Pursuing My Rejected Alpha
Chapter 44

The one who shouted was a bespectacled young woman with long brown curly hair and a pair of dark brown eyes. At that moment, her facial expression was distorted in fury.

She raised a finger that stabbed in Maya's direction.

"I know for a fact that this girl is a cousin of the art gallery's designer! If this art gallery does not plan on being impartial with its judgment, then your flowery speech about wanting to support the art community is nothing but a big fat lie!" An audible gasp went through the crowd.

The art gallery staff were so shocked by the young woman's statement. They were completely oblivious

"What?"

"That girl is Mr. Alistair Greenwood's cousin?"

Alistair wanted to speak up on Maya's behalf, but the fuming young woman stopped him.

"I can speak for myself," Maya muttered.

.....

Her cheeks red from a mix of anger and humiliation, Maya faced the other young woman and shouted did not cheat! I registered my artwork the same way everyone did!" "You are a liar!"

"I am not!!!"

The crowd parted and rearranged itself. The various visitors ended up surrounding the two young women and observed their exchanges.

After enduring the two young women that were shouting at each other without any conclusion, Mr. Boyd decided to take the lead and clear the misunderstanding. Holding his hands up, he tried to explain, "Miss, for your information, the panel of judges decided the winning artworks without knowing the names of the creators. I can assure you that no cheating took place."

The young woman broke into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"Well, who can assure that you are not lying out of convenience?"

"I can let you meet our judges if you insist that much..."

Mr. Boyd was slowly losing his patience, but he still maintained his professional attitude. Lucien, on the other side, could not tolerate the young woman's behavior any longer.

It was supposed to be a day to celebrate three wonderful creations by three talented artists. It must not be ruined by one person who threw a tantrum just because her creation failed to rise above the others.

Lucien was not going to let this one person cause discomfort to the other judges.

"No need," the red-blonde man intervened. "Miss, I am one of the judges. Mr. Boyd did not lie. Judges only get to see the artworks minus the names of the creators. No artwork was treated preferentially and thus bypassed the judgment criteria." The young woman stared at Lucien with a slight frown between her brows.

"I don't even know you. Who the hell are you? Is this art gallery recruiting laymen to judge serious artworks???

I demand to know who all the judges are. Maybe there is something wrong with your eyes if you think that mine is inferior to these... these three so-called winning artworks!"

The young woman pointed at the paintings and sculpture in rage.

This time it was not only Maya who launched a protest. The other two winners, both of them men, also started to raise their voices at the bespectacled young woman.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Excuse me, little missy," one of them pushed his way through the crowd. "What makes you think that your creation is above the others? Maybe you didn't win because it was crap!"

The young woman gasped and pushed at the young man.

"A*****e!!! Mine was so glorious that the Grinch would work for Santa once he sees it!"

The other young man sneered while pushing his glasses up his nose.

"The way I see it, if Christmas is all you can think of when you read 'Winter Wonderland', then no wonder you lost. Just what did you make? A painting of the Grinch decorating a Christmas tree?"

The young woman roared and pounced on the young man as soon as he was done with his mockery.

The crowd broke into chaos.

Lucien, Alistair, and Mr. Boyd all jumped in to separate the three bickering artists.

"Stop it! STOP IT!!!" Lucien roared.

He hissed from pain when the young woman accidentally scratched his face.

"Mr. Clearwater!!!" Maya shouted in horror. "Are you alright???"

"I am fine," Lucien answered.

While they were busy trying to end the petty fight, someone spoke up from the watching crowd.

"Hey wait," the woman in a tweed jacket said. "I know you. You are Lucien Clearwater!"

The fight stopped abruptly as the three people stared at Lucien with their mouths wide open.

Silence fell upon the crowd. More than two hundred pairs of eyes stared at Lucien as if he were an alien that hailed from outer space.

All of a sudden, the focus shifted from the enraged event participants to Lucien.

"Homewrecker!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

"Man-stealer!!!"

Before Lucien knew it, tens of people flung all kinds of curses at him. Most of them were women, both old and young. They were all angry, very angry. Even more than the hysterical young woman whose voice was no longer heard. Her complaints drowned in a sea of shouting mass.

Lucien's lips were open in shock as he stared back at the many people who had to be held back by security guards when they tried to approach Lucien. Their claws were extended in Lucien's direction, their eyes were burning with inexplicable bloodlust. In a daze, Lucien's ears automatically filtered out all the hateful noises. His consciousness withdrew itself to a safe place beneath the surface, far from external influences that he did not wish to come into contact with.

