I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]-Chapter 138: Inter-pack Conflicts

"Hmm." Agnes thought about it for a moment, tapping her fingers on the table. "That’s true. You said that the Bloodmoon heir had visited the town at least twice, right?"

"...Several times, actually," Felix admitted hesitantly. "And he stayed here for a while..."

"Hmm. I assume you don’t want to leave the town and go on a run, do you?"

Felix glanced at the cradle where Vivi was lying, lulled to sleep by gentle rocking. If he were just on his own, then he wouldn’t mind so much, but... "I’d rather not. My daughter is still only four months old, I don’t think it would be good for her to be constantly on the road..."

"That’s true..." Agnes agreed. "And I assume you don’t want to leave on your own?" she turned to her son.

"No, I’m staying here," Remi answered without a hint of hesitation.

Agnes let out a long, heavy sigh in response. "Then I will have to go on the run myself..."

"You’ve asked for it yourself when you took such a troublesome request," Remi was unmoved. "Besides, how’s that any different from what you’ve been doing your whole life? You’re always wandering around."

"But now I will have to hide from my clients!"

"As if that’s anything difficult for you, with your capabilities!"

"And what about my reputation?"

"Since when were you ever concerned about that?" Remi scoffed. "Are you trying to tell me that you’ve never scammed anyone?"

"Well..." The corners of Agnes’ lips lifted up in a smile, as she neither confirmed nor denied it. "But that’s not the same. This is a breach of confidentiality. Just as human doctors cannot reveal their patients’ data, we have to keep our clients and their requests a secret. How am I ever going to do a good business, if a word about it spreads around?"

"Then put on a disguise, change your name, and start anew. Problem solved." Remi didn’t care in the slightest about his mother’s complaints. "It’s not like you can just carry on with your current identity anyway, after failing the request. Won’t your client chase after you to fix the curse, once they realize that the Bloodmoon’s leader is still alive and well?"

"That’s true," Agnes nodded in agreement. It’s not that she didn’t already know that. After all, the reason why she came to Silverfall in the first place was to find out who had undone her curse, and to deal with them. But since she had already agreed not to do anything to Einar Blackstone or the Bloodmoon Pack again, she had no choice but to disappear so that her client wouldn’t bother her.

"Alright, fine. Then I guess I have no other choice," she sighed. She took a long sip of tea, finishing all that was left of the dubious substance in her cup, and put it back down. Then, she leaned over the table, her eyes wandering between Felix and Remi, "Do you know the name Erin Darkfang?"

"Erin Darkfang?" Remi repeated, his face blank. ’Darkfang’ sounded like a werewolf surname... But other than that, he had no clue. How was he supposed to know some random wolves?

Felix, on the other hand, immediately recognized the name. His eyes widened, and he asked, just to confirm, "Do you mean the heiress to the Misty Claw Pack?"

"Yes," Agnes nodded her head. "Have you heard of her?"

Heard of her? It would be harder not to! The Misty Claw Pack was one of the supremes, after all! Erin’s fame was equal to Kade’s. She was a female Alpha a few years older than Felix, known as a fierce fighter. Tall and muscular, with dark grey hair cut right at the shoulders. Not necessarily known for her beauty, especially since her facial features were slightly distorted by the claw mark scars running across her face she got in her early teens... But she was an Alpha, so her looks weren’t the major concern. She was more than strong enough to shut down anyone who dared to mock her (not that there were many people stupid enough to do that).

That wasn’t all that important now, though.

"Are you trying to say that Erin Darkfang was the one who requested you to curse Einar Blackstone?" Felix couldn’t help but ask. It might have seemed obvious - why would Agnes mention her now, if she wasn’t involved? - but it was just too hard to believe...

But against his disbelief, Agnes confirmed, "Yes, it was her."

Felix pressed his lips tight, his head practically spinning. Of course, he had already known that whoever Agnes’ client was, they must have been fairly powerful. And rich! However, he would have never expected that it was another supreme... He was thinking more along the lines of the large packs.

For example the Stonehill Pack - Felix had heard before that they had a conflict with the Bloodmoon Pack a few years back. It was because they wanted to expand, and join the ranks of the Supremes... But the Bloodmoon Pack squashed them like ants, greatly reducing their numbers, and putting an end to their hopes. After something like that, it was obvious they would hold a grudge for years, if not generations...

And there surely must have been plenty more packs like that. The Bloodmoon Pack was known for their bloody ways, after all! They were bound to have many enemies.

But not among the supremes. Although the supremes weren’t necessarily ’friendly’ among each other, they still maintained cordial relationships on the surface, even allowing intermarriage sometimes, especially among the lower-ranking members. Even if they had their conflicts, they always tried to negotiate a compromise, and didn’t let it escalate into anything larger.

The reason was simple - it was all about the balance of power. The supreme packs always kept everyone in check, even each other. Even if one of the supreme packs wanted to go to war with another, the remaining three wouldn’t stand for it. First, because they wouldn’t want to give any of them a chance to grow through a conflict, as the winner might absorb resources and members from the loser... And second, because of how it would affect the human world. A war between supremes wouldn’t be like one among the smaller packs, it wouldn’t end up with some territorial scuffles. It would sweep through the whole country, resulting in a massive bloodbath.

And for werewolves, who were living on the edge of society and valued secrecy, with many humans still doubting their existence, that was hardly a desirable outcome.

In other words, that was an unprecedented situation. At least Felix had never heard about something like this...

After the initial shock had passed, though, he calmed down a bit. For now, it was just Einar Blackstone, the leader of the Bloodmoon Pack, who had been cursed. Which was a big thing, of course, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the conflict would escalate any further... There was still Kade, a suitable heir who had already reached adulthood, and would have been able to take over any further.

And perhaps it wasn’t the Misty Claw Pack that wanted Einar gone. It could very well be that it was just Erin who had a personal grudge. Felix had never met the woman, all he knew were the rumors, so he didn’t know what her true personality was...

However. Just as he started calming down and analyzing the less disastrous possibilities, Agnes continued,

"It was a part of a bigger plan from the Misty Claw Pack to weaken the Bloodmoon Pack. We started with cursing Einar Blackstone, to cause unease within the pack, and eventually eliminate him," she explained. "As for what they want to do next, I don’t know, as they haven’t shared it with me... But we have discussed a long-term collaboration."

Felix’s face went blank. It was... too much to take in.

"Thank you for your information," he just muttered.

Agnes stared at Felix intently. Although she couldn’t see his face, she could tell from the tone of his voice and his body language that he was beyond shocked, and perhaps even scared... "You can share it with the Bloodmoon, if you want," she offered.

"Huh?" Felix lifted his eyes, surprised. "But you said..."

"I’ve already broken the confidentiality anyway, so it doesn’t matter!" Agnes shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "As for you, if you’re afraid that the Misty Claw might come after you, with this information, you can ask the Bloodmoon for help. Just don’t let them know that I was the one to curse their leader. I don’t want to be chased by two supreme werewolf packs!"

"Ah, yes, of course..." Felix nodded his head. He didn’t like the idea of asking the Bloodmoon Pack for help... But it wouldn’t be ’help’, and more like a ’trade’. And all the details could be discussed later with Remi, and then Kade... Either way, overwhelming as it all was, it was still better to know.

If the Misty Claw Pack members ever appeared in town, it would be a signal for ’the witch’ to hide.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel