Pursuing My Rejected Alpha
Chapter 13

The first thing that Bjorn did after taking care of the local authorities was contact the Werewolf Council and report Lucien's disappearance. Early the next morning, Elder Rick and a council assistant arrived at the Seaside View Hotel to meet up with Kinnon. Although Kinnon was beyond exhausted because he could not sleep a wink, he still agreed to meet up with the two representatives from the Werewolf Council. The second worst thing that happened to someone after going through a ghastly incident was being forced to retell the story. Once he was done, Kinnon was a nervous wreck.

"Then, we only need Alpha Kinnon's signature underneath," Elder Rick concluded. He too did not enjoy the task.

Next to him, the council assistant finished writing down the last lines of Kinnon's statement. The parchment was then respectfully laid before Kinnon.

Kinnon bit into his thumb and pressed the bloody thumb at the bottom part of the parchment to signify the authenticity of the report. The council assistant bowed at Kinnon before he took the parchment, rolled it up, and put it inside his small suitcase. "Alright then. We will take our leave. Take good care of your wounds, Alpha Kinnon."

Kinnon nodded. "Thank you."

"And also..." Elder Rick gave Kinnon a commiserating look before he turned to leave. "I am very sorry about what happened. Rest assured, a task force has been assembled to search for Lucien Clearwater. We will do our best to replace him as soon as possible."

.....

A task force.

Kinnon heaved a long sigh after the two members of the Werewolf Council left.

The Alpha used his arms to push his body up from the chair, but the wound across his stomach did not allow him to. After several futile attempts, he had to give up. Stifling a frustrated groan, the Alpha leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes. If someone had told him before that Lucien would attack him and then disappear a few hours after they announced their marriage during the Moon Banquet, Kinnon would have thought that the person was nuts. They were happy together. They were supposed to be happy forever.

Who would have known that this kind of thing could happen?

Forget about the fight, about the wounds that Lucien inflicted on him. What hurt Kinnon the most was the fact that Lucien escaped from between his fingers again. This time he was not sure that he could win him back. "Daddy...?"

Ralph's head poked from behind the door. The little boy also woke up in the middle of the night due to the loud noises, but tired children were easy to coax back to sleep. He only noticed that something bad happened when a lot of adults rushed past his suite in a fit of panic.

For the little boy, waiting was torturous. He was thus more than glad when his father was rid of his guests and he could finally meet his father.

Kinnon's expression softened when he saw his son. He extended his hand toward Ralph.

"Come here, Ralphy."

Ralph looked more than relieved. He dragged his favorite rabbit doll with him when he ran toward his father. Ralph tried to climb up his father's lap, but he was too short. Kinnon winced slightly when he had to pull his son up. It was rather pathetic, he told himself. He was not even able to pull Ralph up without experiencing pain.

"Daddy... are you hurt?"

Ralph extended his little hands toward Kinnon's chest. His fingers brushed against the thick bandages around Kinnon's body.

"Mmm, just a little."

Ralph directed his big eyes at his father.

"Daddy... where is Mommy?"

Kinnon's face darkened visibly.

"D... Daddy?"

"Mommy just went away for a while," Kinnon said without looking at his son.

Ralph's little mouth dropped open. His eyes turned as round as the moon. Kinnon furrowed his brows when he saw the unusual reaction. "What is it?"

"Daddy... you also said that about Nana."

Nana, Ralph's pet rabbit, died six months ago.

Ralph fought hard against the tears that were building in his eyes.

"Daddy, is Mommy not going to come back anymore...?"

It was not something that Kinnon wanted to hear. Maybe because what Ralph said sounded like a bad omen that might just come true. Either way, Kinnon no longer wanted to talk to Ralph about Lucien.

"That's not true. Stop saying that," he snapped. Unfortunately, his stern face and voice did nothing to placate the little boy. Instead, it served to confirm his fear.

"Waaaaahhhh....!!!" he started to cry.

Kinnon's Adam's apple bobbed up and down in annoyance.

"Ralphy, don't cry."

"Waaaahhhhhhhh... I don't want Mommy to go. Wahhhhhhh....!!!"

The last thing Kinnon wanted to hear was the incessant sound of a crying little boy.

