Pursuing My Rejected Alpha
Chapter 68

Lucien did not even have the chance to climb off Ronan's lap because the latter locked him in place by the neck and the waist.

Infuriated, he could only smack against Ronan's shoulders and back in a little act of rebellion while the latter thrust in and out of his body without a shred of guilt. "Liar! You are such a liar! Ah... Ah... Ahhh...!!!"

The Alpha's lips were curled up in a wicked smile. In an attempt to placate the trembling man who was struggling to free himself, Ronan hugged him tight and whispered to him in a soft voice. "Shhh... Baby, it's alright... Don't resist too much..."

"You said you wouldn't go in...!!!"

"I know, I can't help it," the man replied with a chuckle. "I am sorry. Just one time, alright? Come on, baby-"

Lucien growled.

.....

"You can't knot inside me," he insisted. "We are going to be late for lunch!"

"Of course not," Ronan answered cheerfully.

...

"

Lucien knew that Ronan lied as soon as the words left his lips. How infuriating!!!

But what else could he do other than enduring Ronan's onslaught?

Seeing that Lucien was no longer trying to escape, Ronan eased his grip around his mate and ran his hands all over the latter's beautiful body.

"So beautiful," he praised while flicking Lucien's nipples.

"No, don't touch there," Lucien pushed Ronan away in embarrassment.

"I want to taste it," Ronan said. He lowered his head and sampled the sweet flower bud that bloomed on Lucien's chest.

"No, ahhh...!!!"

Lucien slid his fingers into Ronan's hair in defiance.

"Don't, stop sucking there. Ahh, I am going to... Going to..."

Under the Alpha's relentless attack, Lucien's complaints soon turned into a series of broken moans.

He tried hard to claw his way out of the predicament, but in the end, he had no other choice than to let himself be dragged down into the sea of bliss by his unrepentant mate.

The air was soon filled with the sweet scent of their combined pheromones and the sound of their muffled moans and groans as they chased the peak of pleasure.

After almost an hour of enduring the wild coupling, the fire that burned at the bottom of Lucien's stomach soared high. A shudder went through his body and propelled him over the top of the mountain.

The surge of oxytocin in his body caused him to ejaculate. Ronan kept kissing Lucien while the latter splattered his semen between their bodies.

"Sssh," he whispered while holding his trembling mate in his arms. "Baby, it's all good. Come for me."

Breathing laboriously, Lucien then grabbed Ronan's neck.

He bared his fangs and bit into Ronan's nape.

The abrupt injection of pheromones propelled Ronan to his own release as well.

Grunting between gritted teeth, the Alpha drove hard into his Luna and came violently inside him.

Lucien bit harder into Ronan's flesh when he felt the massive tool in his body pump hot, scalding liquid against his sensitive walls.

"You are such a liar," he said while burying his fingernails into his lover's back.

Chuckling, Ronan bit into Lucien's nape and sent a rush of his pheromones into the latter's system.

Once they both came down from the heights of ecstasy, Ronan carried his mate to the bed and curled up with him under the blanket.

To make up for his evil deed, the Alpha even started massaging his mate's sore waist.

Lucien pulled his lips into a thin line.

"Thanks to you, we missed lunch."

Ronan gave him a peck on the lips and said seductively in response, "Do you still need me to feed you?"

"Not down there!"

Disgruntled, Lucien lifted both legs and placed them against Ronan's chest.

Ronan merely grabbed the slender legs and feasted his eyes on the beautiful scene underneath. Himself buried to the hilt inside Lucien while slowly pouring his seed inside the Luna's belly. It was so exciting.

Ronan ran his hands along Lucien's slender legs and pressed a reverent kiss on his inner thigh affectionately.

"Careful," he said with a hint of warning. "I can still go a second, a third time."

In return, he got a face full of pillow.

Ronan roared in laughter.

Lucien was still Lucien after all.

"I love you so much, my fierce mate," he threw himself at Lucien shamelessly.

"Get away from me," Lucien exclaimed. "I know that you have been abstinent for a few days but must you eat like you have never eaten for years???" "Ahhh, Lulu..."

Ronan spooned him from behind and peppered his neck with kisses.

"Don't you know? I am addicted to your body. I want to f**k you from morning to midnight. Otherwise, I will start having withdrawal symptoms."

"Pffft. At the rate you are going, I am going to die from too much intercourse!"

"Hahahaha, that will never happen. We are blessed by the Moon Goddess."

