Pursuing My Rejected Alpha
Chapter 46

The young woman sat alone in a cafe, just a hundred meters away from the city jail. She ordered a cup It was not because she was cold. It was because she could not wait to leave.

fee latte that had long turned cold from a long time of waiting. Other people took off their jackets as soon as they entered the cafe, but not Lily Brenston.

ould come just like he promised. open in awe.

The young woman kept stealing glances outside of the window, her eyes searching for a familiar figure that had yet to make his appearance. In her heart, she kept praying for Lucien to arrive soon. Hopefully, the man did not lie to her. Hopefull When a black Porsche stopped in front of the cafe, everyone in the cafe made big eyes, their jaws dropping Out stepped a man with red-blonde hair and another with dark hair before the car drove off right afte "Mr. Clearwater!" She shouted ecstatically. When she looked at his companion, though, her smile fade Ronan Silverback took off his sunglasses and looked Lily up and down haughtily. Lucien gave him an The Alpha had to be satisfied with shooting daggers at Lily. It was enough to make the young woman

.....

"We contacted our lawyer and asked for the case to be dismissed. You can pick up Neena and Helene Lily gave a small shriek.

"Thank you," she cried. "Thank you, Mr. Clearwater. Um, would you... Would you come with me?" "Only until they come out of their cell," Lucien said.

He was not in the mood to exchange words with the two other young women whatsoever.

Ronan scoffed at Lily's shamelessness. Lucien grabbed him by the elbow and whispered, "Come, don't A stroll across the road was all it took to reach the building. The surrounding fence was made of doub protection.

Even the entrance looked grim with the first door made of black iron bars and the second door made Lily led their little group at first, but the closer she got, the slower she became. Eventually, she ended Their presence was already expected.

"My name is Lucien Clearwater," Lucien identified himself.

"You are here to release the two prisoners," the warden in charge said right away after reading from a note. "Correct," Lucien confirmed.

bon as they showed up, Lily stood up from her table and rushed to the cafe entrance to greet them. within an instant.

n the morning. When Ronan insisted to come along, Lucien told him not to talk unnecessarily. so Ronan was quite happy about it.

Lucien said without preamble.

a fuss."

red bricks with pointy spikes on top. The building itself was made of concrete. Thick walls separated one cell from another and guaranteed maximum act-resistant glass.

nding behind Lucien and Ronan at the jail entrance.

"Bring out Neena Evans and Helene Bradford," the warden shouted at a guard. The burly man nodded and disappeared to the backside.

Not long after, Neena and Helene were released and ushered to the prison entrance.

The three young women used to be bright and bubbly, always laughing and chatting happily together at work and outside of work. Who would have thought that two of them would look so miserable in their orange prison attires while the other one had black circles all around their eyes out of concern for the first two?

"Neena! Helene!!!"

Lily launched herself at her two friends. The three young women hugged each other, bawling into each other's shoulders loudly.

Although it nagged at Lucien's heart to see Neena and Helene, he felt somewhat at peace. He was done. The man thus tugged at his mate's sleeves. "Let's go," he said softly.

Ronan nodded with a little smile. "Ok."

The three young women looked up and saw the two men retreating together without a word of farewell.

Neena opened her mouth to say something, but Helene pulled at her elbow and shook her head vehemently.

"I asked Mr. Clearwater for help," Lily confessed.

"Why would you do that?" Helene hissed. "Look at him, not a single shred of remorse after he stole another woman's husband!"

Lily sighed. "Helene, maybe it's the other way around," she said.

"What do you mean, the other way around??" Helene snapped.

"Yesterday, the Silverback Corporation announced that Mr. Ronan Silverback and Mr. Lucien Clearwater were engaged to be married more than a month ago. Way before Miss Lillian Woodland came forward with her pregnancy." Helene scoffed.

"So what. The baby is still a result of s****l intercourse between Mr. Ronan Silverback and Miss Woodland. Just because they did not know about the baby, it doesn't mean that they can act as if the baby doesn't exist." Lily's face was crumpled from frustration.