"Ralphy!" he raised his voice in anger.

Ralph stopped crying almost immediately out of shock, but then he howled even louder.

"WAAAAHHHHHHH...!!!"

Kinnon rubbed at his temple. He wanted to pull Ralph into a hug, but the little boy hopped down his lap and ran away.

"Ralphy, come back!"

The boy did not bother to turn around. Blinded by tears, he almost bumped into a tall man who was standing just outside the door. "Waaaahhhh... Wahhhh...!!!"

Ralph slumped against Ronan Silverback's leg and hugged it.

Ronan looked down at the little blonde boy who suddenly went to hug his leg. He was momentarily speechless. Was this not Kinnon's son? The boy who, during the Moon Banquet, spent the majority of the time in Lucien's arms? Ralph's nanny quickly arrived and peeled the little boy from Ronan's leg.

"I... I am sorry, Alpha Ronan. He is just a little boy," the nanny quickly apologized.

Ronan raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. Despite the obvious rivalry between their two packs, he never thought of doing unspeakable things to Kinnon's son. The mere fact that the Night Prowler Pack members believed that he would was quite offensive. "You are here?"

Kinnon's voice was heard coming from inside the room.

Ronan slowly pushed the door open and saw Kinnon leaning against his chair. The two Alphas looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes," Ronan confirmed. "I am here because I want you to tell me directly what happened."

Kinnon regarded Ronan with a cold look.

"Your father is a Werewolf Council member," he pointed out. "I just finished making my statement. Go to your father and replace out."

Ronan closed the door behind him and slowly walked toward Kinnon.

"I don't want to hear the marked-up version of the truth. I want to know exactly what happened last night."

"I did not make up anything. What an outrageous accusation!"

The only reason why Kinnon's anger was only heard in his voice and not in his action was the fact that he was badly wounded and could not stand up at all. Else he would have thrown Ronan out of his suite, and his hotel. "Aha."

Ronan chuckled. His eyes wandered to the thick bandages that peeked out of Kinnon's clothes.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that Lucien attacked you for no reason?"

.....

"It is none of your business," Kinnon replied while looking away from Ronan.

"I can't believe it," Ronan's voice gradually go higher as he pinned Kinnon with a scorching glare. "You don't feel remorse for throwing him under the bus? And I thought you loved him."

Kinnon snapped his head in Ronan's direction.

"Watch your mouth. Who is throwing him under the bus?"

"Unless you tell the Council the real reason why Lucien suddenly attacked you, Lucien's reputation will suffer from this incident!"

Kinnon clawed into the armrests. "I will never let it happen."

"Then tell me what happened."

Kinnon cut a smirk. "Spoken like Dane Silverback's true son. You are every bit as pushy as your father. How is this any of your business?"

Ronan leaned in closer to Kinnon. "Lucien is my business."

"Lucien is my betrothed!"

"He is also his own person!"

"Ronan, don't get out of line!"

Ronan knew what Kinnon wanted to say. After their upcoming marriage was announced, it was fair to count Lucien as part of the Night Prowler Pack. That being said, Ronan had no business interfering in the Night Prowler Pack's private matters. Both Alphas took an imaginary step back. Ronan closed his eyes and inhaled a few times before he tried to talk to Kinnon again.

"Lucien is missing. I just want to replace him and take him back home. If you want the same thing, then we should cooperate."

The word "home" made Kinnon wonder which home Ronan was referring to. Nevertheless, the man in front of him had a point. His injuries paralyzed him. He was unable to go out there to search for Lucien. The Werewolf Council assembled a task force, but what did they know about Lucien? Nothing. By the time they found Lucien, it might be too late.

At this point the only person who could independently search for Lucien was Ronan. Kinnon subtly nodded.

"We came back from the banquet and went into this suite to spend the night," he started, gesturing toward the room.

"We are going to get married soon and it was a beautiful night, so I proposed to take our relationship to the next level."

Ronan wished he did not have to be there to listen to Kinnon, but he had to. If he wanted to replace Lucien.

"I wanted us to consummate our relationship and bind us to each other as mates."

Ronan clenched his jaw and curled his fingers into fists. He did not know what his face looked like, but it was enough to put a smirk on Kinnon's face.

