Chapter 128
Lucien could feel his throat tighten.
Kinnon did not come over. He merely stared at Lucien from a distance. Lucien too did not move from his spot. Warring parties were not supposed to get into contact before the war to prevent any cheating allegations.
Lucien was not aware of how long they stood there staring at each other. The soft tugs at the rope around his waist reminded him that he should go back.
After giving Lucien one last look, Kinnon turned around and trotted back to his own side.
When Lucien came back up, he was slightly pale in the face.
Ronan also came back not long after. Lucien wrapped a blanket around him as he transformed back into his human form.
“I came across some wolves from the Night Prowler Pack,” Ronan informed them.
“Did something happen?” Lucien asked.
.....
Ronan shook his head and patted Lucien’s cheek.
“Don’t worry, nothing happened. What about you?”
Lucien lowered his eyes.
“I saw Kinnon.”
“Ah.”
Ronan’s lips were pulled into a tight line. He did not ask further. He merely pulled the blanket tighter around Lucien’s frame.
“Let’s go back,” he said, taking the latter’s hand in his and leading the way back to the camping site.
The training was stopped in the afternoon. At this point, they had done everything they could to prepare for the war. It was particularly important to rest well before the next morning arrived.
Although it was a chance to relax after a week of hard work, the warriors were restless. When they were fighting, they did not feel anxious. Once they were told to do nothing, they started overthinking.
Lucien thus arranged for the restless ones to go and hunt some food to cook a lavish dinner.
After they came back from the valley, Ronan managed to successfully fake a good mood throughout the day. As the sky turned darker though, his mood became worse and worse.
There was a cold, aggressive aura that emanated from the Alpha. The other werewolves sensed the danger, so they avoided him like the plague.
In the end, Ronan got tired of pretending. He finished his dinner and went to sleep early.
Once he got into their tent, he zipped it up without even waiting for Lucien to get in.
Annalynne was happy beyond compare when she saw it, but Lucien felt a stabbing pain in his heart.
Ronan was clearly upset. And Lucien knew it was because of him.
“No need to bother with a sulking big man,” Annalynne said. “Lulu, let’s sleep together tonight, okay?”
Lucien shook his head in response. “You go and sleep with Kendra and Acatha. I need to talk to Ronan.”
The woman pouted at her twin brother. “Why do you have to bother with him so much?”
“Because I love him,” Lucien answered as a matter of factly.
After bidding everyone good night, Lucien headed toward Ronan’s tent and slowly unzipped the tent flap. He expected to find a sleeping Ronan, but the man was sitting inside the tent, wide awake.
“Took you long enough,” he said with a blazing pair of eyes.
“Sorry,” Lucien zipped the tent shut behind him.
Crossing his legs, he went to sit in front of Ronan and waited for the latter to say something. Unfortunately, Ronan was not interested to talk. He just wanted to sulk.
“Oh, Ronan.”
The Alpha’s eyes flashed dangerously. Before Lucien knew it, he was already tackled to the ground and Ronan was hovering on top of him.
“I wonder,” he said slowly, grabbing Lucien’s wrists with both hands. “Will you hate me if I kill Kinnon tomorrow?”
Lucien furrowed his brows. “Do you want to kill him that badly?”
Ronan heaved a sigh.
“I want you to stop thinking of him and only think of me. Is that too much asked?”
“Ronan, I am not thinking of him at all.”
Ronan released Lucien from his grip and turned away. “Forget it. You will never understand.”
“Then make me understand. I cannot read your mind.”
Instead of explaining, Ronan let out a frustrated roar and lay down to sleep.
Lucien sat up behind him and played with Ronan’s hair.
“Ronan, I can’t change the past. A lot of things happened between him and me. I cannot undo all of them. You understand this, right?”
Ronan gave a grunt.
“If I can make you feel better somehow, just tell me what to do. Just don’t bite me tonight. I don’t want to risk it before the war.”
A chuckle escaped Ronan. “Sorry for being a brute.”
Lucien smiled. “I know you didn’t mean to.”
He gave Ronan a kiss on the back of his head. “Whatever happens tomorrow, I will not blame you.”
Ronan turned around and eyed Lucien full of suspicion.
“Really? Even if Kinnon dies at my hand?”
Lucien patted Ronan’s cheek fondly. “I trust you.”
Ronan crawled into Lucien’s lap and buried his face on the latter’s stomach.
“Alright,” he mumbled in a spoiled tone.
Lucien hugged Ronan’s head and went to lie down as well. They fell asleep in that position and only woke up when morning arrived and Acatha started calling outside of the tents.
Light drizzle fell upon the forest on the morning of the war. At 10 AM sharp, everyone transformed into wolves at the camping site and walked slowly toward the agreed war site.
They slowly descended into the valley one by one and got themselves accustomed to the dark surroundings.
After everyone came down, the group slowly made their way to the center of the valley.
Numerous pairs of shining eyes in the distance told them that the wolves from the Night Prowler Pack were already there for the war.
Standing at the front was Kinnon Youngshaper, standing in an intimidating pose. One step behind him was Bjorn.
The Silent Walkers Pack had not even stopped walking when Kinnon dashed forward and thus began the war. Lucien gritted his teeth and clawed into the ground hard to counter Kinnon’s attack, but it never came.
Kinnon went past Lucien and pounced at Ronan instead.