What kind of blessing was that and when did they even receive it???

With or without blessing, Lucien was determined to not let Ronan have his way again.

As soon as they came apart, he quickly climbed off the bed and rushed toward the bathroom to take a shower.

The only saving grace was that his legs did not give out as soon as he placed his weight on top of them. At the very least, he could still walk.

Ronan had assumed that they could shower together to save time, but Lucien was not going to let himself be fooled twice.

"You are a perverted liar," he said coldly before throwing his mate out of the shower room unceremoniously.

The poor man was instead given the task to tidy up a little bit. Lucien didn't want the cleaning service to clean after their mess.

Thank God that Lucien thought about that, because the one who was tasked to clean their soiled room was a young man who did not seem to be older than twenty years old.

Or at least that was what Ronan thought he came for, until he started taking off his clothes with trembling hands.

When Lucien came out of the bathroom, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at the young man who was stripping for Ronan, and the man himself who was literally throwing his jacket around him. Both of them stared at Lucien in horror.

"Ahhh!!!" the young man shouted when he saw Lucien come out of the bathroom with only his white shorts on.

"Lulu, don't misunderstand!!!" Ronan shouted in terror.

Lucien narrowed his eyes at the two people in front of them. To Ronan's greatest delight, the red-blonde man walked over and yanked Ronan to his side possessively.

The Alpha's eyes practically lit up with joy until he heard what Lucien had to say.

"Seriously, Ronan? Must you cheat on me before we are officially wedded?"

Ronan's face darkened within an instant. Lucien had to laugh when he saw the drastic change in the Alpha's facial expression.

"I am kidding," he grinned while pinching the Alpha's cheek playfully.

.....

He then turned his attention to the other person inside the suite.

"Can someone tell me what is happening here?"

The young man in front of them was so shaken that he started to stutter, "I... I was told that Alpha Ronan is staying overnight here, so I... I wanted to offer myself for his pleasure..." Ronan grabbed Lucien's shoulders hard.

'Before you ask whether I usually give in to this kind of advance, my answer is no. I usually give them money and then kick them out of my room,' Ronan told Lucien via Mind Link post haste. 'Let me handle this. You won't see him again.'

'I know. But...

Lucien gave the trembling young man a pensive look.

He was so young. And so thin.

No human being would ever suspect that this young man was a werewolf, albeit an exiled one.

There were so many rogue werewolves in the world who were unable to successfully integrate into the human world.

Not that they wanted to.

They were still beasts at heart.

No decent werewolf, rogue or not, would ever want to stand on the same ground as a human being.

It was a matter of pride.

While Lucien was pondering about rogue werewolves in general, the young man in front of him became more and more anxious.

He quickly mistook Lucien's silence as a sign of brooding anger, so he apologized on the spot.

"I am sorry!" he said while dropping to his knees and bowing his head deeply.

He bumped his head so hard against the parquet floor that Lucien's lips parted from surprise.

"I did not mean any harm. I was just trying to ingratiate myself with an Alpha!"

Ronan sighed.

"What do you need?" he asked, rubbing his aching temple in irritation. "Money, or a favor?"

He hoped that it was the first one.

"A favor" was a lot more complicated than "money".

Typically, rogue werewolves request to enter a pack, or to be accepted to work in a pack-owned company.

Whichever it was, the end goal was to be accepted back into the werewolf community.

And yet, some rogue werewolves had other more pressing matters. Such as, for example, life and death.

The young man kept his head bowed the whole time.

"M-money. My... My mother is terribly sick..."

So it was money.

A lot easier to solve.

Ronan was willing to pay a godly sum to get this young man out of their suite, but Lucien did not share the same notion.

Instead, he knelt in front of the young man and tipped his chin up. The latter was so frightened that he almost passed out on spot. "What is your name?"

"S... Sean."

"Where do you live, Sean?"

"I... I am born and raised on this island..."

Sighing, Ronan went to sit on the bed and crossed one of his legs over the other. He pinned the young man on the floor with a sharp gaze.

"How many werewolves are within your family? How many generations has your family been rogue werewolves?"

Trembling, the young man mumbled, "I... It started with my mother. She fell in love with a human being and..."

Both Lucien and Ronan widened their eyes in surprise.

Although the young man in front of them had the scent of a werewolf, he turned out to be a half-werewolf.

Ronan rose to his feet and pulled Lucien behind him.