"Then what about Mr. Clearwater? Should he just back off because his fiancé impregnated another woman before they got together?"

"Uh, yes?" Helene raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise, what should Miss Woodland do?"

The sound of a man clearing his throat almost made their hearts jump out of their ribcages.

The three young women whipped around in fear and found Lucien behind them, his gaze icy cold.

Helene clamped up immediately while Lily shouted in fear, "Mr. Clearwater!!!"

Lucien wordlessly handed over a release statement that was signed by him and Ronan while his gaze drifted between Neena and Helene.

"Keep this document. In the future, I do hope that you won't do anything else to land yourself in jail."

Lily extended her hand to take the document from Lucien's hand but Helene grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Wait a second," she said with a stern tone. "Mr. Clearwater, if you think that you can win my sympathy just by giving me this release statement, you are sorely mistaken. I will never approve of your and Ronan Silverback's relationship." Lucien narrowed his eyes at Helene. The young woman glared at him with judgmental eyes. Clearly, she believed that she did not do anything wrong.

Lucien stuffed the document into Lily's hand nonetheless, but this time he did not plan to just leave.

"Interesting," the man said with an unhurried tone. "What makes you think that I need your approval to be with anyone?"

All three of them gaped at Lucien in shock. During the short time they knew Lucien, the man had only shown his gentle and amicable side. They never thought that there would be a day when they experienced his harsh side. "1..."

Helene wanted to say something in return, but she did not know what. Blood shot to her pale cheeks, coloring them red from embarrassment.

Lucien regarded her with a cold look while cocking his head to the side.

"I hate nosy people," he said coldly. "I especially despise nosy people with too many unsolicited opinions."

Helen's lips trembled from a mix of shock and disbelief.

"Don't think that you can fling your belief at my face just because you think it is right and also have me agree with you thoughtlessly. Feel free to continue hating me, but forgive me if I one day refuse to tolerate you any longer." Lucien scoffed and turned to leave.

"Mr. Clearwater, WAIT!" Helene cried. "It's not like I want to hate you. Tell me the truth, don't you feel the least bit guilty about being so selfish? A child is going to grow up without a father while you pursue your happiness!!!"

.....

Lucien turned his head a few degrees to the side and said, "I am not obliged to tell you anything. It is none of your business, kindly keep your nose out of it."

Lucien then walked away at last, leaving the three young women with their thoughts. Outside of the door, leaning against the wall, was his mate.

Ronan smiled at Lucien when the latter walked out of the building.

"You heard?" Lucien asked.

Ronan was heading toward the car when Lucien went back inside to give the three young women the release statement.

The Alpha nodded, a proud smile laced his lips.

He pulled Lucien into his arms and pressed a kiss on his lips.

"I thought that you needed me to defend you in there. Looks like I was wrong."

Lucien scoffed.

"Pfft, who do you think I am?"

Ronan laughed.

He took Lucien's hand and dragged him toward the car. "Yes, yes, I underestimated you. I should have known better." "You should," Lucien grumbled.

Halfway toward the car, he yanked at Ronan's hand and looked up at him, his eyes slightly glassy.

"Thank you for wanting to go in there to save me," he mumbled. "Thank you for being my strength."

Ronan bumped their foreheads together lovingly.

"Thank you for allowing me to be your strength."

The announcement that the Silverback Corporation made regarding Lucien's status as Ronan's fiancé spread like wildfire.

Mara Keenthorne did a good job by not only making the announcement but also sharing tidbits of the couple's past romance to win the public over.

She even managed to dig out some cute pictures from the Alpha Camp without revealing any information about the werewolf community.

Soon, public opinions were split into mainly two groups.

The first one still believed that Ronan should have stuck with Lillian because Lillian was carrying his baby.

The second one agreed that Ronan should stay with his true love Lucien while also providing for Lillian and the baby financially. It was not a problem at all, because the Silverback family was filthy rich.

