The Spy

Book:Mated To Alpha Gregory Published:2024-11-11

Adams’ POV.
My strong instincts alerted me. The loud scream ringing through the palace halls filled me with energy. I turned quickly and saw Beta Ronan with his face showing the same apprehension. I couldn’t hesitate.
“Stay here, Lilith.” I said firmly with my voice full of urgency.
Lilith opened her mouth to object but the strong feeling around us pushed me ahead before she could say anything.
I could almost sense her gaze on me as I ran with Ronan with our quick steps blending with the distant sound of that urgent shout.
“Ronan,” I said, while looking straight ahead, “we need to find out where that noise came from. That scream came from the interrogation room.”
“Right behind you, Your Highness,” Ronan said while keeping up with me as we turned the corner with excitement clear in his voice.
As we got to the big door, a jumble of feelings anger, worry, fear grew inside me. With sudden strength that surprised the guards inside, I threw the door open.
“Stand down!” I shouted with my voice breaking through the loud noise in the room.
The guards stood still with the air getting heavier as they looked away from the man tied to the chair with his face hurt and bloody.
I felt confused as I quickly took in what was happening. “What’s going on here?”
A guard named Horace stepped up and saluted. “We’re following orders from the Luna Queen. This man was-”
“Be quiet!” the stranger yelled. “You don’t know what you’re doing! Let me go! I did nothing wrong!”
I frowned at what I saw. “Let’s start from the start. Who is this guy? Why are you doing this to him?”
The guards paused while looking at each other with doubt. It was Horace who spoke up. “Your Highness, we think he knows something about a security problem.”
Just as I was about to speak, the door flew open again and Lilith stepped in with her face showing many feelings.
“Adams!” she said while catching her breath. “I was trying to talk, but you left so fast!”
“Tell me what, Lilith?” I said sharply, a bit annoyed at my tone. “What is going on here?”
“I heard some gossip from a guard this morning,” she said, with her voice becoming steady.
“People in the tavern were talking about me having an affair with your brothers.” The room grew tense at her words as her eyes flicked at the tied-up stranger.
“I felt I had to look into it. I went to the tavern in disguise and met this man Gabby. He seemed to know a lot about the palace.”
I felt a wave of worry. “You went by yourself? You could have been hurt-”
“I wasn’t by myself!” she cut in with her eyes full of energy. “I had a loyal soldier with me. But that doesn’t matter, Adams. Pay attention to me!”
I leaned my head to the side, noticing how urgent she sounded.
“Gabby knows about a spy in the palace,” she said with her voice quiet but strong. “Someone is giving him secret information that caused that rumor.”
I frowned more. “What do you mean by that?”
We all chorused together, “Someone in the palace is turning against us.”
I suddenly understood as clear as day. “That’s why Gabby is here. Someone saw Raoul and Bartholomew come to your room to apologize. They probably thought you were mixed up with them and that rumor got around.”
“Exactly!” Lilith agreed. “We have to find out who this spy is before they cause more harm. Gabby won’t give in without more stress.”
At that moment Gabby yelled “I won’t tell you anything! I’d rather die than betray my source!”
I inched closer to him while feeling the strain in the room. “Do you think you have a choice? You have two options, Gabby. You can help us voluntarily, or we can make things here very unpleasant for you.”
Gabby’s face was marked with tears and fear. “You… you don’t get it. I can’t! I can’t! No matter what!”
As I looked at the guards I felt a strong sense of urgency. “Make it tougher for him,” I ordered, with my voice firm and clear.
They looked at each other nervously with doubt showing on their faces. Finally, Ronan took a step ahead. “Your Highness, we should consider a new plan. He….”
I watched Lilith step closer to Gabby. “Gabby listen! You need to realize that keeping this secret is dangerous. The longer it goes on, the more innocent people might suffer. We must end the rumors and stop those who are trying to ruin us. Who is giving you this info?”
The tension in Gabby’s voice broke my concentration. “I can’t-” A sob escaped and tears flowed down his face. “Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you! It’s Shayla! She’s the spy! She told me everything!”
His unexpected confession made everyone quiet, and I felt a rush of urgency inside me. “Shayla?” I said again with my mind racing to understand what this betrayal meant.
“I promise!” Gabby exclaimed with panic showing in her voice. “She’s the one starting the gossip about the affair. She’s the one who shared the details about what’s going on in the palace.”
“Guards!” I shouted with my voice cutting through the silence. “Bring Shayla the maid here!”
The guards nodded and hurried away, leaving us in nervous silence as we waited for them to come back. I walked back and forth while struggling with my rising anger. “I can’t believe it. A maid? How could she get important information?”
“I don’t know,” Lilith said with her voice steady but anxious. “But we can’t let her get away. She knows things that could harm us if they fall into the wrong hands.”
A short time later, the guards came back looking very worried. “Your Highness,” one gasped, “Shayla got away! We have a team searching for her, but she got out of the palace.”
“Run away?” I shouted in anger while feeling it rise inside me. “How could this occur?”
“She must have sensed something was wrong. We need to set up a search,” Ronan said, while looking serious.
I rubbed my head while feeling the pressure of being a leader. “Get it done. We can’t miss anything.”
Looking back at Gabby, I saw his worried eyes fixed on me. “Please!” he pleaded. “If she’s a spy she’ll go after me! I didn’t want to hurt anyone!”
“I understand you’re worried about your safety,” I said quickly. “But we have much more important things to focus on.”
At that moment, the big door opened again and Shayla burst in looking messy and scared with her body shaking noticeably. The guards quickly surrounded her.
“Shayla,” I said calmly with my heart racing with anger and determination, “you’re in a lot of trouble.”
She fell to her knees with fear in her eyes. “Please, Your Highness, I can explain!”
“Tell me!” Lilith shouted while breaking the tension. “You’ve let us all down! You’ve endangered the palace!”
Shayla’s breathing got fast, and she said nervously “I… I didn’t want to! He forced me… Sir Ben forced me!”