The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 140

3 months later

Alissa was pulling Gabriel by his arm through the rows of white, yellow and beige flowers in a nature park where Tate and Margaret decided to have their wedding ceremony. In the sea of White Blood pack members, Alissa finally found the creature she was looking for. "My Queen, this is Gabriel, my second-chance mate and husband. Gabriel, this is our queen." Alissa said with the widest smile that Lucianne had ever seen. Alissa and Gabriel tied the knot two months ago in the marriage registrar's office, with only the attendance of her triplets, Gabriel's brother, Greg, Hailey, Desmond and Ivory. Lucianne smiled warmly at the nervous-looking man in a tuxedo. "Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Gabriel. We've heard a lot about you from Alissa, of course. It's great to be able to finally put the name on a face."

"I-It's an honor to meet you, My Queen. Uh...you look great. How far along are you, if I may ask?"

Xandar, who had an arm across his wife's shoulder, smiled proudly while Lucianne glanced at her baby bump before she replied, "Fourteen weeks. This is our second and final pregnancy."

At that moment, a familiar voice joined the conversation from the side, "See, what did I tell you, Ella? There's a double dynamite in there."

Lucianne briefly embraced Ella, who had been released two days ago. The queen sensed a slight difference in the hybrid but she didn't know how just yet. Lucianne then held her best friend in a tight hug. That was when she realized Toby felt leaner, his shoulders were broader and he smelled a little different. She parted their bodies and looked him in the eye, which shone in happiness as he tried but failed to press back a broadening smile because he knew he'd been caught.

Lucianne's eyes widened in realization before they went to his neck, where she saw a fresh mark. Her mouth hung open for a moment as she looked back-and-forth between Toby and an increasingly blushing Ella before wrapping Toby in a second hug while speaking intentionally loudly, "AWWW....I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU TWO! IT MUST HAVE BEEN A GREAT NIGHT!"

Many paused their conversations and turned towards them. The alliance members were already coming over, as were many White Blood members. Ella was flustered and stood closer to her mate. Toby knew exactly why Lucianne did what she did. This was payback for exposing hers and her mate's first time the previous year. The minister narrowed his eyes at his best friend as Xandar chuckled from her side.

Toby complained, "Lucy, this isn't fair. I didn't wake you up at 4 a.m. with my business."

Lucianne asked in mocked innocence, "So, what time did you guys do it then?"

Ella looked horrified, which made Lucianne say, "I'm kidding, Ella. Really. I'm just messing with Toby."

She sighed in relief, and the alliance members came over to congratulate them with appropriate wishes, as did the mavericks, thus easing Ella's anxiety. In the midst of that, Toby locked eyes with Lucianne and linked, 'Around eight last night, so the point stands - you and your mate are still the insane ones.

Lucianne chuckled as he ended the link to concentrate on whatever Hale was saying to Ella. The moment Lucianne's eyes cleared, Hailey came into her field of vision with a frown when she asked, "Reida isn't here, My Queen?"

Lucianne replied, "She is. She's with her uncle." Her eyes started searching when she muttered, "Where is he?"

"Which uncle?"

"Greg."

Hailey smiled and said, "I'll go replace him."

###

"And this is a spider." Greg said as he sat under a tree while securing Reida tightly with one arm, his free hand at a distance from her face for her to observe the spider on his palm which was lost on which way it should go. Greg was hoping to replace animal manure that was used as fertilizer so that he could point to it and train Reida to say 'dada', but there wasn't a single heap in sight, so he had to settle with entertaining her with the insects and spiders instead.

"Now, watch this, princess." Greg turned his palm over and the spider's legs reached for his finger before a web formed, and the arachnid hung by its self-made thread. Reida's large eyes looked at the dangling eight-legged creature in wonder.

"My turn, Your Grace!" Hailey's voice made Greg flinch, and the spider fell and scurried away.

He turned and looked at her in annoyance. "What do you mean 'your turn'? She's MY niece."

"Exactly. You'll get invited to family events from now on. I don't. You'll have more opportunities to hold her than I do. Come on. Hand over the princess."

Greg groaned, turned to Reida, and said, "Auntie Hailey is going to take you now. If you don't like what she's doing, what should you say?"

"F**k!" Reida could say 'mama', 'dada', 'yay' and 'no' now, so it was crucial to her uncle that she knew which word to use at any given time.

"Atta girl." Greg praised before planting a quick kiss on Reida's forehead, a gesture which shocked himself and Hailey. Reida chuckled like she did whenever her parents kissed her there, and her tiny hand reached out to touch Greg's nose before she let out a cute coo, melting her uncle's heart.

He placed Reida into Hailey's arms, careful not to look her in the eye. Hailey knew her boss didn't want her to see the happy tears pooling there, so she walked the other way, plucking leaves, grass and flowers for Reida to play with.

###

Lucianne's feet started getting tired despite wearing flats, and her hand instinctively went to Xandar's shoulder for support. He held her by her arm and waist when he suggested, "Babe, why don't we go sit down? You've been standing too long." "Yeah, okay."

He guided her to the chairs, and she lowered herself into one of those in the row reserved for the alliance members, which was right in front. Xandar pecked a kiss on her forehead before he got down to take off her shoes.

He began rubbing her right foot before Lucianne pulled it back and whispered, "I'm fine, Xandar. That's not necessary."

Xandar could feel that her feet were tired, but he also felt her embarrassment. When he noticed her glancing around and realized why she was refusing the foot rub, he sighed and got up to kiss her cheek before muttering, "I've already knelt before you in front of the entire kingdom, and you're still embarrassed to have me rub your feet in public?" Without hesitation, she replied, "Yes!"

He scoffed lightly. "Fine. I'll do this later on the jet." After washing his hands, he got her some water before returning to stroke her belly. When he felt the kicking, his eyes glistened in pure happiness. Xandar planted a deep kiss on Lucianne's temple before muttering, "I love you." "I know. I love you, too."

The wedding planner made an announcement and got everyone to take their seats. The groom came into view, all dressed in white with a blue and black estella pinned on the lapel of his tux. Xandar helped Lucianne slip her shoes back on before kissing her hand, then leaving her side to join Tate with Juan, Toby, Zeke, Raden, Christian, Phelton and Beta Mannon. Juan, as Tate's best man, was the first to convey his congratulations to his old friend.