Chapter 20: Chapter Nineteen

Spying on Elena

The surrogate was here. Every hair on the back of Harry's neck stood on end. Her essence was as strong as wolves. How was that possible? He sensed her essence in the massive kitchen. Was it possible that the witch's prophecy was already proving true? That Edgar's heir would be the most powerful wolf in the history of werewolves? He shuddered. How would Elena feel if she learned the prophecy was on its way to being fulfilled? His chest tightened a little. It would shatter her. Harry crept down the hallway leading to the guestroom. If only he could see the surrogate once. Just once. All he needed was one whiff of her essence to get a glimpse of the power of Edgar's unborn heir. A wolf with infinite power would be an obstacle to Elena's and his future plans.

Harry held his breath as he approached the guest room. The surrogate's essence overwhelmed him. He shuddered. This wasn't a good sign at all. If a fetus could have this much power, how much would the child have? He paused outside the guest room. There was only one way to deal with this situation. End it before it became a problem. He turned the door knob.

"Harry?"

He jumped at the sound of Edgar's voice.

"What are you doing here?" Edgar asked, fixing him with a suspicious glare.

Harry swallowed the lump of air forming in his throat. "I thought I heard something fall. I was just checking where the sound came from."

"There's construction going on next door," Edgar said, his expression stony. "The sound didn't come from here."

Harry had no choice but to move away from the door. Edgar waited for him to walk back to the study, then walked behind him as if to make sure he didn't turn and go back to the guest room.

Damn, Harry thought, he'd come so close to seeing the surrogate and confirming her pregnancy. He had so wanted to give Elena a confirmed update on Edgar's current situation with the live-in surrogate. He'd have to go ahead and let Elena know about the surrogate without any proof. He couldn't let Elena come out of the hospital entirely trusting Edgar. He'd have to visit her today.

"Did you manage to find any more information about Elena's business dealings?" Edgar asked him.

"Not yet." He couldn't feign ignorance much longer. Edgar would be onto him soon. "I'll keep searching."

"I'd like you to visit Elena today, talk to her, and see what she tells you." Edgar pushed a tiny listening device toward him. "I want you to wear this so my team can listen in. She may not reveal everything to me. I want her to talk to someone she can trust."

Harry's blood ran cold. How on earth would he warn Elena he was wired with a listening device? Damn.

“Harry?” Edgar said.

Harry realized he hadn’t responded to Edgar. “Sure, I’ll do it. I’m worried Elena will see right through me. She’s a difficult person to lie to. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do. And I can’t think of a better person to ask to trust with this task. She will come home from the hospital soon. I spoke to her doctor this morning. He is pleased with her progress. Most of her injuries have healed.”

It was as if Harry were listening to a DJ on a radio show. He heard the words but they bounded off him. All he could think of was he had to deceive Elena. “That’s excellent news.” Harry forced a smile.

Edgar summoned his head of security, Robert, into the study. “You remember Robert.”

Harry nodded.

“He will fit you with a very discreet device. Elena will never notice.”

“Okay.” He sat still while Robert pinned the device behind one of the buttons on his shirt. He didn’t trust Edgar. What if Edgar had him fitted with a pin-head-sized camera as well? The Alpha wasn’t as easily fooled as he’d assumed he’d be. Prior to the surrogate entering Edgar’s life, Elena had been able to fool Edgar without even spinning elaborate lies. It seemed like the pregnant surrogate and the unborn child was somehow protecting Edgar. This couldn’t be happening.

“All done,” Robert said.

“Thanks,” Harry said.

“Would you like one of my chauffeurs to drive you to the hospital?” Edgar asked Harry once Robert had left the study.

“No thanks. I’ll be fine on my own.” Harry rose to leave. “I should get going.”

Edgar smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you, Harry. I knew I could trust you. All I want is to protect my Luna and, our packs.”

Like hell you do, Harry thought. “I know,” he replied instead. He left before Edgar said anything else.

Harry drove leisurely to the hospital. He hoped Elena wouldn’t reveal too much about what had happened to her. He had the added headache of Edgar's guards posted at the hospital. He didn’t trust any one of them.

Elena’s eyes lit up when he walked into her ward. “Hello, Harry.”

Her smile melted his heart.

“Hello, Elena. How are you feeling?” he asked her. he didn’t return her smile.

She eyed him surreptitiously when he shoved his hands inside his pant pockets and kept a safe distance from the bed. “Great,” she replied, her tone bland. “I wish I could go home.”

“At least you’re safe here,” Harry said. He gestured at the guards peering inside the ward every now and then. “Edgar has guards stationed throughout the hospital. Nobody can get past them. In fact, I will be really surprised if anyone says or does anything suspicious in front of them and gets away with it.” He hoped Elena got his hints.

“Yeah, I noticed all of them. I think there are thirty-seven of them in total, and all are stubborn assholes who watch me like I’m going to break through the walls and escape.” She glared at one of the guards checking in on her. “It feels more like a prison than a hospital.”

“I’m sorry. Edgar told me your doctor is very pleased with your progress. You should be home any time soon.”

That brought a smile to her face. “I can’t wait to go back to my office. I wonder if my staff fulfilled the Japanese fashion week orders.”

Harry gasped. “Your staff? Didn’t you leave a humanoid robot that looks just like you in your place?”

Elena narrowed her eyes. “How on earth would I afford a humanoid robot?”

He moved closer to the bed. “Elena, when we learned you were missing, Both Edgar and I went to your office looking for you. There’s a robot in your office, pretending to be you. There is barely any staff.” He paused when he neared her. “Elena, what’s going on?” Perhaps Edgar had been right to ask him to spy on her. She was hiding something, even from him, the person she’d promised to always be honest with. Was she lying to him? Or did she genuinely not know what was going on? Or had she picked up on his hint and was acting for Edgar’s benefit?

Elena stared at him, wide-eyed. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t know. I can only imagine what’s going on at my office.” Tears streamed down her face. “I worked so hard to build my fashion business. Now it’s all gone down the drain.”

***