"He agreed," Kinnon said. "I would have accepted it if he rejected me, but he agreed anyway."

Ronan did not know what hurt more. The knowledge that Kinnon asked to bed Lucien the previous night or the fact that Lucien agreed.

Ronan never thought that a day would come when Lucien's enchanting body would be exposed to someone other than him. When another person would have the privilege to lay on top of Lucien and push inside him. And claim him as a mate. Alone the thought was enough to make Ronan go berserk.

"And then?"

His voice sounded weird. Like that of a wounded animal.

Kinnon observed Ronan's expression. He could see a lot of emotions that were reflected on the latter's face. Rage and jealousy towered against one another in an attempt to take the upper hand.

"And then we got into the bed. Just before I entered him, it happened."

The tension in Ronan's body declined upon hearing Kinnon's words.

They did not do it.

Lucien had not slept with Kinnon.

Ronan hated himself for caring that much, but it allowed him to shift his focus from his personal feelings to Lucien's safety.

"We had all the lights turned off as per his request. I did not see it happen, but I still get goosebumps when I think about it."

Kinnon furrowed his brows and rubbed at his arms subconsciously.

"He transformed very quickly. I did not have time to react at all. The next thing I knew, he had already torn at my body. Despite my injuries, I also transformed and tried to contain him. Naturally, I failed.

After a while, he decided not to bother with me anymore and made his escape through the window."

Kinnon turned his head to look at the wall window that the hotel personnel switched that very night before the police officers and firemen came to investigate the hotel.

After wounding Kinnon, Lucien in his wolf form rushed toward the wall window. The red recliner just happened to be standing in front of the thick glass plate, between Lucien and freedom. Lucien slammed hard against the recliner, using it to shield him from the tiny pieces of shattered glass as he made his escape.

It all happened very quickly.

Kinnon saw the giant wolf disappear into the night, and then he lost consciousness from losing too much blood.

Ronan left after he heard the truth from Kinnon's mouth. Once he got outside of the hotel, he punched hard at a tree. The innocent tree broke and fell onto the roadside, just as Ronan's car pulled up to fetch the Alpha. Lucien's sudden transformation despite having lost his wolf was the first hottest topic that the werewolf society talked about for the next two days.

Most people thought that maybe Lucien never lost his wolf. But if he had not lost his wolf, why could no one detect his wolf? Werewolves instinctively recognized each other.

Did Lucien not lose his qualification to be the next Alpha because he was no longer a complete werewolf? He even left the pack out of shame and lived far far away from his family.

An elder in the Werewolf Council cited a phenomenon called "wolf possession". It happened when a human being was possessed by a wolf spirit and then transformed into one. Said wolf spirit would continue controlling the body until the human being was strong enough to break free from the possession.

This theory was contested by many other elders. One claimed that it only happened to normal human beings, and another claimed that it was nothing but a fairytale. The wolf spirit itself was not real.

Also, how likely was it for a werewolf who lost his wolf to be possessed by a wolf spirit?

Humbug.

Nonsense.

The truth remained hidden until Lucien was found. Thus, the second hottest topic in every werewolf's mouth was none other than Lucien's whereabouts.

.....

Where did Lucien go after he wounded Kinnon?

The task force decided that Lucien would not go back to the East Temple City, so he most likely would go back to the Silent Walkers Pack.

But no, he was not in the Pack House. Or the nearby forest. Or the nearby neighborhoods.

Then they postulated that Lucien might go back to his actual home. The South Bedford City where he lived and worked for seven years after he left his pack. Werewolves searched his home. It was locked. No one was around.

Werewolves searched the South Bedford Art College and questioned Maya about Lucien.

"Mr. Clearwater did not come here," Maya informed them while shaking her head fervently. She told the truth, but at the same time, she also thought to herself that if she knew where Lucien was, she would not tell a soul about it. Why?

Because Lucien wounded Kinnon.

According to what Maya heard, it was not a lovers' quarrel. Lucien had the intention to kill Kinnon.

Maya still couldn't believe it.

The Mr. Clearwater that she knew was a gentle soul. He would never even hurt a single fly. When he hugged little animals to his chest, his expression was the very picture of tranquility. There must be a misunderstanding and Maya was determined to help Lucien. If only Lucien would show up and ask for her help.

