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“I am not finding pirate treasure. I am finding my dad,” I tell her, pulling out the spare clothes I smuggled into my school bag. I pull the sweater on over my shirt and the jeans over my shorts. My shorts ride up and give me a wedgie, and I don’t like the creases in my jeans. Mom usually gets those out with the iron for me. I don’t want creases. They make my pants uneven.
“Don’t look, Vally, just don’t look, and the lines will go away,” Casey tells me, and I nod, stuffing the maps in my bag and putting it over my shoulder.
“You be the lookout,” I tell her as we sneak to the front gate. They always leave it open. Casey looks around the corner while eating her anchovy sandwich before giving me a thumbs up. I run out the gate before stuffing my bag in the dead hedges out the front. I glance back at the school. I’m so sneaky! I got out of my school like a ninja!
* * *
My feet hurt, and my tummy is rumbling. I’ve been walking forever, and it’s starting to get cold. Mom will be worried. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. I don’t know if I’m going the right way. When I get to a man at the traffic lights, I stop. The man is dressed in a suit, like the ones who come to Mom’s hotel. He glances down at me when I tug on his suit jacket, then sighs loudly and gives me a mean look.
“What, kid?”
“Do you know where this place is?” I ask, showing him the piece of paper. He huffs and takes it from me, then laughs.
“Alpha Valen’s?”
I nod eagerly; he knows where it is. Where my dad is.
“Now, what would a rogue boy want to see him for?”
“I’m not a rogue boy; I am an Alpha like my dad,” I tell him.
“Ha, and who is your dad?”
“Alpha Valen Solace.”
The man laughs harder. “Is that so?”
“Yep,” I tell him.
“Well, my Alpha doesn’t have a kid, but I’m sure he’ll think this is really funny. Come on then, boy, maybe he’ll give you an autograph or let you get a picture with him,” the man says, gripping my shirt and tugging me across the road.
“Really, you’ll take me to him?”
“Yep, I’m going there anyway. He lives in that big building in the penthouse apartment.”
“Do you work for my dad?”
He laughs. “If you say so, kid,” he says, and we walk up the hill toward the big building with the bright lights. The door opens as we climb the stairs, and a man that looks like a butler with a funny hat on greets us at the doors.
“Who is that boy, Tatum?” the man in the funny hat asks.
“Some kid who thinks the Alpha is his dad.”
“Ha, they all think that. Wonder which rogue whore sent their kid up this time, claiming he fathered it.” Both men laugh.
“My mom is not a rogue whore. He is her mate, she told me.”
“Whatever you say, kid. They all claim that too, but come on, let’s get this over with,” he says, leading me inside. The foyer is fancier and much bigger than our hotel’s—all white and gold. The elevators are so clean I can see my reflection in them, and something smells yummy, making my belly rumble louder. I forgot to eat lunch, but it must be dinner time now.
“So, what’s your name anyway?” the man—Tatum?—asks.
“Valarian, sir,” I say as politely as I can.
“Valarian? That’s an odd name. Damn, you really could pass as his though; you have the same eyes, now I can see better in the light,” the man says, rubbing his chin and staring funny at me.
“And you have a big nose, now that I can see you better—it’s bright in here,” I respond.
“Ha, funny little shit you are. My Alpha’s gonna like you.” The man presses buttons on the panel, and we go all the way to the top floor.
