Chapter 52

52 The Alpha Wished To Have A Word

The moon was shining brightly in a cloudless sky. It was a perfect night for the yearly occasion. After exchanging brief greetings and friendly banters, the werewolves spread on the field and took their seats.

At 8 PM sharp, the High Seer appeared from the temple. Her appearance commanded silence. The atmosphere turned solemn almost instantly. Her movement was graceful as she walked soundlessly toward the heightened stone platform in the middle of the yard.

The High Seer was an elderly woman who had lived for more than two hundred years. Despite her age, she looked no older than twenty years old. Her youthful appearance was a direct blessing from the Moon Goddess. Only her long, silver hair bore testament to her actual age.

The mass started with a formal greeting to all participating werewolves. Then, everyone was required to recite the Blood Oath together.

The Blood Oath was a set of rules that werewolves swore by from birth to death. It dictated the expectations toward the behavior of all werewolves for as long as they planned to be part of the werewolf society.

All werewolf pups learned about the Blood Oath as soon as they started recognizing letters and characters. It was the first lesson they had in kindergarten and it was repeated again and again throughout their life in the hope that they not only remembered it but also internalized it.

After the reciting was done, the High Seer rose to her feet to deliver a sermon. It was not an ordinary sermon. The High Seer always incorporated hints about the future within her sermons.

The Moon Goddess bestowed the gift of divination onto the High Seer. She was granted access to visions of the future but she did not have the freedom to speak of them openly.

The reason was quite simple. If she openly shared her visions with relevant parties, then the future would change and there was no telling whether it would be better or worse. When the High Seer did share her visions, then it was usually pertinent to the greater picture, for example the harmony between the werewolf packs.

.....

According to the rumors, the High Seer had specifically approached Deacon Clearwater the previous year. She warned him about the great danger of pride.

The Silent Walkers Pack’s defeat in the hand of the Night Prowler Pack was shocking at first, but more and more people came to understand what happened.

The High Seer had seen the war between the Silent Walkers Pack and the Night Prowler Pack in her visions.

The result of the war was quite obvious. Kinnon Youngshaper would win the war. That was why the High Seer approached Deacon Clearwater, hoping that the latter would practice humility and not agree to a war. Unfortunately, Deacon failed. And so the Silent Walkers Pack was now at the brink of destruction.

At least that was how most packs perceived it. It thus came as a surprise when Kinnon Youngshaper proposed to Lucien Clearwater who was once an Alpha candidate prior to contracting a mysterious disease.

Thanks to Lucien Clearwater’s acceptance, the Silent Walkers Pack had some hope to rebuild itself. It delighted everyone even more to see Lucien blending in so perfectly into Kinnon’s small family. Ralph clearly adored Lucien and the gazes that Kinnon gave his future Luna was nothing short of love and devotion.

After the sermon ended, the mass concluded and a banquet followed. The Moon Banquet was to be held inside the temple. The relaxed atmosphere returned in an instant. Everyone started to mix with each other and discussed about a variety of topics while they moved into the temple.

Kinnon and Lucien too rose from their seats with Ralph holding onto both of their hands. The cute little boy attempted to swing while hanging onto his parents’ hands.

“Ralphy,” Kinnon scolded with a frown. “Not here.”

Ralph immediately stopped and apologized, “Sorry, Daddy.”

The little boy looked rather pitiful when he pressed his lips together into a thin line and hung his head. Lucien could not help but chuckle.

Lucien took Ralph into his arms with a swoop. “Don’t be sad. You can do it once we get back home,” he comforted him with a smile.

Ralph beamed. He put his tiny arms around Lucien and happily squealed, “Mommy is the best!”

“Lucien.”

Lucien and Kinnon stopped in their tracks. Kinnon turned around and saw Ronan standing some meters behind them.

“It’s Alpha Ronan Silverback,” Kinnon remarked.

Ronan gave him the slightest nod of acknowledgement before shifting his focus back to the man who still refused to face him.

Lucien had seen Ronan before the mass began. He did not plan to speak to Ronan about anything at all. He had hoped that Ronan would do the same thing. Just pretend to be strangers until the night was over.

Alas, Ronan was never one to shy away from any confrontation. Seeing that Lucien did not respond, he did not choose to back off.

“Lucien, can we talk?”

Lucien closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He then gingerly handed the confused Ralph over to Kinnon.

“Please excuse me,” he said to Kinnon.

Kinnon deliberate pulled Lucien close and pressed a kiss at the latter’s forehead before he replied, “Don’t take too long.”

Seeing that he was looking at Ronan when he said it, it was obvious that the words were directed to Ronan instead of Lucien.

All the guests had left the yard and went inside the temple to enjoy the lavish banquet. Only Lucien and Ronan remained outside, looking at each other in depressing silence.

It had been a month.

Within this one month, so many things had happened. The intimate encounter at South Bedford Art College seemed like a distant memory.

“Do you remember?” Ronan asked while tugging at his tie to loosen it. Although it was how he usually wore it, it felt so tight all of a sudden.

“This was where we met for the first time.”