Maya sighed.

Someone else did show up and ask - no, demand for her help. Someone who scared Maya more than a bunch of werewolves from the council.

Ronan Silverback showed up at the college, again disguised as an art student who skipped weeks of art class like a rebel.

The Alpha did not trust that the so-called task force that the Werewolf Council put together would be able to replace Lucien. They simply did not understand Lucien. At least that was what he thought. Ronan's arrogance plummeted with every passing hour when he himself failed to locate Lucien.

He ended up following the task force's trail and tried to pick up any lead from there. It brought him to Maya, the only werewolf who knew him the longest in the recent years.

The poor girl was just finishing her painting when Ronan walked through the door. She gasped once, dropped the palette on the floor, accidentally swiped at her wet painting with her elbow, and caused a long ugly streak to ruin her almost finished painting. Another gasp escaped her when she saw that her painting was ruined.

Ronan squinted at Maya.

Their, or better said Maya's classmates could not help but snicker at her.

"Awwww, Maya. We know that he's handsome but must you completely lose your focus like that?"

"Ro-ro, look at what you did to Maya's painting!"

Maya's face was pale instead of red. If only these fools knew who they were blabbering about!

Ronan flashed Maya a charming smile. "Maya? Will you come with me for a second?"

Maya nodded fervently. Not because she was a shy maiden who was ecstatic at the prospect of dating the most handsome boy in class, no. It was more like a commoner who had to answer to a king's summon.

Although Ronan was not sitting on his throne and Maya was not kneeling on the floor, both of them knew how they stood to each other. An Alpha enjoyed absolute obedience and loyalty from his pack members. In turn, the Alpha took care of the pack. "I am here to ask you something."

Maya bowed as low as she could.

"Please ask, Alpha."

The Alpha took the trip from Great Lake City to South Bedford City to speak to her. There was no greater honor. Maya would be glad to be able to help the Alpha.

The weird thing was that her Alpha came to specifically inquire about her art teacher.

"How long have you known Lucien?" He asked. "What do you know about him? Tell me everything."

A baffled look plastered Maya's face. She thought that she must have misheard. Did she accidentally project her own worries for Lucien onto Ronan's questions? How inappropriate! What treason!

It was not until Ronan repeated his questions that Maya realized that Ronan really was asking about Lucien.

I see, she thought. The Infinite Eclipse Pack's unhealthy rivalry with the Night Prowler Pack had been going on for some time. The Alpha must plan to take this chance to showcase his goodwill toward future cooperation between the two packs.

Alpha Ronan was wise!

Alpha Ronan was insightful!

Poor, innocent Maya could not be more wrong.

A slightly insolent pack member or Jake would have seen through Ronan's fake display of authority right away.

What future cooperation?

What wisdom?

The two Alphas were clearly fighting over Lucien Clearwater!

Maya gulped and started to tell her story.

"I met Mr. Clearwater three years ago during the Annual Art Exhibition..."

Maya often thought that shifting into a wolf was the only thing that made her a werewolf. She had a timid character and a small body since birth. When she was eighteen years old, she was merely 5 feet and 2 inches tall. It did not surprise her when her wolf was also small with average strength.

Her family members and good friends all told her that she was special in her own way. And that she was really cute. Not all werewolves had to be big and buff.

Maya always forced herself to smile and agree with them because she knew that they said it out of love. Truthfully she believed that she was useless. If a war happened, then she would not be able to contribute. If anything, she would be a burden. These negative thoughts corrupted her mind day by day, until one day it became too suffocating to stay within her pack.

To console herself, Maya went with one of her cousins to South Bedford City. Her cousin was a museum curator who was always on the look for new aspiring artworks to add to his museum's collections.

Every year, South Bedford City held an Annual Art Exhibition where unknown artists were encouraged to submit their artworks for public viewing. Art critics, art collectors, museum curators, and even common folk who did not understand art at all were among the visitors. Unexpected opportunities for the artists might just emerge out of nowhere.

Maya knew nothing about art. Sure, she thought that some paintings were pretty and exciting, but she was never able to immerse herself in the perfect balance of colors that took the artists a long time to achieve. She failed to capture the beauty of every artwork, the minuscule expressions on the painting objects that spoke louder than any words.

