Chapter 176
“…You want the new Rogue King to give you their blood. You still want to be the Werewolf King,”
J said after a long pause.
Daran didn’t say anything.
But she could see ambition dancing in his dark eyes.
“So what you said was all craps, right?”
J couldn’t help but raise her voice:
“You said that you only want the kingship so that you could put a stop to this war. But now the war is
ending, permanently, as long as we back the right Rogue King!” “But people will change. Even if a
person is a pacificist now, it doesn’t mean that they won’t change into aplete war manic in the
future!”
J knew perfectly well about how much a person could change.
Take Daran as an example.
Look how much he had changed.
J’s voice was strained, “But we will find a way to keep the rogues in check. The Lycans are
here to help-”
“You want to rely on the Lycan’s help?! Do you want to submit yourself to another species? Wake
the fuck up, J! They are even worse than Lance!”
Daran grabbed J’s wrist and hissed into her ears:
“Do you know where Lance knew about this ritual? From an ancient text that the Lycan had kept
from us. Apparently, the Werewolf King is the only one who has the power to stand up to the
Lycans. For the purpose of better controlling us, Westin and his men don’t want the Werewolf King
to emerge. They want to fucking rule us like a bunch of ves!”
J froze on her spot.
She wanted to tell Daran that this was not true.
Westin was simply here to lend a hand, to help with their crisis.
But then she recalled what Westin said to her before in her bedroom:
…There is always a war, between the werewolves and the rogues…But this one is different.
…If someone doesn’t put a stop to this turmoil, the–order of this world will be lost, permanently…
Westin didn’t care about the previous wars.
He simply cared about this one.
Because this time, Lance got hold of the way to overthrow Lycan’s reign.
And the “order” that he talked about had nothing to do with the bnce between them and the
rogues.
Westin was referring to the dynamic between the werewolf and the lycan. He didn’t want that
dynamic to shift.
Daran picked up on the astonishment in J’s eyes.
He let out a coldugh, “Shocked? Looks like your goody two shoes isn’t exactly a saint himself,
right?”
“Stop! I am trying to think-
“Once he has total control over us, do you think he will still treat you this nicely?! The Lycans think
of themselves as the superiors. He will never treat you equally! Wake up to this J-”
“But I still won’t help you to achieve your personal goal, Daran!” J cried.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly in anger as she hissed:
“Stop sugarcoating it! You just want the fucking power for yourself. You are a ruthless pragmatist,
taking advantage of this war! And I WILL NOT diminish myself to be your goddamn tool!!!!
Daran’s face grew cold.
He looked at J’s anger–filled face, chuckling icily, “You know that I get what I want no matter
what, right?”
“Yeah. A ruthless pragmatist. Just like I said.”
J shook his hand off her wrist and stood up.
“But leave me out of your plots and schemes,” she said sternly.
She turned to walk away from him.
Then she heard his deep voice from her back:
“You don’t need to help me. Just don’t share these with the Lycans. They are not to be trusted.”
J said nothing and went into the forest.
Westin was talking to Edwin in a low voice, surrounded by his men.
He raised his head when he saw J walking close and a soft smile spread across his lips.
“You are done with him?” he asked.
J nodded, “It is not easy to convince him to work with you, Lycans.”
Edwin raised his eyebrow, “But what choice do you have? You can’t put an end to this yourself. You
need our help.”
J frowned.
Maybe she was being paranoid… Yet Edwin’s words came across as condescending and it did not
make herfortable.
Was this how Westin thought of them as well?
A bunch of useless losers who depended on the Lycan’s rule and support?
“J.”
Westin stared at J with an alluring smile on his lips:
“What made Daran and Lance suddenly start fighting? Did Lance tell Daran anything?”
J avoided Westin’s gaze.
Daran’s words rang in her ears-
They are not to be trusted.
“…Nothing,” J said lowly after a while.
“Really? Lance didn’t say anything to Daran?”
“They probably have a quarrel or something. But I don’t know about the details,” J said
elusively.
Edwin frowned and opened his mouth to say something.
But Westin stopped him and smiled:
“Forgive me for being nosey, but I just want to make sure that Lance isn’t feeding Daran any false
information that will cause him to get cold feet again.”
“He won’t. His mind is made up. We all want to kill Lance,” J said.
“Then I trust you for it/”
Edwin stretched his shoulders, “Well, then I better go into the city and chase the rouges away. I will
report back to youter, My King.”
He bowed to Westin and disappeared into the woods.
“You might want to get some shut eyes before the big fight.” Westin said gently to J, “Are you
chilly? Do
chilly? Do you need my coat?”
“No. I am fine.”
J walked away a few steps andy down under a tree.
Yet she couldn’t sleep.
Her mind was upied by all the mess with werewolf and Lycan.
A thought flickered across her mind in the meantime:
Who did Daran want as the new Rogue King originally?
She didn’t get a chance to ask him.
A few hours had passed, and the moon moved to the center of the night sky.
Edwin came back after 12 o’clock and let them know that it was go time.
Daran had taken some time to heal. He looked much better now.
“So we will go into the city and hunt Lance down.”
Westin said to the group gathered by the woods, “He knows that he has lost his protection. He will
be hiding from us. So we better divide and conquer. J, do you. want toe with me?”
J hesitated.
Daran spoke up icily, “She stays with me.”
Westin snorted, “You sure you can protect her?”
“My wounds are healed.”
“But she is still safer with a Lycan.”
The subtext of the werewolf’s inferiority made J frown.
I
“I don’t need anyone’s protection,” she said coldly. “But I better go with Daran, in case he needs my
protection.”
Westin’s face went dark.
Daran grinned.
“J is right. I do need a capable Gamma’s help,” he said briskly.
Westin cast a dark nce at Daran before leaving with his men, while Daran, on the other hand,
seemed to be in an awfully good mood.
“Drop that smug grin.” J hissed to him, “We should go.”
Edwin’s warning worked. The once–hectic city was nowpletely empty. Not a single rogue could
be seen on the street.
Daran and J went back to the pce and checked the ce where theyst saw Lance.
But he was no longer under that giant pir.
A trail of blood started from underneath that pir and disappeared into the darkness.
That must have been the direction that Lance headed.
Daran and J followed this blood trail.
Lance’s blood led them deep into the ruined pce.
Some of the walls had topped over, blocking their way. They had to bend their back or squeeze
through the narrow cracks.
The blood stains underneath their feet grew heavier as they went on.
“His wound seems to be getting worse,” J whispered.
“Yeah. Because he has lost the Rogue King’s power. Come. I think we are close.”
10 minutester, they found themselves climbing up a tower.
“I think I know where he was headed,” J said in a hushed voice. “There is a drawbridge on the
top of the tower, leading directly to the back mountain. If Lance made it to the drawbridge, he could
easily escape into the mountain without having to go through the city.”
Daran nodded.
N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.
His face changed abruptly the next second. He put a finger over his lips and gestured
for J to keep quiet.
They heard voicesing down from a few flights above.
“…Please help me transfer the King to a safer ce. There is still a chance!” said an urgent female
voice.
“Forget it! I am not putting myself in danger! Lance is fucking doomed!”
J and Daran looked at each other.
They both recognized the second voice.
It was Harper.