Chapter 137

“You’re still plugged in to the rumours in the Kingdom, Lance?” Greg asked with furrowed brows.

Lance’s fingers stroked the sun tattoo on his arm, something he did when he was nervous as he

responded, “I am, your Grace. In a family of drug mules, it’s rather impossible not to be. We have to stay

on top of things to avoid getting caught.”

“What’s the latest news on the Queen?” Greg’s finger circled the rim of his empty glass as he waited for

Lance’s answer

Uh the last we heard, she was questioned by journalists and reporters about her presence at the royal

family’s doctor.”

Greg gritted his teeth. Doctor. That meant the arrow injury that Livia mentioned was more harmful thanh

e thought. He swallowed a lump in his throat before prompting, “And?”

“And, well, she didn’t seem happy about it. The King defended her, and…” the loud slam of Greg’s glass

on the table stopped Lance.

Greg glowered impatiently as he said, “What I meant, you idiot, is why was the Queen at the doctor’s.”

“Oh, of course. My apologies, your Grace. Uh…there was word that she may no longer be capable of

bearing children.”

Greg’s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief as he asked, “It’s confirmed?”

“It’s a rumour, your Grace. I’ll be happy to verify it if…”

“How long do you need?”

“Only two minutes. I can do it here if…”

“Do it.”

Lance got out his phone from his side pocket and began typing furiously. He tried to hide the beads of

sweat forming on his forehead with Greg’s fingers tapping on the table in agitation. The wait was an

ordeal for the Duke, and it was torment for poor Lance.

Three seconds before his two minutes were up, Lance got what he asked for. He smiled in relief as he

pushed his phone to the Duke and explained, “My brother managed to get the records from the Queen’s

visit the other day, your Grace.”

Greg took it immediately and started reading the document. When his eyes fell on the cause of

Lucianne’s hormonal imbalance, his breathing got heavy when the words ‘unknown substance’ entered

his eyes. In the ‘further comments’ section, the doctor listed the chemical composition of the unknown

substance.

To Greg’s dismay, he recognized the poison as the same one he gave to the Duchess almost two

decades ago. He recalled the night in the bar where he boasted about his handiwork in poisoning the

Duchess to Sasha. The minister’s daughter was definitely one of the player’s in Livia’s game.

Out of nowhere, Greg muttered to himself, “Me and my big mouth.” Chances are, this was Sasha’s pitch

to the team. Seeing how effective it was on the Duchess, it was a given that they would now use it on

Lucianne. This was his fault. He flaunted his success to the dumb blonde, and now he was paying the

price when the person he thought he was secretly protecting succumbed to the same poison.

He pressed the corners of his eyes to control the tears forming from the guilt and anger at himself. But

when he recalled Livia’s threat, he immediately pulled himself out of his sorrow. The infertility poison was

just the beginning. There were definitely worse things up their sleeves to hurt Lucianne, and being privy

to this knowledge, he was not going to sit around to see it unfold.

Greg gently tapped the lower corner of Lance’s phone against the table as he pondered on his next

course o faction. He had to join Livia and whoever the h*11 she was working with, that went without

question. He had to know who he was up against. But no one had to tell him that his loyalty amongst

them would be questioned. Seducing Livia too soon would just be giving himself away. It was better to

act like he was slowly falling for her as they kept him hostage.

was

The thought of having to be intimate with Livia sickened Greg and his animal but what choice did they

have? He already caused Lucianne’s infertility. He couldn’t fail to protect her again. He was not his

cousin! When a plan slowly formed in his crafty mind, he smiled menacingly to himself before he

returned the phone to Lance and dismissed him.

He then barked from his seat, “Ivory! Alissa!”

The two approached the Duke’s space from far sides of the casino. They stood before him and as they

bowed in acknowledgment. Ivory adjusted his eye-patch before locking his one good eye on the Duke.

Alissa took her hands out from her black leather jacket, and took the bubble gum out of her mouth as she

awaited to be instructed.

“Watch the Queen Protect her at all costs. If possible, don’t be seen.” Greg demanded.

Ivory asked, “How often would you like us to report, your Grace?”

Very firmly, Greg responded, “DO NOT reach out to me for any reason. When I want a report, I’ll mind-

link either one of you.”

Alissa nodded once in compliance as she confirmed, “Understood. So, it’s only the Queen, your Grace?

No other wolf or Lycan?”

“No. It’s just her. She’s their only target. My cousin has proven to be more incompetent than he once

was. Sitting on the throne and expected to protect a whole damn Kingdom when he can’t even keep his

own mate out of danger.” Greg sighed in disapproval before he affirmed his order, “Watch the Queen.

Don’t let her out of your sight.” 1

“Will do, your Grace.” They both uttered with a slight bow. Greg dismissed them with a hand gesture, and

they returned to their games before leaving shortly after to pack what they needed and making their way

t o the Kingdom.

Greg himself sat for another ten minutes as he mentally visualized his plan before getting out of his seat.

He approached the bartender who was wiping a glass with a dishcloth. Greg motioned the bartender

towards him. When they both leaned close enough to each other, Greg said, “Billy, activate Codes

Orange and Black. Effective immediately.”

Billy’s eyes widened in horror before he glanced around and whispered, “Is there no other way, your

Grace? And what about you?”

“This is the best way for everyone. You won’t be hearing from me for a while.”

“You could give us a timeline. We can assemble a team to…”

“No.” Greg uttered firmly. “Billy, from this point on, the less I know, the better.”

Billy looked at Greg sadly before he sighed in despair and nodded. Greg patted him on the shoulder

before leaving for his apartment, and Billy set-off to carry out Greg’s instructions. 1

###

The next day, thirty minutes before his twenty-four hours were up, Greg made a call to the number on the

card and cited the code. Within ten minutes, a black limousine with tinted windows arrived at his

doorstep. The chauffeur got out and opened the door for him. He saw a pair of legs with turquoise nail

polish on the toenails. These didn’t look like they belonged to Livia or Sasha.

Greg tried not to look too nervous or too excited to get in. When he was at the door, the chauffeur

stopped him and motioned him to lift up his hand. He complied. The old man then fastened a watch-like

device around his right wrist, which had a blank, circular black screen. Greg knew exactly what this was

for. 1

When the chauffeur motioned him to get in, he stepped inside the vehicle to see who the mastermind

behind the whole scheme was. Greg was surprised to set sights on the woman seated in front of him. His

animal didn’t know whether to let out a sigh of relief, laugh at its unnecessary worry, or roll its eyes in

boredom.

Honestly, Greg expected the mastermind to be someone.more. More capable, more composed, more

experienced, more infamous even. Despite his animal’s thoughts and emotions, his human part

remained unperturbed

The woman smiled the same sinister way Greg remembered from decades ago as she said, “So nice of

you t o join us, your Grace.”