"MR. CLEARWATER!!!"

It was Noah's voice. He was warding off a woman who managed to break through the security guards.

Lucien looked up. He saw the stone in the woman's hand, but he was unable to dodge it entirely. It ended up smashing the side of his head.

11

The burning pain blinded Lucien temporarily.

The man lost his balance and stumbled to the side. A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him and prevented him from falling.

Although the feeling was familiar, it was the scent that betrayed the person's identity. Contrary to the salty sandalwood scent that had a calming effect on Lucien, this time the scent was concentrated and corrosive. A malicious aura radiated from the Alpha. Ronan Silverback was boiling with intense rage.

Ronan hugged Lucien to his chest, protecting him like the most precious treasure.

'Lulu...

When he saw blood trickling from the side of Lucien's head, his own blood rushed through his veins and a storm brewed in his mind.

Once the Alpha looked up, he glowered at everyone with strong murderous intent.

'Everyone, hear my bidding, the Alpha ordered using Alpha Voice. 'Investigate the root cause of this chaos and detain all those who want to attack Lucien.'

'Yes, Alpha.

Under the oppressive influence of Alpha Voice, Ronan's subjects responded automatically in their minds.

Ronan's eyes snapped toward the woman who had the guts to hit Lucien with a stone. His gaze was as cold as the water beneath a frozen lake. 'Particularly that woman. I will take care of her myself.

As if sensing her impending doom, the woman screeched loudly like a ghost and struggled to free herself from Noah's grip. Her weak punches and claws were regrettably futile against a werewolf. The woman's anguished cries were the last thing Lucien heard before his consciousness started to dwindle.

.....

'Ronan...

Wanting to say something, Lucien tugged at Ronan's shirt. The Alpha turned to look at his mate, but Lucien's body went slack in Ronan's embrace before he managed to finish what he wanted to say.

Ronan lifted Lucien into his arms and carried him to the nearest hospital on spot, leaving the ruckus behind for his people to take care of.

Lucien was unconscious for a few hours. When he opened his eyes again, noon had passed. The person who was waiting nervously by his side was not Ronan but Noah.

The man almost cried from relief when Lucien stirred on the bed.

"Oh, Goddess! Mr. Clearwater, you are finally awake!!!"

Noah had been in a state of panic for hours. The reason for that was quite obvious. He was entrusted with Lucien's safety for the first time in his career and the future Luna just had to be injured in his presence. The only plausible reason why the Alpha had not skinned him alive was that he needed Noah to watch over Lucien at the hospital.

Noah did not ask where Ronan went or what he planned to do. He also did not wish to know.

Lucien was more than interested to know. Once he realized that Ronan was not around, he turned to look at Noah.

"Where am I? Where is Ronan?"

Noah only cared to answer the first question.

"You are in the Bayleef Hospital of South Bedford City. WAIT, MR. CLEARWATER!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???"

Noah pushed Lucien back to the bed when the latter tried to get up.

"I need to go," Lucien said. "What happened back there? What did Ronan do?"

"You do not need to concern yourself with such a matter! The Alpha is going to take care of everything in your stead!"

Blood drained from Lucien's face.

Noah's words did not make him feel any better. A furious Ronan would unlikely ignore the whole incident. He might be doing something drastic and Lucien had to stop him before everything was too late.

"Take me to the art gallery, now," he told Noah. Ronan was most likely there, licking his paws off the civilian blood.

The poor driver watched helplessly as Lucien pulled his quilt aside and swung his feet out of the bed. There was nothing else he could do but help the man stand before he fell from the bed.

"Hss..."

Lucien's head was throbbing with pain. When he walked past the mirror with Noah's support, he saw thick bandages around his head.

Stumbling on shaky feet, he changed his clothes and sneaked out of the hospital with a pale-faced Noah. While he drove, the driver prayed with every cell of his body that nothing else happened to Lucien. Otherwise, the Alpha was going to grill him alive on a pyre. The art gallery was surrounded by a few police cars that were blinking with red and blue lights. Mr. Boyd was seen at the entrance, chatting with two policemen. One of them took notes while the other questioned the ashen-faced curator. When Mr. Boyd caught sight of Lucien, his face turned as pale as death.

"Mr. Clearwater!!!" He shouted, closing the distance between them in a hurry. "What are you doing here? You are injured! You should stay on the bed!"

"Tell me what happened," Lucien demanded. "What did Ronan do? What is going on here?"

"Nothing!" Mr. Boyd insisted.

