The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 59

Octavia looked at the duke in confusion when Pellethia said, "Well, if that's necessary, then yes. We can make arrangements for anyone you'd like to see, um..."

Pellethia threw Lucianne a puzzled look, not knowing how to address Greg because she didn't know who he was. Lucianne explained simply, "This is the duke from Xandar's paternal side." Pellethia nodded in comprehension and finished her sentence from earlier with a courteous nod, "Your Grace."

Curiosity entered her emerald orbs when looked at Greg for a few more moments, feeling his familiar energy, before she stepped towards him and stretched out her hand to ask for his, "May I, Your Grace?" "What?" Greg questioned with squinted eyes like Pellethia just spoke in another language.

Lucianne murmured his way, "Give her your hand, Your Grace. She'll listen to the rhythm of your blood flow. It'll tell her if you both met in another lifetime."

"What?" Greg asked again, his quizzical look thrown at Lucianne this time.

Xandar's patience was running out, and he glowered at Greg when he said, "Just give her your damn hand, Greg. Stop wasting time. We've got work to do."

As Greg put his hand into the empress's pale one, he answered his cousin, "The fact that we're all still here and not in that chamber up there with those other bloodsuckers IS wasting time. I would've barged in through those doors without an invitation if I were you." Lucianne tried to silence him by hissing, "Your Grace, be nice."

"I did plan to be nice, My Queen. But after what happened-"

"Shush!" Lucianne knew how that sentence was going to end, so she abruptly cut him off before he went too far. Yes, they were attacked by vampires, but those were proditors. It wasn't fair to put blame on the empress...or was it?

Pellethia gave Greg back his hand, smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Grace."

Her sights shifted to Lucianne and Xandar again as she gestured towards the stairs leading to the meeting chamber, "Right this way, Aunt Lucy, Uncle Xandar."

Greg paused and said, "Woah woah woah. I let you listen to my blood and now you just want to get on with business without telling me whatever the queen said you were going to tell me." Lucianne's eyes widened in irritation when she turned to Greg and suggested, "Maybe if you asked nicely, she'll tell you."

Pellethia, who paused in her footsteps the moment Greg started speaking, smirked at him and gave him a look like she was saying 'what's it going to be?' as she patiently waited. Octavia tried to mask her amusement by pressing her lips together but her smiling eyes gave her away. Greg looked at Lucianne in disbelief. Her firm voice rang through his ears in a hushed tone that only those with the sharpest hearing could catch, "What happened wasn't the rulers' fault, not entirely at least. No one wanted to screw up. We can, and we have, bargained for more help, more access, and more say in this matter. But we do not stoop to the level of bullying this species or any species. We negotiate, we argue, and we fight for our people's best interest. Unless there is clear evidence of wilful ignorance and intentional lack of care, we won't resort to condescending any individual creature to get what we want. Is that clear, Your Grace?"

Greg knew he was supposed to be afraid with those partially-onyx orbs piercing into his soul, but he wasn't. Lucianne's commanding energy just reminded him of why she was the only creature worthy of being the queen in the first place. Although Lucianne was speaking specifically to Greg, Xandar internalized every word. His lips curled into a soft smile as he fell even more in love with her, and he pecked a kiss in her hair as he muttered affectionately, "As you wish, My Queen." Greg was brought out of his daze and repeated the same line with a courteous smile. Now, was the hard part: to actually be nice. Bullying was just so much easier. Greg cleared his throat, looked at the empress and said monotonously, "Please." Lucianne narrowed her eyes and commented, "Really, Greg? Please? That's all you got?"

Pellethia seemed satisfied when she spoke casually as she started walking up the stairs, "Oh, that is a big improvement from his last life, Aunt Lucy. My late father and I failed to fathom how Aunt Rosie managed to hold a conversation with him without exploding. He was always that bad-mouthed person she'd protect me from, and without her smothering the flames, father would've killed him just for the way he spoke."

As Xandar and the others followed Pellethia and Octavia, Xandar asked, "So, who was he?"

"Aunt Rosie's personal bodyguard, Sir Gerald Knightly. He came when Uncle Reagan couldn't. History records that before Uncle Reagan killed his own father, he killed Knightly for failing to uncover the plot to poison Aunt Rosie before she was poisoned." "Huh." Lucianne noted aloud.

That really was a surprise. Xandar didn't mention anything about Rosalie having a bodyguard when they talked about this, and this was only because Xandar didn't replace any material in lycan territory recording such a person.

Xandar and Greg exchanged glances before Greg whispered in frustration, "Who the f*ck are Aunt Rosie and Uncle Reagan?" Lucianne motioned to her and Xandar, and everything started falling into place for Greg.

If that bloodsucking empress was telling the truth, and that damn subject was right, Greg wondered if this constant need to protect Lucianne was because he failed to do just that in the past. He wondered if he pissed her off in their last life like he did in this one. He wondered if he fell in love with her more than a millennium ago like he had fallen for her now.

When they reached the meeting chamber on the first floor, Pellethia pushed open the two doors and stormed in, gesturing the wolves and lycans to the empty seats at the long table on the left. The vampire officials were at the long table on the right. The moment Lucianne sat in the chair that Xandar pulled out for her, she noticed the vampire officials in front of her had bruises and cuts on their faces. Some even had black-eyes.

'Did Pellethia slam the table with her hands or their heads?' Lucianne wondered.