Since her cousin was busy reviewing artworks for his job, Maya was left wandering on her own. She wandered from corridor to corridor, chancing upon sculptures and paintings of various forms and sizes.

And then she saw a painting that truly captured her heart.

It was a painting of two wolves in nature. One with an orange coat and one with a black coat. The two wolves were cutely nuzzling each other by a lake.

It was not the only painting that depicted wolves, but most paintings portrayed wolves from their fierce sides. The eyes were always sharp and the pose intimidating. This one painting on the other side was brimming with warmth and had mysterious healing properties. Maya could look at it for hours.

And so she did.

Until someone came and took it away. The painting was sold to a couple who thought that it would be a wonderful decoration piece for their son's bedroom.

Maya was utterly disappointed. She remained standing in front of the empty wall, gazing at the spot where the painting used to hang.

The exhibition center employees felt sorry for Maya, so they talked to the artist of the wolf painting, who was none other than Lucien Clearwater.

They asked him to coax Maya. She looked too pitiful.

Lucien approached Maya and introduced himself as the artist of the wolf painting.

The moment Maya gazed upon Lucien, fireworks lit up in her heart. She had never seen someone more handsome than Lucien. For the first time in her life, the timid girl had enough courage to ask Lucien for his phone number.

In the following months, Maya texted Lucien a lot. She was graduating from high school and she had yet to decide on her major in university or college. Whatever she ended up studying, Maya already made up her mind to study at South Bedford City ages ago. When Lucien told her that he was going to be an art teacher at South Bedford Art College, Maya told him, "What a coincidence! I plan to enroll in the college as an art student!"

In the present time, Ronan pinned Maya with a cold glare.

"So," he said in a chilling tone, "Lucien was the reason why you even decided to study at the South Bedford Art College."

Timid Maya nodded nervously. She honestly told Ronan the whole story, but why was Ronan glaring at her as if she had done something unforgivable? Sure enough, Maya might skip the part about Lucien setting off fireworks in her heart if only she knew about the past affair between her Alpha and her first love.

"What else?" Ronan asked, drumming his fingers against his arm impatiently.

"That... We talked a lot, but it was nothing important. I found out that his favorite color is white and that he likes sweets..."

Nothing that Ronan did not know. He was just pissed that someone else knew about these tiny things. If Ronan could, he would imprison Lucien in a dark room so Lucien would only be there for him. Ronan hated it when other people gawked at Lucien. "Is there a place that he likes to go to when he's upset?"

Maya thought for a while but she then shook her head. "Mr. Clearwater is a very private person. He doesn't like to mingle much with people. When he's in the college, he is either in the classroom or in his studio. Otherwise, I don't know where he goes in his free time."

Ronan perked up.

His studio.

Now that was a place worth investigating.

"Thanks, Maya. You can go."

Ronan turned around and marched into the dean's office.

The poor dean did not expect the CEO of the Silverback Corporation to be disguised as an art student in his college. Even then, he refused to open Lucien's studio for Ronan.

"Mr. Silverback, a studio is an artist's oasis of inspiration, a safe place for the birth of great artworks."

Lucien Clearwater was one of his best teachers. The dean had a lot of respect for the young man.

It was not until Ronan informed the dean about Lucien's disappearance that the Dean begrudgingly agreed to unlock the door.

The last time Ronan was inside Lucien's studio, he was a little too busy nailing the man at the wall to notice that it was in fact full of Lucien's amazing creations.

Vibrant paintings hung on the wall and marble statues stood in the middle of the rooms. Lucien arranged so that they had their eyes trained at the entrance.

Was it meant to greet or scare guests? Maybe only Lucien could answer.

Ronan let his fingers brush against the desk. He recalled Lucien's trembling body on the desk. The lustful gaze that he threw him. The pair of luscious lips that asked to be kissed the whole time.

His eyes drifted to the floor just next to the desk.

Before his eyes, he could see two men intertwine on the floor passionately, give in to the heat of their ruts, and drown together in their carnal desire for each other.

"Mr. Silverback?"

