The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 7

The vampires back then had no intention to rule over the lycans and werewolves, and this was explicitly stated in black and white in their treaty. All they wanted was to be recognized as the better and more superior species, so that lycans and werewolves of the future would think twice before pissing off a vampire by criticizing their abilities, culture, habits, etc. More importantly, it was to ensure that they weren't bullied in terms of business and economics anymore.

Since the vampires had a better chance of winning, a significant part of both werewolf and lycan populations went on demonstrations in most towns and streets, pushing for the Lycan King and Queen to swallow their pride and give in, threatening to turn against the rulers like many of their kind already had by going rogue if their demand was refused.

The lycans from noble families unanimously disagreed with giving into the vampires' demand at first, but after being informed that even the remaining lycan warriors were threatening to turn against them as well, those in power reluctantly gave in. The royal scepter wielded and brooches worn by every Lycan King and Queen since the first rulers were surrendered to the vampires as part of the treaty.

The surrender of title, status and crown jewels was a negligible issue to some, but a big deal to the rest of the world. It was a huge blow for the lycans, and King Lucas vowed to earn the Majesty title back, promising to "perform to the best of my abilities" every Nouvelan, the celebration that marks the beginning of a new year in the lycan and werewolf calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, Nouvelan falls on the 29th of July.

However, as time went on, it became apparent that the annual vow was more of wishful thinking rather than an achievable aspiration. There came a point when it became a laughable part of the late king's annual speech. Most wolves even joked about it amongst themselves, reciting this ludicrous line in games of 'guess who'.

When Xandar rose as king after his parents' death, he very appropriately refused to listen to any old-timer's advice to include the embarrassing line in his Nouvelan speeches. And after a few years of relentlessly pestering him to add it back in, they eventually gave up. From the way Xandar saw things, his species very much asked for the war, thus deserved the demotion in their status.

Once upon a time, lycans encroached on vampire territory on numerous occasions without plausible reason, even sending wolves to do their bidding from time to time. The lycan government and monarchy even imposed irrational taxes and unconscionable conditions in business, which carried appalling penalties when breached. This double-standard treatment existed for no other reason than the fact that they were contracting with a vampire.

When Xandar voiced his perspective during a dinner hosted by his parents and attended by the most prestigious families and government ministers, he only had one supporter - Christian. The rest thought that he was 'still young' and 'didn't understand the gravity of the situation of a time that was prior to his birth'. After that dinner, Xandar had to endure a full-hour lecture from King Lucas, who felt embarrassed that his own heir was siding with 'the enemy'. Queen Vera shrugged off Xandar's action as being a rebellious youngster, which baffled Xandar since he was 54 years old when he spoke about the issue.

As much as Xandar tried, he couldn't make his parents see how he saw things, how history actually recorded the affair. After constantly being told 'you don't understand. One day, you will., Xandar stopped trying to explain things to his adamant parents. But his perspective never changed.

Hence, during social events, he'd block out any baseless, negative assertions about vampires, and, in social circles that bring up the subject, he'd leave as quickly as he could. His maternal grandfather and aunt advised him to be patient, assuring him that when he ascended the throne, he'd have that chance to end condescending remarks made against the vampires.

course, that day came. Xandar's status ended those remarks among social circles like magic. When he was crowned king after his father's death, an invitation was even sent to the vampires in the name of diplomacy, but the vampires politely refused to attend his coronation. Xandar had never tried to reach out to their species since then. He didn't want them to think that he was trying to manipulate them into returning the scepter, brooches and the status, so he left things as they were.

Now, looking at the email on his cousin's phone, Xandar wondered what could have possibly happened. If they were demanding an immediate meeting on such short notice after 204 years of avoidance, whatever they wanted to discuss had to be abominable. With closed eyes, Christian suddenly muttered, "It's really weird to see the queen's name like that. Which wolf or lycan has four words in their name anyway?"

Xandar brought himself out of memory lane and explained matter-of-factly, "Well, 'Paw' was who I fell for, and Lucy was stubborn in putting in 'Claw'. Hyphenating our last names seemed to be the best solution to make us both happy."

"Annie says it's cute. But Toby agrees that it's weird." Christian added and finally sat up with opened eyes. To be fair, Toby only said that the hyphenating was weird because he wanted to annoy his best friend, which worked because Lucianne then punched him in his arm, which she apologized for right after because she forgot that she had more strength as a lycan and exerted more force on Toby than she intended to.

The email still worried Xandar. "What did we do, Christian? I don't recall interfering with any vampires."

Christian rubbed a hand down his face before he noted, "Cuz, we're always too busy to interfere with anything. But after the whole thing with the Kyltons and Wu Bi Corp, you have to admit that there are a lot of people with too much time on their hands to detonate a bomb of shit all over the place for us to clean up."

After Xandar responded to the email, confirming his and Lucianne's attendance to the urgent meeting, Christian asked, "So, how many of us are invited to that vampire rendezvous?"

The king asked his best friend in concern, "Can you come, though? Wouldn't Annie need help with the twins?"

Christian scoffed. "lanne will be just fine with her mother and Mrs Clifford, and Lewis hates me."

"C'mon, Christian. That's not true."

"It is true, cuz. Remember when he was sick two weeks ago? He slept so well in Annie's arms. But once I took over, he pooped so much that the shit overflowed from his diaper and got onto my pants. You're saying he doesn't hate me?" Xandar tried to suppress his laughter before he added with an irrepressible smile, "Well, I mean...it just shows that he feels...comfortable to share his...dirtiest secrets with you."

Christian threw his cousin an annoyed glare and added, "The shit stain won't come off."

"Give him a break, Christian. He's only a few weeks old. And Annie said lanne loves you."

"I love holding her and watching her sleep. But I think she only looks like she loves me because she feels sorry for me. There was once when I had just cleaned her up and put her on a clean diaper before she saw it fit to squirt urine right at my face." Christian grumbled, but he couldn't hide the upward curl of his lips at the mention of his daughter.

He and Annie named their baby girl 'Lucianne' after...well, Lucianne. And since everyone was already calling the queen 'Lucy', they decided to call their daughter by the second part of the name, lanne.

The Duke then said, "I guess it's appropriate to name her after the queen. lanne's ability to act like I'm her favorite parent is definitely convincing."

Xandar's brows furrowed in frustration. "Christian, how would your daughter know how to act? We're talking about a nine-week old baby."

"They're both lucky they're nine weeks old, or I'd be giving them a lecture on where half of their genes come from. Seriously, why doesn't Annie or Mrs Clifford get baby poop on their pants, or pee in their faces? Why is it just me?"

As Xandar tried his best to suppress his laughter again, Christian prompted, "So, who should we inform about the date with the vampires, cuz?"