Heck, even if Ronan decided to become a complete arse and turned his back on Lillian and the baby, Lillian Woodland was more than capable to raise her baby alone.

The Woodland Enterprise was also hella rich!

The two groups argued a lot in forums, attacking each other fiercely.

They were not at all baffled at the fact that neither Ronan, Lucien, nor Lillian bothered attacking each other.

Ronan and Lucien were barely active on social media. Ronan's account was managed by Milroy who only posted business-related posts while Lucien stopped posting after he came to live with Ronan in his pack house. In fact, he deleted the application from his phone once he was spammed with a lot of unkind comments.

Lillian was the only one who was active on social media. Every day, she posted about her daily life. Often, she posted an update about her pregnancy.

In order to put up a show, Ronan tasked Milroy to buy Lillian a gift whenever she posted something about the baby.

He himself never even once checked Lillian's social media posts.

On a Sunday, Lillian gave Ronan a call.

"Alpha Ronan, you are being awfully passive," she complained.

"What do you mean?"

"At least get your assistant to like and comment on my posts when he's at it."

Ronan snickered.

"Fine, I will tell Milroy to be more engaged. Is that all?"

"Almost."

Lillian Woodland heaved a deep sigh at the other end of the line.

"Alpha Ronan, please come with me to my Ob-Gyn tomorrow."

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

"Why should I?"

"Because we are playing a happy couple and we are interested to replace out the gender of the baby?"

Ronan sighed.

"Fine," he said in exasperation. "I will accompany you."

Ronan ended the call and tossed his phone to Milroy who quickly escaped the Alpha's office. It was too awkward to stay too long inside the Alpha's office when Lucien was around. Especially when the latter was making sketches of the Alpha with his naked upper half. "It was Lillian," Ronan walked toward Lucien and kissed his forehead. "She wants me to come with her tomorrow to replace out the gender of the baby."

"Mm. You should go," Lucien said nonchalantly. He was busy finishing the sketch that he just made of Ronan.

The Alpha grabbed Lucien's jaw and tilted his head up.

"Are you alright?"

Lucien nodded.

"No need to worry about me. I am not that delicate."

Ronan sighed in his heart. He pulled Lucien to his feet and wrapped his arms around the man intimately.

Lucien acted tough, but he had a soft heart and a sensible personality. Ronan wanted to wrap his mate in a bunch of fleece layers and tuck him in a safe place. Far from everyone else but him.

"I love you," he whispered. "so, so much."

Lucien smiled gently and kissed Ronan's cheek. "I know. I love you too."

Despite his great reluctance, Ronan still dragged his feet to Lillian Woodland's apartment the next morning to take her to her Ob-Gyn.

During pregnancy, a she-wolf was not allowed to transform. A transformation changed the physique of the expecting mother and might just harm the baby.

Inside its mother's belly, a werewolf pup behaved precisely like a normal human baby, so pregnant she-wolves typically visit a regular human Ob-Gyn instead of making the long trip to St. Clarence hospital. From the moment Lillian Woodland stepped into Ronan's car, Ronan could sense hidden movements around him. Infuriated, he wanted to catch some of the paparazzis to beat them up, but Lillian stopped him. "We need them to take some pictures and make some news," Lillian reminded him. "For the show, remember?"

""

...

Ronan thus gritted his teeth and endured the conspicuous camera flashes.

Once they were inside the car, Lillian said, "I need to talk to you. Take the longest detour you can."

"I thought you had an appointment with your Ob-Gyn?"

.....

"I do, but she is quite flexible. That's why I chose her."

Ronan scoffed. That was a rich people's keyword for "I paid her a lot".

Nevertheless, Ronan did what Lillian asked for. He drove extra slow on the most crowded street. The luxurious car was trapped in a traffic jam along with many others.

The other car passengers thought that Ronan Silverback was a foolish one, but the man in question simply leaned back and looked at Lillian full of expectations. "Speak. What news do you have for me?"

"Our nemesis is pushing for things to progress between us."

Ronan's fingers curled up into fists on the steering wheel.

