Chapter 136


    Livia was undaunted despite Greg’s hostility. She flicked her high ponytail to the back to expose her bare


    shoulders, and leaned towards the table between her and the Duke. Her red-colored, sweetheart


    neckline dress did everything to advertise her cleavage as she said, “I came with a proposition, your


    Grace.”


    “Not interested. Get out, Livia. Don’t make me tell you again.” Greg snapped, and took another sip from


    his ss as he averted his eyes from her and started staring into space while he waited for her to leave.


    Livia simpered, and leaned back into her seat as she signaled the bartender for a drink before returning


    her sights to Greg. His eyes had turned onyx, and it was nothing close to lust. Livia was well-aware of


    that this time.


    “That’s it.” Greg signaled his men and the bouncers approached his table in quick steps.


    “Before you do that, you might want to think about what would happen to a certain wolf if you threw me


    out.” Livia uttered his way in a taunting manner.


    Greg’s hand raised without needing to think, halting his three men at the exact moment they had reached


    his table. His voice was low when he asked, “You’re threatening me?”


    Livia’s lips pursed in contemtion for a brief second before they tten themselves out when she said,“


    No, a threat seems murderous. I prefer the word ‘warn’ or ‘caution’.”


    “And if I don’t heed to your warning, you’ll do what? Hurt the Queen?”


    “Something like that.”


    “I apud how you’re not turning red in embarrassment right now. We both know you have no skill set to


    aplish that. And you’re far from having such connections.”


    “Who said that the connections are mine?”


    Greg was a little surprised to hear that. “Hm. Been making friends, I see.”


    “Something like that.”


    “You’re an idiot to think you can hurt the Queen, by the way. She’s stronger than you think, and her allies


    would do anything to defend her.” Greg said in utmost confidence.


    Livia smirked arrogantly as she said, “Funny how they couldn’t protect her from her most recent…


    mishap.”


    His eyes burned into hers when he asked, “What mishap?”


    Livia mocked a surprised expression as she said, “You don’t know? She went off to fight a few rogues


    with her friends yesterday. They thought they were winning until an arrow no one saw impaled right


    through her flesh.”


    “Wolves heal, you fool.” Greg muttered. But internally, his heart clenched when Livia mentioned Lucianne


    was hurt by an arrow. What the f*ck was his cousin doing?! How many times will he let Lucianne get hurt


    before he learned to protect her?!


    Livia saw the sh of hurte and leave Greg’s eyes. Her calm demeanor was beginning to fade with


    the jealousy building in her chest as she spat, “No, your Grace. You’re the fool! You’re a fool if you think


    the arrow was just an arrow!”


    If it were possible, Greg’s already-onyx eyes turned a shade darker as he demanded to know, “What did


    you do to her?”


    Livia emitted a low growl at how protective he was to another woman before she dered firmly,”


    Nothing she doesn’t deserve! You’ve always been proud of your connections and resources. Well, now’s


    the time to put them to good use and find out for yourself what happened to the woman you can never


    get.”


    Greg growled ferociously, and the casino started to quiet down. One of his men held Livia by her neck on


    the Duke’smand. The crowd watched in shock at Livia gritting her teeth to cope with the difort


    o f being strangled, her fingernails scratching the bouncer’srge hand, a desperate plea to be released,


    but t o no avail.


    Livia adamantly fixed her eyes on Greg as she choked out, “If…….die…so will…she.”


    Greg’s merciless gaze turned hesitant. He knew that Livia never had the resources to hurt a fly, let alone


    kill Lucianne. But she was never one to make empty threats. She never made any threats, to be honest.


    He thought hard about whether Lucianne would be harmed if his men killed Livia right then and there.


    Lucianne was strong. But the people around her were not. The Oleander de she took for the child


    proved that she was still susceptible to injuries and even…death. The thought of Lucianne’s death on his


    hands was too painful to be pushed aside, and Greg reluctantly gave a hand signal for his man to


    release Livia.


    After Livia fell on the floor and took in the air she needed, she pushed herself up, and Greg asked


    impatiently, “What’s your price?”


    Livia scoffed darkly. “You think that’s what I want? Money?”


    “In the ck market, ‘price’ includes favors of some kind, newbie. Now, name your price.”


