The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 120

Christian ignored the way Greg was describing his best friend because he was focusing on sprinting towards Xandar. Greg tripped Xandar just in time, and Christian pinned his knees to the ground. A fortis-vigil came to pin Xandar by his left arm while Greg placed his full weight on Xandar's right arm. Greg was beginning to question the Moon Goddess's intelligence and rationality when she decided to strengthen a creature with the mate-bond. Did she even consider such circumstances? Even with three of them holding the Lycan King, they could feel that Xandar would eventually break free. When Greg saw Christian's eyes going to Lucianne before glazing over, he immediately linked him first, 'Don't even think about hastening her, Blackfur. She's already trying as hard as she can. Christian gave into his burning urge to argue with Greg as opposed to doing what he wanted to do before he was interrupted when he said, 'What is it with you and always thinking you know everything?' 'Well, am I wrong?'

'Yes, you are. I was just going to ask the vigils when the empress and the other decipios were arriving. I wasn't going to link the queen.'

'It doesn't really matter when the other bloodsuckers will arrive, does it? Unless they can teleport here, we're on our own until they actually arrive.

In the midst of their bickering, Xandar registered his cousins' scents, and was made to think that his late father was still alive and was compelling Christian with his Authority, which was why his best friend was stopping him. It was easy to believe that Greg would take his favorite uncle's side without question. Xandar growled in a way that shook the battleground as he spun his body to fling the vigil away before throwing Greg at a tree and flung Christian to another tree. Both dukes grunted upon the impact but only Greg had the strength to mutter, "Goddess, I hate you, cousin." When Greg saw how close he himself was to some of the decipio-proditors, a lightbulb moment came. He picked up a few rocks and pebbles and started throwing them at the decipios. His aim wasn't perfect but he managed to make two fall from the trees when they lost their balance. The ones who fell met their demise when the wolves on the ground went straight for the kill. A few of the Team B decipios started trying to control Greg, and the duke managed to make one more proditor fall before his own animal made him close his eyes to avoid acting on reflex based on sight.

Once his nose confirmed the scents of those on the ground, his eyes opened and he killed every single creature whose scent he didn't replace familiar, even though they were portrayed as his loyal followers and in one case, Lucianne. That last one was, by far, the most difficult one to see his claws plunging through, and he had to pause and breathe heavily for a moment as he and his animal kept reminding one another that the creature stank too much to be Lucianne.

Xandar was made to think that the ones around him were warriors and guards who were loyal to his father, and they were trying to stop him from attacking the parent that he was after. He was made to think that the late King Lucas and the late Queen Vera influenced Lucianne to sever their mate-bond. He 'remembered' how painful it was to hear the words of rejection coming out of Lucianne's mouth, how he begged her to take it back and give him a chance, to which she further refused, albeit with tears.

The manipulation went on to convince Xandar that Lucianne was held in some underground dungeon that only the late king and queen knew the location of, and they were doing everything they can to keep Xandar from replaceing it while waiting for the next full moon for the mate- bond between their son and the worthless wolf to be severed by default. Xandar seemed to think that his current plan was to choke the location out of his father. If that failed, the plan was to kill his father, and then use the King's Authority, which he would subsequently inherit, to force the truth out of his mother.

His animal smelled warriors all around it, but felt that it didn't have the time to kill. It needed to replace its mate! Xandar sprinted towards Lucianne who could finally feel her limbs as she slowly stood again.

When she saw her mate charging in her direction, she frantically linked those around her, 'Get out of here, all of you!'

Toby was the first to respond, "Not a chance, Lucy."

Ivory insisted, 'We have strict instructions to...

'Damn it,' she either pushed or kicked away those stationed to protect her when she saw Xandar pouncing her way with his claws protruded. Her timing was impeccable. One second later and Ivory would've been dead, and Dominic could've broken more than a few bones. Lucianne only retained a light scratch along her arm which healed within seconds.

Lucianne dodged Xandar's attacks as she tried to use her Authority to reach his animal. The decipios in the trees saw the lycans and werewolves heading for the queen, and they got Xandar to emit his Authority to keep them at a distance. It was as if Xandar's power had created an invisible wall, forming a circle that stopped any wolf or lycan from entering the area. The manipulation told Xandar that it was his own father who kept those around them at a distance, wiping out the memory of channeling the power himself.

The warriors and alliance members looked at each other in dismay, as did the mavericks. How were they going to protect the queen when they couldn't even reach her?