"Have I not done enough?" He asked through gritted teeth. "I played along as much as possible."

"You are giving me flowers for every candy I throw out there. Candies and flowers no longer suffice. We need something more. Something bigger."

"Like what?"

Lillian bit into her lower lip.

"Can you get your assistant to make a post about the baby?"

Ronan rolled with his eyes.

"My account is reserved for business dealing. I do not post private pictures there. I did not even post about Lucien there!"

"You posted about your upcoming wedding in the official account of Silverback Corporation," Lillian pointed out.

"Which I did because your crazy fans harmed my mate! Otherwise, I too do not wish to put him out there!"

Lillian swallowed. She was aching to tell Ronan that it was not her "crazy fans" who did it, but her crazy grandmother. Unfortunately, she could not. Not now.

"Fine," she sighed. "I will post. Ask Milroy to contact me to decide what gift you send me next."

"Alright."

While Lillian was busy with her baby, Ronan had his own plan.

He was going to take Lucien to the Werewolf Council to finalize their wedding plan.

In four months, he was going to hold the grandest wedding ceremony in the Holy Temple of Moon Goddess and make Lucien his Luna at last.

Their conversation was over before the traffic jam cleared.

Lillian absent-mindedly stroked her pregnant belly while gazing into the distance.

"Who was it?" Ronan could not help but be curious.

"Who was who?" Lillian asked. This Alpha Ronan must be dumb if he thought that Lillian was going to reveal who the perpetrator was.

"The father of your child?"

Oh.

Lillian's face turned ashen.

"I do not wish to tell."

"OK."

"Does he know about the baby?"

Lillian chuckled.

"He does, but he doesn't know that he's the father."

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

"Do you not intend to tell him anything?"

"Do you think that is my priority right now? I need to keep myself and my baby alive for now. Everything else can be discussed later."

Lillian remembered the time when she came across her lover. The man was shocked at seeing her pregnant belly. Lillian was unable to decipher his gaze. She had to lie, anyway. She could never tell him the truth. Secrets were only safe with those who were buried six feet under ground.

Lucrethia Woodland had a lot of expectations for this baby.

"It better be a boy," she told Lillian the last time they met. "The Infinite Eclipse Pack is a conventional one. They will not allow she-wolves to rule. Our blood must rule the pack through your son."

Lillian beamed in agreement on the outside, but she was seething on the inside.

"I hope it's a girl," she blurted out in the car.

Not that it was important for Ronan, but it still caused the Alpha to wrinkle his forehead. "Why?"

"Because then the expectation will be less," Lillian explained. "She-wolves don't get to rule your pack, do they?"

"Well... It's not that she-wolves are off-limit to the Alpha position in general. She-wolves are just generally not that ambitious."

"Oh. So if you have a baby girl, will you consider passing the Alpha throne to her?"

Ronan laughed.

"If Lucien gives birth to a baby girl, I would. Then again, it all comes down to the pup. Unlike you women, we men don't have a choice. When our fathers pass us the Alpha position, it is not our place to reject it. Women can choose between an Alpha and a Luna position."

Lillian was not so sure about that.

"Why would a woman choose to be a Luna if she can be an Alpha?"

"That is an odd question. Is it not what most women want?"

Lillian had no answer for that. She only knew that their nemesis, Lucrethia Woodland, wanted to be an Alpha more than anything. After she failed to be one, she ambitiously tried to rule through her hand-picked descendants.

Lillian wanted to put a stop to Lucrethia's scheming, and smother her blazing ambition once and for all.

"We are here."

Lillian looked up and saw a bunch of people in front of the hospital building. As expected from a rich celebrity such as herself, Lillian did not go to just any Ob-Gyn but the best one in the most expensive hospital in Pine Groove City, the seat of the Ironclad Claws Pack.

Her fans were waving at her frantically behind a few barricades. Mixed among them were paparazzis who were taking pictures like possessed.

"Show time," Lillian said with a smile. "Put on your best mask and let's give them what they want."

