Chapter 124

124 Big Joe’s Diner

The group of cars that moved like a royal procession quickly drew a lot of attention from all those in Blue Hill City.

On the front side were six air-conditioned mini-busses that could fit ten people each. And then there was one regular car with Kendra, Desmond, Acatha, and Annalynne inside. Next to it was a super luxurious car with Noah, Ronan, and Lucien inside.

Behind the two cars were a lot more mini-busses to carry the remaining warriors and their stuff.

Due to lacking insight regarding the morning commute of the mortal folk, the magnificent parade was stuck in traffic.

While pedestrians enjoyed the fantastic sight, all those who woke up late and had to rush to work by car that morning were disgruntled beyond compare.

One angry man on a motorcycle made a point to stop at the side of the road and walked toward one of the mini-busses to file a complaint.

He knocked at one of the windows furiously. The window rolled down and a gigantic wild wolf emerged. It snapped fiercely at the motorcycle rider.

The man shrieked like a high school girl. He almost stumbled over his own motorcycle as he ran away while screaming, “MONSTER! WILD ANIMAL IN THE CAR! HELP! HELP!!!”

Inside the two cars in the middle of the mini-busses, the leaders sighed in exasperation.

.....

Desmond lowered the window at his side and screamed toward the mini-busses at the backside.

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“You idiots! Stop fooling around!!!”

Lucien shuffled closer to Ronan and leaned against the latter’s shoulder.

“Tired?” Ronan asked while rubbing Lucien’s shoulder.

“Mmm. A little.”

“Sleep a little. Come.”

Lucien curled up on Ronan’s lap and closed his eyes to sleep. Ronan buried his fingers into Lucien’s soft hair and played with it.

They had not talked about Ralph’s unexpected phone call. If Lucien did not plan on breaching the subject, Ronan too did not wish to push him. And yet the longer they delayed talking about the elephant in the room, the bigger the elephant became.

Ronan sighed in his heart.

‘If you want to ask him, why don’t you just ask him?’ Beowulf suggested. ‘Better than sulking before the fight.’

‘I don’t know what to say,’ Ronan thought helplessly. ‘It was hard enough for him to agree to kill Kinnon if things get rough. What do you want me to do? Ask him to repeat his promise after that little dwarf called him?’

‘Talk to him about your feelings.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because.’

Ronan clenched his jaw.

He messed up too much in the past.

He wanted to be the best version of himself in front of Lucien.

He didn’t want to ruin the chance of happiness that he finally got.

He was so afraid of losing Lucien that he would rather swallow all the indignation and lock away all his resentment.

Sigh, Lucien.

If only you know the anguish in my heart. I just hope that the war will not scar us too much.

Ronan closed his eyes and leaned against the car seat.

On his lap, Lucien opened his eyes and sneaked a peek at the sleeping Alpha. The corner of his lips tugged up into a smile as he watched Ronan’s sleeping face. The cute boy from seven years ago had grown into such a handsome man. And this man loved him so.

It was not an easy decision to give them both another chance. Ronan might be overly cautious about their relationship, but Lucien too wanted to protect the little seedlings that grew in their hearts.

As he watched Ronan’s handsome features, drowsiness overcame Lucien and he fell asleep for real.

After exiting Blue Hill City, the trip was relatively smooth. Even the warriors were lulled into some sleep after they got tired of fooling around. The ten-hour ride by car took them to a small town by the name of Amberport. It was the closest town to Shadow Mist Creek, which they could only reach by foot. Or in their case, by paw.

Amberport was a small town. There was a small family diner that was located just near the entrance of the town. The diner was established in the first month of the town’s inauguration by the patriarch of a very old family. He passed the family business to the son, the son then to the grandson, and so on. The current owner went by the nickname “Big Joe”. Big Joe was a grumpy old man who needed time to get used to new people.

When the group from the Silent Walkers Pack thus stopped by the diner, the town folks half expected Big Joe to turn purple from so many foreign visitors. Not to mention that Big Joe specifically closed early that afternoon. Against all expectations, Big Joe rushed out of the diner just to welcome the group of almost two hundred people to his humble diner.

As soon as all the guests entered, the diner curtains were pulled down so that no one could see what was going on inside.

In the middle of the room, Big Joe and his family knelt before Ronan Silverback.

“Alpha Ronan, what an honor,” the old man said, his lips trembling from happiness. “It has been a while since your last visit. This old man is so happy to be able to serve you again.”

Ronan gave them a gracious smile.

“Thanks for hosting us, Joe. This time we are here for more than just a visit.”

Big Joe knew. He too had heard about the upcoming war.

“We are here to serve you, Alpha,” he replied, bowing his head as low as possible.

“We plan to head to Shadow Mist Creek. The vehicles will be left in your care until we return.”

“Very well, Alpha.”

Ronan then turned to look at all the warriors who gathered inside the diner and spoke to them in an authoritative tone.

“Then let’s not dally any further. Once we arrive there, we need to start clearing the campsite.”