The dean was impatient. He finally agreed to unlock the studio and all Ronan did was rub the desk.

"Are we done?"

"Just a little bit more," Ronan said.

The Alpha searched Lucien's studio, but he could not replace anything other than teaching materials. There were a few books about contemporary and ancient art on the shelves, a collection of brushes in the first drawer, and a sketchbook in the second drawer. The sketchbook contained random drawings that Ronan could not decipher.

He closed the sketchbook with a sigh. Maybe he should go and check Lucien's house himself, then maybe he could replace some clues about his whereabouts. Unfortunately, he could not just go and enter Lucien's house without permission. Should he mobilize the police force? With his connections, he will be able to open Lucien's house and search it.

No, that's not a good idea. It might lead to the discovery of Lucien's identity as a werewolf. He needed to get information without leaking secrets of the werewolf community.

"Excuse me..."

Both Ronan and the dean turned their heads to see a delivery man in a brown uniform stand at the door.

"Yes?" the dean asked while narrowing his eyes at the delivery man.

The delivery man dangled a single key before them.

"I am here to pick up Mr. Lucien Clearwater's painting to display at the Annual Art Exhibition."

Ronan raised an eyebrow. "Lucien made the order?"

"Yes, around two weeks ago."

That was quite some time ago. Ronan frowned.

"Can I pick the painting up?" The delivery man looked at the dean and Ronan alternately. "Or should I come back later?"

"No, please. Go ahead," the dean said, gesturing for the delivery man to go inside the studio.

The delivery man knew right away which painting to take away. It was the one that was covered by a large white cloth that extended to the floor.

Their interest piqued, Ronan and the dean automatically moved toward the easel to take a look at Lucien's submission this year.

It was a painting of two wolves that were playing together in the summertime. Ronan recognized the bigger wolf right away. Landon. And the smaller one that shared the same brown-red coat must be Seara, Annalynne's wolf.

How cute.

Ronan turned away from the painting to look at the other artworks.

The delivery man carefully packed the painting in a special container. He could not help but make a remark, "This year the painting is a little different."

Ronan furrowed his brows and turned his head toward the delivery man.

"Different how?"

"Usually it is always a pair of a red wolf and a black wolf," the delivery man explained. "I have been picking up Mr. Silverback's painting for three years so I know that. His submissions always had the same two wolves in them."

A red wolf and a black wolf?

"The theme is still the same. It doesn't have to be the same wolves every time." The dean objected. He pointed at the painting behind the translucent cover and explained further. "All paintings depict wolves in the summertime. It evokes the feeling of simple and yet profound happiness that stemmed from friendship and companionship."

"Artists create from their hearts. These paintings speak volumes about the kind of person that Mr. Clearwater is. He is not someone who is interested in murky relations full of deceptions and lies. He values basic and important things such as love, loyalty, and

honesty."

Ronan scoffed.

"Love is not simple."

The dean smiled at Ronan.

"It is, actually. In order to see the love, you need to take away all the other emotions that often come with it and thus obscure the true nature of love."

The delivery man scratched his head and laughed. "I am not a refined person. I don't really understand, hahaha. I like seeing these paintings, though. They are really nice."

The dean extended his hand and caressed the side of the covered painting.

"This is the last one of the series. I believe he wants to start something new."

"Oh?"

The delivery man looked disappointed. "What a pity."

"Don't feel like that. An artist must grow. You cannot expect him to draw only wolves in his whole life. I am excited to see his future works. It will surely be as good as 'The Place Where Our Time Stopped".

"It is the name of the painting series, consisting of four pieces of painting. 'The Place Where Our Time Stopped".

"The what?" Both Ronan and the delivery man asked in unison.

Having found nothing in Lucien's studio, Ronan left and the dean locked the door.

"Mr. Silverback," he called before Ronan walked away, "if you ever meet with Mr. Clearwater again, please tell him that he is welcome to come back anytime."

It was only then that Ronan remembered that Lucien had resigned from his position.

"What is going to happen to the studio?" he inquired.

"It will be vacated while waiting for a new art teacher to fill the position."

"And the artworks?"

All the paintings and sculptures?

"All of them will be auctioned as per his instruction."

"No need. I will buy all of them," Ronan claimed.