"Interesting, he said. You are an alpha half-werewolf. I didn't expect that at all."

Half-werewolves were rare enough, and almost no half-werewolves were born as alphas. Most of them did not even meet their wolves on their eighteenth birthday.

The only traits that differed them from regular human beings were their beastly instincts and their super strength.

Alpha half-werewolves were slightly worse than alpha pure-blood werewolves, but they were a lot better than regular werewolves.

If Sean had not confessed that he was a half-werewolf, it would take a lot more observation and investigation to pick him out from the crowd.

One might think that being an alpha made a half-werewolf more precious to the werewolf community.

Sadly, that was inaccurate.

Rogue werewolves, no matter how desolate and how helpless their circumstances were, still could replace a way to go back to werewolf society. Half-werewolves on the other side did not count as full werewolves.

Their existence was seen as an atrocity.

Why? Because by coupling with a human being, a werewolf knowingly exposed the werewolf community to average human beings.

It was a blatant betrayal toward the werewolf society.

The unspoken law among the packs was quite clear about this matter.

Should any pure-blood werewolf meet with a half-werewolf, the half-werewolf must be killed. The werewolf parent of the half-werewolf must also be killed for dishonoring the secrecy of the werewolf community. Never, ever, get yourself tangled with a pure-blood werewolf.

It should also be the most important piece of information that a parent werewolf shared with their mixed-blood offspring.

So why was this young man offering himself so brazenly and yet so foolishly to a werewolf? To an Alpha, to boot!

It was almost as if he was impatient to lose his life.

"Do you know what we do to half-werewolves?" Ronan asked pointedly.

He leaned forward, looming over the poor half-werewolf who had the audacity to sneak out of his hiding place and creep within his line of sight.

"Yes," Sean answered with a trembling voice.

His eyes were full of debilitating trepidation.

"Pure-blood werewolves kill half-werewolves."

Ronan rose to his feet. He approached Sean in a menacing manner. His fingers were spread like claws, ready to tear the young man into shreds.

Then, a slender arm blocked his advances.

Lucien put himself between Sean and Ronan.

"Ronan, wait."

"Lulu, he knows what he's in for," Ronan growled.

The Alpha grabbed his mate's shoulders and frowned at him. "You should not even try to protect him."

His mate heavily disagreed.

"There is no rule in the Blood Oath that demands you to slay a half-werewolf when you see one," Lucien demanded.

"There isn't, but traitors have to be eliminated."

.....

"Ronan."

Lucien clawed into Ronan's arms and gave him a piercing glare. Ronan narrowed his eyes at the man that he loved.

"Are you going to spill blood in front of my eyes the day before my birthday?"

" "

Ronan's lips parted from surprise.

Of course not, was what he wanted to say. It was supposed to be a blessed week full of intimate encounters between the couple in love. It was not supposed to be tainted by the blood of sinners.

"Are you?"

Lucien gave Ronan's bathrobe a tug, challenging him to say yes.

"Lulu, this is an entirely different matter," Ronan replied helplessly.

"I don't care," Lucien snapped. "I have been an outcast too, Ronan Silverback. Sorry if I don't share the feelings of the high-born werewolves who never once had to wander alone out there without any pack."

""

The Alpha heaved a sigh. He cupped his mate's face and whispered to him lovingly.

"Baby, it's not the same."

"It is not that different," Lucien whispered back. "I was once less than the pure-blood werewolf that I was born as."

When Landon left Lucien, the latter felt so out of place that he ended up leaving the Silent Walkers Pack behind.

He did not have the face to refer to himself as a werewolf.

"Fine," Ronan sighed in exasperation.

He threw his arms into the air for a second before he wrapped them around his Luna's half-naked form and cuddled him against his chest.

"Alright, Luna. Do what you think is right."

Lucien caressed Ronan's cheek and pulled him close for a peck.

"Thank you."

Meanwhile, the only other person in the suite watched the exchange between the two werewolves with a pounding heart.

Once Sean realized that he was not going to die in Ronan's hand that day, he was filled with extreme relief.

Once the stress and tension drained away, fatigue set in.

Sean's eyes fluttered shut and he toppled forward.

The loud thumping sound that he made when he hit the floor caused both werewolves to look at him at the same time. The young man lay motionless on the parquet floor with his eyes shut tightly.

"

Lucien flipped the young man to his back. When he wanted to hoist Sean off the floor, Ronan came and offered to do it instead.

