Chapter 39

“Were you even going to tell me?” The menacing voice rang into Helena’s ear, sending a shiver down

her spine.

Still, she tried to remain calm, “W-Well, your Grace. The audits have already been…adjusted to what we

want it to reflect so I didn’t see a need to worry you about something like this.”

“Hm…” Greg contemplated, “Your people are sure that my cousins bought it? That the figures are real?”

Helena frantically answered, “Yes! I spoke to the three of them in charge when I got to the office. They

practically knelt and pleaded, swearing that they did what we asked them to do. And the receptionists

said one stack went with the King and one with the Duke…the other Duke. I mean, if they didn’t believe

it, why bother splitting the documents between themselves?”

There was a pause before Greg asked, “And the Queen?” He tried to sound normal and not soft.

“The Queen? The woman with them? She just seemed like an accessory from what I gathered from my

people. Just nodded and greeted and you know…followed them around.”

“An accessory? Hmph. Oh, Goddess. I wonder whether your people are idiots or you’re the idiot leading

them.” Greg taunted mercilessly.

Helena was stunned. From whatever she was told, the Queen was just some wolf following the two men

around. She gave no orders or instructions. She didn’t even make any requests. The only common detail

everyone seemed to have mentioned was that the Queen was ‘nice’. What did that even mean?! “My

people did mention that she was nice.”

Greg chuckled darkly, “Yeah. Until you piss her off.”

“So you know her.”

“I’ve met her. Twice.”

“And you think she may be a threat?”

“She could be if she wanted to. This one’s smart. And very dauntless. Doesn’t give a sh*t about

hierarchy. As beautiful as the creature is, she is definitely not an accessory.” He smiled to himself at his

end in his own dark home office while picturing Lucianne in his head.

“So…we have to eliminate her, is that what you’re trying to say?” Helena was already in panic. I f the real

audits still existed, even if it was only from the past two months, her career, life and reputation would be

done for. Her mate would never forgive her.

“I tried that. Didn’t exactly go as planned. That was the first time my plan actually didn’t work out.” He

furrowed his eyebrows at what happened to Lucianne, what he did to her. He felt uncomfortable, maybe

even guilty.

Greg swallowed a lump in his throat before he said, “Like I said, this one’s smart.” He didn’t trust himself

to use the word ‘different without sounding smitten and soft.

It was Helena’s turn to sound menacing, “Your Grace, intelligence will never save one from being

poisoned. All we need is…”

Greg growled, “If you think poisoning is going to kill her and save us, you’ve been out of this game for too

long, Tanner. That is, by far, the most stupid way to eliminate a person. In our world, with our sense of

smell and tracking abilities, poison is too traceable.”

However, the truth was that Greg could never do that to Lucianne. Not again. Even if it were risk-free for

them. Some part of him was relieved that his men didn’t manage to stab her with the silver blade. What

he didn’t know was that the blade had been plunged into her body. She just didn’t die. Greg didn’t know

this because Xandar didn’t mention it in his speech.

‘We can’t just do nothing!” Helena cried out.

“Why not? You told me they believed the figures your people gave them, didn’t you?” Greg questioned.

“Yes, but if the Queen is a threat, don’t you think she’ll find out what we’ve been doing? What we are still

doing?” Helena said.

“Until we know her next move, we won’t know ours. It’s better to do nothing for now. Recklessness won’t

get us anywhere with her.”

“So we’re supposed to just live the rest of our lives in fear while she lives on fine?” Helena asked

sarcastically.

“Watch your tone, Tanner.” Greg warned. “The more you provoke the Queen, the quicker she will catch

on. She sees through ulterior motives and hidden intentions, and then uses them against you to kill your

plan at its inception. Do nothing. That’s our safest option. And if I were you, I would cut back on the

spending spree for the next few months.” Greg hung up before Helena could respond.

In his chair, he thought about what could have really happened in the audit department. It did seem like

his cousins believed the audits for now, seeing that they bothered waiting for the hard copies and then

taking it with them. But something still seemed off.

