The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 47

Xandar continued linking, 'He knew where the third supplier was but didn't tell us.

'Can you blame him?' Lucianne retorted.

A pause. Xandar linked in disbelief, 'You're taking his side?'

'No, Xandar,' That simmered down some of his rage as Lucianne continued, 'I'm taking the side of whichever creature has been scarred for life because of ONE legally punishable act that the law says they committed, which might not even be wholly their fault to begin with. If they're wrong, sure, punish them. But there's an endpoint in making them carry the blame that is, sadly, not practiced in this kingdom. We have to change that.'

'And we will. But Greg can't be exempted from further punishment. He kept this information to himself despite knowing that we were hunting down the rogue suppliers. It's like he was laughing at us behind bars while we were on a wild goose chase!'

'He kept that to himself for the sake of his people, Xandar. And he could've lied when you asked him that, you know? Why do you think he didn't?'

When her husband stayed silent, Lucianne pointed out the obvious, 'He's learning to trust us, Xandar, to trust you. He's helping us. He could've left us fending for ourselves. Look at him. Look at his followers. Do you think they have anything to gain from helping the government? Do you think they wouldn't have been fine and safe on their own? From the way I see it, they didn't need the pardon to continue staying alive. This current situation is a gamble for them. They're putting their lives at risk to help us with this new threat. They could have gone on minding their own business and let the concoction happen, watching from the sidelines while the rest of us struggled to fight off those trying to challenge my Authority. They stepped up WITHOUT being asked, BEFORE we knew about the threat. We don't have the bargaining power to draw any lines with them.'

'So, you're just going to let him get away with everything? It doesn't matter to you that Dalloway, Christian and I, even you on some occasions, have been popping around random parts of the kingdom because we were hunting down the very creatures that HE had been hiding from us?!' Xandar's eyes darkened, and his breathing got heavy. His animal was nowhere calm either, snarling in agreement with its human part.

Lucianne's breathing got heavy too when she linked back with fierce eyes, 'Why is it so hard for you to understand that they are only hidden because the systems we defend are oppressive to them? How would you feel if I were a rogue?' 'You're NOTHING like them, Lucy!

'That much is clear. After listening to their stories, I dare say I got really lucky with life. But if I didn't get so lucky, if I somehow attempted to murder one of my past mates, and the law convicted me for that, putting me behind bars. And upon my release after serving the sentence, my only form of survival IS to go rogue, and I somehow find the resources and make the connections to help build a place like this. Would you draw the line with me when I decided to help you with what I've learned and helped build?'

Xandar's grip was already tightening with each word. It was painful to picture Lucianne being punished and put behind bars like that, having to find a way back up all on her own when the whole of society was against her. Despite his watered eyes, his stare was still hard when he declared aloud in a deep, firm voice, "I would NEVER do that to you, Lucy. And I will never let anything close to that happen to you. Ever."

In an adamant, angered-whisper, she challenged, "Then why is this situation now any different?"

Xandar was racking his brain for something as his thumbs stroked Lucianne's cheeks just to assure himself that she was right there in front of him, and not behind bars or wandering about as a rogue somewhere, struggling to survive. A moment of silence passed before Lucianne suggested through their link, 'How about we get to the bottom of things first, then decide if certain...past actions have to be...reviewed, balancing them with the right actions they're taking now? If we scrutinized every past wrong every step of the way, we'd be wasting time that we clearly don't have.'

Xandar sighed in defeat before pressing a kiss on her forehead that sent a shower of sparks throughout her entire being before he muttered, "Fine."

Lucianne pecked a kiss on Xandar's cheek before turning back to Greg. She was about to say something before she noticed the duke's eyes were glazed over.

'Boss, we've pinpointed J.J. and Bundy,' Quinn reported.

'Where?'

'They came out of Halo's place at 1 am, got into a car, drove for six hours, and checked-in in Vent's 24-hour inn. I hacked into the inn's system. It's for a two-day-one-night stay. Should we continue watching them?'

