Chapter 115
115 I Am In Love With Another Person
Stupefied by what he just heard, Lucien too dropped his fork and stared at Kendra. A soft pink color crept toward Kendra’s cheeks and she dropped her gaze to her plate.
“Too soon? Haha...” She forced herself to make fun of the situation. She should have waited to breach the subject. But then the atmosphere was so good. She could not help it. It just came out.
Sitting opposite of her, Lucien swallowed hard.
“Kendra, what are you thinking...?” Lucien asked.
He wanted to be kinder, but he did not know how to conceal his surprise.
Kendra twirled the noodle on her plate into a huge nest around her fork.
“The pack needs an Alpha,” she slowly said. “As of now, you are the best candidate to fill the position.”
Kendra pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and raised her eyes to meet Lucien’s.
“As a widowed Luna, I have the right to appoint the next Alpha. Otherwise, the next Alpha will be appointed by means of fair competition among all alphas inside the pack.”
.....
“You and I know that the strongest alpha werewolf does not automatically make a good Alpha. I fear that the throne will fall on the lap of someone who does not deserve the position.”
Kendra bit into her lip. There was a subtle hint in her words that pointed out late Deacon Clearwater’s flaw as the previous Alpha.
“Kendra, I am honored. Thank you for considering me for the position, but I don’t share the same sentiment.”
Kendra moved her hand and touched the ring on her left hand. Lucien recognized the ring. The 3-carat diamond ring in cushion cut was an heirloom of the Clearwater family.
Originally, it was supposed to be given to Lucien when he ascended as the next Alpha. After Lucien left the pack, the ring was given to Deacon instead.
Lucien and Kendra continued eating in silence.
After they were done, Lucien offered to help with the dishes, to which Kendra agreed. She took off her ring and set it on the table before she grabbed the dishwashing sponge. Lucien took the soapy dishes from her to rinse them with water.
When Kendra handed Lucien the last plate, she held on to the plate and looked up at Lucien.
“If you had not lost your wolf, you and I were supposed to get married.”
Lucien sighed in his heart.
Of course, he knew that.
His grandmother and Kendra’s grandmother were the best of friends. Before she passed away, she told her sons — Gordon and Marcus Clearwater — that whichever grandson inherited the Alpha position must take Kendra as his Luna. The ring was to be given to Kendra as her wedding ring.
And so Deacon got the Alpha position, the ring, and then Kendra as his wife.
Ever since she was but a young girl, Kendra had thought that she would marry Lucien one day. Lucien was kind and gentle. He was mature for his age. He always protected Kendra when the latter was being bullied by Deacon.
Who would have guessed that she ended up marrying Deacon instead of Lucien?
“I know,” Lucien said in response.
Disappointment was clearly seen in Kendra’s beautiful features when Lucien had nothing else to add. The beautiful woman pursed her lips in exasperation. Had she not been obvious enough? Lucien was not dumb. Surely he knew what Kendra was trying to say.
“Lucien, you...”
“Kendra.”
Kendra shut up immediately. Her gaze bore a certain expectation. Unfortunately, Lucien could not respond to her feelings.
The man took the ring from the table and slipped it on Kendra’s ring finger.
“I am sorry, I am in love with another person.”
Kendra sucked in a deep breath.
“Who?” She demanded. “Is it someone from the pack?”
Lucien shook his head.
Kendra trembled slightly.
“You have been away for years. Did you... Did you go to another pack? Did you start dating a woman from another pack?”
That would make sense, really. Lucien was old enough to settle down. He was too ashamed to go back and court any girl from the Silent Walkers Pack. He must have decided on another woman. A good girl from a good family in another pack. One that did not mind that he lost his wolf.
Lucien shook his head again.
“A rogue she-wolf then???”
Kendra was about to lose her patience. It was not her fault that she ended up marrying Deacon. At any rate, she was a much better choice than a rogue she-wolf. Just what was Lucien thinking??? His grandmother was going to turn in her grave!
Instead of answering, Lucien merely shook his head again.
“Well???” Kendra demanded. If Lucien thought that some cheap rogue she-wolf was better than Kendra, then Kendra wanted to know who exactly the woman was.
Before Lucien managed to utter a single syllable, a man’s voice was heard coming from the kitchen entrance.
“Lucien? Can we talk?”
Both Lucien and Kendra stared at the uninvited intruder.
It was Ronan.
His blank expression morphed into a polite smile when he slowly approached the two people who stood by the sink.
“Am I interrupting?” He asked, shifting his gaze from Lucien to Kendra.
“No,” Lucien said.
“Not at all,” Kendra said despite cursing Ronan’s inopportune appearance. Did Ronan even need to ask? If he had the slightest decency, he should have left right away.
Ronan held out his hand in Lucien’s direction.
“Shall we?”
Lucien took Ronan’s hand, but he did not move from his spot. He turned to face Kendra instead. Infuriated, the woman already turned her back toward him.
“Kendra,” Lucien called. “You want to know who the person is, don’t you?”
Kendra turned around immediately. “Yes,” she answered, her eyes full of curiosity. “I want to know.”
Lucien subsequently tugged at Ronan’s hand and drew the Alpha closer to him. He then grabbed Ronan’s collar and forced the latter to lean closer to him. Without any warning, Lucien tilted his head and gave the stunned Ronan a passionate kiss on the lips.