** 3 POV **
Queen Isabella's office was quiet despite the busyness of the castle. Due to the Task Force's disbandment, all the voting packs had acquired several new members they hadn't expected. Drew and Ian had been working around the clock, helping all the packs accommodate the new arrivals.
While everyone else was busy, Isabella was making sure that Julia got ready to attend Lunar Academy. However, Julia was not making it easy.
Isabella glanced at her smartwatch for the eleventh time. She hadn't received any new notifications.
'Patience, Isabella,' she chided herself. 'Lucy should be here any minute now. The informant has never been late delivering the news.'
But patience was a luxury Isabella couldn't afford when her son treated his mate like trash. Donovan was not a young wolf anymore. He was the Alpha of the Crystal Mountain pack, and he needed to start acting like it.
Isabella and her mate, King Richard, had agreed to place an informant inside Donovan's pack to keep tabs on the situation. Ever since Donovan had taken Victoria into his pack, the pack hadn't been doing so well. The budget was all messed up. His pack members were living in hotels and eating fast food. That was unacceptable.
A subtle chime finally broke the silence. Isabella recognized the chime coming from her laptop. She hurried over and saw a single, encrypted message, marked "Urgent." Her heart now hammered against her ribs.
'Please let it be good news,' she prayed to the Moon Goddess. 'Please let there be good news!'
With a steady hand, Isabella opened the message and saw that it was from Lucy... She had been delayed and won't be returning until later from seeing the informant.
Isabella's brows furrowed. She had hoped Lucy would return as quickly as possible. A knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Isabella," Tichard announced as the door opened and the King walked in.
"Hello, dear," Isabella greeted in return. "I thought you would still be busy cleaning up the disbandment."
The King sighed heavily, went over to one of the couches, and sat down.
"It's been busy," he admitted. "Drew and Ian have been dealing with most of the member placements, but some of the Alphas still disagree with their own decision."
Isabella stood and went to sit next to him. "Of course they would. It doesn't benefit them at all."
"Has there been any news from Donovan's pack?" the King asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"Lucy was delayed," Isabelled replied, leaning against her mate. "I have been anxious to hear how things are doing. After Drew informed us that Donovan left Keira behind, I have been restless."
"Hmm, I can't believe he forgot," the King agreed. "You would have killed me if I had left you behind."
Isabelled chuckled and cuddled closer. "You bet I would have."
"How's Julia?" he asked. "Is she still fighting you?"
Isabelled groaned. "Yes, she doesn't want to go. Something about not wanting to be treated differently because of her status."
Richard laughed. "If only she knew that they wouldn't care who she is."
"Should I tell her?" Isabella questioned.
Richard shook his head. "Let her figure it out."
Isabella smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the quiet moment between them. It had been a long time since either of them had a moment just for themselves. That peaceful moment was soon disturbed by a knock on the door.
Richard grunted. "That must be Ian."
"Back to work?" Isabeled asked, already knowing the answer to her question.
"Yes, I'll see you at dinner," Richard said, kissing her forehead.
Isabella hummed and leaned back as Richard stood and left the office. While she waited for Lucy to arrive, Isabelled looked through the new member placement requests they had received from members of the Task Force.
Just yesterday, Drew had received two applications from ex-task force members requesting to be transferred to Donovan's pack. Antoine and Montego were their names. Isabella looked through their resume and previous work tasks from the Task Force and decided that Keira needed all the help she could get.
Antoine and Montego were experts in their fields. Without delay, Isabella quickly approved their applications and sent them over to Drew to process and finalize.
As the afternoon slowly passed, Isabella was working diligently when a knock came from the door; she jumped.
Isabella glanced at her watch; it was almost dinner time.
"Enter," she called out, going back to her work.
"You Majesty," Lucy greeted, rushing inside and closing the door behind her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't expect to be delayed."
"What did you learn?" Isabelled asked, leaning forward.
'Please let there be good news,' she prayed.
Lucy hesitated. "Well, there is some good news."
Isabella frowned, not liking what she was hearing. " Just tell me."
Lucy took a deep breath. "Luna Keira was able to help Prince Donovan figure out the budget problem. Someone has been siphoning funds for the last two years."
Isabella gasped at the news. Although it wasn't great news, at least they had found out what was happening without the King and Queen needing to step in to help.
"Do you have any more details?" Isabella prompted. "Did they figure out who the culprit was?"
Lucy shook her head. "No, Prince Donovan went through the accounts and has spoken to the bank to open a new account for the pack. This should help with the delays in payments."
"Anything else?" Isabella asked.
"Well," Lucy began. "Prince Donovan and Victoria were caught in bed by Princess Keira."
"WHAT!?" Isabelled exclaimed, standing up in anger.
"Princess Keira took matters into her own hands," Lucy rushed to explain. "She beat up Victoria so badly that Victoria is in a coma."
"Are you kidding me?!" Isabella fumed, stepping from around the desk. "How dare he treat his mate like that?"
"Your Majesty!" Lucy seaked as Queen Isabella let out killing intent.
"What!" Isabella growled.
Moments later, thundering feet were heard in the hallway. Richard burst into the office, looking around for a threat.
"What happened?" he asked, walking inside and rushing over to his queen.
"Donovan," Isabella replied angrily. "He was caught in bed with that Victoria woman by Keira."
"He did what?" Richard asked softly, turning to face Lucy.
"Prince Donovan and Victoria were caught in bed by Princess Keira," Lucy repeated, quaking in fear.
The aura being released from the King was making Lucy feel faint and dizzy.
"Tell me everything," Richard demanded. "I want to know exactly what happened."