Jesper stood at the front, hands clasped behind his back as a holographic map of Briesia glowed above the console. His brows were knitted tight, tension rolling off him in faint draconic magic pulses.
Unease slithered down the matebond from him, and I frowned.
“We’ve been called to Briesia,” he said, voice clipped. “One of the wealthy shifter families has petitioned the Supernatural Council with urgency. The Montclairs.”
I frowned, not recognizing the name at all. Though, I didn’t know many shifters.
Morgan scoffed. “The Montclairs, seriously?”
I glanced over at her. Shewasa jaguar shifter, so it would make sense that she knew more about the society in Briesia.
“Who are they, exactly?” Koa asked.
“Sugar glider shifters. One of the few left. They’re considered an endangered species,” she muttered. “That alone got them known. They have generational wealth, and they own a lot of different businesses throughout the territory.”
“What kind of businesses?” Lysa asked, tilting her head.
Morgan shrugged. “Bigger enterprises like manufacturing tech, retail, and I think a couple of florist shops.”
“That’s correct.” Jesper flicked his fingers, and a family crest appeared in the air with silver sugar gliders circling an elaborate tree. “They claim that their biological daughter, Octavia Montclair, has been poisoning and attempting to murder their adopted daughter, Delphine Montclair. They’re insisting we detain Octavia and bring charges.”
“And the evidence?” Slater asked, crossing his arms.
“None.”
I frowned. That didn’t seem like something that supernatural agents needed to be investigating…
Jesper paced once, jaw tight. “They want their own daughter taken and locked up in Apex Penitentiary immediately with no proof or evidence. Just baseless accusations. Sabine already had agents do an initial pass, but they found no evidence that Octavia is attempting to hurt or murder Delphine. The Montclairs insisted that the other squad was ‘bought off’ by Octavia before they completed their full investigation.”
My jaw clenched.
As if any squad could be bought off.
“The Montclairs are powerful in Briesia,” Jesper sighed. “They have a long history of charity work for the shifters there, too. They’ve helped pull entire villages out of squalor. Politically, they are inconvenient.”
“So, we can’t just walk in and charge them with being shitty parents?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, no.” Jesper ran a hand through his hair. “The council will not arrest anyone without proof, and we will not directly intervene in their domestic arrangements without cause. Our mission is strictly undercover verification and documentation. We need to get the full truth on record. Sabine assured me she would handle the politics after our mission was complete. The family can decide whether to pursue charges once we file our report, but the biological daughter does not have a positive reputation among the elite of Briesia.”
“So, we’re there to be witnesses,” Dimitri assumed, his arms folded as he stood beside me.
“Exactly that.” Jesper nodded. “We’re there to observe, record, and protect, if needed. At least, until we know the full story. If Octavia is indeed trying to kill her adopted sister, we will of course intervene. But she’s only sixteen, so she will probably be rehabilitated depending on the full situation.”
He brought up a blueprint of the Montclair estate. It was a huge, sprawling mansion with multiple wings, gardens, and a central marble courtyard.
My eyebrows shot up. I thought our Bloodwyne Estate was big, but that was…intense.
“Here’s the plan. The spies will be the only agents to go in.” His gaze moved to me, Dimitri, Cassie, and Bradley. “You four will enter as new staff. No one usually suspects the help. Cassie and Rune will be maids. Bradley and Dimitri will take on the role of being butlers. You’ve already been added to their staff schedule.”
Cassie snorted. “We love that.”
“Yep,” Bradley grunted.
“Everyone else stays off their radar,” Jesper continued. “Slater and Corin will control the security feeds and ward scans from a mobile surveillance point outside the estate where I will be giving orders from. Lysa will run data and intel fromthere with Kane and Sylver. Morgan and Koa are on standby as wellness evaluators if we need to step in for anything dangerous.”
He nodded toward Tobias, Jesse, April, and Kyle. “The enforcer team will stay close to the property line, ready to breach if things go sideways. Arban and Eleanor will remain with the enforcers as proper diplomatic cover if we have issues with the family on a council-based scale.”
He looked back at the spies. “You are the eyes inside. Find the truth. Record it. No one in that house knows who you are.”