Ronan climbed out of the driver's seat, looking as handsome as a god. He flashed the hysterical crowd a dazzling smile before he went around to help Lillian.

Clutching her pregnant belly with one hand, Lillian took Ronan's outstretched hand with the other and got out of the car gracefully.

The beautiful couple smiled and waved at the ecstatic crowd all the way from the car to the hospital building.

Inside the hospital, they still had to play a happy couple, whispering sweet nothings to each other to mimic every other expecting couple in the hospital. Nurses, doctors, and visitors alike threw them envious glances. Just what they expected to see after putting up a convincing performance.

When the two werewolves finally reached the VIP examination room that was reserved only for rich mothers, they were beyond exhausted.

"I never knew that smiling could be so tiring," Ronan complained while rubbing at his jaw. "I think I dislocated my jaw from grinning too much."

Next to him, Lillian clicked with her tongue.

"That's because you Alphas are unfriendly by nature," Lillian quipped. "Imagine having to drag ten kilograms of weight through all of that every single day. Then please come and tell me again about how exhausted you are."

Ronan rolled with his eyes.

.....

"Where did the temptress from a few months ago go? When did you turn into such a...?"

Lillian put both hands at her waist, cocked her head to the side, and sneered, "A what? A bitch?"

Ronan's lips were pulled into a self-sufficient smile.

"I wanted to say an infuriating banshee, but I guess that one also fits the bill."

Cracking her fingers menacingly in Ronan's direction, Lillian glared at Ronan.

"Alpha Ronan, are you looking for a fight?"

Ronan chuckled.

"No, of course not. When is your flexible Ob-Gyn coming, by the way?"

Just as Ronan finished popping his question, the door swung open and an attractive middle-aged woman with a layered bob hairstyle walked in.

"Well, well, well," she said while pushing her glasses up her nose.

The woman looked Ronan up and down, her gaze full of prejudice. "You finally deigned to show up, father of the baby."

Ronan forced himself to smile.

He extended a hand toward the woman in front of him." Nice to finally meet you, Dr... Uh..."

"Collins," she snapped, only touching Ronan's hand briefly in passing.

If Ronan did not know better, he would think that Lillian hired one of her fans to be her Ob-Gyn.

"I encourage couples to come together to examinations, but since things are the way they are," Dr. Collins made superfluous hand gestures in order to not have to finish what she wanted to say.

"Okay, are we ready to replace out the gender of the baby?"

Dr. Collins fixed Ronan with a sharp gaze.

"Miss Woodland did not want it to be revealed unless you were here to experience it with her."

""

Oh, really?

Lillian blinked at Ronan coquettishly, a shy smile spreading across her beautiful face.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience," Ronan said with a scary smile. "Thank you for waiting until I can make it, Lillian."

"Anytime for our baby, Ronan," Lillian said with a wink.

"Alright, let's proceed with the examination. Miss Woodland, go lie on the bed for me."

Dr. Collins helped Lillian to her feet and guided her to the bed. Her bulging belly was then exposed to the air and a glob of cold gel was rubbed all over it.

Dr. Collins then pressed the ultrasound device on Lillian's belly. Both women directed their gazes at the ultrasound machine screen.

On the black-and-white screen, the fetus could be seen.

"It is twenty weeks old now, about the size of a banana. Very healthy, no abnormalities at all."

Dr. Collins turned to look at Lillian.

"Have you experienced anything unnatural in the past week?"

"None," Lillian said, her eyes were still glued to the screen. "He is very active, kicked me a lot in the past few days."

"Mhm, and the heartbeat is very strong too. Aaaaand..."

Dr. Collins squinted at the screen for a while before she announced dramatically, "It's a boy."

Lillian turned pale right away. Her lips started to tremble and she broke into tears.

"Oh, my!" Dr. Collins shouted. "Miss Woodland, Mr. Silverback, congratulations! You two are having a precious little prince!"

Ronan pursed his lips.

Dr. Collins was so used to seeing pregnant women shed tears of happiness. It did not even cross her mind that Lillian might be sad because she was having a boy and not a girl.

