Augustin’s POV
he hallway was silent as we made our way back to our room, but I could feel Juno’s fury radiating off her in waves. Her scent had turned sharp with rage,
“I can’t believe she betrayed us like that,‘ Juno seethed, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides.
I reached out and placed my hand on the small of her back, trying to ground her with my touch. I know, Berry. But we caught her. She won’t be able to hurt anyone else now,”
“That’s not enough.” She stopped abruptly, turning to face me. Her eyes were fully amber now, Seraphine pushing forward. “We need to search every female in this manor, especially the ones who came here through the war. Every Luna who works here could be compromised.”
I considered her words carefully. She wasn’t wrong. If Eliza had been turned against us, others might have been as well. The enemy within was always more dangerous than the one outside our walls.
“You’re right,” I nodded, pulling her closer to me. “I’ll have my officers start immediately, following your suggestion. We need to be thorough.”
Some of the tension left her shoulders as she leaned into my touch. “Thank you for listening to me.”
“Always,” I promised, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Your instincts have never led us astray.”
Later, I invited Juno to my office to handle some affairs. We needed to organize the search she had suggested and discuss our next steps regarding Eliza’s betrayal. She sat across from my desk, making notes on a pad of paper, when a knock interrupted us.
I caught the scent of perfume–roses and vanilla with undertones of amber–before the door even opened. My mother.
“Come in,” I called, setting down my pen.
Mother entered, She assessed the room quickly before settling on Juno with a smile.
“Augustin, Juno,” she greeted us with a nod. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”
“We’re just handling some security matters,” I replied. “What can I do for you, Mother?”
She moved closer, “I’ve been hearing rumors about a traitor in our midst. Is it true?”
I exchanged a glance with Juno before answering. “Yes. Eliza has been caught sending secret communications to an unknown man and woman. She was setting Evanth up to take the fall.”
Mother’s eyes widened, her hand flying to her chest. “Thank the moon! I knew Evanth couldn’t be guilty. He would never betray his family like that.”
I felt my jaw tighten. “If Evanth hadn’t been trying to undermine me at every turn, I might not have believed the accusations against him so readily.”
Mother’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t argue. Progress, I supposed.
1/3
Chapter 157
“We need to search the office and bedroom,” Juno interjected, her voice firm. “To make sure she didn’t plant any listening devices or other spy equipment.”
Mother’s gaze sharpened. “And what about interrogation? The girl should be thoroughly questioned. There are methods-
A familiar presence brushed against my mind before she could finish.
We’re back, Bryloch linked. Scarlett’s fine.
Good. We’ll be there shortly, I replied.
“We’ll discuss this later, Mother,” I said, standing up from my desk. “There’s something I need to attend to immediately.”
Mother looked surprised at the abrupt dismissal but nodded. “Of course. We’ll continue this conversation later.”
Juno turned to me with a questioning look. “What happened?”
Bryloch and Scarlett are back, I linked to her. We’ll go to the beta quarters first, then from there to Helena’s house.
She nodded, understanding immediately. We left my office, and instructed Delta Stefan to search both my office and our rooms for any listening devices before following Juno down the corridor.
When we arrived at Bryloch’s quarters in the beta section, he opened the door immediately, as if he’d been waiting for us. Scarlett sat on the couch inside, looking tired but otherwise fine.
How did it go? I linked to Bryloch as we entered.
We’re both fine, he responded. The doctor said Scarlett was just overthinking things. She is healthy.
I nodded, relief washing over me. One less thing to worry about.
“What’s this I hear about Eliza?” Bryloch asked, closing the door behind us.
Before I could answer, there was another knock. Adryx and Freya entered, already dressed for our excursion to Helena’s
house.
“All set for the mission,” Adryx announced, then turned to Bryloch with a grin. “Man, you missed it. Juno fully unleashed
Luna’s power on Elisa, she really roughed her up. It was something to see.”
Bryloch raised his eyebrows in surprise: “Seems like I missed quite a show.”
2
Juno shrugged, not looking particularly proud or ashamed. “Yes, I hit her. She deserved it for betraying Augustin.”
“She claimed she was recruited months before we arrived in Clifflands,” Juno explained, pacing the room. “But oddly enough, they only threatened her family after Augustin and I got together. This bitch is obviously lying, she betrayed us out of jealousy! Her life here was too comfortable and it made her cocky.”
“Did you make her pay?” Freya asked hard.
Juno’s eyes gleamed. “I did. But we were in a controlled environment. I’m not done with her yet.”
I definitely don’t want to be on her bad side, Adryx linked to me, and I had to suppress a smile.
2/3
Chapter 157
“Are we ready to head to Helena’s house?” I asked, looking around at our assembled group.
There was a chorus of affirmative responses, everyone suddenly looking energized despite the fact that we were just going to investigate a dead woman’s house, I hoped we’d find something valuable there some clue that would help us anderstand what we were facing.
Back in our bedroom, Juno and I prepared for the trip to Goldenvale. I had arranged for us to stay overnight at the house, and staff had already gone ahead to prepare the place.
“I’m looking forward to spending time with our friends,” I told her as I packed an overnight bag. And with my Luna, of
course.”
She smiled, but I noticed a slight nervousness in her movements as she gathered her things.
“Everything okay?” I asked, moving behind her to wrap my arms around her waist.
“Just anxious to see what we’ll find,” she replied, leaning back against my chest. “And… I don’t know. Lfeel strange today.”
I pressed my nose to her neck, inhaling deeply. Her scent was slightly different, sweeter, more intense. Probably the pregnancy hormones. I placed my right hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
“We’ll figure it out together,” I promised.
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Oops. The staff was sent ahead to prepare the house for them? Was that a good idea?
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ELIZABETH not elisa
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