Chapter 138: Bugged by the Saviours

Adeline’s POV~

"Because everyone who you think is your saviour, is actually your biggest enemy. Your foe. They are the ones who fucking want you dead and buried six feet under."

I stood glued to the floor, the phone pressed so hard against my ear that the edge of the screen burned against my cheekbone.

Enemy? Dead and buried?

The terrifying words kept looping through my mind like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

"What...?" My voice came out as a thin, trembling whisper. "What do you mean by that, Adrian? Who wants me dead?! And what do you mean this call isn’t private?!"

"I told you not to speak!" his voice cracked through the receiver like a sharp, unforgiving whip.

I heard him draw a harsh, ragged breath on the other end, cursing quietly under his breath in pure, unchecked frustration.

"Fine," Adrian said, his tone dropping into a deadly, icy calm. "You think I’m lying to you. You think I’m playing games with your head. So don’t take my word for it, Adeline. Turn around and search the room or anywhere you’re standing in right now."

"What?" I repeated blankly, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. "What are you talking about?"

"Don’t talk. Search every single inch of it," Adrian commanded softly, his voice dripping with a heavy, ominous weight. "Every corner. Every piece of furniture. Every spot. Look closely, Adeline. You will find something... or someone... who has been silently listening to every single word that has come out of your mouth since you went there."

A short, breathless laugh escaped my lips. It was a sound of pure shock, completely devoid of humor. ℴ

Listening? In this room?

"A listening device," Adrian pressed on, his tone flat, unyielding, and terrifyingly steady. "A small, hidden wire. Something planted to tap your room and send every breath you take straight to their ears. Go on. Check it yourself."

I slowly lowered the phone, my breath catching in my chest as my eyes darted across the grand bedroom.

No. There is no damn way.

My mind fought wildly against the thought.

This wasn’t some cheap, run-down dorm room at the academy. This was the private estate of the Second Throne.

The legendary home of the Dowager Luna herself. The outer walls were built like a fortress, and the corridors were patrolled by elite guards day and night. Nobody entered without permission. Every servant in this mansion had been vetted for decades.

Planting a bug in my room? To spy on a wolfless rogue? Inside the Dowager Luna’s house?

It sounded completely insane.

I lifted the phone back to my ear, forcing my voice to sound firm and grounded. "There’s no way, Adrian. You’re trying to scare me—"

"Adeline," Adrian cut me off, his voice dropping, sharp enough to slice glass. "Shut up and check the room. And don’t say another word until you do."

I clenched my jaw tight, heat flashing across my pale face.

Fine. I’ll search it. I’ll prove him wrong, hang up this phone, and prove he’s just trying to mess with my mind.

I held the phone tightly in my left hand and started at the foot of the massive bed.

I grabbed the heavy silk blanket, yanking it back and shaking it out wildly. Nothing fell out. I shoved my hands under the plush pillows, feeling through the cases. Nothing.

I dropped to my knees on the cold floor, peering into the pitch-black space under the frame. Just shadow and polished wood. Nothing. ℯℓ.

I scrambled up and rushed over to the leather couch near the window. I ripped off the cushions one by one, digging my fingers deep into the seams and checking behind the heavy wooden base. Nothing.

My breath was coming in short, panicked gasps now. "This is ridiculous," I muttered under my breath, wiping my hair out of my sweating face.

I walked over to the nightstand beside the bed. I pulled open the top drawer, just a comb, a small leather-bound book, and folded linen. I yanked them out, tapping the sides of the drawer, running my fingers underneath the frame. Nothing.

A heavy sigh of relief rushed out of my lungs, and a small, bitter smile touched my lips.

He’s wrong. He has to be wrong.

And then my eyes drifted upward, locking onto the table lamp sitting quietly on the edge of the wood.

It was an exquisite piece of craft, cast in dark gold with a thick, cream-colored shade. It gave off a soft, warm yellow light that filled the dark room.

I don’t know why my hand moved. Maybe it was an eerie instinct. Maybe it was the quiet, terrifying whisper in the back of my mind telling me to look closer.

My trembling fingers reached out and clicked the small metal switch.

Click.

The warm glow died instantly. Darkness washed over the nightstand.

I leaned forward, tilting my head, and peered straight up into the hollow interior of the lamp shade.

Every drop of blood drained from my face. My knees went entirely weak.

Tucked tightly against the inner metal ring of the base was a small, sleek black object. It was no larger than a coin, smooth and mechanical, and right in the centre... a tiny red light was slowly, silently pulsing in the dark. Too small to notice.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

A wave of suffocating cold rushed through my veins.

I froze completely.

I couldn’t touch it. I couldn’t breathe. I just stood there, staring at that tiny, pulsating red eye, feeling like the floor beneath me had split wide open.

"Adeline?" Adrian’s low voice came through the speaker, careful and tense. "Did you find it?"

My lips parted, but my throat was completely choked with horror. No sound came out.

"Don’t say anything aloud," Adrian warned sharply.

"Answer me with one word. If it’s a person standing in the shadows, say yes. If it’s a device, say no. Can you do that?"

I swallowed hard, forcing a microscopic whisper past my frozen lips. "No..."

A heavy silence stretched across the line before Adrian spoke again. "So it’s a device."

I couldn’t speak, so I squeezed out a tiny, broken hum into the receiver.