"Dr. Collins, can you excuse us for a moment?" Ronan asked.

"What? Oh, of course!"

Dr. Collins left hurriedly with a huge smile on her face. On the bed, Lillian covered her face with both hands and sobbed pitifully.

"It will be fine," Ronan tried to comfort her. "Why does it matter, boy or girl? It is all going to be over in four months, right?"

Lillian lifted her head and hiccuped.

That was what she said, but no one could predict the future.

"I am scared," she confessed.

"I act strong and brave, but I am so scared. For myself and my baby. All I want to do is give birth safely but even that is too much asked."

Ronan approached the bed and took Lillian's hand into his.

"You will give birth safely. And then you will be together with the father of your baby. It is what you want, right?"

Unexpectedly, Lillian broke into a burst of mocking laughter.

"I don't think that I will have that kind of fairytale ending."

"Don't you love that man?" Ronan furrowed his brows. "Don't you want to tell him that you two have a baby together?"

"Of course I do," Lillian whispered.

She rubbed her belly thoughtfully. "If I don't love him, why would I want to carry his baby?"

"Then..."

"But we can never be together," she sobbed, tears streaming down her pearly cheeks. "He hates me."

Ronan sighed. He reached out and patted Lillian's head while the latter cried her eyes out.

Ronan climbed out of the driver's seat, looking as handsome as a god. He flashed the hysterical crowd a dazzling smile before he went around to help Lillian.

Clutching her pregnant belly with one hand, Lillian took Ronan's outstretched hand with the other and got out of the car gracefully.

The beautiful couple smiled and waved at the ecstatic crowd all the way from the car to the hospital building.

Inside the hospital, they still had to play a happy couple, whispering sweet nothings to each other to mimic every other expecting couple in the hospital. Nurses, doctors, and visitors alike threw them envious glances. Just what they expected to see after putting up

a convincing performance.

When the two werewolves finally reached the VIP examination room that was reserved only for rich mothers, they were beyond exhausted.

"I never knew that smiling could be so tiring," Ronan complained while rubbing at his jaw. "I think I dislocated my jaw from grinning too much."

Next to him, Lillian clicked with her tongue.

"That's because you Alphas are unfriendly by nature," Lillian quipped. "Imagine having to drag ten kilograms of weight through all of that every single day. Then please come and tell me again about how exhausted you are."

Ronan rolled with his eyes.

.....

"Where did the temptress from a few months ago go? When did you turn into such a...?"

Lillian put both hands at her waist, cocked her head to the side, and sneered, "A what? A bitch?"

Ronan's lips were pulled into a self-sufficient smile.

"I wanted to say an infuriating banshee, but I guess that one also fits the bill."

Cracking her fingers menacingly in Ronan's direction, Lillian glared at Ronan.

"Alpha Ronan, are you looking for a fight?"

Ronan chuckled.

"No, of course not. When is your flexible Ob-Gyn coming, by the way?"

Just as Ronan finished popping his question, the door swung open and an attractive middle-aged woman with a layered bob hairstyle walked in.

"Well, well, well," she said while pushing her glasses up her nose.

The woman looked Ronan up and down, her gaze full of prejudice. "You finally deigned to show up, father of the baby."

Ronan forced himself to smile.

He extended a hand toward the woman in front of him." Nice to finally meet you, Dr... Uh..."

"Collins," she snapped, only touching Ronan's hand briefly in passing.

If Ronan did not know better, he would think that Lillian hired one of her fans to be her Ob-Gyn.

"I encourage couples to come together to examinations, but since things are the way they are," Dr. Collins made superfluous hand gestures in order to not have to finish what she wanted to say.

"Okay, are we ready to replace out the gender of the baby?"

Dr. Collins fixed Ronan with a sharp gaze.

"Miss Woodland did not want it to be revealed unless you were here to experience it with her."

Oh, really?

Lillian blinked at Ronan coquettishly, a shy smile spreading across her beautiful face.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience," Ronan said with a scary smile. "Thank you for waiting until I can make it, Lillian."

