It wasn’t really ‘tonight’ for anyone. Everyone was at Polje by late evening. The sunset off the horizon would’ve been a breathtaking sight if it weren’t for the fact that the lycans, werewolves and vampires were there because of Margaret’s vision. She saw fire and heard growls, but thankfully, no blood or anguished howls like the last time.
Octavia and Amber came tonight, along with a few other discretus and fortis. Octavia’s eyes and those of the other ten discretus they brought along roamed the surroundings, scanning for proditors.
When they did this for a good fifteen minutes but saw nothing, the discretus asked their wolf and lycan counterparts whether they were hearing or smelling anything. None of them did, not even Xandar with the sharpest hearing or Lucianne with the sharpest sense of smell.
Thoughts on swapping ‘rogues’ with ‘mavericks’? If the story is going well for you so far, remember to drop a few gems 💎 and comments as you read along :)
Before the five-second cue was up for round two, Margaret heard fierce and loud snarls, the type of snarls that normally hit her eardrums when her rogue pack was surrounded by other rogues who were ready to attack to either steal their supplies or kill her to assimilate her followers into their own pack. Her survival instincts took over, and she opened her eyes to find that she was surrounded by more than ten rogue wolves, and she could see that a part of their shelter was already on fire. It was exactly like her vision. What she didn’t realize was that there was no smoke smell despite the fire, and it didn’t occur to her that their pack had never and would never take shelter in an open space like Polje with no trees to hide them. These logical conclusions were not at the forefront of Margaret’s mind because her mind was do
Tate’s smile grew more radiant when he said, “Considering that you have a wolf that can try to push through silver cuffs; you climbed to the very top of the rogue ladder while raising a daughter by yourself for more than a decade; and the fact that your followers just trusted you when you asked them to follow a plane full of lycans that we’re taught to stay away from, I’d definitely say that you are terrifying.” That made Margaret chuckle, and the sound made Tate’s wolf coo and wag its tail in happiness. Lucianne’s ears perked up when she heard footsteps approaching her, and Octavia offered to keep watch while the queen paused her leaves-weaving as she listened to what Margaret had to say. To Margaret’s surprise, the only thing that came out of Lucianne’s mouth was a relieved ‘thank Goddess’.
After the break from their third round for the night, Rafael asked Lucianne, ‘Ready?’ Lucianne nodded, and Rafael started at the pace they stopped in the previous round. She felt her awareness diminishing, like she was being induced to daydream, which decipios have found to be the perfect place to start at manipulating their victims. As hard as Lucianne tried to fight to stay aware and alert, she couldn’t completely clear the seemingly-harmless fog invading her mind. Instead of trying to focus on making her mind clear of the fog, she channeled her concentration to her nose and skin, smelling any creatures near her in reality and trying to feel their energies. Lucianne smelled only one vampire taking slow, cautious steps at a safe distance around her, but she was being manipulated to forget that it was Rafael.  
Lucianne’s devastation and the way her heart was squeezing itself made his animal howl in pain. He didn’t think twice before dashing towards her, not caring that she was in the midst of practice. Xandar pulled her into his chest in an attempt to comfort her and assure his love for her, only to have her try to push him away.When everyone saw their king sprint across the field, those taking a break started watching, and were shocked to see the way their queen was trying to break away from him. Xandar was dodging her punches aimed at his jaw and chin before caging her arms along with her body in his embrace as Lucianne sobbed and whimpered in a futile attempt to run away.Those watching blinked countless times, some even shook their heads to make sure they weren’t in a daze and squinted their eyes to verify that they
In her holding unit, Kate crawled under the sheets before deleting the messages of the day out of habit. She then extracted the SIM card and hid it in her bra. The practice tonight was horrible for her. She just received news from the person she had been conversing with, and it was worrying her. ### On another end, Hailey just got Jade to hack into Kate’s phone before the signal was lost. Hailey blinked and asked in frustration, “Really? Now?” “What a time to be taking out the SIM card,” Jade replied. “Well, she’s not supposed to have a SIM card to begin with,” Hailey noted, then added, “We should persuade the duke to report her to the queen. She’s hiding something.”
The next morning, Lucianne packed the baby essentials before she, Xandar and Mrs Parker left for the Den. Xandar was hesitant to allow their daughter to come with them at first, but seeing that both he and Lucianne could use their Authorities on those creatures if it had to be used, he gave in. Lucianne didn’t want to spend too much time away from Reida, so she brought her daughter anywhere that didn’t pose a risk of danger. She already met the royal mavericks, and they were all loyal to Greg. Since Greg was on their side, she wasn’t worried about bringing Reida along. They reached the Den, and many were fascinated by the princess, who was looking around with those curious lilac orbs in her mother’s arms. Hailey came over, and was elated that they brought Reida along. She dashed back to her room, got the small teddy bear sh
Duica and VIG002, Bernadette, went in as the last pair on their third day of forest-testing. They were all relieved that no unexplained misfortune was reported from the palace or from their families and friends, and they were immensely grateful that the forest exuded only fresh and pleasant scents when they entered each time. Despite the positive signs, they were still anxious and daunted because of their knowledge about past curses. Duica and Bernadette went half a mile in, and Bernadette took out her notepad to record the scents of buns and waffles she was smelling before Duica suggested, “Perhaps we can go a little further today. Maybe see what’s another half a mile away.” They were both veloxes, running wasn’t a problem. Bernadette gave her comrade’s words some thought before she agreed, “Her Imperial Majesty didn’t dra
Saxum didn’t even sit when he reached Klementine’s place. Every administrative creature of their community was at the worn-out wooden table. Gerella went to Saxum’s side, whispered about the non-proditors’ presence into his ear and waited.Saxum’s blue eyes darkened, and he gave a firm nod of acknowledgement before Gerella left his side to take her seat at the only empty chair left next to him. The hard-faced leader with the ability of a fortis began, “Callows. Get to it. How much longer?”The Callows were lycan triplets - Matthew, Nessa and Ourelia. Gifted and ambitious didn’t even begin to describe these three scientists, who shared a home lab since they were kids. Science fairs and competitions were for losers who wanted to waste time and potential on small-scaled successes tha
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