CHAPTER 78: BROUGHT US CLOSER

Leia pointed eagerly toward the towering rollercoaster ahead. "That one’s the most popular here! We have to try it," she said, excitement sparkling in her eyes as she addressed the three alphas.

Lucien frowned slightly. "Isn’t that meant for kids?"

Leia rolled her eyes with a dramatic sigh. "Then stay here and guard the snack stand. Ronan, Kieran, let’s go!" she declared, grabbing their arms with enthusiasm.

"They’re not really into—" Lucien began, but his words trailed off as both his brothers followed Leia without hesitation.

"Let’s do it. I’ve heard it’s actually really fun," Kieran said, already walking ahead.

"I’ve always wanted to try one," Ronan added, a rare smile playing at his lips.

"I’ll grab the tickets," Leia said, already heading to the booth.

Kieran turned back to Lucien. "You sure you don’t want to come? It’s your last chance."

Lucien folded his arms.

"He has a fear of rides," Leia said teasingly before Lucien could answer. "Besides, he thinks we’re acting like children."

"Me? Afraid?" Lucien scoffed, stepping after her. "Everyone else fears me. Get me one too."

Leia grinned and bought four tickets. Tilting her head toward him, she teased, "You sure you’re up for it? Can’t you hear those screams?"

"I told you, I’m not scared of anything," Lucien declared.

"Great," she said, satisfied. They made their way to the entrance queue, where other visitors were already lined up. Within minutes, the previous group returned, disheveled, laughing, and some still screaming. As the seats emptied, Leia grabbed the front row, motioning for the others.

Lucien settled in beside her, with Ronan and Kieran taking the seats behind. They fastened their safety harnesses, checking them twice.

Leia leaned over and grinned at them all. "Alright, get ready to scream your lungs out. This is going to be amazing!"

The operator pulled the lever, and,m the rollercoaster lurched into motion. At first, the ride was deceptively calm, gliding along a gentle incline that offered a brief moment of peace.

But then, without warning, the cars plunged into a steep drop, and the air exploded with screams.

Lucien’s hands clenched the safety bar, his eyes snapping shut as a wave of dizziness crashed over him. ’What the hell kind of ride is this?’ he cursed internally, his stomach churning as the wind roared past his ears.

Every twist, every sudden drop made his grip tighten. He felt as if the ground kept vanishing beneath him.

Through the chaos, he could hear Leia, her laughter and screams blending together in wild exhilaration. ’Is she seriously enjoying this?’ he thought in disbelief, barely resisting the urge to shout for the operator to stop the ride and let him off.

Even Kieran and Ronan had their share of fun in the ride. Finally, after felt like an eternity, the ride came to an end.

Lucien was quick to get off and caught his head.

’Fuck!’ He gasped for air, feeling strange.

"It was so fun!" Ronan told Leia.

"Yeah, even I enjoyed it! It was one nice adventurous ride," Kieran stated.

"I told you it would be fun," Leia said, laughing.

"It was pure madness to sit even in that ride," Lucien’s voice erupted.

The three of them looked at him, who was proudly telling earlier he wasn’t scared of anything.

"I think you don’t feel good," Ronan said.

Lucien hated to admit it and looked at Leia’s face, who was hiding her smile.

"You shouldn’t have sit on it," Leia said. Then, taking out a small water bottle from her sling bag, she forwarded it to Lucien. "Here, drink some water. Let’s sit outside in the park for some time."

Lucien uncapped the bottle and drank the water. Then, they walked to the park within the garden and sat on a bench. Lucien started to feel better and looked at the lake ahead.

The tall tree above them was filled with violet blooms and everytime the breeze would blow, some of the flowers would flow along with it before dropping to the ground.

"I used to come here with my mother. And when I used to be upset I would come here. This place is good to relieve the stress," Leia told the three of them.

"I feel like I’ve taken everything from you," Lucien murmured, a hint of guilt shadowing his expression.