"Anytime for our baby, Ronan," Lillian said with a wink.

"Alright, let's proceed with the examination. Miss Woodland, go lie on the bed for me."

Dr. Collins helped Lillian to her feet and guided her to the bed. Her bulging belly was then exposed to the air and a glob of cold gel was rubbed all over it.

Dr. Collins then pressed the ultrasound device on Lillian's belly. Both women directed their gazes at the ultrasound machine screen.

On the black-and-white screen, the fetus could be seen.

"It is twenty weeks old now, about the size of a banana. Very healthy, no abnormalities at all."

Dr. Collins turned to look at Lillian.

"Have you experienced anything unnatural in the past week?"

"None," Lillian said, her eyes were still glued to the screen. "He is very active, kicked me a lot in the past few days."

"Mhm, and the heartbeat is very strong too. Aaaaand..."

Dr. Collins squinted at the screen for a while before she announced dramatically, "It's a boy."

Lillian turned pale right away. Her lips started to tremble and she broke into tears.

"Oh, my!" Dr. Collins shouted. "Miss Woodland, Mr. Silverback, congratulations! You two are having a precious little prince!"

Ronan pursed his lips.

Dr. Collins was so used to seeing pregnant women shed tears of happiness. It did not even cross her mind that Lillian might be sad because she was having a boy and not a girl.

"Dr. Collins, can you excuse us for a moment?" Ronan asked.

"What? Oh, of course!"

Dr. Collins left hurriedly with a huge smile on her face. On the bed, Lillian covered her face with both hands and sobbed pitifully.

"It will be fine," Ronan tried to comfort her. "Why does it matter, boy or girl? It is all going to be over in four months, right?"

Lillian lifted her head and hiccuped.

That was what she said, but no one could predict the future.

"I

am scared," she confessed.

"I act strong and brave, but I am so scared. For myself and my baby. All I want to do is give birth safely but even that is too much asked."

Ronan approached the bed and took Lillian's hand into his.

"You will give birth safely. And then you will be together with the father of your baby. It is what you want, right?"

Unexpectedly, Lillian broke into a burst of mocking laughter.

"I don't think that I will have that kind of fairytale ending."

"Don't you love that man?" Ronan furrowed his brows. "Don't you want to tell him that you two have a baby together?"

"Of course I do," Lillian whispered.

She rubbed her belly thoughtfully. "If I don't love him, why would I want to carry his baby?"

"Then..."

"But we can never be together," she sobbed, tears streaming down her pearly cheeks. "He hates me."

Ronan sighed. He reached out and patted Lillian's head while the latter cried her eyes out.

In the afternoon, Ronan Silverback got a call from his future sister-in-law, the newly-anointed Alpha Annalynne Clearwater.

She

did not sound too happy.

In fact,

she

was furious.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Ronan Silverback???" she snapped at Ronan. "Do you take my brother as a joke? How can you let that woman dangle from your arm during the day and still have the face to sleep in the same bed with my brother at night?" Ronan did not need to ask to know what made Annalynne so angry.

On top of Lillian writing a post to announce that "they" were having a baby boy, some paparazzi posted pictures and videos of them walking together in and out of the hospital.

Once these pictures and videos circulated, they caused a huge uproar.

Why?

Because, ever since Lillian's pregnancy was announced, this was the first time she was seen together with Ronan, the alleged father of her baby.

.....

Fans who supported Ronan and Lillian praised the closeness between the future parents and reveled in the sweet moments that they shared during the hospital visit.

Those who supported Ronan and Lucien were happy to see Ronan being involved in his child's development prior to birth. They also admired Lucien for his strength and willingness to share Ronan's love with the unborn child.

Other than these two groups, there were also people who were infuriated by this news.

Such as, for example, the new Alpha of Silent Walkers Pack, Annalynne Clearwater.

Truth be told, this was not the first time someone criticized Ronan on Lucien's behalf.

The other person was Kinnon Youngshaper, who cornered him a day after Lillian posted the image with the red roses.