The policemen behind him tipped their hats and directed their gazes at Lucien. Lucien ignored Mr. Boyd and addressed the policemen instead.

"Officers, this art gallery has my name on it. Please tell me what happened."

The two officers exchanged curious looks, then one of them asked, "Are we speaking to Mr. Lucien Clearwater?"

"You are," Lucien confirmed.

Noah and Mr. Boyd exchanged helpless gazes. In a way, Ronan Silverback and Lucien Clearwater were truly made for each other. Both of them were difficult to handle.

"We received a report of vandalism here at the art gallery," the other officer said. "Mr. Boyd here is the one who made the report."

Lucien was stunned.

"What about the ruckus that happened earlier today?"

"That one is being attended by other officers, so we cannot share any details," the other officer answered.

Mr. Boyd took the chance to grab Lucien by the shoulder. "See, Mr. Clearwater? Nothing of interest here. Why don't you let Noah take you back to rest? I can handle it from here."

The mere fact that Mr. Boyd tried so hard to drive Lucien away was suspicious enough. Lucien had a bad feeling about it.

"What is the vandalism about? I want to take a look."

The two officers exchanged glances again. Behind Lucien, Mr. Boyd shook his head fervently. Unfortunately, both policemen did not have any reason to prohibit Lucien entry. Not in an art gallery that carried his name, anyway. Lucien was thus led to the place where said vandalism took place.

They did not have to walk far to reach the spot.

Inside the art gallery, across the glass entrance door, giant scrawny letters were sprayed with red paint and formed the word "HOMEWRECKER".

"Lillian Woodland, are you out of your mind???" Ronan hollered through the phone.

He was so loud that the ladies around the table could hear his angry tone.

"Lillian darling, is everything alright?" Lillian's Aunt Vera squeezed her hand, her eyes brimming with concern.

Lillian smiled at her aunt gracefully despite the angry Alpha on the phone.

"Excuse me, ladies," she said with a wink before hastily leaving the table.

Lillian cursed in her heart.

She should have known better than taking the hot-headed Alpha's phone call in public. Way to underestimate your enemy, Lillian, she chastised herself.

Once the beautiful woman reached a safe spot to talk, she hissed into the phone, "I appreciate it if you speak clearly, Alpha Ronan. Just what did I do to deserve this uncivilized scolding??" Ronan scoffed.

"Do you need me to reiterate to you what your crazy fans have done?"

Lillian took a deep breath, begging the Moon Goddess for endless patience and wisdom before she snapped back at Ronan, "Again, Alpha Ronan. Speak. Clearly. What exactly did my so-called 'crazy fans' do?"

"On top of ruining our names on social media, they dared to inflict harm on Lucien!"

Lillian rolled with her eyes. Ronan must be insane. Inflict harm? What harm? Sticks and stones could break Lucien's bones, but words were harmless.

"Oh, please, Ronan. All my dear fans did was talk and gossip. Stop exaggerating like an old woman."

At the other end of the line, Ronan almost went ballistic.

"One of your 'dear fans' hit Lucien with a stone today. Is that part of their 'talk and gossip' routine? What is coming next? Are they going to burn the art gallery?"

Lillian went silent.

Ronan took it as a declaration of defeat.

"Well, Miss Woodland? Nothing to say in your defense?"

Lillian sighed.

"You know what, Alpha Ronan? I never follow your and Lucien's activities so naturally, I don't know what you are talking about. I will see what I can do from my side."

"No need," Ronan snapped. "In the first place, you only care for yourself and your baby. Naturally, you don't pay attention to all those who have to bleed so that you get what you want." Lillian clawed into a table edge.

"Excuse me? I can say the same about you and Lucien. The both of us protect our own respective interests here, Ronan Silverback. Don't you dare make me out to be the villain." "Very well, in that case, to protect MY interest, I am going to do what I should have done weeks ago!"

"And that is...?" Lillian queried.

"You will see."

Click.

Ronan ended the phone call just like that.

Lillian trembled in anger. She could just smash her phone into pieces.

Why were all men so stupid and impulsive???

There was nothing she could do. She only hoped that Ronan Silverback's PR Team was good enough to dissuade their Alpha from doing too much damage.

Putting a hand across her pregnant belly, Lillian Woodland made her way back to the lunch gathering with the ladies from the Woodland family.

The women at the table stopped speaking abruptly when they saw Lillian approaching. The latter did not need to guess twice to know who they had been talking about behind her back.