    Livia smirked like she struck gold. With her forearm on the table, she leaned in to whisper into Greg’s


    ear,“ My price…is you.”


    Greg tried not to show how nauseated he felt by her perfume and her request. His face remained


    unperturbed when Livia pulled herself back to study his reaction. When she got nothing, she asked,


    “Well?”


    “You have to be more specific. What does that entail? My resources?”


    “No. We just want you on our side.”


    “Our side?”


    “Yes. The more capable minds we have on board, the quicker we’ll be able to get what we all want.”


    “And you’re saying you can help me get what I want?”


    “We can. If you help us, too, that is.”


    “And what do I want?”


    Livia responded in confidence, “You want everything the King has. The throne, the power, the influence.”


    ‘Not even close’, Greg thought. After he realized that he had fallen for Lucianne, all he wanted was for


    her t o be safe and happy. But he wasn’t going to give Livia a reason to hurt her. So, he continued the


    conversation as if Livia had hit the jackpot, “And what makes you think you can get me those things?”


    “Unfortunately, due topeting interests, we can’t give you the throne. But…when our work is


    complete, and the dust has settled, you will be second-inmand. That’s also something you feel that


    you’re entitled to, isn’t it?”


    In his mind, Greg’s animal was chuckling at how poorly Livia chose to ask her question. From memory,


    he only told Sasha about his frustration of not being second to the King. So, Livia inadvertently threw her


    friend under the bus without even realizing it.


    To give him that position, Christian ckfur would either be forced into resignation or killed. As tempting


    as it was to get rid of that upper-level servant to his cousin, Greg couldn’t deny the fact that there was a


    dangerous game being yed against his cousins and Lucianne, one that he doubted any of them knew


    about


    As he kept Lucianne at the back of his mind to not give himself away, he asked Livia, “What is it that you


    want me to do?”


    Livia smiled broadly as she said, “Well, first thing’s first. We need you to live with us. It’ll be easier to


    keep track of your movements and monitor your loyalty. And if you choose to betray us, any of us, we


    won’t kill you. We’ll go after her.”


    It was one of the most difficult times to stop his animal froming forward to tear Livia to shreds. He


    cleared his throat and remarked, “So, you’re offering me a job without telling me about the job


    description?” 1


    Livia sneered, “I am making a proposition on behalf of the team. You will know the full extent of what we


    require you to do and NOT do when you choose to join us. Join us, and you can stop hiding in some


    underground business ce. Join us, and you will wield the power as the second most powerful man in


    the Kingdom. Choose otherwise, and we’ll bury you with the rest of the creatures we’re going to bury


    when we’re done.”


    Her voice was a little unsteady when she talked about burying Greg, and Greg couldn’t help but think


    how pathetically na?ve Livia was to expect any real intimacy with him just because they had sex. He slept


    with so many women. What made her think she was any different from them? He would fire a stream of


    condescendingments at her but angering Livia would put Lucianne’s safety at risk, and Lucianne’s


    safety took precedence.


    Giving into Livia’s request now was unwise. She knew how he felt about Lucianne, how he wouldn’t go


    against her. He had been in this game long enough to know that the most tactical move was to ask, “How


    long do I have to decide?”


    “Twenty-four hours.” She took out a white business card from her purse, and ced it on his table as she


    continued, “Call this number and cite this code. Someone wille to get you.”


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?.


    As Greg studied the upper row of digits and the lower row of jumbled up numbers and letters, Livia made


    onestment, “I hope you make the right choice, your Grace. It really isn’t a hard decision to make


    when you think of the benefits you’d reap.”


    As she turned and left, Greg couldn’t help but agree with what Livia just said. This really wasn’t a very


    hard decision to make. He would take any side that kept Lucianne safe. Period.


    After Livia left through the doors, Greg stood and looked around the quiet casino before locking eyes


    with a man holding a pint of a beer in his hand and had a cigarette in his mouth. After motioning the man


    toe over to his table with two fingers, Greg resumed his seat as he yelled out, “Show’s over!”


    Greg took somefort in repeating Lucianne’s words from the training ground. The murmurs in the


    casino filled the space once again. The man Greg summoned put out his cigarette before taking a seat in


    front of the Duke. “Your Grace, was there something you needed?”