The Alpha of the Night Prowler Pack told him openly that if he didn't know how to treat Lucien the right way, he should send Lucien to East Temple City.

He would be glad to show Ronan how.

Ronan had gritted his teeth and shoved Kinnon away without responding.

"I am dealing with it," Ronan told Annalynne.

He was sick of not being able to tell the truth. Sick of being at the receiving end of critics. And most of all, sick of hurting his mate.

"If by 'dealing with it' you mean letting my brother suffer, I am going to personally make you pay for it!"

"What's wrong?" Lucien looked up from the book that he was reading.

Ronan was not in the mood to fight with Annalynne. He ended the call right away and threw his phone away.

"Nothing," Ronan answered in exasperation before he punched the wall next to him.

Lucien sighed into his book. It did not look like nothing at all.

"Who did you talk to just now?"

He rose from his seat and approached his mate.

"Just some business partners."

"Don't lie to me, Ronan Silverback. I can hear the agitation in your voice."

"... Your sister."

"Ah."

Lucien tilted his head to the side and observed Ronan's face. He had his eyelashes lowered, unable to even look at Lucien. Was it guilt?

"Did you do anything to warrant her anger?"

"No!" Ronan denied it right away, but when he recalled the photos and videos, he was not so sure.

"Maybe," he said helplessly.

But what else could he do? There was no love between him and Lillian, but there was a secret arrangement. One that he could share with no one unless he wanted them to end up like his mother.

Lucien put his book away and touched Ronan's cheeks. His hands traveled down to his neck, then settled on his chest.

"Did you sleep with her again?"

Eyes big from disbelief, Ronan's jaw dropped open.

"NO!"

Ronan grabbed Lucien by his wrists.

"You would have known if I did! You would be able to smell her scent on me! Lulu, I swear, I did not!"

Lucien sneered.

"I know you didn't. Also... Honestly, that would be quite disgusting."

"What did you do then?" Lucien asked in an unhurried tone, but his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

Ronan groaned in exasperation. He did not want to describe it, so he took out his phone and showed Lucien the pictures and videos that Mara Keenthorne sent him.

"Just these."

"Mm."

Lucien gazed at the screen and scrolled up and down for a long time.

"I hate to say it, but you two do make a beautiful couple."

"She and I are NOT a couple!" Ronan shouted, shocked by the mere statement.

He grabbed Lucien by his waist and pressed a kiss on his lips.

The

kiss was a rough one.

"Mnhh..." Lucien furrowed his brows when Ronan pried his lips open and thrust his tongue inside Lucien's mouth like a savage beast.

His lips were sucked and bitten until they were swollen.

Even after Ronan was done ravishing his mate's oral cavity, his indignation failed to ebb.

"Lulu, WE, you and I, are a couple. Don't ever think otherwise!"

Lucien wiped saliva off his lips and chuckled.

"I know. It's

too bad that..."

Lucien did not end his sentence. He looked down at his flat stomach and rubbed it instead. It was very brief, but the gesture broke Ronan's heart.

"I don't need it," Ronan said with a hoarse voice. "Unless it's ours, I don't need a child. I don't need any heir."

A thin smile graced Lucien's beautiful face.

"Fatherhood is an amazing experience," he told his mate. "Although I am unhappy about Lillian's pregnancy, I am glad that you get to be a father."

But it isn't even my baby, Lulu...!!!

Ronan was about to go crazy.

"I will talk to Anna," Lucien promised while patting Ronan's chest. "Don't worry, I am neither angry nor upset."

"Lulu..."

Ronan leaned closer to kiss Lucien again, but then his phone started to ring.

""

"Pick up, it might be important."

"No," Ronan picked his mate up into his arms instead. "You are more important."

Lucien chuckled.

"Are you still trying to get me pregnant?"

"I never said that I would stop," Ronan quipped.

Before Lucien found the time to talk to Annalynne in peace, the unhappy sister showed up the next day at the Infinite Eclipse Pack's pack house