"Not unless necessary, Mom. I have been assessing the pack's current condition. Maybe I can talk Kinnon into agreeing to let the pack off while we pay our debts bit by bit."
"Oh."
Alice was not sure that Kinnon Youngshaper would let himself be coerced into letting Lucien off the hook. Whatever the reason behind the proposal was, the look that Kinnon gave Lucien had always been warm and indulgent.
Alice would not be surprised if Kinnon proposed out of love. Her son was just too good-looking that two Alphas asked for his hand in marriage at the same time. If only Lucien were a girl. Sigh.
Lucien kissed his mom on the cheek.
"Don't worry, Mom. Let me handle it. Even if I end up marrying Kinnon, it will not be the end of the world."
Alice gave her son a pitiful look. "Lulu, do you... Do you like Kinnon? Even a little bit?"
"I do not dislike him," Lucien pointed out. "That should be enough."
Alice cringed on the inside. That was not exactly the foundation for a strong, happy marriage. Nevertheless, she was unable to dissuade her son.
With four days left to answer the Night Prowler Pack, Lucien went back to South Bedford City. Both his colleagues and his students were delighted to see him back in the college the next morning.
The students were especially happy to see him because the renowned Annual Art Exhibition of the South Bedford City was drawing near and they were far from being done with their submissions.
The painters could not get the colors right and kept scrapping one work after another. The sculptors were lacking inspiration. Their works were neither brimming with life nor eye-catching. Lucien's teaching assistant, Hayley, was frantic day in and day out. Black circles surrounded her eyes, making her look like a panda. She literally burst into tears when she saw Lucien walking into the classroom.
"Praised be the Lord, Mr. Clearwater! You are finally here!!!" she exclaimed while rushing toward Lucien to take his bag off his shoulder. Strangers would think that she was just being a helpful little assistant. Those who were acquainted with them closely knew that Hayley was just holding Lucien's bag hostage.
Lucien flashed her a smile. "Why do you look so disheveled? Have you not had your morning coffee?"
Hayley tilted her head to Lucien's table where three tall coffee paper cups stood, two empty and one half-full. Lucien raised his eyebrow. "Aha."
"Mis... Mr. Clearwater..."
Lucien turned around and looked at the nervous young woman who stood in front of him with a box in her hands. Maya Greenwood had returned to the college as well.
"How are you doing now, Ms. Greenwood?"
Maya burst into tears.
"Mr. Clearwater, I am so sorry for bothering you. Also... Also... I wonder if we can have lunch together today? I would love to treat you to a meal."
Lucien rubbed at his temple. He did not feel like eating anything. He still had to contact Kinnon and ask whether he could offer them something else beyond marriage...
"I... I brought a strawberry cream cheese layered cake for dessert!"
"..."
Never someone who could resist the temptation of desserts, Lucien simply had to agree to the young woman's request.
"How lovely," a cold voice commented from the side. "Can I also join you for lunch?"
Ronan Silverback crossed his arms and cut Lucien a scary smile. "I would love to have a piece of that cake."
The Alpha wore a baby blue shirt with white horizontal stripes that extended from top to bottom and a pair of beige pants. Together with the clear-rimmed glasses that he pushed up from his nose, he looked a lot like a handsome, mature college student. Only that he wasn't.
"Al...! I mean... yes, of course, Mr..." the flustered Maya Greenwood looked around her, afraid that someone heard her misspeech. "Mr. Silverback," she ended with a low voice.
"Why are you here?" Lucien asked with a frown. "You are not even one of the students."
Ronan flashed him an ID card. Lucien was speechless. Ronan Silverback actually managed to smuggle himself as an art student into the South Bedford Art College within days.
He extended his hand at Lucien with a playful smirk. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Clearwater."
Lucien squeezed Ronan's hand. "Don't you have better things to do, Mr. Silverback?"
Ronan's smile only grew brighter. "No, my biggest wish right now is to display my painting at the art exhibition."
Lucien scoffed. The Ronan Silverback that he knew back from the Alpha Camp never touched a painting brush in his whole life.
"Really. And have you decided what to draw?"
Ronan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, making him look like a shy man in love when he answered, "The person who I love."
Unbeknownst to Lucien, the whole class had been listening to their conversation. They quickly fell into a choir of "Ooooooohhh!!!" as they looked at Ronan with nothing short of admiration in their eyes. Only his first day at the art college and he was already distracting his students? How was that supposed to help with getting his students ready for the art exhibition???
Lucien was determined to kick this ruffian out of his class. And then a female student spoke up.
"Mr. Clearwater, I have decided on who to draw."
"Wonderful. Who?"
The female student blushed profusely as she blinked a few times at Ronan. "The person I love."
"..."
A male student raised his hand.
"Mr. Clearwater, I know what to sculpt now."
Lucien covered half of his face to prevent his exasperation from showing. "Great. Who to sculpt?"
He winked at Ronan while biting the handle of his sculpting knife. "The person I love."
"..."
Ronan beamed like a prom king that he never was and never would be. "I am glad that my fellow students and I share the same inspiration. Good luck to all of us with the art exhibition!"
Ronan's words received round applause from the whole class. The shameless Alpha turned to face the scowling Lucien. "Well then, Mr. Clearwater, please proceed with instructing the class."