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
Why was Ivory so noticeable? 👀
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
After Alissa felt a little better, she loosened her grip over Lucianne, and the queen got the cue to let the woman go. After Alissa met Lucianne’s comforting orbs and offered her a firm nod and a smile as a sign of gratitude, Lucianne returned her gesture before turning towards Desmond.Desmond approached her with a wide grin and extended his hand before he said, “Sup, queen? The name’s Desmond Derulos.”Xandar’s eyebrows raised for two reasons. One, for the informal way Desmond was speaking to Lucianne, who was, in Xandar’s eyes, the most powerful creature in the kingdom. Two, for the very reason that Desmond Derulos was the infamous con artist who posed as a CEO of a ghost company that sucked money out of investors.The king’
Upon hearing that Desmond didn’t get everyone he was out to con, Lucianne frowned and commented, “Well, that’s a bummer.”Greg snorted and Desmond chuckled before the latter said, “Yea. Tough playin’ superhero when ya play alone, ya know what I’m sayin’?”“I do,” Lucianne gave a firm nod with a smile, and glanced at Ivory, Hailey and Alissa before she added, “Good that you have a team now, then.”“Oh, this ain’t the team, ma’am. We’re just the top four. Boss’s team is huge!” Desmond said with pride.Lucianne turned to Greg before she said, “I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less.”
Lucianne gave Xandar a moment before she continued, “Creatures with the right moral compass have the ability to feel anyone with accuracy, Xandar. Those of us with a firm set of principles and values have an innate ability to detect both good and bad intentions, from one’s choice of words and actions, if not from one’s presence. When we allow our animals to guide us in meeting new people or gauging a new situation in an unknown environment, some part of us just…knows how to differentiate between good and bad.”Xandar’s smile broadened by the second, and he planted a deep, long kiss on her fingers before pulling his car to a stop at a red light, where his eyes locked with hers as he said, “You’re amazing, Lucy.”The usual warmth crept up her cheeks as she tried but failed to press
Right before Xandar was about to say something, large metal floor panels covered by sand and rusty construction materials folded upwards to reveal a route which seemed to lead to an underground tunnel. They followed Greg’s car and came to a well-lit parking space. As soon as Laurent and his followers were in, Greg shut the panels. After Xandar parked in a random lot, he turned to his wife and asked, “Weren’t you only annoyed on those shopping trips because the books, clothes or shoes weren't to your taste?” Lucianne furrowed her brows and exclaimed with elaborated hand gestures, “Are you kidding me, Xandar?! You want to talk about shopping when your cousin just opened a freaki—” “Yeah yeah, that was all very impressive but really, baby, it wasn’t the material things th
Lucianne shoved aside the thoughts of how good the reception was underground as she turned around to pick up the empress’s call.“Pelly?”The response came out ominously, “Aunt Lucy, there’s been another abduction. Twenty adults and two children have been taken from another village, Saber Vagary.”Lucianne’s facial expression squinted in despair before she asked, “How far was this from the Falling Vines?”“23 miles north.”“Without bloodshed?”“Without bloodshed,” Pellethia confirmed, and added, “We&rsqu
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