Lucianne normally took a proactive role in anything she was involved in. There was no way she would

just show up to look pretty next to his cousin. That wasn’t her. ‘Nice’. Greg chuckled to himself. She was

definitely sweet and charming. Her presence in the department must have been for something. He just

didn’t know what it was yet.

There was a double knock and the door opened, letting in the light from the corridor into his dark room. A

female Lycan dressed in some very revealing lingerie stood seductively by his doorframe. She threw the

Duke a coquettish smile and asked, “You coming, your Grace?”

“Not tonight, Livia. Get out.” He snapped, annoyed that Livia interrupted him when he was

thinking about Lucianne.

Livia faked a pout, “But I didn’t see anyone else here to keep you company tonight. Won’t you feel

lonely?”

“That’s my business. Now get out before I throw you out myself.” Greg warned.

Unperturbed, Livia kept her smile on and sashayed to his desk before standing in front of him. Her

arousal filled the air in his room. She was in heat and wanted Greg to be the vessel for her release. Greg

was getting angrier by the second, “Last chance, Livia. Get. Out.”

She sat on his desk and whispered, “Seven minutes. How about that? After seven minutes of… fun, I’ll

leave.”

Greg chuckled darkly, “Like you were ever capable of that.”

He was getting out of his seat and leaving Livia behind when her voice stopped him,” Sebastian

Cummings was having the best seven minutes of his life with me before his mate came to spoil the fun.”

Greg stiffened. He turned to Livia, who had a smug look on her face before he asked in

disbelief, “Seb gave up a lifetime with Lucianne for seven minutes…with you?” He looked at her in

disgust from head to toe before muttering, “He must’ve been drugged blind that night.”

She disregarded his insults and proudly declared, “I can give quite the experience.”

Greg still looked disgusted when he declared, “No. That guy is just dumb, like his sister. Maybe worse, in

fact. Get out now, Livia. Don’t make me tell you again.”

He turned to leave again. Just when he stepped out of the door, Livia pounced on his back and he

would’ve lost his balance had it not been for the cabinet he held on for support by the side. His eyes

turned onyx. He flicked her off his back and she fell on the floor.

Disregarding her seductive gaze, he carried her over his shoulder and she laughed hysterically. But

when Livia realized that Greg wasn’t heading for his bedroom, it was too late. He opened the front door

and dumped Livia on his lawn in the cold night. He then threw her purse and coat that was left on the

front door cabinet right next to her on the lawn.

Before disappearing into his home, Greg uttered, “The night air ought to cool you off.” Livia was so

stunned at what just happened that she only came back to her senses after hearing Greg slam the door

behind him.

She was never rejected by any male before, not even by Greg the last two times. What happened?

Livia called Sasha to come get her. Embarrassed. Unwanted. But most of all, FURIOUS! How dare he

reject her advances?! And what was that look he gave her when she told him about Sebastian

Cummings? What the hell did that even mean?!

Sasha snapped, “You’ve wasted your time going there to get him to scratch your itch. I think he is starting

to have a soft spot for Seb’s ex-mate.”

Livia was enraged and bewildered, “That’s not possible! The Duke doesn’t have a soft spot for anyone!

And if he did, where is the wolf now?! Why isn’t she with him?!”

Sasha’s eyes turned dark, “For some stupid reason, the Moon Goddess decided to bond the wolf with

the King.”

Livia exclaimed, “So the King is accepting second-hand goods?”

Sasha smirked, “Sixth-hand actually.”

Livia blinked in surprise and spat, “But she isn’t even that good-looking. From the back, she just looks

like a child! She doesn’t deserve to have men flock around her like that! We do!” 1

Sasha’s lips curled upward. Looks like she just found herself an accomplice. If the useless rake of a

Duke.wouldn’t help her get what she wanted, she would just do it with someone else. And who better to

recruit than Livia right now?