Xandar loosened his tightening grip on Lucianne’s waist, and he peered into her eyes as he said, “I do try to be better everyday, baby. I love you, and I’ll do anything for you. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do. What is this about?” Lucianne asked with furrowed brows as she closed the distance between them.
He held her close and squeezed her tight for a moment before he muttered, “I just…wished I knew how you think…like how Greg knew.”
Lucianne’s body tensed-up at the mention of the other duke, and she parted their bodies only slightly before she said, “Xandar, Greg didn’t…know how I thought per se. We just came to the same conclusions with the available facts. It’s just analys
On Tate’s private jet, he sat next to Margaret. The twenty policemen and thirty lycan warriors around them chatted casually with one another like they weren’t about to face a pack of rogues. Then again, the months of training under the queen’s and the defense minister’s direct supervision had built not only their strength and skill set, but also confidence in their abilities.Only Phelton was wary. When he heard that the king and queen had authorized extracting the rogue pack, he didn’t think twice before volunteering to come to keep his eye on Margaret. After what she and her wolves almost did to Lucianne last time, Phelton kept his guard up. No one knew if they were walking into a trap.The queen may be forgiving and open to the fact that creatures could change for the better but Phelton wa
Margaret’s first mate was Alpha Draxon, a textbook playboy, alcoholic and a self-entitled brat who got everything he wanted thanks to his status. The only good thing about Draxon was that he was brought up to be respectful to the elderly of Fleet Wood.He helped old men and ladies carry things, get a cat down from a tree, those kinds of things. It wasn’t a lot to some, but it was a lot to many. Despite these occasional gestures, every parent who had a pup around Draxon’s age couldn’t ignore the fact that Draxon was not the kind of creature they wanted their own pup to be around with.Draxon and Margaret found out that they were bonded mates on her twentieth birthday, which was three months before Draxon was bound to accept the Alpha title from his widowed mother, who ruled Fleet Wood alone as Luna for th
Margaret answered Tate’s question casually, “Blue Crescent slaughtered ten of our elders about nine years ago. A year after that, Blood Eclipse killed about fifteen. We ran into Midnight completely by accident and lost another eight. White Blood killed seven out of eight. The last one came back severely traumatized. And the last run-in we had with a pack was with the wolves from Forest Gloom three years ago. We lost two.”Wow. Every alliance member made it to the list. Tate scratched the back of his head and was thinking hard on the best way to respond.“There’s really no hard feelings,” Margaret noted when she noticed Tate’s uneasiness. After registering Tate’s confusion, she explained, “The ones you guys killed were stupid to say the least. They do no research because their ego
Everyone looked at Tate in confusion and disapproval, even Margaret herself. Phelton was ready to shift and attack if Tate decided to help his mate escape.Tate ignored everyone and uttered in his mate’s way, “I appreciate you opening up to me, truly. But I haven’t been completely honest with you. The truth is…” Margaret’s eyes turned wide as she waited. Tate swallowed a lump in his throat before saying, “The truth is that I knew you were rejected by an Alpha, not because Stella told me, but because I’ve been listening in on every one of your conversations in the station since the first day.”Margaret blinked before she said, “And you’re choosing to tell me this right now? You have a serious timing issue, Alpha. I’ll deal with you later. Now, if you’ll exc
Margaret followed Tate’s sights to Azalea, and she scoffed before saying, “No. Azalea is an old friend. So is Zane, the one in front of her. Azalea and I were lone rogues before we ran into each other. We found Zane about a year later. Inseparable ever since.”“That’s nice.”“Hm. They are the more trustworthy ones. They’ve even helped look after Stella when I’m sick or out hunting.” Margaret stopped herself from saying anything more. She trusted Azalea and Zane more than anyone in the pack, but she never learned to trust them fully. She never trusted anyone fully after her rejection.Tate studied the ponytailed blonde woman and the olive-skin man pointing out the window with large smiles, and he found himself matchi
Greg sprinted to Ivory and shielded the man as he uttered to the police in a cold voice, “He’s with me.” Officer Katie snarled, “Step aside, Your Grace. This man has b—” “Katie, everyone, let them through. He’s one of the 98,” Lucianne’s firm voice cut through the space, and every policeman lowered their pistol or baton in compliance to their queen’s order. But their fierce eyes stayed on the rogue and the duke. As Greg and Ivory approached Lucianne, Greg hissed at his man softly, “What did I say about using contact lenses whenever you aren’t in the Den?” Ivory adjusted his eyepatch as he said, “Well, we are meeting the queen, Your Grace. It didn’t seem good to disguise my true face.”
