Chapter 81
Chapter 81
:
容
55 vouchers
The drive to Artume has me thinking of my encounter with Lieza. I had compared my friendship with Kennedy to my friendship with her from the start. I can hear our team in the back laughing and cracking jokes while Kenny and I sit in the front. She’s our getaway driver.
“You’ve been quiet since you got back from the clinic. You okay?” she asks.
“I’m good,” I nod.
“Second thoughts?” she smirks. I smile, looking up at her.
“I’m good,” I repeat.
“So why are you so quiet?” Sasha jumps between us and offers me a mini water bottle. The water inside bubbles when I reach for it. If they notice, they don’t comment on it. I take a sip of water and place it in the cupholder under the dashboard.
“I just had a strange encounter with someone I used to consider my bestfriend,” I explain.
“I’m your best friend,” the two of them say in unison. I’ve actually come to love how close they are. Even Avian. Her mate hates it, and it’s funny when the three of them gang up on him.
“I did say used to,” I smile. “She was also very disrespectful to Dr Polucci.”
“She should be used to it by now,” Sasha huffs.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask. The two of them exchange knowing looks.
“I told you she didn’t know,” Kenny laughs. “Polucci is mated to the only Lycan Rogue bloodline in existence. Santiago Polucci’s great–great–grandfather and King Ragnar the First were both mated to the same omega like fourteen hundred years ago. They had two sons. Sigurd Polucci and Ingvar Axel.
“Fast forward a few decades, and the boys start learning their place. Sigurd was a fuck boy, and he moved like a rogue. Obviously, Ingvar was the golden boy. When the time came for the Kings to step down, Ragnar refused to allow Sigurd ascend the throne because of all the dumb shit he did.
“Children out of wedlock, contraband, gambling, paid assassinations, you know the works. Santiago and Ragnar fought. Ragnar forced Santiago to submit. Unable to kill him, he banished both of them from Blackstone. Santiago swore revenge, but he ended up falling in love with the life he built outside of the kingdom, and it’s been passed down through their sons.”
“Mafia Lycans,” I smirk. The two of them laugh.
“Essentially,” Sasha nods. “We can’t believe the King allows you to work for her.”
“She has the best medicinal practrice in the nation at the moment. There was no way in hell he was going to prevent me from working there. None of this is Aimee’s fault or Mr Polucci’s. The sins of our great great grandfather’s shouldn’t be ours to bear.”
“Unless they’re kick ass like your grandma’s,” Kenny grins.
11:08 Thu, Feb 5
Chapter 81
89
55 vouchers
“Obviously, some things are genetic and can’t be fought. I learned that the hard way. I used to hate everything my grandmother did, and before the attack, I swore I’d never be like her. But then I started the academy, and fighting is in my blood. Training, getting dirty, and learning new ways to push myself past my limitations. I kind of hang on to all her advice now. I can’t help it. This makes me crazy happy,” I admit.
“Me too,” Kenny agrees. “I used to be an influencer. All I did was shop and get people to give me free shit so I can post about it. I made a shit ton of money. Now I use my account for news and militia awareness stuff. I make twice as much as I used to.”
“Nice,” I lift my fist up to her, and she bumps me.
“I like fucking shit up too,” Sasha says, and the three of us laugh. “I’m not saying that she’s wrong for being mated to that man. It’s just that their name isn’t respected among us. They’re disgraced royals. We value our royalty a lot. They keep our race relevant, and it’s not easy considering our size.”
“Things happen for a reason, though. The Poluccis control a lot of the underground businesses. I’ve heard of them before. I just didn’t know they were Lycans. When I was around seventeen, Luna Romano mentioned them a few times. How the Rogues worked for him after Rogue King vanished.
“It’s a very common name among wolves, so I didn’t think anything of it until now. They’re afraid of him, so there are lines they can’t cross without pissing him off. Yet, they still attacked the castle and have tried to get away with more, only to be met with that brick wall. Could you imagine if he weren’t standing where he is?
“Things for us would be much worse. Wolves aren’t exactly known to be chill, and this family is protected not only by the Rogue King’s administration but also by the Alpha King’s. Maybe what we need is for a disgraced Prince to show the people what he can do. Breaking stupid cycles of hate like that should always be the King’s objective. Otherwise, it give insentive for betrayal. The enemy of my enemy is a friend and all that.
“Aimee is a very good doctor, and she loves her job. I am learning so much from her, and she’s helping me with my curriculum, so I don’t waste time taking classes that won’t matter. She didn’t hesitate to show up when the bombs went off, and she donated a lot to the families that were affected by the attack. So did he.
“If what you said is true, he didn’t have to do all of that for the people who have disrespected him and the love of his life. It means under all of that, he’s a good person. We all have darkness in us. I mean, we’re on our way to steal some shit from the people who hurt us so that we can turn around and use it against them. It’s no more noble than getting paid to assassinate someone. We’re still taking a life that isn’t ours to take. The only difference is that we’ve spun it to fit our agenda.”
“I guess I never thought of it that way,” Sasha sits back. “I always categorized us as the good guys.”
“There is no such thing as good or bad guys. Not when politics are involved. We’re all assholes. We do things we believe are logical, but we’re just people. There’s no way for us to separate emotion from reality. At the end of the day, someone somewhere is still going to hate the outcome.
“The selfish thing to do is get what we want and deal with the consequences later. Being powerful makes leaders forget that the people who put them in that position are the ones who will tear them down. I consider myself a part of the people,” I straighten up and pop my shoulders. “Tearing down is the easy part, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”
“Amen,” Ivar says from behind me. “I can get behind that any day.”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
