Chapter 234

Chapter 234
Juno's POV

I paced the hallway outside my quarters, my mind racing with the information we'd gathered in the past few days. The rumors of silver weapons being distributed for assassination attempts against key Alphas had me on edge. If true, these weren't just ordinary attacks, they were designed specifically to kill our kind in the most painful way possible.

"They're always one step ahead," I muttered to myself, rubbing my temples.

With Augustin and the others gone to execute the arrests, I needed to push forward on some of the other issues and lighten my workload. There was so much to do, but I had to prioritize. After some consideration, I decided to postpone my interrogation of Juliet and instead focus on examining the USB drive Isabelle had given me.

Augustin had asked a good question before he left, why hadn't Isabelle given the drive to Matthew? I'd planned to ask her directly, but something held me back. None of us trusted Isabelle's motives, and with good reason. She'd manipulated and lied her way through so many situations that any act of apparent good faith needed to be scrutinized.

I needed to discuss this with my friends. Scarlett and Freya would help me see things more clearly. They'd been through it all with me, and their perspectives were invaluable.

Heading back to my room, I retrieved Augustin's laptop and the USB drive I'd hidden in a small compartment in my closet. Then I made my way toward Scarlett's room. I knew she'd be up by now, and the three of us could check the drive's contents together. Maybe we could even have breakfast there since time was of the essence. Augustin and the others would be back soon, hopefully with more suspects in custody.

The information on the drive wasn't encrypted, so we wouldn't need a hacker. We could handle this ourselves, which would save time and keep the information contained to just us for now.

As I walked, I felt a gentle nudge in my mind.

Berry, are you free for breakfast? I thought I'd invite Olivia to join us. Amelia's voice sounded in my head.

I could sense her hesitation through our link. I admit I don't want to face her alone, she added.

I paused, feeling a twinge of guilt. I'm sorry, luna. I have an urgent task to complete before Augustin returns. Could we reschedule?

Oh. Her disappointment was palpable. Of course, dear. Your duties come first.

Thank you for understanding, I replied, relieved she hadn't pressed for details.

I reached Scarlett's door and knocked firmly. A moment later, she opened it, already dressed for the day in a lavender blouse and dark jeans.

"Morning," she greeted, stepping aside to let me in. "You're up early."

Freya was already there, seated cross-legged on Scarlett's bed with a half-eaten sandwich in her hand. Her eyes brightened when she saw me.

"Look who decided to join the breakfast club," she teased, gesturing to a tray of food on the bedside table.

"Good morning to you too," I replied, setting the laptop and drive on a small desk by the window.

Freya eyed the items with interest. "Technical work this morning? I thought you'd be interrogating Juliet."

"Change of plans," I explained, pulling up a chair. "I want to check what's on this USB drive Isabelle gave me."

Scarlett's expression darkened. "That snake? You're trusting something she gave you?"

I shrugged. "Trust is a strong word. I'm curious what's on it, that's all."

"No one's giving Isabelle the benefit of the doubt," Freya said, finishing her sandwich. "And for good reason."

Scarlett nodded vigorously. "Remember how Matthew paraded her around at all those events? Introducing her as his Luna like you never existed?"

I flinched inwardly at the memory but kept my face neutral.

"Meanwhile, he left you at home," Freya continued, her voice hardening. "Only let you attend the important meetings."

"The irony is that she actually wanted to attend those meetings," Freya added with a bitter laugh. "But Matthew wouldn't let her because you were the strategic one."

I sighed, feeling old wounds threatening to reopen. Scarlett noticed and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"We've come a long way," she said softly. "The Moon Goddess has blessed us again. But we shouldn't forget our enemies or the pain they caused us."

Freya nodded, "Isabelle should have left the moment she found out Matthew was married. She should have exposed her father's lies. Instead, she played along."

"As an Alpha's daughter, she could have reject without Matthew's permission," Freya added. "But she chose to stay and make your life hell."

Scarlett picked up the thread. "And after you left, she continued to lie to Matthew. She knew what her father was planning and never told him."

"In that attack, I bet she hoped you'd die in battle," Scarlett said bitterly. "Now she cries because she got caught."

The pain in my chest was almost unbearable. My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I forced them back. This wasn't the time to fall apart.

"You're both right," I admitted, "Augustin and I were discussing why she didn't give Matthew the USB drive. It seemed strange."

Freya snorted. "Her strategy is simple: if all else fails, pretend you're on the winning side."

"Adryx says if they don't find direct evidence against her, they can't hold her indefinitely," Freya continued. "Matthew might have to take her back to Forestvale."

Scarlett's eyes flashed. "I hope the arrests tonight find something that puts her away for good. She deserves to pay for what she's done."

"They could put her in prison and take the baby away after it's born," she suggested, her tone cold.

"I hope so too," I admitted. "But unless someone comes forward to testify against her, we'll have to release her soon."

I turned my attention to Augustin's laptop, opening it and preparing to connect the USB drive.

"Wait," Freya said suddenly, eyeing the computer. "Isn't that Augustin's laptop?"

I nodded, not seeing the issue.

"Juno, think about it," Freya cautioned. "You're about to plug a USB drive that Isabelle gave you into the Alpha King's personal computer."

My hand froze mid-air.

"What if it has spyware or something that can track what's on his laptop?" Freya continued. "Why would she give it to you and not Matthew? This could be part of their plan."

"Eliza used to do tech work for us here," she reminded me. "They might be using the same tactics against us."

I felt a flush of embarrassment creep up my neck. How could I be so careless?

"I'm an idiot," I muttered, setting the drive down. The interrogations and critical thinking don't mix well. I'm getting sloppy.

"We need a blank laptop," I decided. "One that isn't connected to the network and doesn't have important information on it."