"That’s not true," Leia replied gently. "At first, maybe I did feel that way. But like I told you before, with time, I’ve come to realize that I was simply finding my place, where I was meant to be. I spent my whole life hiding from wolves, thinking they were dangerous... but now I know, not all of them are."

Lucien gave a soft nod. "We’ll keep coming back here. To this place."

Leia arched a brow, clearly amused. "You changed your mind that fast?"

"I think Brother Lucien’s heart has finally melted," Kieran chimed in with a grin.

Lucien scowled slightly, furrowing his brows. "I was never heartless."

Kieran chuckled. "Sure, sure."

"Let’s take a picture here," he added, glancing around. "We don’t know when we’ll get to visit again."

"Luckily, I brought my mini camera," Leia said, fishing it out of her sling bag. She scanned the area and spotted a group standing a little distance away.

"I’ll be right back," she said, walking briskly toward them.

"Excuse me," Leia called out politely. "Would one of you mind taking a photo of me and my friends over there?"

"Sure, I’ll click it for you," a guy among them agreed to her and took the camera.

"Thank you," Leia said and returned to the Alpha Brothers’ side.

They stood near the thick stem of the tree. Leia moved her fingers through her hair strands and joined her hands together, letting them stay on the front. Ronan stood at right of Lucien while next to him Leia and Kieran stood.

"Please smile," the guy said.

Leia smiled brightly, making victory signs with her hands. Lucien placed his hand over Leia’s shoulder, and gave a proper smile along with his brothers. The picture was clicked and the guy lowered the camera.

"Please check it," he said, showing them the picture.

"It turned out to be perfect," said Leia.

"Thank you," Lucien told the guy, who nodded and ran back to his group.

~~~~

That evening, Leia carefully printed four copies of the photo, they had all wanted one for themselves.

As she looked at the picture, she murmured with a small frown, "You three look so tall... and I look like a little kid."

"It’s perfect," Ronan said softly, taking his copy. "You look really pretty here."

"Well, she always looks pretty," Kieran added with a teasing grin, "but yes, I have to agree with Ronan on this one."

Lucien didn’t say anything right away. He stared at the photo in his hands as eyes drawn to the rare, relaxed smiles on his brothers’ faces, especially Ronan’s. There was something peaceful about the way they stood together, with Leia in the middle, brightening the entire frame.

’She’s brought happiness into our lives,’ Lucien thought, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly. ’And even brought us closer.’

Leia took the photos from each of them and gently slipped them into an envelope. "I’ll give them to you once we’re back at the pack," she said quietly, tucking it safely into her bag.

Just then, the three alpha brothers stiffened as they sensed a wolf’s presence nearby.

"Did you feel that?" Ronan asked, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward Lucien.

"Yes," Lucien replied. His gaze scanned the empty stretch of the street ahead.

"What should be felt?" Leia looked between them, confused by their sudden change in demeanor.

Before any of them could answer, a sharp scream of a woman pierced the air.

They turned toward the sound at once.

Because they had chosen to walk along a quieter side street, away from the crowd, the area around them was nearly deserted.

Lucien took a protective step in front of Leia.

"You two stay close to her," Lucien said and took a step forward when the werewolf showed himself. His mouth and teeth were covered in blood while his were bloodshot red.

Leia couldn’t see it because Lucien’s broad back was preventing that view. But she knew something was off.

The wolf charged toward them when Lucien rushed toward it, giving a blow across the wolf’s face, bringing it to the ground right away.

"Lucien!" Leia called her name out in worry. Her eyes grew big in horror. This was the first time a wolf appeared in the city, where no such incident happened for years.

The wolf let out a loud growl and attacked Lucien, but he dodged it.

"He will be fine. Don’t worry," Ronan told her.

Lucien could’ve changed into his wolf form, but he felt it wasn’t right to do it in a place, where humans lived.

The wolf turned around and again charged toward Lucien. He caught him by his front legs and overturned him, giving him another punch.