Chapter 199

199 The Father Of Lillian’s Baby

“Lulu!”

Lucien was pale and drenched in a cold sweat. At some point, he had a feeling that he was tumbling to the floor, but Ronan’s arm around his waist kept him in a standing position.

The man was still struggling to breathe. The people around him turned into blurry shadows.

“Ronan, I...”

Lucien closed his eyes and leaned against Ronan’s shoulder.

‘I really don’t feel good.’

‘I think I am going to be sick.’

Ronan pressed a kiss on the side of Lucien’s head.

‘Breathe, Lulu. Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.’

.....

Lucien was not too sure about that.

The group from Ironclad Claws slowly made their way through the crowd as they greeted and engaged in some small talks with the other guests.

At last, Lillian Woodland stood before them.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled at Ronan.

“Hello, Alpha Ronan. It is nice to see you again.”

Ronan gave her a polite smile while squeezing Lucien tighter to his body. The man in his arms could not rip his eyes off Lillian’s belly. It was as if he expected a pup to emerge any moment and tell him who the father was.

“Likewise, I did not expect you to be here at all.”

Lillian chuckled while she rubbed the swell on her belly.

“I apologize for being away for so long. As soon as I fell pregnant, the Healer told me to rest until the fetus is stabilized.”

Lillian’s smile became wider as her eyes shifted from Ronan to Lucien, who became increasingly paler with further exchanges.

“But then I thought, I should really be here tonight. After all, it is the memorial service for the grandmother of my baby.”

An audible gasp was heard, followed by a glass of wine that came crashing on the floor.

It was unclear who dropped the glass to the floor. The body in Ronan’s arms went limp right away

Lucien fell unconscious from the shock.

“LULU!” Alice shouted in terror.

She quickly pushed her way through the crowd to be at her son’s side.

“Lulu???”

Alice patted Lucien’s cheek but the latter gave no response at all.

“Excuse me,” Ronan told Lillian with a darkened face. “My mate is feeling under the weather.”

The smile on Lillian’s face disappeared within an instant. A strange light flashed across her eyes when she heard the words “my mate”. Wordlessly, she nodded and joined her father and grandmother.

Ronan lifted Lucien into his arms and stalked out of the banquet hall. Just as his silhouette disappeared from the door frame, the hall broke into an uproar.

The Alpha clenched his jaw in fury.

If Lillian Woodland wanted to play, he, Ronan Silverback, was more than happy to beat her in her own game.

Alice Clearwater could not care less about the gossip that circulated behind the Alpha’s back. She followed closely behind Ronan with a face that was equally if not darker than the Alpha’s.

Ronan kicked the door open impatiently and lowered his mate to the couch.

Lucien’s breathing was irregular. He kept clawing at his neck, almost as if he was suffocating on something.

Ronan pulled at Lucien’s tie and loosened his collar.

A soft sigh escaped Lucien, and the knit between his brows loosened gradually.

Behind him, Ronan heard Alice Clearwater’s furious footsteps.

Once she reached Ronan, she clawed at the Alpha’s shoulder and forced him to face her.

“Alpha Ronan, I thought that you were worthy of my son,” she spat directly with tears glistening in her eyes. Lucien rarely allowed strangers to see him in his weakest moments. Her son must be in so much pain.

Alice could not imagine how hurt Lucien must be.

“You have just sealed a mating contract with my son. What are you going to do with the bastard pup in that woman’s stomach???”

Ronan turned to look at Alice.

“Mother,” he called her, melting Alice’s cold front away with one word. “I belong to Lucien. Heart, body, and soul. I will put an end to this matter. I won’t let Lucien suffer.”

Alice glared at Ronan. Maybe it was the Alpha’s dominance, maybe it was not. Alice felt compelled to believe her son’s mate, but her brain told her that it was not as easy as it sounded.

She wanted to question Ronan like a criminal, hear how he wanted to “put an end to this matter”, but Ronan too had just found out about this bastard pup’s existence. Of course he could not give her any answer. Not now, at least.

On the couch, Lucien stirred. He tossed around on the bed with knitted brows.

“No,” he cried. “No...”

“Lulu.”

Ronan turned to Alice. “Sorry Mother, can you give us a minute?”

After throwing one last look at her pitiful son, Alice rose to her feet and left.

“Lulu. Lulu!”

Ronan put his hands on Lucien’s cheeks.

“Lulu, it’s me.”

Lucien opened his eyes and stared right into Ronan’s greenish-blue eyes.

He then shoved the Alpha hard on the chest.

Unprepared for the sudden shove, Ronan almost fell from the couch.

“You,” Lucien gave him a sorrowful look. “You said that... That I was the only one.”

Ronan did not get it at first. He only understood when he caught the few words that Lucien murmured under his breath afterward.

“Protection. You said I was the only one without.”

“You are!” Ronan insisted.

“Liar!!!”

A crisp slap fell on Ronan’s cheek. Tears fell from Lucien’s eyes, blurring Ronan’s face.

“Your father was right,” he muttered under his breath, his words muffled by the hands that he pressed against his face to stop the flood of tears.

Merely hearing the two words “your father” was enough to set Ronan’s heart aflame.

“He is not!” Ronan shouted, grabbing Lucien’s wrists and pulling them away from the latter’s face.

Lucien never knew that he could feel so much pain without having a physical wound. He grabbed Ronan’s collar and hissed at him, “Then explain to me where the baby came from.”