Aunt Barbara Woodland was a nosy one. She pretended to be concerned, but she was just there for the hot gossip. As soon as Lillian took her seat, she came over to ask, "Lillian dear, was that Alpha Ronan? He sounded so upset. Did something happen?" Lillian responded with pleasing laughter.

"Oh, Aunt Barbie," she said sweetly. "Ronan is just angry because I have not spent some time with him recently."

Everyone looked a lot more at ease after they heard Lillian's words.

"Really? Because we have all seen the picture, you know," Aunt Barbara whispered in a conspiratorial voice as if she had not just personally ensured that everyone at the table saw the picture in question.

Lillian pretended not to know.

"Which picture, Aunt Barbie?"

The atmosphere around the table tensed up again.

Did Lillian really not know?

Should they tell her?

Should they not?

If they did not tell her, they would miss out on her reaction once she found out!

Aunt Barbara could not afford to lose out on this delicious scene!

She grabbed her phone from the table, intent on showing Lillian the picture. But then the blonde woman winced from the pain.

"Oh, my baby, ahh... My belly, it hurts so much."

Aunt Barbara turned pale in an instant. So did all the other women at the table.

"Lillian dear, where is it hurting? Do you need a doctor??" Aunt Vera questioned her in panic.

Lillian shot her aunt a pitiful gaze. "Auntie, I think... Something is wrong with my baby. I should go to the doctor now."

Not a moment later, the blond woman sat in her car and headed toward a famous resort on the outskirts of the town. Crossing her legs in leisure, she scrolled through the phone in search of the latest news pertaining to Ronan Silverback and Lucien Clearwater. There were indeed a few updates.

The first picture depicted a lifeless Lucien in Ronan's arms. The caption underneath declared that "Mr. Lucien Clearwater had been attacked by an unknown woman during the unveiling of the Clearwater Contemporary Art Gallery's new section, the 'Hidden Treasures Under The Sea"."

A swipe to the right showed her the woman who performed the deed. She was being apprehended by a few men.

Further down, there was a newer picture.

Someone had sneaked into the art gallery to spray the glass entrance door with red paint. The ghastly letters formed the word "HOMEWRECKER".

Lillian sighed.

Sure, her fans could do insane things sometimes, but would they go as far as hurting Lucien Clearwater like this?

Unlikely.

This kind of action bore the signature of a certain someone.

"Go to Pine Groove City instead," Lillian told her driver.

"Right away, Miss."

Conrad Woodland might be the Alpha of the Ironclad Claws Pack, but he was by far not the most influential person in the Woodland family. The person who ruled the Woodland family was still the matriarch, Lucrethia Woodland.

Lucrethia Woodland was the most impressive Luna during her tenure. She had beauty and wits in one hand, and strength and ferocity in another. Easily the perfect woman in the eyes of the whole werewolf society but the men who were unable to keep up with her. Lionel Woodland, her husband, just happened to be one of those men.

Despite the differences between her and her husband, then the Alpha of the Ironclad Claws, she still bore him three healthy alpha pups. One boy and two girls. The boy, Conrad Woodland, was a huge disappointment in her mother's eyes.

Lucrethia favored her middle daughter, Katreena Woodland. She often said that Katreena resembled her the most. By trying to promote Katreena, she indirectly insinuated that she, a she-wolf, would make a better Alpha than her husband. This naturally created a larger rift between the ruling Alpha and Luna.

Lionel Woodland demanded that Conrad, his humble son, succeeded him as the Alpha.

In the end, despite Lucrethia's endless campaigning on Katreena's behalf, Conrad became the next Alpha.

Katreena was sent off to a marriage to an Alpha of another pack that lived far, far away from the Ironclad Claws Pack.

.....

Katreena's marriage broke her mother's heart.

Lucrethia's ambition was gone just like that, but not for long.

It returned in form of an obsessive hope when Lillian was born.

Lucrethia took Lillian under her wings as soon as the child was ready for education. She taught Lillian everything, but she learned from her failure with Katreena. For Lillian, Lucrethia had another plan.

Her granddaughter was going to marry only the strongest Alpha of the strongest pack.

Her brilliance shall not be wasted in the Ironclad Claws Pack.

Lillian knew Lucrethia as long as she knew her parents. From an early age, Lillian recognized the disparity of power between his father and his grandmother.

Lucrethia had her son on her palm.

Conrad Woodland was helpless against his mother. If anything, he was desperate for his mother's recognition. This was also why he did not at all object when his eldest daughter was turned into his mother's pawn.

