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“It’s late. I’ll let you get to bed. I’ll be back tomorrow. Tatum will be outside if you need anything.”
“Wait, you aren’t expecting him to remain here?”
“Uh, yes. Either he stays, or I do, Everly,” he says, his eyes sinking into mine.
“It’s the middle of the night. What could possibly happen? We’re going to bed. I am capable of looking after my son.”
“Ourson. And you are so capable that our son escaped school and found me? That shows a lot about your parenting skills.”
“Don’t talk to me about parenting, Valen. Where were you the first five years of his life? I didn’t know he would go searching for you; he’s never taken off before, so don’t you blame me for that.”
“Either way, Tatum stays, or I do, so which is it? I won’t leave you both unprotected when forsaken are running around at the back of your hotel.”
I look over at Tatum. If I had to choose, it would definitely be the giant.
“Fine, but one night only. I won’t have him scaring my employees,” I say.
“Fine, have it your way. I’ll stay tomorrow night then,” Valen says before pecking my head and walking toward the door before he stops and turns, looking back at me.
“And you heard my father, Everly; I can’t have you running around rogue. You have a week to get your head around letting me mark you, or I will do it by force if necessary. I won’t have my son remain rogue,” he tells me, then walks out and closes the door before I have the opportunity to protest.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Valen
I can't sleep; all night I toss and turn, knowing they're both over there—so close, yet out of reach. It gives me a little comfort knowing Tatum is there with them, yet everything in my screams I should be the one protecting them, how I have failed. No wonder she hates me. I would hate me too if our roles were reversed.
Now a few past incidents make sense; why I could never hold a relationship to save my life, why I had trouble with my sex life, the sudden bouts of depression seeping into me. Now it makes me wonder if I knew all along on a subconscious level, and it was my body trying to stop me from making the idiotic decisions I sometimes did.
She felt it, felt it all, and didn't say anything. When she kissed Marcus, the pain that she caused was brief yet painful all the same. How did she endure years of my infidelity? I may not have known about her, but she certainly knew of me, which makes me groan at how stupid I've been. The countless brothels, the women, and she endured that pain over and over for so many long years.
Five years. For some reason, that number keeps popping up in my head as I try to dredge up any memory that would lead me to her. Why was that number so significant? Besides the obvious, of course. Yet something nags at me, tugging as if it should matter to me.Five years… five years…I mutter under my breath. Lurching upright, I feel my breath leave me altogether, and I gasp, nearly choking on my own spit.
The Alpha meeting! The fairy girl! The girl who snuck out on me the following day! Could that have been her? I was pissed off that she left before I even woke. Something tells me it was Everly, yet I never saw her face. Marcus woke me the following day, and she was gone. He said he passed the girl, and I remember it irritated me because I was angry he didn't stop her.
That girl has remained in my thoughts for five years already, and it's one of the things that got me through each night—finding myself often thinking of the girl dressed as a fairy. Yet, I could never explain why she would randomly pop into my thoughts.
Marcus had told me to look for her, but when I checked the registry, I could never find her name, which now makes sense; she was underage. She wasn't supposed to be on that side of the hotel, which was for only adults and….
…and future Alphas.
She shouldn't have been where I was, and I always thought it odd when I went over the registry of attendees. I could never find anyone that even resembled her. No ID had me jumping the way Everly did.
All the weeks I had spent searching the hotel database, and she was in the kid's section! I cringe at that mental thought—don't go there; creepy as hell. Yet, I kind of remember that night, even though I was wasted. I remember how I was drawn to her, and no matter where I turned, I found myself in her vicinity again, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. It had to be her, and it made sense why she would have run. I spent weeks angry that she ran out on me, but it suddenly makes sense because if Alpha John is her father, I can imagine the trouble she would have gotten in if she had been caught with me.
That had been right in the middle of a brutal war. Land was being divided after we bought out half of Silverstone Pack's lands; they fell into hot water with debts, and we settled those debts in exchange for a good-sized chunk of their territory, giving us ownership of half the city. A war ensued; too many lives were lost to violence in the streets—constant attacks—though we weren’t completely innocent; my pack killed just as many as John’s did.
Alpha John was furious. It added fuel to the fire and our feud only became worse, so it makes me curious what changed between my father and John that they're now willing to marry me off to his daughter.
What were the chances I would be mates with one of his daughters? Just not the one they were trying to make me marry. Nothing makes sense; my father hated Alpha John, but now they seem amicable, friendly, and it makes me wonder what John has over him. My father is not a man to back down to his rivals—more like stomp on them and kick them to the curb.
My phone buzzes beside where I lie, and I glance at it to see Tatum's number pop up. Quickly opening it, I answer the phone.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, Everly went for a run. Should I follow her or stay with your son?”
“Um, do you know where she went?”