"He must be so scared, poor thing."

"Let me," he said gruffly.

The Alpha dragged the young man by his arms across the floor and then dropped him unto one of the couches.

"Go get dressed," he then told his mate with a disapproving frown. "How long do you plan to walk around without wearing any shirt?"

A naughty sneer spread on Lucien's face. He couldn't help but tease his adorable mate.

"Why, Alpha. This is the first time you ask me to wear something. I thought you liked it when I was naked."

"Oh, I do," Ronan crooned. He took Lucien in his arms and gazed into the latter's beautiful, bright pair of eyes. They shone with golden color thanks to the sun rays that came through the windows.

The Alpha could see the mischievous twinkle in Lucien's eyes.

If he didn't know better, he might be tempted to punish Lucien with a second and a third round of lovemaking.

"Just not when other people get to see you naked as well," the Alpha ended his sentence while running his fingers down Lucien's soft curls.

Lucien chuckled.

"Oh, Ronan. You are so cute sometimes."

Ronan pursed his lips.

"Only sometimes?"

"Hahaha. Fine, always."

They leaned close to each other and shared a kiss, which was interrupted by Sean's incoherent mumbles.

"I am going to take a shower," Ronan announced. "Lulu, go ahead and call the room service to clean the suite. The bed is so dirty."

"

And whose fault was that exactly, again???

Lucien exhaled.

Anyway, they really needed someone to come and clean. When he finished calling the reception table, he heard a groaning sound that came from the couch.

Sean tossed and turned restlessly in his sleep. He repeated the same word over and over.

"Mom..." the young man said in his sleep. "Mom..."

Tears trickled down the young man's eyes.

He looked miserable even in his sleep.

Lucien grabbed a spare blanket that he found in one of the bedroom cupboards and tucked Sean inside.

He then sought his phone and gave Milroy a phone call.

Used to being summoned anytime, day and night, Milroy answered within three seconds.

"Yes, Luna?" he said as soon as he accepted the call.

"Hi, Milroy. I need a healer. Can you send one over?"

""

Milroy was silent for a while.

A healer?

In Amaranthus Haven? It was not exactly one of the areas that were populated by werewolves! And why did Lucien want a healer, again???

"Lu-Lu-Lu-Luna, shall we go to St. Clarence directly?" Milroy tried to be helpful. "I can get a ship back to the nearest city."

"No need, it's..."

Lucien threw the young man on the couch a glance.

He could not just announce Sean's identity, could he?

"I am feeling under the weather. Just get me a healer."

""

Under the weather?

How?

But then Milroy recalled what happened back at the West Coast Center For Reproductive Medicine And Fertility.

.....

Unbeknownst to the Alpha and Luna couple, the small chamber where Lucien "submitted" his semen sample was not soundproofed at all.

In fact, Milroy along with the hospital staff outside the chamber had to listen to their wild and intense coupling that took place inside.

The gentlemen were as red as steamed lobsters while the ladies were whispering to each other in excitement.

When the couple finally came out, Lucien looked as grim as someone who had just been taken disadvantage of.

Ronan, on the other side, glowed like the sun itself.

He casually dumped the package with Lucien's sample into Milroy's hands.

"Done," he had said with a smug, shameless smile.

44"

Milroy was speechless.

The men were clearing their throats and the women were giggling.

When Gordon Clearwater came down and took a look at his son, he frowned and asked, "Lulu, everything alright?"

.....

The Luna gave his mate a sharp glance before he replied with, "I am just feeling under the weather."

From then on, "under the weather" carried a completely different meaning for Milroy.

At present time, he did not wish to ask Lucien how exactly he was feeling under the weather.

The Luna asked for a healer, so the Luna should get a healer. Having worked for months for an extremely selfish boss who did not know the pain of his direct subordinates, Milroy proved to be exceedingly efficient and resourceful.

He especially shone in dire straits.

Lucien had no idea how, but the younger man managed to drag a poor healer out of her vacation and ask her to tend to the Luna of the Infinite Eclipse Pack.

It just so happened that the healer hailed from the Silent Walkers Pack.

And she was an elder lady who knew Lucien from birth.

Lucien could barely conceal his surprise when said healer knocked at his suite door and offered her service.

"Mr. Clearwater, so nice to meet you again," the healer gave him a warm smile. "How can I help you?"

"Healer Patricia."

Instead of stepping back and letting the elder healer in, Lucien put both hands against the door frame and blocked her entry.

