“You’re right. She really was obsessed with you. She could never stay away from you,” Elara said in a hushed tone.

Bernard let out a quiet sigh. “Yeah. It took me a long time to see it for what it really was.”

Elara stared at her for a long moment. She couldn’t even blame Bernard for losing his temper before. The last person she expected to see at the estate was Maelis. Yet there she was, as though she had never left.

“Has she ever come to see you at Nightclaw?” Elara asked, turning to Bernard.

He didn’t look surprised.

“I warned the visitors’ administrator about her obsession,” he said. “They never let her into the estate. She still hangs around, though.”

“When did she come back?”

“Last moonfall.” A faint smirk tugged at his lips. “I ended up leaving my house to her.”

Elara let out a small laugh.

“Where did you go?”

“To the Nightclaw Estate, of course. I knew she’d check my house first.”

“Honey, this isn’t funny. She seriously needs a mind healer. I know some wolf who’s really good.”

Bernard chuckled, lifting both hands in surrender. “Okay, you’re right. But she really does need help before she drags everyone else into her madness.”

“It’s not madness,” Elara said with a frown. “It’s grief transference. She’s grieving, and she sees her late mate in you because you look so much like your father.”

Bernard let out a quiet sigh. “I understand why it happens. I just wish she’d see me as me.”

Elara smiled. “You really want her gone, don’t you?”

Bernard glanced at his mother before letting out a quiet sigh.

“I’m exhausted by all the drama. Honestly, she needs help,” Bernard said.

Elara nodded. “Yeah. I’ll call my Moonally. She can help.”

He reached for Elara’s hand, and she laced her fingers through his.

“As long as she stays out of our lives—and out of our chamber—I don’t mind,” she said with a grin.

Bernard smirked. “Fair enough. I’ll make sure she keeps her distance.”

Across the chamber, Maelis watched her without blinking.

Elara’s smile slowly faded.

“Good day, Moon Princess,” Maelis said with a slight bow.

“When did you get back?” Elara asked.

“I…”

“When did you return to the estate?” Elara repeated.

“Last moonfall,” Maelis answered. She lowered her eyes. “He was alone… and he looked miserable. I was afraid he might do something reckless.”

“That was very thoughtful of you. I’m here now, so you can head home,” Elara said.

Maelis nodded. “All right, Princess.”

She hesitated, then added softly, “Please make sure he eats something. He has a habit of skipping meals when something is bothering him.”

Elara let out a quiet sigh. “He’s not a pup anymore. He should know better than to skip meals. I’ll make sure he eats.”

She gave Elara a small smile. “Farewell, my Moon Princess.”

With that, she turned and quietly walked away.

Maelis lowered her head and turned toward the grand foyer, her footsteps quiet as she went to collect her luggage.

Bernard caught Elara’s hand before she could walk away.

“Do you really want her to leave?” he asked.

Elara opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Bernard smiled.

“I didn’t think so.”

He brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. “Your hair needs fixing.”

“I can hire a hairdresser to do my hair. It doesn’t have to be her,” Elara said, trying to sound casual.

“Are you sure about that?”

She laughed, nudging his shoulder, and they walked into the antechamber together.

Maelis was already there, lifting her small suitcase.

Her eyes went straight to Elara’s messy hair.

She set the suitcase down and hesitated.

Since her eyes were on Elara’s hair, she already knew what she wanted to say.

“Go ahead,” Elara said.

A smile spread across Maelis’s face.

She gently smoothed Elara’s hair with her hands, tucking a few loose strands back into place.

When she finished, she picked up her suitcase again.

Elara turned and walked toward her bedchamber without another word.

Maelis understood the invitation.

She followed quietly.

Inside the chamber, she set her suitcase on the bed.

“Thank you, Princess.” Maelis smiled.

“We have a meeting with the king and high Luna at four this highmoon,” Elara said. “Get ready.”

“We?” Maelis blinked.

“You, Bernard, and I will be there. Brandon and Queen Emma will be there too, along with the Crowe family.”

The color drained from Maelis’s face.

“Princess… no. Please, no.” She shook her head. “I don’t want them anywhere near Joel… or Bernard.”

Elara let out a quiet sigh.

“Easy, Maelis.”

She held out her hand.

“I need Joel’s number. The king wants to speak with him too. They’re grown men now. You have to let them decide what they want.”

