The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 122

It didn't take as much force to mentally invade those without the king's strength and power, but the situation still annoyed the proditors because most of their victims were shutting their eyes and refusing to follow through with what they wanted them to do. They began putting fake sounds into the manipulations just to get their victims to move towards a particular direction. Everyone ended up running into trees and each other rather than letting the fabricated knowledge make them give into their urge to attack and kill. Some of those who were manipulated by more skillful decipios did end up attacking Lucianne and Xandar, who had to watch each other's backs as they tried to channel their Authorities again.

Right before one sneaky discretus-hybrid could plunge its claws right through Lucianne's nape, a dash of breeze pushed him away, making him fall to the ground. The hybrid quivered in fear at the sight of a ferocious pair of emerald eyes boring into his blue orbs. Pellethia plunged her claws right through the hybrid's being, relishing in his shrieks before Lucianne's casual link calmed her down when the queen said, 'Oh. Hi, Pelly. You're here!'

The empress got up, hurriedly dusted the dirt off her pants, and turned her attention to them when she said, "I am so sorry we're late, Aunt Lucy, Uncle Xandar."

Lucianne responded, 'Don't worry about it. You're here now. Let's finish this. Saxum is somewhere over there, I think!

"On it." Pellethia sprinted and went looking for the leader with Octavia and Amber right behind her, albeit catching up slower since neither of them had the abilities of a velox.

Saxum and a few alert and quicker decipios had begun retreating the moment they saw Pellethia and her entire cavalry entering the battlefield. Their instinct was to return to Neptune's warehouse, but logic told them that they might not be able to outrun whoever was chasing them down, so the current plan was to find a place to hide.

On the battleground, Gerella's eyes scanned the place, feeling a mix of relief and guilt when she saw some of her friends unconscious but others dead. She was immensely grateful that none of the children were brought here.

Her blue orbs didn't stop searching until she found Toby. She gazed at his wolf in awe as the rhythm of his blood sang to her. Her smile faltered when she saw his eyes were darkened green from the manipulation, and he was walking right into Rudolpho's claws that no one could see, seeing that he was a discretus. Gerella sprinted to Toby and pushed him away, so Rudolpho's claws plunged through her arm as she shrieked in anguish.

The fellow discretus looked at Gerella like he was asking 'what are you doing?', and she simply said, "Rudolpho, get your f*****g claws OUT OF ME!" Although still confused, Rudolpho retracted his claws as Gerella groaned. It was the first time she felt blessed having the healing abilities of a wolf.

Before Rudolpho could start lecturing her about her loyalty, Alissa kicked him in the head and he fell to the ground unconscious as she muttered, "A*****e." Alissa was very tempted to use the lighter in her back pocket but felt that she wasn't the right person to finish him off the way she wanted to, so Rudolpho was just left on the ground like the others.

Toby came out of the manipulation when Joseph, his decipio partner, sped up bringing him back to reality. Gerella knelt by his side as she frantically asked, "Toby. Toby, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Toby was blinking, trying to recall what happened in the last minute when his mind was invaded. When he remembered being pushed away and falling, then looking up at the creature who made him fall, his heart ached and his vessels constricted when the memory of Rudolpho attacking Gerella was presented to his mind.

"Toby! Can you hear me?!" Gerella continued yelling before looking at Joseph and asking, "What's wrong with him? Why can't he hear me?"

She was pulled into a sudden embrace, and her shock was evident from her wide eyes. Toby shifted back and leaned his forehead against hers when he said, "Please don't do that again, Ella. That was f*****g terrifying."

Joseph left the two alone as Gerella sighed in relief when Toby finally spoke. Her arms circled his neck, and she hugged him back as she whispered an endless stream of 'I was wrong. I'm sorry'. Toby pressed her deeper into his embrace as he kept repeating the words, "Shh, it's alright."

The two then felt something deep within their hearts, which was left bare and in pain after Toby recited his part of the rejection. The moment Toby pulled Gerella into his arms, and Gerella embraced him in return, they felt a small flame, a gentle warmth filling the emptiness that was left there since their last encounter with one another. That flame was a sign that the rejection had been retracted, its effects lifted. Although one could verbally retract a rejection to keep the mate bond alive, a simple act of love and affection would also have the effect of rekindling the bond, so long as that act is reciprocated, as Gerella was reciprocating now.

The wolves and lycans were having a much easier time seeing that Rafael had already put most of the proditors to sleep. His fiery eyes exhibited his ferocity and anger when he identified the remaining decipio-proditors. The most powerful decipio then entered the proditors' minds all at once, making them leap to the ground and walk towards him like trained pets before shutting down their minds as well.

In the midst of cooing Ella, Toby saw Rafael do what he did, and the defense minister couldn't stop himself from saying, "That's pretty neat."

Rafael turned to Toby with a humble smile and nodded in acknowledgement before uttering, "Thank you, Toby."

Seeing that the situation around them was under better control, Lucianne took a quick look at her best friend's mate and couldn't help herself from smiling before she sprinted to where Pellethia headed to earlier.

Xandar, Greg and Christian ran after the white lycan, wondering how Lucianne could always manage to move on to the next prey without much of a break in between.

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Pellethia only had to speed for a while before Saxum and the runaway proditors came into view. She entered their minds and made them think that they were running into a wall, bringing them to an abrupt halt. The empress put the decipios to sleep, and only Saxum was left standing.

The empress stood a safe distance from the leader when she got straight to the point, "How sure are you that my father killed your family? Who told you that was what happened?"

Saxum saw only Pellethia and himself in a white space. He scoffed when he realized what she was doing before he fired back with his own question, "You're going to manipulate me into thinking that what I know is a lie."

"No. I'm making you think that you have nowhere to go so that I get my answers."

"What right do you have to demand answers? You're just a spoiled little princess who was born into a luxury of choices and freedom, never needing to care how the odd ones have to fare because daddy provided everything. I don't answer to any ruler, especially not one who doesn't even have the basic skill of wielding an Authority."

That wasn't the first time Pellethia was being ridiculed for not having that archaic power, so she merely simpered when she retorted, "Funny how this spoiled little princess didn't even need the basic skill of wielding an Authority to trap you and put your runaway friends to sleep, Saxum."

Pellethia found strength in her own words, confidence in self-recognition of her worth even without the archaic power. She couldn't see it but a streak in her hair glowed in bright green, and roots that seemingly came out of nowhere crept up Saxum's body, holding him in place.