out his device and called one of the security warriors who had just left.
"She sent the message now, right?" the territory security officer asked.
"Just now," Brandon said.
"We’ve been tracking them. We have their location."
"Send your warriors there immediately."
"We’re waiting until midnight. If they spot us now, they could release the footage. We’ll move when they’re asleep and catch them off guard."
Brandon rubbed a hand across his jaw.
"Alright. Thank you."
The call ended.
He lowered the device and started pacing again.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Emma watched him for a moment before crossing the chamber.
"Starlit, it’s okay."
Brandon stopped and looked at her.
"Moonheart..." His voice came out rough. "I’m sorry."
Emma slipped her fingers around his hand.
"No. This started because of me." She lowered her eyes. "If I hadn’t kissed Evan to make you jealous, none of this would’ve happened. Please forgive me."
Brandon stared at the floor.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he sank into a chair and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
"I spent more than a winter trying to forget it." He pressed his palms together and shook his head. "Every day, I wished it never happened."
His jaw tightened.
"I never thought it would come back three winters later and hit us all over again."
"That reminds me. Morgan said Evan came here. Did you see him?"
"I don’t have any business with him," Brandon said, still pacing.
Emma rubbed her palms together.
"I... called him when I thought he was a add py. He agreed to come, but he never showed up. Then Morgan called and kept insisting he came here."
She glanced at Brandon.
He kept walking.
One step. Two. Three.
Not a word.
Emma pressed her lips together and let it go. Maybe bringing up Evan had reminded him of that kiss—the one that had started everything between him and Lunara. The one he never liked talking about.
Brandon stayed awake through the entire moonfall, his eyes fixed on the device beside the bed. Every few minutes, he checked the screen again.
Emma lay beside him, watching him rub a hand over his face and stare into the darkness. The usual calm in his eyes was gone.
He had been waiting for it. A call that could fix everything... or ruin it.
At exactly three in the moonrise, Brandon’s device rang.
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