The Invitation to Brunch

Suppressing the urge to jump out of the car, Lucien only had one thing to say.

"This is kidnapping, you know."

Ronan took out his phone and started scrolling on it. "Really. Have I forgotten to extend you an invitation for breakfast?"

Lucien shot Ronan a glare. "Hmph!" he snorted, looking away from Ronan.

The man next to him did not say anything else. Lucien stared at the passing scenery outside of the window. Fifteen minutes later, they stopped in front of Carlton Bay Hotel. Lucien squinted at the huge words that hung fifty stories above him. The door at his side opened with a click. Ronan bent down with both arms spread between the car door and the car roof. He stared at him intently.

"Can you get out or must I carry you?"

Lucien shot Ronan daggers but he said nothing. He stepped out of the car and slapped Ronan's lower arm out of the way.

It was supposed to be a breakfast, but it turned out to be brunch. Carlton Bay Hotel hosted a luxurious buffet selection throughout the day, naturally at an astronomical price per person. Even the oxygen felt expensive. Lucien crossed his arms in front of his chest, refusing to even take a look at the buffet table. He went to sit at a table in the corner and waited for Ronan while the latter went to pick up his breakfast.

Despite his bad habit of drinking carbonated drinks every morning before breakfast, Ronan lived a healthy lifestyle since childhood. Boiled eggs, oatmeal with milk and fruit slices, toasts with cottage cheese, avocado, and bacon slices. Lucien knew what Ronan would get before he even returned from the buffet table.

Lucien closed his eyes, stubbornly refusing to look at food and ignoring his crying stomach. One hour top. Ronan was not a slow eater. His voice rang out close to Lucien's ears.

"Lucien."

"What? Mmmphhh!!!!"

Lucien opened his eyes in fright. Ronan just shoved a croissant into his open mouth unceremoniously! It was incredulous! Lucien spat out the croissant to an empty plate and opened his mouth to scold Ronan but the latter stuffed a pineapple slice into his mouth instead.

"Go on," he said. "I will keep stuffing food into your mouth until you go and pick your breakfast."

Lucien spat the pineapple out and blocked further attempts to feed him.

"Ronan, don't be childish! You must be dreaming if you think I will pay any cent for breakfast here! Don't you know how much it costs to eat here???"

Ronan took a seat opposite Lucien and started to peel a boiled egg.

"Of course I don't know. I eat here for free. The Carlton Bay Hotel belongs to my family."

Lucien rolled with his eyes and rose to his feet, intending to leave.

"By the way, having food inside your mouth is considered eating so it is necessary to pay."

Lucien shot Ronan an icy look. "You set me up."

Grinning, Ronan offered the peeled egg to Lucien. "I said that I wanted to invite you. Please sit down and let me treat you to breakfast, Mr. Clearwater."

Lucien did not take the proffered egg. "For what purpose?"

"To tell me what you know about Gavin and Maya, for starters."

Lucien sighed. He went back to sit and eat the pineapple slice and croissant that he spat out previously.

"Maya is one of my students in the art class that I am teaching," he started. "I knew that she was a she-wolf from day one. And I also knew that there was another werewolf who was stalking her aggressively. Gavin followed her from class to class and tried to talk to her many times."

"That day, he cornered her again in the evening after she finished art club activities. I happened to witness Gavin when he dragged an unconscious Maya into the basketball group storage house. I intervened and got into a fight with Gavin. I kept telling Maya to run away but she didn't. She had been drugged, and the drug muddled her mind. In her confusion, she transformed and escaped into the woods in her wolf form."

"Gavin also transformed into a wolf and went into the woods. I could not transform. It took a long time to finally find Maya and bring her back home with me. I reckoned that Gavin would come to get Maya again, so I did my best to prepare."

Ronan's eyes swept over Lucien's thin frame. If Landon was still there, Lucien would not be wounded that severely. Ronan had once fought against Lucien in their wolf forms. Lucien was not easy to defeat.

"Thank you for protecting one of my own," Ronan said finally.

"She is also one of my students. Don't mention it," Lucien replied.

Ronan pushed a plate of omelets in front of Lucien.

"Eat properly. The breakfast costs 100 dollars whether you only eat one croissant or a fulfilling breakfast."

It was the most civil conversation they had since they met again. Urged by his rumbling stomach, Lucien let himself be persuaded to go to the buffet table and pick some food.

They spent the remaining time eating in silence. Lucien's mind started to wander toward his plan to take the train at night. It took seven hours of train travel to arrive at the Blue Hill City train station. After that, he still needed to take a bus for an hour to reach the nearest station to his destination. The Silent Walkers Pack House was around one kilometer away from the bus station. Most wolves would transform and disappear into the woods. Lucien, unfortunately, had to walk on his two feet.

Ronan took Lucien home after the meal. Lucien stepped out of the car without looking back. Ronan's gaze lingered on Lucien for some time before he ordered his driver to go back to Great Lake City. After two hours of the car trip, Ronan received a call from Jake.

"Ronan, bad news," Jake said as soon as Ronan picked up the phone. Jake liked to go to the point every time. "Gavin has escaped!"