The Hidden Luna Queen (Maeve and Xaden)

But they were hardly making any headway with their mission to break up Maeve and Prince Xaden. With every passing day, they were running out of time.

"Honestly," Victoria scoffed, rolling her eyes at Bella. "We could have made some progress if you hadn't given up so quickly during your tea with Princess Charlotte. If you had been more discrete with your questioning, like we'd discussed, then maybe we'd have something we could work with..."

Bella's stomach plummeted. She didn't want to be seen as the weak link of their team. "I-I'm sorry, Luna Victoria," she muttered, lowering her gaze. "I tried my best, but she evaded all-"

"If you did, then my daughter still wouldn't be behind bars," Victoria countered, projecting her pain and misery onto the girl and ignoring the subsequent widening of Bella's eyes. "But you've always tried to get yourself ahead of Sarah, haven't you? Maybe what you really want is for my daughter-your best friend-to be locked up for trying to attain the attention of your beloved Prince Xaden."

Bella blanched. "That's not true," she protested, albeit weakly.

Sarah gaped, horrified. "Is that what you really want, you deceitful bitch?! After all that we've been through together?!"

"Don't do this to me!" Bella shouted. "Why would I go through all this trouble with the princess and risk getting myself thrown in prison if I only wanted to keep you back there?! This is all to right the wrongs committed by your sister! She's the real villain here!"

"Fine, fine..." Victoria muttered, raising a hand to placate the agitated girl. "You are a valuable asset, we know. But this is something we need to do before they get married, otherwise the prince is lost to us forever and Maeve will be untouchable. You'll have to go back and try this again."

The thing was, Bella had tried. She had tried for days to even be able to come to one of the princess's highly coveted tea parties in the palace rose garden, but now that she had finally been able to, she was quick to learn that getting answers about Maeve's status-both regarding her relationship with Prince Xaden and when any possible mating ceremony would be taking place would not be as easy as they anticipated. This was not something that could just be resolved through simply asking questions.

Especially if no one in the palace seemed keen to even acknowledge Maeve's existence.

They needed a better plan.

"This isn't something we can do on our own," Bella insisted. "We have tried many times and failed. We need help."

'n

Victoria cursed silently, biting her manicured thumb. However much she didn't want to admit it, she knew the girl was right. There was only so far her power as a second-class Luna could take her, and with her precious baby girl locked up in the capital's dungeon and Alpha Charles's daughter lacking the necessary fire to fully commit, the three ladies appeared to have come to an impasse.

They needed someone with the right influence to be able to pull this off.

Someone close to the family who they also had access to.

All of a sudden, a name launched to the forefront of her mind. A name she had heard her husband mention many a time before. He matched all of the needed qualifications that could help them... but he was not an easy man to get in touch with, even with her husband's help. Not only was he a fellow alpha, but he was the head of one of the largest and most powerful clans in the entire kingdom, which practically secured his influence, if it hadn't already been for the fact that his daughter was married to one of the most powerful men in the land.

By all accounts, he had no reason to help them remove Maeve from the palace. He would gain nothing from conspiring against Prince Xaden and risk tarnishing his good name for a girl he had no connection

to.

But damn it... they had to try.

Anything to restore Sarah's freedom and right all of the wrongs against her family.

"I think I know someone who could

help," Victoria murmured

thoughtfully, catching the attention of the two younger girls. "But getting

to him won't be an easy task. I' need to be careful in how I approach him about this."

And for the first time since entering that cell, Sarah's eyes brightened. "Who?" she pressed. "Who is he?"