"Healer, I need you to be discreet," he said.

Healer Patricia nodded with a smile.

"Always. We healers swore an oath to heal patients and not make any personal judgment."

"Alright, please come in," Lucien said.

He rubbed his chin nervously when the healer stepped into the living room and approached the couch.

Unlike Lucien and Ronan, Healer Patricia quickly saw through the unconscious young man.

"Ah. A half-werewolf. And an alpha too. What a rare replace, Mr. Clearwater."

That was all she had to say. Without betraying her personal feelings regarding half-werewolves, Healer Patricia sat in front of the couch and checked Sean's vital.

"Fatigue and malnourishment. Nothing serious," she concluded her diagnosis after a while. "What is your instruction?"

"Please wake him up," Lucien said.

Healer Patricia had a bag of herbs and potions with her. She opened a pocket and took out a glass jar of smelling salt. A whiff was all it took to rouse Sean from his restless sleep.

The young man wrinkled his nose, sneezed a few times, and then gaped at the healer through teary eyes.

Thinking that the unknown she-wolf meant to poison him, Sean shouted at the top of his lungs and leaped to the side with amazing agility.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Ronan, who just stepped out of the bathroom with wet, dripping hair, whistled in amazement.

"Now, that was a leap that every werewolf would have been proud of."

Sean shrieked in terror when he realized that he was still inside Ronan's suite.

"Please don't be afraid," Lucien said gently. "We are not trying to harm you. Look, this is Healer Patricia. Healers can treat werewolves better than any human doctor. Why don't you let her take a look at your mother?"

Sean shook his head rapidly.

"N-no need! I just need the money!"

Lucien was stunned.

He stared at the young man in front of him whose eyes darted around the room in search of an escape route.

"You can go if you want to," Lucien told him in a placating tone. "We are not going to lock you up."

Sean swallowed hard.

"We just want to help," Lucien spoke again while slowly inching toward the frightened young man. "Don't you want the best for your mother?"

Sean retreated slowly backward. Once he bumped against the wall, he burst into tears.

"You are going to kill her," he mumbled. "You just want me to lead you to her."

"No, we are not."

Sean lifted his eyes and cast surreptitious glances at Ronan.

Lucien understood what Sean meant.

"Alpha Ronan will not come with us," he decided. "It will just be you, me, and Healer Patricia. How does it sound?"

Lucien's mate, the Alpha, crossed his arms before his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"Ronan, you are scaring the boy," Lucien reasoned. "I will be back as soon as possible. You can go ahead and have some lunch with Anna and Lowell."

Ronan rolled with his eyes.

He hugged his mate from behind possessively and hissed at him, "I am not going to let you go with him without me. Sorry for pulling ranks, Lucien, but you gave me no choice.

You are my Luna. You have to listen to me."

"

Lucien shot Ronan a glare.

"Alright?" Ronan softened his tone, but he made his position clear.

Lucien held on to the strong arms that were wrapped around him.

"... Mmm."

Relieved that Lucien did not defy him further, Ronan lifted his gaze and directed it toward Sean.

"I already promised my Luna not to spill any blood in front of him. Don't worry, you and your mother are not going to die in my hands."

He emphasized the word "my", making Sean shake like a leaf. They could escape death this one time, but what about the other times?

What if they ran into another group of pure-blood werewolves?

They might not be lucky enough to run into a second Lucien another time.

"You are scaring him again, Ronan," Lucien complained with a sigh. "Stop that. Just help him, alright?"

"Okay, okay," Ronan conceded. "Lad, lead us to your ailing mother."

Sean led the Alpha, the Luna, and Healer Patricia away from the rich neighborhood that was reserved for tourists only.

As there were two sides to every coin, Amaranthus Haven was unable to get rid of the poorer residents completely.

These people lived in narrow alleys where old, dilapidated buildings stood side-by-side. Sean lived in one of these buildings with his mother.

Ronan wrinkled his nose in disgust while he followed the others up a narrow staircase, heading to the third floor.

The staircase creaked dangerously under their weight. He would not at all be surprised when it suddenly crashed.

Once they arrived in front of a white, moldy door, Sean opened the door and let his guests inside.

"Mom!" he shouted while rushing into one of the rooms.

The other three followed him. They soon found themselves in the biggest room of the house, which, according to Ronan, was not even half of his toilet back in the Infinite Eclipse Pack House.