Maelis gripped the edge of her dress.

“Joel is in Austria. He can’t make it.”

“Then he’ll join us virtually. I need to let him know about the meeting.”

After a long pause, Maelis reached into her pocket, took out her device, found Joel’s contact, and slowly wrote down his number.

Elara took it with a smile.

“Thank you.”

Maelis looked away.

If Linc were still alive, Maelis wouldn’t have minded. She would have let Joel and Bernard know their father’s family.

But Linc was gone.

“They don’t get to come back now,” she whispered.

After every rejection, every humiliation, every false accusation, and every beating they put her through, they suddenly wanted her pups.

A bitter laugh slipped from her lips.

“Where were they when we needed them?”

Her jaw tightened.

“They’ll pay,” she said, her voice low but steady. “Every single one of them.”

“Their cruelty had taken Linc from me, and I would never forgive them for it.”

“You can’t keep your pups from choosing their own path,” Elara said softly. “If they decide to accept their grandfather’s inheritance, that choice belongs to them.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the bedchamber.

Meanwhile, Brandon walked Emma over to her new armored Range Rover Sentinel, a gift to celebrate her recovery. She stopped beside it instead of getting in.

“Come on, my Queen,” Brandon said with a smile.

Emma looked toward the driveway. “I was hoping to ride home in Bernard’s new car.”

Brandon chuckled. “They’re already gone.”

“I’ll call them back.”

“Seriously? Do you want me to carry you instead?” he teased.

Emma turned as if to walk away, but Brandon caught her hand, laughing, and led her to the Range Rover.

She ran her fingers over the hood and smiled. “Life really is beautiful when you have the right people beside you. A few hours ago, those two were acting like, ’Move on. I’ve already moved on.’”

Brandon chuckled. “Right. She was ready to call off the royal mating, like she’d actually moved on.” He shook his head. “I bet they won’t even make it to moonfall before they’re all over each other. They missed each other too much.”

Emma laughed, and Brandon joined in.

He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back.

Emma rested a hand on her belly and smiled. “If anyone had told me nine winters ago that I’d become the Queen Luna to one of the most powerful and wealthiest Alphas, carrying his pup, I would’ve laughed and never believed them.”

Brandon grinned. “Good thing nobody did. You probably would’ve turned around and run the other way.”

Emma laughed. “You’re right. I would’ve thought they were trying to prank me.”

Brandon smiled, cupped her face, and kissed her. She melted into him, her fingers curling around his shirt as the kiss lingered.

His device buzzed.

He ignored it.

It buzzed again.

Then a third time.

Emma nodded toward the ringing device. “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

Brandon glanced at it, then looked back at her. “It can wait.”

Emma smiled. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” she teased.

With a quiet sigh, Brandon pulled away and answered.

“My Alpha,” the palace security chief said, “we found something while searching the tunnel. “It looks like it belongs to Nelson.”

“What did you find?”

“A locked pendant.”

Brandon’s expression hardened. “Send it to my house. Deploy additional guards to the tunnel and keep it under watch. Don’t seal it until we’ve searched every inch of it.”

“Understood, My Alpha. I’ll deploy more guards immediately and delay sealing the tunnel.”

After he ended the call, Emma looked up at him.

“Why not give it to the king?”

“We still have traitors inside the palace,” Brandon said. “Until we know who they are, I don’t want this falling into the wrong hands.”

Emma nodded slowly. “You’re right. Rivena said his brother is the key.”Maybe this is the key.”

She rested her head on his shoulder.

Sleep came quietly.

She hadn’t rested well the previous moonfall, and before long, she drifted off.

When they reached home, Brandon lifted her into his arms, carried her to her chamber, tucked her into bed, and headed straight for the duty chamber. A few minutes later, the door bell rang.

“My Alpha,” a guard said with a bow. “He’s here.”

“Send him in,” Brandon said without looking up.

A few seconds later, the guard led the messenger into Brandon’s strategy chamber.

“My Alpha.” The messenger bowed and held out the small package containing the pendant.

Brandon took the package, dismissed the messenger, and locked the door. He unwrapped the pendant and turned it over in his hand. He pressed the tiny clasp.

Click.

The lock sprang open.

Brandon froze.

What lay inside was the last thing he expected.