Lucianne’s brows furrowed as she asked, “What do you mean ‘approved’ thesis, Ivory?” Ivory chuckled apologetically, knowing all too well that the duke was probably going to give him a full hour lecture later, and Alissa gave him an encouraging pat on the back while she held back a teasing smirk before Ivory responded, “Dessa wrote another two prior to that, but they were rejected by the faculty.” Please, no more questions. Please, no more questions. Please, no more questions. Prayers denied. Lucianne asked, “And what topic were the rejected theses on, Ivory? Prisoner reentry into society in our Kingdom?” Eyes bulged wide and eyebrows raised from everyone around her, except Greg. The duke wasn’t surprised tha
Lucianne’s eyes widened before they narrowed in suspicion as she asked Alissa, “What did he do?” Greg snorted again as one hand covered his mouth to hide his wide smile. This was actually becoming quite entertaining for him and his animal. Xandar’s hand went from Lucianne’s waist to her shoulder, where he pressed her body to his as he pecked a kiss on her hair and hid his own smile while taking a whiff of her scent. This wasn’t so bad for the king as long as he mentally blocked out that black sheep cousin of his. Alissa seemed encouraged when even the duke was trying to mask his own amusement, so she continued speaking animatedly, “Oh, that’s quite the story, ma’am. Let me tell you. So, we met and found out we were bonded at a local grocery store. We both had someone at that time but as soon as we met, he dumped his girlfriend on
Dear readers,Thank you for giving “The Rogues Who Went Rogue” a chance, and for following through to the very end. I hope that this sequel was entertaining enough to keep you engaged, and empowering enough for you to draw strength from it whenever you need the boost.I hope you can spare a few minutes to rate this novel and leave a review here and on Goodreads. It'll help a lot in seeking new readers and sharing the love!To anyone who dropped comments with encouraging words from time to time, thank you. You have no idea how helpful these have been on the days when I experience severe fatigue or writer’s block.Now, with regards to what’s in store for the next book in the Coalescence of the Five Series, it’s this - in Book Three, we’ll be acquainted with hunters and a potential duchess, but the publication date cannot be confirmed as of yet. I am discussing the contractual terms of a writing project with another platform, and if that proceeds, I would be working on that book in the s
As he gently took the baby girl from her mother, everyone braced themselves for the deafening screams that would usually follow. But what came next was just soft coos as Enora leaned against her uncle’s shoulder, resting her head there with a soft smile. After a few quiet moments, Greg glanced at the child before looking back at Xandar and Lucianne when he questioned, “What did you two feed her this morning? What sorcery is this?” Christian had a theory, which he shared as he walked over to Greg, “Maybe she’s starting to warm up to us. Let me try.” As soon as Greg reluctantly detached Enora from his shoulder and the baby realized that she was going to a different adult that was neither one of her parents, she screamed and started tearing up as she pressed herself again
The ceremony to return the title was held in the abandoned castle next to the Forest of Oderem. Pellethia had an unexplainable feeling that it had to be there, as did Lucianne. When the servants went to have the place cleaned up, all praying that they weren’t going to encounter anything out of the ordinary when they did their job, two among the sixty cleaners entered a room on the highest floor that was covered with a very thick layer of dirt and dust. When the two servants assigned to clean this particular room opened the windows to let in some air, a dash of breeze came from the forest and blew at a part of the dirt on the floor, making the poor servants flinch before instinctively holding each other as they quivered in fear. When nothing happened for the next few moments, they slowly released their hold of each other. Th
Gerella walked gracefully down the aisle, and while all eyes were on her, her sights stuck to her groom who looked like he was close to tears as he beamed at her. When she reached him, he offered her his hand to help her onto the platform. The music stopped, and the guests took their seats once more. After the marriage officiant recited from the Scriptures of Matrimony, he announced that it was time for the exchange of vows. Toby began, “Ella, from the moment we met, I knew that my life was never going to be the same again. Not only can I now boast about being the only one among my friends to get the most beautiful hybrid for a wife, your mark practically gave me the license to also gloat about being able to see a discretus when they cannot. You have no idea how much fun I’m going to have lying about a discretus’s presence when we’re training.”
7 weeks later “I’ve actually already had two. They taste pretty good.” Toby told Lucianne as they stood by the table with the trays of cupcakes. He then added, “I’m glad she decided to start a business out of this. Her baking skills are fantastic!” Hailey made those cupcakes. She was now a probationary kindergarten teacher on weekdays and a baker on weekends. She and the other mavericks still worked for Greg, but they were free to indulge in their hobbies and passions when they didn't have maverick duties. Some even pursued career paths that earned a salary the 'normal' way. Jade opened a cyber café which attracted lots of youngsters, and Hailey baked cupcakes or made pastries to sell to Jade’s customers. She offered him a small percentage of her earnings for his space. Some even came in just to buy her baked goods.
After Margaret managed to compose herself, she cleared her throat, looked into Tate’s eyes that held so much love and assurance, and began reciting her own set of vows, “Tate, when we met, I thought that our bond wasn’t going to last. I thought that a rejection would follow, from you or me, or even from the both of us. You haven’t the faintest clue of how relieved and happy I am that I’ve been proven wrong. Very wrong.” “I was wrong to think that our bond is a mistake; I was wrong to judge you based on the title you inherited; and I was wrong to think that you could never love me the way I didn’t know I needed to be loved. Never in my wildest dreams could I’ve imagined falling in love again, and never did I think it was someone as perfect as you are, Tate. I held so much hate from my past, carrying it throughout my life, even scaring away a few acquaintances with my untamable inferno, yet y
The Alpha of White Blood got cheers and claps even before the bride emerged. He was pleased to see that his pack members were not giving the vampire guests odd looks, and he was proud that, when he raised this matter with everyone weeks before the wedding, they seemed more excited and welcoming than reluctant and disapproving. What surprised him most was that the vampires didn’t sit at one place, but were scattered among the wolf and lycan guests. The Alpha wanted the integration but he definitely didn’t expect to get it this soon. Tate took a good look around to commit the sight before him to memory - the memory of his closest friends and pack members here to celebrate his and Margaret’s special day. When his eyes fell on Lucianne, she linked, ‘Margaret’s more t
3 months laterAlissa 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
Alissa’s furrowed brows and puzzled eyes shifted to the door, and her defensive instincts kicked in. She extracted the hard drive from her laptop and slid it into the custom-sewn compartment in her jeans. Reaching for the loaded gun and heading for the door, she tried to guess who that could be. The property was bought under an alias. Her landlady never came up in the last ten years she stayed here. Greg and the others usually gave her a heads-up before dropping by.She looked through the keyhole to see if she was able to get anything from the slit. All she saw was a sand-color shirt. She was also picking up a delightful yet somewhat familiar scent of oak and rain. The knock came again. She pressed her ear to the door, where she heard a heavy sigh before something was placed on the floor as the footsteps retreated.Alissa waite