A wooden bed stood in the corner by the window. On top of it was an elder lady with a book in her hands.

.....

"Sean, where did you go?" she furrowed her brows. "Didn't I tell you to come home directly from the market?"

The woman's eyes widened in alertness when she saw tall shadows following her son into her bedroom.

"Who???" she snapped.

A few things happened quickly in succession. The elder woman leaped from the bed and pulled Sean toward herself.

Lucien stepped before Healer Patricia with outstretched arms, and Ronan pushed the both of them behind him. Both the Alpha and Sean's mother assumed a fighting stance and exchanged sharp glares at each other.

The bedroom was quite small so there was not much space between them. They could hear the elder woman's labored breathing. Despite her indisposed condition, she was still determined to protect her young. "Leave now if you do not wish to get hurt," she hissed at Ronan.

"Mom, it's fine," Sean said hastily. "They are here to help. I asked them to come."

The elder woman slowly turned her head and gave her son a cold stare.

"Sean, are you stupid???" she shouted in anger. "How many times did I warn you against... Cough...! Cough...!!!"

The woman bent herself due to a violent coughing fit.

"Mom!"

Sean dragged his mother into his arms and then to the bed.

"I don't need help," the elder woman flashed the uninvited guests vicious glares. "Leave me be. At least let me die in peace... Cough...! Cough...!!!"

"Ma'am, your son risked his life to come and get help. At least don't let his efforts go in vain," Lucien explained.

The elder woman scoffed.

"Pfffft. All that the werewolf folks had ever given me was nothing but sorrow. What kind of help can you give me now?"

Seeing that the patient had more or less agreed to be treated, Healer Patricia approached the bed and took a look at the weak, feeble woman who still managed to give her distrustful gazes.

"Madam, how long have you been sick?"

"What does it matter? Just tell me when I will die."

"Mom!" Sean cried in anguish. "Please don't say that!"

"... Two years."

"What are your symptoms?"

"Just incessant coughing and extreme exhaustion."

"Can you inhale for me?"

The elder woman did what Healer Patricia asked her to do. When she took a deep breath, a wheezing, broken sound escaped from her throat.

After a while, the healer turned to look at Lucien and said, "Severe malnutrition and common lung problems. Unfortunately, I do not have the proper equipment to diagnose her condition. It is best to take her to St. Clarence for treatment."

"I don't have the money to go to St. Clarence," the woman retorted. "Besides, why would a posh hospital full of full-blood werewolves agree to treat me?"

Unfortunately, she was right.

Rogue werewolves were not even allowed treatment in St. Clarence, let alone the half-werewolves and the werewolf parent who betrayed the community.

"Thanks for gracing my humble abode with your presence," the elder woman continued sarcastically. "As you see, my stupid son exaggerated. I am not dying anytime soon, so why don't you all just go???"

In her place, Sean looked extremely apologetic.

"I am sorry," he said when he led the three werewolves out of their tiny apartment. "Mom's temper has been quite bad ever since my father died. Thank you for checking up on her. I will take her to a normal hospital. And..."

Sean looked up at Ronan, Lucien, and Healer Patricia with a beseeching gaze.

"Please, please, don't tell any other werewolf about me and Mom."

Lucien shook his head.

"Of course not."

He grabbed a roll of money from his pocket and pressed it into Sean's hands.

"Take this money and take your mother to the doctor. Also..."

Lucien took out a pen and wrote his phone number on the young man's palm.

"This is my phone number. If anything happens and you need help, do not hesitate to call me."

Sean's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"Thank you," he sobbed. "Thank you..."

He could not stop bowing at the three werewolves as they made their way out.

Once Healer Patricia excused herself to go back to her well-deserved vacation, Lucien heaved a long, deep sigh.

Ronan pulled him into a hug and rubbed his head affectionately.

"What is it? You helped him. You should be proud of yourself. I am."

Lucien put his arms around Ronan and hummed.

"I fed a pup once. Tomorrow, it will go hungry again. It is no help, Ronan Silverback, it is a one-time charity."

Ronan lifted Lucien's chin and gazed into his bright pair of eyes.

"You can't help every stray pup in this world."

"That's true. I just wish I could."

He was but one person. It would take more than one voice to change the perception of the werewolf community toward their exiled brothers and sisters.

By the time Ronan and Lucien returned to Amaranthus Dream Resort, lunchtime was over a long time ago.

They were welcomed by an infuriated Annalynne instead.