The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 104

Greg got back from decipio practice and went straight back to the Den. His followers were as tired and cranky as he was but they had to get this done tonight. The invoices Ruby Lyworth gave him led them nowhere because it was filled with company names that were unfamiliar to him, which made sense. Only vampires would see the need in buying allicin, and Greg didn't keep tabs on proditors and their businesses because there was never a need to, and it would have been difficult to check up on their progress since proditors weren't in his turf.

Greg entered the first room, where J.J. and Bundy were each tied to a chair. After the duke lowered himself in a backwards-sitting position on a chair in front of the two, he began, "I'm tired. I'm pissed. I'm impatient. So let's make this quick and we all go home happily. Delay me and someone will get hurt. Concise answers only - who's promising you two scatterbrains and Red power after trying to overthrow me?"

Bundy's neck stiffened. J.J. subconsciously shifted in her seat and pretended to be clearing her throat when she noticed how Alissa's fiery eyes were pinned on her. The two besties agreed that, if they were ever caught, they'd just lie.

Since Alissa looked like she was choking J.J. with that glare, the rogue decided that she should say something to not look like she was hiding something. "We don't know what you're talking about, Your Grace. We have been minding our own business whe-"

Greg was so tired from practice and now he was further drained from this bullshit that he merely waved his fingers and leaned his head against the headrest of the chair for a quick shuteye as Alissa took over. Her hand circled J.J.'s neck, and she tightened her grip and choked the woman before her fingernails went through the rogue's skin.

It was one thing to be desperate for air but another to be enduring the blades of long fingernails being slowly pressed into your skin. Sweat appeared on her forehead and drenched her armpits, blood was beginning to ooze from the incisions made by Alissa's nails, and J.J.'s screaming was as annoying as it was piercing.

Greg groaned in irritation. Well, a fifteen-second rest was better than nothing. He watched the pathetic woman struggling in her chair as a dead faced, exhausted Alissa continued her work. When J.J. finally gave the asking-for-mercy look that Alissa was waiting for, her hand detached only slightly from her victim's neck as she waited.

After J.J. took the breaths she needed and her skin healed the wounds Alissa inflicted, J.J. began by stuttering, "S-Some d-don't say that t-they are o-overthrowing you, Your G-Grace. S-See...o-once you serve the k-kingdom, y-your right t-to govern rogues is f-forfeited." "Forfeited?" Greg asked in a low, shivering tone.

He got up from his chair and moved towards J.J. The way he towered over her made her feel like an insect squirming in fear. He held her chin and gave her cheekbones a painful squeeze as his onyx eyes bore into her fearful ones when he declared, "I make the rules in the rogue world. The mere question of my right is a conspiracy that I will not have. Who. Started. This."

"I don't know the ring leader, Your Grace, I swear. W-We were told t-that...if successful...we wouldn't have to work for another day in our lives."

It was almost hilarious how they considered pickpocketing 'work'. It was so simple that it might as well be considered a leisure activity. If Greg would ever meet a rogue child that he favored, this would be the first skill he'd teach the kid, who he was certain could beat these women by the end of a six-month intensive practice.

Greg moved on to Bundy, and Hailey came to position her hand right in front of Bundy's throat, a silent threat of strangulation before Greg asked, "What else has your friend not told me?"

Bundy didn't even need to think twice before blurting the facts like she was pouring out hot gossip, "We were paid. In cash. We used it for drinks...the hotel. And in exchange, we only had to speak less, stay in inns that we stayed in before and k-ke-keep an eye of your f-followers." "Keep an eye on my followers," Greg repeated to digest the information before he prompted, "For what?"

"They didn't say. But from what we understood, Your Grace, you might not be the only one they want to kill."

What a laughable venture. These creatures actually thought they could kill Greg Claw and his followers. They must be underestimating the size and aptitude of his network. But the whole plan made sense. Watch his followers to know which ones to kill after trying to kill the leader. His followers were loyal to him, so killing only Greg himself was not enough to guarantee unconditional and sustainable loyalty to a new rogue ruler.

Greg scoffed and pressed the corner of his eyes for another quick shuteye when he murmured, "If I weren't so tired, I'd be laughing right now. Name of the creature who came to you?"

It couldn't be the triplets. They wouldn't risk being seen. Was it Klementine? Her assistant, Feva? Or was it Ruby Lyworth this whole time?

J.J. gulped and muttered, "El-Elvis and Sivle."

Alissa groaned. Another set of names. Another routine tracking. Another search. Something this simple used to be nothing to her but with the decipio practice and vampire-helping, this whole conspiracy issue was getting agitating with lack of sleep. Greg questioned J.J., "Was that the truth or the lie?"

"Truth," she answered immediately.

Greg's homicidal eyes bore into both of theirs for another few more moments before he asked, "Have you both heard from the Callows?"

Bundy mouthed the word 'Callow' like it was something foreign, and she locked perplexed eyes with her friend who was equally confused before J.J. whispered from where she sat like Greg and the others couldn't hear them, "Is it Gallow? As in, Ben Gallow?" Alissa heaved an angry sigh before exclaiming in a way that made the two hostages jump, "IT'S CALLOW, YOU IDIOTS! MATTHEW, NESSA AND OURELIA CALLOW!"

J.J. looked at Alissa in further confusion for another two seconds before realization dawned on her, and she questioned, "Didn't they explode with their lab more than 25 years ago?"

Bundy added in a gossipy whisper, "Aren't they dead? We heard you and your friends made sure they were dead."

There were no traces of humor in their eyes. There was only curiosity and a zest for the truth, or at the very least, something worthy to gossip about.

Greg knew that he couldn't get anything else from them, so he got up and said, "I'm going to ask Little Red the same thing about the Elvis and Sivle thing. If he says something different, you both won't live through the night."

Dormant Little Red registered the bloodstains on Alissa's fingernails the moment she stepped foot into the room, and Greg didn't even finish his question before the little man spat everything he knew. He was paid. In cash. But he had to sober up to be aware of who was watching him because he was told that those were Greg's followers, who were going to be eliminated as soon as their leader was eliminated.

When asked about the Callows, Red seemed as deaf to the name as if he was drunk, having no recollection of the triplets until he heard the three names and vaguely remembered a destroyed lab. Other than that, he too was clueless.

Greg was satisfied with the smooth heart-to-heart session. He got up from his chair, patted Little Red on his head and thanked him before leaving the room. The top four left with him, and Desmond turned off the lights and shut the door, leaving the sober lycan in the darkness.