Chapter 176
ââ¦You want the new Rogue King to give you their blood. You still want to be the Werewolf King,â Janet said after a long pause.
Daran didnât say anything.
But she could see ambition dancing in his dark eyes.
âSo what you said was all craps, right?â
Janet couldnât help but raise her voice:
âYou 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!â âBut people will change. Even if a person is a pacificist now, it doesnât mean that they wonât change into a complete war manic in the future!â
Janet knew perfectly well about how much a person could change.
Take Daran as an example.
Look how much he had changed.
Janetâs voice was strained, âBut we will find a way to keep the rogues in check. The Lycans are here to help-â
âYou want to rely on the Lycanâs help?! Do you want to submit yourself to another species? Wake the fuck up, Janet! They are even worse than Lance!â
Daran grabbed Janetâs wrist and hissed into her ears:
âDo 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 donât want the Werewolf King to emerge. They want to fucking rule us like a bunch of slaves!â
Janet 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:
â¦There is always a war, between the werewolves and the roguesâ¦But this one is different.
â¦If someone doesnât put a stop to this turmoil, theâorder of this world will be lost, permanentlyâ¦
Westin didnât care about the previous wars.
He simply cared about this one.
Because this time, Lance got hold of the way to overthrow Lycanâs reign.
And the âorderâ that he talked about had nothing to do with the balance between them and the rogues.
Westin was referring to the dynamic between the werewolf and the lycan. He didnât want that dynamic to shift.
Daran picked up on the astonishment in Janetâs eyes.
He let out a cold laugh, âShocked? Looks like your goody two shoes isnât exactly a saint himself, right?â
âStop! I am trying to think-
âOnce 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 Janet-â
âBut I still wonât help you to achieve your personal goal, Daran!â Janet cried.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly in anger as she hissed:
âStop 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!!!!
Daranâs face grew cold.
He looked at Janetâs angerâfilled face, chuckling icily, âYou know that I get what I want no matter what, right?â
âYeah. A ruthless pragmatist. Just like I said.â
Janet shook his hand off her wrist and stood up.
âBut leave me out of your plots and schemes,â she said sternly.
She turned to walk away from him.
Then she heard his deep voice from her back:
âYou donât need to help me. Just donât share these with the Lycans. They are not to be trusted.â
Janet 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 Janet walking close and a soft smile spread across his lips.
âYou are done with him?â he asked.
Janet nodded, âIt is not easy to convince him to work with you, Lycans.â
Edwin raised his eyebrow, âBut what choice do you have? You canât put an end to this yourself. You need our help.â
Janet frowned.
Maybe she was being paranoid⦠Yet Edwinâs words came across as condescending and it did not make her comfortable.
Was this how Westin thought of them as well?
A bunch of useless losers who depended on the Lycanâs rule and support?
âJanet.â
Westin stared at Janet with an alluring smile on his lips:
âWhat made Daran and Lance suddenly start fighting? Did Lance tell Daran anything?â
Janet avoided Westinâs gaze.
Daranâs words rang in her ears-
They are not to be trusted.
ââ¦Nothing,â Janet said lowly after a while.
âReally? Lance didnât say anything to Daran?â
âThey probably have a quarrel or something. But I donât know about the details,â Janet said elusively.
Edwin frowned and opened his mouth to say something.
But Westin stopped him and smiled:
âForgive me for being nosey, but I just want to make sure that Lance isnât feeding Daran any false information that will cause him to get cold feet again.â
âHe wonât. His mind is made up. We all want to kill Lance,â Janet said.
âThen I trust you for it/â
Edwin stretched his shoulders, âWell, then I better go into the city and chase the rouges away. I will report back to you later, My King.â
He bowed to Westin and disappeared into the woods.
âYou might want to get some shut eyes before the big fight.â Westin said gently to Janet, âAre you chilly? Do
chilly? Do you need my coat?â
âNo. I am fine.â
Janet walked away a few steps and lay down under a tree.
Yet she couldnât sleep.
Her mind was occupied 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 didnât 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 oâclock and let them know that it was go time.
Daran had taken some time to heal. He looked much better now.
âSo we will go into the city and hunt Lance down.â
Westin said to the group gathered by the woods, âHe knows that he has lost his protection. He will be hiding from us. So we better divide and conquer. Janet, do you. want to come with me?â
Janet hesitated.
Daran spoke up icily, âShe stays with me.â
Westin snorted, âYou sure you can protect her?â
âMy wounds are healed.â
âBut she is still safer with a Lycan.â
The subtext of the werewolfâs inferiority made Janet frown.
I
âI donât need anyoneâs protection,â she said coldly. âBut I better go with Daran, in case he needs my protection.â
Westinâs face went dark.
Daran grinned.
âJanet is right. I do need a capable Gammaâs help,â he said briskly.
Westin cast a dark glance at Daran before leaving with his men, while Daran, on the other hand, seemed to be in an awfully good mood.
âDrop that smug grin.â Janet hissed to him, âWe should go.â
Edwinâs warning worked. The onceâhectic city was now completely empty. Not a single rogue could be seen on the street.
Daran and Janet went back to the palace and checked the place where they last saw Lance.
But he was no longer under that giant pillar.
A trail of blood started from underneath that pillar and disappeared into the darkness.
That must have been the direction that Lance headed.
Daran and Janet followed this blood trail.
Lanceâs blood led them deep into the ruined palace.
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.
âHis wound seems to be getting worse,â Janet whispered.
âYeah. Because he has lost the Rogue Kingâs power. Come. I think we are close.â
10 minutes later, they found themselves climbing up a tower.
âI think I know where he was headed,â Janet said in a hushed voice. âThere 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.â
Daran nodded.
His face changed abruptly the next second. He put a finger over his lips and gestured
for Janet to keep quiet.
They heard voices coming down from a few flights above.
ââ¦Please help me transfer the King to a safer place. There is still a chance!â said an urgent female voice.
âForget it! I am not putting myself in danger! Lance is fucking doomed!â
Janet and Daran looked at each other.
They both recognized the second voice.
It was Harper.