The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 26

The other recommendations from around the table were glaringly flimsy: strip him of his dukedom, increase sentencing, banishment, etcetera. Honestly, what would stripping the dukedom do? It won't reverse any damage or bring back any lives that could be lost. Increased sentencing? Greg wouldn't care less if he stayed longer in prison. If he did, he wouldn't have gone in in the first place. And banishment? Really? Before Lucianne showed up in Xandar's life, Greg practically self-banished when he disappeared from the

kingdom for sixteen years. These weren't going to work as leverage.

Everyone went back-and-forth with no satisfactory or agreeable idea. When Toby came to terms that there was no other way but the sinister one he had in mind, he cleared his throat and raised his hand. The whole room quieted down as they waited for the defense minister to speak.

Toby chose his words carefully, "I don't think conditional pardon for all ninety-eight of them is the right way forward. Not all crimes are created equal. Murder, for one, has to be...heavily scrutinized. It's fairer to the victims and their families that way. If any one of the ninety-eight has killed another, their case must be brought to court, and punishments may be mitigated depending on how much blame they should take from their crime and how cooperative they'll be in helping us with the current threat." "Finally!" Christian exclaimed in a hushed tone but everyone in the quiet meeting room heard the duke's relief and enthusiasm.

Phelton then prompted, "And apart from murder?"

Toby continued, "Apart from murder," his eyes locked with Lucianne when he sighed and said, "I'm for granting pardon to every other rogue under Greg Claw, as long as they cooperate in helping us hunt down and eliminate creatures challenging the Queen's Authority."

Christian's brief relief was replaced with an expression of strong objection when he whisper-yelled, "What the f-" Annie gently hit her husband's arm to stop him and get him to be more respectful.

Yarrington prompted, "And what about the other duke? How do we hold him and make sure he understands the repercussions of conspiracy?"

Xandar uttered, "If he has murder on his hands as well, the same rule should apply. If murder isn't in the equation, then we could...perhaps use Greg himself as leverage."

That got Lucianne thinking. It was a fair idea. This line even made Christian's animal listen, really listen. His onyx eyes that held nothing but anger welcomed a shade of contemplation as he waited for his cousin to continue with his proposition. Xandar elaborated, "Greg has committed more crimes than he has admitted to. Hiding rogues is already one that we didn't know about. If the cooperation with his people goes sideways, we could make his people testify on every wrong that Greg committed, and increase his sentencing with each one."

Lucianne added, "In that situation, his people will be tried, too, but their own sentencing will be mitigated when they testify against Greg. In essence, if Greg turns against us, we turn against him AND the creatures he seeks to protect." Xandar nodded in agreement. Christian challenged, "And if they run or refuse to testify against him?"

Lucianne locked eyes with Christian and declared in a deadpan voice, "After meeting them and listening to their voices, I'll be able to track down any and every one of them by hacking into their mind-links, and I'll use my Authority to make each of them spit everything out myself."

Christian blinked in surprise, and Lucianne elaborated, "I gave Greg a chance to drop his attitude after he pissed me off during the collaboration, Christian, and he made good of that chance. We should give his people that same chance. If we have a reason to question their loyalty, if there's the slightest reason to be suspicious, if they screw up when we try to find the creatures behind inventing the concoction, I'll personally break them, slowly, until I'm satisfied."

Sure, that sent a shudder of fear down everyone's spines but it was also assuring. Their queen assured them that she wouldn't let her feelings of wanting to help get in the way of doing what was fair for the rest of the kingdom. A smile graced Xandar's features as he gently stroked the back of her hand.

Christian came out of his shock and seemed a little calmer when he said, "Okay. That seems...balanced. I'm in." So was everyone else.

Just when Xandar thought he could dismiss everyone, Tate spoke, "I need to ask..." All eyes fell on him and the deputy defense minister continued, "Can we offer the same pardon to Margaret and her rogues?" His eyes looked pleadingly into Lucianne's contemplative

ones.

Lucianne questioned, "Are we talking about only those behind bars or..."

"All of them in her pack, Lucy, even those we haven't caught yet. We both know Margaret, being their leader, would most likely know where they ran to next. She just didn't tell us."

Lucianne gave his words some thought, and couldn't help but conclude that Tate was right. Stella might not know much as a minor and one with a very strained relationship with her mother, but Margaret might have a Plan B that she chose not to disclose. There was short silence before Lovelace snapped, "And you didn't think of mentioning this earlier, Tate?! If you said something sooner, Lucy could've at least made Margaret spit it out."