For Lillian, Lucrethia was her grandmother, her mentor, and also her superior.

She used to love her, but now she only harbored fear of her.

More now than before.

It was as if the matriarch already expected Lillian's arrival. She had a jug of iced lemon tea with two glasses on the gazebo table. Lucrethia Woodland was relaxing on a rattan lounge chair with a novel in her hands, a fluffy round pillow was placed against her back to ease the backache that tormented her in her later years.

When Lillian approached her with her trained, expressionless smile, Lucrethia lowered her book and pushed her glasses up her nose. They made her greenish-blue eyes look bigger.

She narrowed her eyes and looked her granddaughter up and down, a cynical smile forming on her lips.

"So, how is that little bastard doing in your stomach?"

Lillian's smile froze for a split second before she regained her composure and beamed at her grandmother.

"The pup is doing fine," she said while caressing her protruding belly.

Lillian used to thank everyone for asking about her pregnancy, unless of course the person who asked was her grandmother.

Lucrethia scoffed.

"Well, now that Ronan Silverback acknowledged the baby as his, I am glad that I did not beat it out of you back then."

Lillian's wolf clawed inside her, demanding her to shut Lucrethia up. The woman had to take a deep breath a few times to restrain both herself and her wolf.

"Indeed," Lillian beamed, suppressing her rage.

As soon as Lucrethia found out that Lillian was pregnant, she tied her granddaughter up and beat the daylight out of her. She even forced Lillian to take abortion medicines.

It was only by a sheer miracle that the fetus survived. After some time, Lucrethia came up with a brilliant idea.

Nevertheless, the pup in Lillian's belly shared her bloodline. Might as well place the pup on an Alpha throne. Whether or not the pup belonged to Ronan Silverback was unimportant. That pup was going to be the next Alpha of the Infinite Eclipse Pack.

"Tell me, child," Lucrethia said on that fateful night after subjecting her granddaughter to another round of t*****e. "Did you let Ronan Silverback take your virginity and spill his seed inside you?"

"Yes," Lillian lied through her gritted teeth.

It was her only sliver of hope for survival.

It happened months ago, but the memories were still fresh in Lillian's mind. Whenever she saw her grandmother, she could taste iron in her mouth. Even her baby became restless. The fetus seemed to be able to recognize the vile woman who almost killed it. "Speaking about Ronan Silverback, he is being rather cold to you, isn't he?"

"Is he?" Lillian acted surprised. "I believe him to be rather affectionate as of late."

Lucrethia cackled. "Are you trying to fool me or are you really that foolish? Is a bouquet of hundred red roses enough to buy your heart?"

Lillian's lips tugged up in a smile. "Give him time, Grandmother."

"Time is exactly what we don't have right now," Lucrethia pointed out. "You don't want your pup to be born out of wedlock, Lillian. Do whatever necessary to get him to marry you."

The elderly woman rose to her feet, supporting herself on a wooden cane with a pointy end.

Although Lillian was taller than Lucrethia, she felt so small in front of her grandmother's imposing presence.

"Don't make me spill blood for you," Lucrethia sighed. She reached for her book but ended up swiping it to the grassy ground instead.

Lillian forced herself to smile when she knelt down to pick the book up for her grandmother.

From between the sheets, a photograph fell out.

It was the original image of the picture that circulated like wildfire upon its appearance. In the photograph, Ronan and Lucien were sharing an intimate kiss at the art gallery entrance.

This single image started the whole scandal.

Ronan Silverback sat at his desk and glared at the poor assistant who stood before him. Milroy had put together the investigation report for the riot that happened at the art gallery earlier that day. Smuggled among the visitors who were there to attend the launch were a bunch of troublemakers.

After hours of tedious questioning, they admitted that they were hired especially to give Lucien some grievances.

In exchange for a huge sum of money, they were requested to embellish the recently circulated image of the Silverback Corporation CEO and his gay lover.

The young woman who protested about the unfair selection did not even register an artwork of her own.

The people who shouted curses at Lucien did not even know who he was until they accepted the deal.

The woman who hit Lucien with a stone was a different case. A few months ago, she became mentally unstable after her husband admitted that he was homosexual and then left her for a man.

Interestingly, she was not the only one. Several more women with similar backgrounds were recruited to attend the launch event.

The perpetrator had specifically found these women and brainwashed them into hating Lucien.

.....

The police department suspected that hypnosis was so involved because these bitter women did not see Lucien when they looked at the man. Every single one of them saw the person who stole their husbands instead. During interrogation at the police station, they did not mention Lucien's name. They mentioned the name of their husbands' lovers over and over again along with their personal grievances.