'No. That's enough information to go on for now. Halo and Vent's underground passageways lead to very specific territories. After some thinking, Greg instructed, 'Get Nani to monitor the end of Halo's. Ask Taron to do the same for Vent's. Any word on Dormant Little Red?' 'Lepak is watching him, but he said Red looks more like he's trying to...act dormant.

'Same bar, same drink, same solitude?'

'Yes, boss. Proceed or drop watch on this one?'

'Proceed, but get Lepak to swap with someone else. We don't want Red suspecting anything before we know what his game is!'

'As you wish, Your Grace.'

Greg ended the link, turned, and found Lucianne skillfully pinching and enlarging the hologram like a pro, not knowing that when Lucianne first touched it without knowing how it worked, the hologram disappeared and she panicked before Ivory and Alissa helped her set it up again and taught her how to use it while Greg was mind-linking.

Xandar was already smiling again because he found her panicked demeanor to be absolutely adorable and irresistible, and it was amazing that Lucianne knew how to work the hologram with just a few basic tips.

Greg allowed himself a brief look of the queen before his eyes went to the hologram. She was looking into vampire territory, the Forest of Oderem, to be precise.

Greg muttered to himself without thinking, "Why didn't they just station guards around the perimeter at all times?"

Without taking her eyes off the hologram, she explained simply, "Because if the forest senses creatures around it for an extended period of time, it'll produce an odor that can adversely affect a vampire's immune system."

That got Greg thinking. "It'll ONLY affect a vampire's system, My Queen?"

Lucianne blinked in realization. Xandar caught up too. With firm eyes fixed on her cousin-in-law, Lucianne said, "We're not putting anyone there, Your Grace. We don't know if it'll affect our species."

"Well, I'm not suggesting putting the warriors or police, but maybe a few prisoners to experiment?" Greg urged.

Lucianne's eyebrows furrowed further when she said, "No."

Xandar spoke all of a sudden, "I wonder if Kelissa Kylton's screaming would scare or annoy the forest into telling us where the abductors went."

Greg was on the same page with Xandar for once. "Maybe her nauseating scent could rival the scents of the forest and magically tear it down."

Lucianne butted in, "Your Grace, we're talking about a forest that can produce and replicate ALL scents. And I highly doubt Kelissa's odor would scare anything." Her sights shifted to Xandar when she uttered, "Darling, your history mind knows that screaming at an enchanted forest is NOT a solution!" "I'm not sure, babe. It's enchanted. Anything can happen, don't you think? If the books are right about the trees being, in a way, more alive than normal trees, then they would experience some form of emotions: anger, annoyance."

Greg was staring at the table as he muttered, "That actually doesn't sound stupid." He continued suggesting, "Maybe one could throw in a few rogue wolves and, for lycans, throw in the Kyltons, Tanners and Aphaels, maybe even those arrested in Wu Bi Corp. That ought to make a large-enough sample size for more accurate findings. The prisons holding those idiots might be getting a little too crowded anyway."

Xandar added, "Besides, some of them have been sentenced to life imprisonment. This really wouldn't make a difference. If the forest does kill them, then they would be given a shorter way to death."

Lucianne looked at her husband when she countered, "And if the forest doesn't kill them and gets annoyed, don't you think the curse of tampering with it would affect one of us or the people we love? Don't you think it'll affect Reida?" The mention of their daughter pulled Xandar's mind to a halt.

Greg's thought process slowed down a little but picked up again. "Well, it's not tampering with the forest per se, My Queen. There's no deceit. We're just curious about how it works. It's just a simple experiment to...understand it. Perhaps the forest might even feel flattered." Lucianne's rage at the absurdity continued to boil. And just when she was about to explode, Tate's link came in to tell her that they had just picked up the rogues, effectively saving the two cousins from her wrath.