Those who were found and brought back from Neptune’s warehouse were now placed in a guarded apartment building near the castle. They were given food, clothing, medical checkups, and therapy if they wanted it. Toys had also been donated by civilians of the empire to the hybrid children.
Lucianne, Xandar, Christian and Annie made regular trips to visit the families with Pellethia, Octavia, Rafael and Amber, to see if the families needed anything that they could provide. Even Maddock and the other ministers came along a few times.
A few of the families began asking whether they could return to the lycan kingdom to visit families and show their parents their pups. Xandar and Lucianne immediately granted such requests and even gave the families a few dates where a jet would be sent to come pick them up.
The administrative hybrids and those who fought at Bordure weren’t given as much freedom or luxury as those who weren’t involved in executing the plan. The administrators who were left after Chong’s death were Saxum, Regina, Gerella, Rudolpho and Zepine. Regina was placed on house arrest since she had Michael to care for. Gerella was confined to her apartment as well, escaping dungeons because she warned the empress and consort about the Bordure attack. The other three were kept in the dungeons until trial. Unlike the other prisoners, they weren’t allowed to leave their cells for meals or walks. It was a safety precaution taken to avoid starting prison riots. On a trip that Lucianne dreaded, Deputy Chief Laurent and Officer Laila escorted Kate when they boarded Xandar’s jet with the queen to leave for the empire. Once they landed
Toby visited Gerella twice a day, getting to know her and making sure that she had everything she needed to make the experience less tormenting. She constantly assured him that she was fine, and always looked forward to his visits. He learned that her mother died giving birth to her, and her father subsequently passed on from the grief and heartbreak. He learned that she liked children and had a favorite - Isla. He also learned that she was fluent in proditor code. What was it used for? Help some of those who left the empire transmit messages to their families or close friends, if both sides were still on good terms even after the separation. The main translator was a proditor who stayed in the Forest of Oderem for a few years before sneaking back into the empire, living in one of the most remote parts under a new alias. His years as a proditor enabled him to read the code, and he made a go
When Toby visited Gerella in prison for the first time, his leg fidgetted as he prayed that he wouldn’t see that she had been battered or anything like that. The empress and consort assured him many times that Gerella was going to be safe, and that the prison guards always had things under control so violence and bullying seldom happened behind those walls.He was waiting for her in the private visitation room for two painful minutes before Gerella entered with the policewoman, who then took off the keratin and silver cuffs that bound her wrists while reminding her about the usual procedure and the two hours that she was allowed. Gerella was dressed in the teal green uniform that everyone else wore, her hair up in a ponytail, and Toby sighed in relief that she still looked perfect.Gerella’s brows arched in confusio
Gerella’s smile grew in cheekiness when she explained, “They think it’s the authorities’ fault that we left the hideout. Since you’re part of the authorities, they hate you.”Toby argued in a whisper, “Ella, that’s not fair. The vigils went in first. I’m NOT a vigil. Hate on them. And besides, you guys left BEFORE any of us saw any of you.”She replied with a playful smile, “I know.”“Didn’t you tell them?” Toby asked in dismay.“Not at first. I do like to listen to everything someone says before I say anything. It gives me a good picture of what they know and where they stand in things.”
Xandar was in bed scrolling through his phone when he read the news from the empire. Many were awed and even touched by the level of commitment that the kingdom offered to their Imperial Majesties, vigils and governing body during the cooperation. They were grateful to Greg because he tracked down the triplets and brought back the abducted vampires before killing the scientists and destroying their lab. When he was reported to be ‘the only royal family member who is, at present, single’, some women from the empire even boldly expressed their interest to ‘meet’ the duke. Xandar took a screenshot of that part of the article and sent it to Greg, and he didn’t expect the reply that came seconds later with only four words, “I hate you, cousin” along with the middle-finger emoji. Xandar chuckled to himself as he continued reading.
In the meeting room, everyone brought their notes along with their own copies of Iridessa’s theses as they took their places around the table. Toby was walking to his own seat when he muttered a complaint as he walked past Lucianne, “I swear, I’ve never seen that many words in a single document in my entire life.” Lucianne merely scoffed softly in amusement, whereas Xandar saw the need to respond, “It’s a thesis with research taken from all species, Toby.” “Wrong. It’s TWO theses, Xandar.” Lucianne covered her mouth to swallow the chuckles when Xandar continued, “Exactly, so what did you expect?” Shamelessly, Toby declared, “I expected more graphs and charts, preferably with color.”
After lunch, Lucianne and Xandar met with the vampire rulers to discuss bringing back the Secret Service. They have been watching Greg and his followers. Not only did they conclude that none of them went out of line, they agreed that none of them went anywhere near that line. The initiatives they took were highly commendable; their commitment in the cooperation was unwavering; and their loyalty outshone their pasts, no matter how dark they were painted to be. Octavia even mentioned that it didn’t feel like they were doing what they did to be pardoned. The royal mavericks helped because they wanted to help. Margaret’s followers were more split - about two-thirds helped because, like the royal mavericks, they grew to like working with others beyond their own. But the remaining one-third were just there for the pardon, excluding the traitors, Kate and Howard, of course.
Lucianne explained to Greg the same way she explained to Xandar the previous night, “Yes, Greg. Your scent. Ever since you’ve disclosed housing 98 rogues, none of us could fathom how you never smelled like a rogue. When you confessed to being the one leading the rogue world, the issue of why your natural scent was preserved became even more perplexing. I thought you used scent sprays at first, but you didn't always have those on hand even when you were in prison, so that couldn’t be it. The only logical explanation is that you were never a rogue.”“O…kay?” Greg tried to keep up before he said, “That’s probably because no matter what I do, I’m still of royal lineage, My Queen.”Xandar countered, “That can’t be it, Greg. In the past, any king or queen who ha