"All of them had been sent to psychiatric facilities for correction," Milroy ended his report.

"And who is the culprit behind this scheme?"

Milroy swallowed hard.

"Reporting to the Alpha, the culprit has not been found..."

Before Milroy ended his sentence, Ronan swept across his desk and sent everything crashing to the floor. The young man flinched and trembled in fear.

"I... I will keep searching," he stuttered while holding his notebook against his chest, just in case the Alpha planned to rip his heart out of his chest. Ronan roared in frustration.

Why was he not able to unearth the villain who did all of these horrible things?

He did not want to rely on Lillian Woodland. Five months were simply too long!

While the Alpha wrecked his brain in an attempt to replace a way to squeeze the villain out of his hiding place, someone knocked at the door.

"Alpha, may I enter?"

Jake's voice was heard coming from behind the door. Milroy was so grateful for the Beta's appearance that he almost broke into tears.

"Enter," Ronan answered briskly.

Jake entered, his face ashen and his expression cheerless.

"Reporting to the Alpha, Enoch Boyd reported a vandalism incident at the art gallery."

"Is this even worth reporting?" Ronan snapped fiercely.

"It is," Jake said. He took out his phone and handed it over to Ronan.

When Ronan saw the pictures, he facepalmed.

"Goddess. Don't let Lucien see it. Erase it immediately."

Jake had nothing good to respond with.

"Lucien already saw. He went to the art gallery as soon as he regained conscious..."

Ronan lunged at Jake and grabbed the man's collar across the table. Jake had to support himself with both hands on the table in order to not topple forward.

Meanwhile, his phone tumbled down to the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

"For f*****g sake," Ronan hissed at his Beta, "how difficult is it to keep an eye on one person??? How did he even get out of the hospital??? What the f**k was Noah doing???"

"You know how Lucien is," Jake said in a low voice. "Noah could not stop him. Neither could Enoch."

"Rahhhhhh...!!!"

Ronan released Jake and slammed both fists on the desk.

"Where is Lucien now?"

"He asked to go back to Great Lake City. Noah is taking him there now."

Ronan

sighed.

Well, at least he was back to their safe nest.

"There better be no graffiti waiting for him when he gets home," Ronan scoffed.

"Get a Healer to tend to his wound and give him something to calm his mind," Ronan ordered. "Keep an eye on him, don't leave him alone without any supervision."

Sighing heavily, Ronan knew that his instructions were useless. Lucien hated to be tailed, let alone supervised. He would most likely just send everyone away and lock himself up in a room or something.

The Alpha sank into his seat and pressed a hand over the upper half of his face.

"Never mind. I am going back to Great Lake City this evening. Milroy, get me Mara Keenthorne."

Given an excuse to go away, Milroy naturally seized it with elan.

"Right away, Alpha!" He shouted before he bolted out of the door - not without shooting Jake a commiserating look.

It turned out that Jake was not done with his replaceing.

"We have found the people who sprayed the word at the art gallery," the Beta informed Ronan while straightening his tie.

"Do we know them?" Ronan asked without removing his hand from his face.

Not that he cared for some meager pawns. The person he was most interested in was the invisible person who pulled the strings and mobilized the mass against them.

"No, but Lucien does."

Jake picked up his phone from the floor and showed him mugshots of two young women. The name tags that they held up identified them as Neena Evans and Helene Bradford. "Who are these two people?" Ronan asked with a frown. "Don't tell me that they are from Silent Walkers Pack."

"They are normal human beings," Jake corrected him. "During his short stay at the art gallery, Lucien mentored a few interns, including these two ladies."

"Heh."

A vein popped up at Ronan's temple.

"Are you telling me that Lucien was kind enough to teach them for free and then these two turned against him and bit his hand?"

Jake pulled his lips into a thin line.

"More or less."

"Damn it," Ronan cursed.

Lucien was too soft-hearted. He did so many things for so many people, uncaring whether they were werewolves or not, but look at what he got in return.

It was bad enough that no one cared to stand up in his defense, but to actually ride the bandwagon to attack their benefactor?

Unforgivable.

Ronan clawed at the sides of his desk.

How he would love to tear them into pieces.

If they had been she-wolves, Ronan would personally visit their Alpha and demand payback for the emotional pain that they caused his mate.

"Throw them into jail. Let those ungrateful bunch of kids rot there."

"Yes, Alpha."