Pursuing My Rejected Alpha

He only got to know after they passed the familiar buildings in the car on their way to the last date venue for the day.

In South Bedford City, a new art gallery was opened in the name of the Silverback Corporation. Tonight just happened to be the inauguration ceremony.

As an active part of the art community, Lucien was naturally more than interested to go and accompany Ronan.

The art gallery was located in an elite part of the city. The single building was surrounded by neatly-trimmed hedges of various heights that were arranged in circles around the building. Ronan informed Lucien that the hedges formed steady and graceful waves from a bird’s-eye view.

The exterior of the building itself was a perfect combination of wilderness and modern architecture. The wood, metal, and glass material seemed to transition into each other smoothly, forming an unlikely combination, an artwork in itself.

“Who is the architect?” Lucien asked as he marveled at the intricate details of the building.

“One of our pack members,” Ronan answered him. “A cousin of your student, Maya Greenwood.”

“I thought her cousin is a museum curator.”

.....

“She has a lot of cousins. All of them are very talented individuals.”

“Ah.”

As they made their way toward the gallery entrance, a bunch of soft, colorful lights were cast on the crowd and the bare ground. Lucien looked up and saw a lot of swirling lights in the sky. Their colors changed smoothly from one to another as they performed a coordinated dance in the sky.

“What are those?” He asked, pointing at the mysterious light sources.

“Drones with lamps. Let’s go inside,” Ronan answered curtly. He then pulled at their intertwined hands.

On the opening night, the art gallery was crowded with a lot of people. Lucien did not know most of them personally, but he had seen them on television. While scanning the crowd, he was pleasantly surprised to see the dean of the South Bedford City Art College. Said man was immersed in a serious conversation with a famous art critic, clearly from the Silverback family’s acquaintance circle.

Lucien wanted to go over and say hello, but Ronan dragged him toward the foyer instead.

“The opening ceremony was about to start,” he informed Lucien.

“Oh, alright.”

Lucien made a mental note to greet the dean later.

More and more people entered the foyer from outside. They gathered in front of the huge glass sliding door that separated the foyer from the exhibition center. A huge blue ribbon with a blue and white ribbon bouquet was tied across the door, with the meticulously dressed art gallery personnel standing at the front side.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the opening ceremony of the ‘Clearwater Contemporary Art Gallery’,” the art gallery curator announced.

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

“What?” He asked while furrowing his brows at Ronan.

The Alpha gave Lucien a nervous smile, “Surprise.”

Lucien’s jaw dropped open.

“You named your new art gallery after me?”

“Mhm.”

Lucien opened his mouth to say something to Ronan, but at that time the art gallery curator called his name.

“And now we shall invite the CEO of Silverback Corporation, Mr. Ronan Silverback, and our artist, Mr. Lucien Clearwater to cut the ribbon and officially launch the opening of the art gallery!”

Lucien’s head snapped toward the group of people at the center of the foyer. They were all looking in his direction, their gaze full of unconcealed admiration.

Ronan tugged at their hands to urge him to step forward.

Lucien was dumbfounded.

When did he become the artist of an art gallery that he just now came to know?

The crowd applauded as the two men made their way to the front and joined the art gallery personnel. The art gallery curator, a man in his thirties with slicked back hairdo, handed Lucien a pair of huge scissors with a broad smile.

From behind Lucien, Ronan put his hands on top of Lucien’s.

Snip.

The crowd broke into another round of applause when Lucien and Ronan cut through the ribbon.

Ronan handed the scissors back to the art gallery curator, who announced the opening with a cordial but joyous enthusiasm, “Esteemed visitors, the art gallery is officially open! We herewith welcome you to take a look!”

Lucien was speechless. He still had yet to fully comprehend what just happened, so he let Ronan guide him toward the exhibition area.

Once Lucien saw the first artworks, the puzzle pieces started to come together.

The so-called Clearwater Contemporary Art Gallery was none other than a private exhibition center for every artwork that Lucien had ever created.

The team of exhibit designers worked hard with colorful and plentiful materials to create an unforgettable set that brought out the life within each sculpture.

Some sculptures were paired together to tell stories. Stories that Lucien had long since forgotten, but were engraved so vividly in the magnificent presentations.

Lucien could not help but feel emotional when seeing his artworks being displayed like that. He buried his face into Ronan’s shoulder and cried silently while the latter wrapped his arms around him.

“Are you happy?” Ronan asked while patting Lucien’s head.

Lucien made some incoherent noise, muffled by Ronan’s coat. What a stupid question. Of course he was. How could he not be happy?

But then... Wait a second.

Lucien lifted his head to look at Ronan. There was a little frown on his face. The pair of reddened eyes stared at Ronan as if the latter wronged him.

“So it’s you,” he growled while burying his fingers into Ronan’s collar.

“It’s me, what?” The Alpha failed to catch the meaning.

“You are the insane art collector who bought all my artworks from the auction,” Lucien completed his sentence.