Tate argued back, "The Authority isn't the answer to everything, Lovelace. If we can offer the rogues hidden by the other duke conditional pardon, why not these rogues? What's the difference? Both groups are hiding from us anyway."

"I agree," Xandar said firmly. "Instead of wasting more resources and time to hunt them down, maybe it's better to give them a chance to come forward. If these rogues are trouble, it will show during the cooperation, and we would have enough justification to punish them from there."

Lovelace clarified, "The consequences WILL be the same as the rogue lycans, My King?"

Xandar nodded, and when Lovelace's eyes went to Lucianne next. The queen shrugged and said, "I don't see why it shouldn't be."

Lucianne's voice took a worried turn when she reminded Tate, "Tate, if Margaret or any of her people screw up-"

Tate completed her sentence in an ominous tone, "You'll break them, slowly, until you're satisfied."

Lucianne nodded before she decided to add in a gentle voice, "But if it's Margaret herself, I could spee..."

Tate knew she was suggesting showing his mate mercy if Margaret eventually screwed up, so he didn't even let her finish when he butted in, "No, Lucy. You can't. It jeopardizes your credibility and reputation as our queen. If my mate remains stubborn and refuses to cooperate and make good of the chance we're granting her, which is essentially a way out, it's better to subject her to the same punishment and... let her go."

Toby blinked so many times at what he just heard and went completely speechless as he slowly sat upright from his laid back position. Lucianne exchanged a worried glance with Toby before looking at Tate as she mind-linked him gently, asking him to reconsider, 'She's your mate, Tate, your future Luna'

Tate scoffed aloud and had a pained smile when he responded aloud, "I want to help her. I want to get close to her. I want to know her. I'm willing to beg. I've already begged. I've just begged the third time this morning when I went to see her before this meeting. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. But if she continues to keep me hanging, leaving me...guessing whether she feels the same way or wants the same thing by not saying one f*cking word to me..."

He felt a crack in his heart, and his wolf howled in pain in his head when Tate continued to declare, "I have to let her go. I'm not going to keep knocking on a closed door like an idiot. White Blood deserves a Luna who can contribute in some way, or someone who's at least interested in what happens in and out of the pack. Margaret can be that. But if she refuses to be that, I can't make her. If she refuses to nurture our bond, it's better for the both of us if we just let each other go. I just hope she'll be okay after that." Toby snapped, "You're giving up already?! It's only been two days!"

Tate swallowed a lump in his throat and told his Gamma, "And in those two days, it seems like she's pushing me further away with each visit, with each word I say. She's not playing hard to get. She's really shutting me out. The hurt just builds up in me and in my wolf with each passing second. Margaret is showing no interest in giving us a chance, neither is she severing the bond. I have no idea what she wants. She's not talking."

Toby looked at Lucianne and asked, "Is the Queen's Authority off-limits?" Lucianne gave her friend a disapproving look and threw out a firm, "Yes."

"But this is an emergency!" Toby argued meekly as his hand motioned in Tate's way.

"Not the type of emergency that requires me to choke something out of someone, Toby," Lucianne noted, and went back to Tate, "Talk to her, Tate. Tell her about our offer. Tell her how you feel like how you've just told us, so that she sees your side. She might still be confused about what to do. You lay your cards on the table and let her decide what she wants to do with them. She might have a clearer idea on where to go from there."

Tate held her gaze, taking in what she said for a moment before he obediently nodded in compliance, and asked with a smile, "You're with me, right?"

Lucianne nodded, and promised with firm eyes, "Every step of the way."

"And I've suddenly become invisible," Toby complained as he crossed his arms and slumped back into his seat.

Tate turned to Toby and uttered, "You're my Gamma, minister. You're bound to stand with your Alpha."

Toby smirked as everyone started chuckling and he rebutted, "Unless you stand against the queen, in which case, you're on your own. The most humiliating thing to have written on my tombstone would be 'slaughtered by a five feet creature"." Christian snorted and started chuckling, so did Weaver. For some reason, Xandar had the urge to correct Toby, "Lucy is actually five-foot three after being marked, Toby." This made Christian laugh even louder.

Toby narrowed his eyes at Xandar and asked in mock anger, "Oh, and that's any better, My King?"