AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I chew my lip while considering what to do, but he’s right; I would be killing myself out of stubbornness if I refuse. And if I refuse, he ‘ll probably mark me anyway and take his chances.
“Everly?” Valen says, pressing closer so his chest presses against mine. He holds his pinky up and I feel my lips try to tug at the corners over the silly little thing I have with Valarian.
“Okay,” I tell him, gripping it with mine. Valen lets out a breath and dips his face toward mine; I press further into the wall I’m caged against. His nose skims across my cheek to my ear. My heart thumps erratically in my chest at what I agreed to.
“Thank you,” he whispers next to my ear. His scent overwhelms my senses, and I lean into him, soaking up his scent and inhaling deeply. I feel his hand slip into my hair and a shiver runs up my spine as he turns his head, offering me his neck.
“Please, Everly, just claim me. It can mean whatever you want it to mean. Just do it,” he murmurs, and I suck in a deep, shaky breath. I can do this, sure, but at the same time, I hate giving him the wrong idea. Yet my mouth starts watering at his intoxicating scent, overwhelming the part of me that’s denying him, and I feel my canines slip from my gums before sinking them into his neck.
Valen grips my hair and presses so close I can feel every hard line of muscle that remains hidden beneath his shirt. My teeth sink in deeply, and warmth blooms in my chest before I feel the tether binding him to me, snap in place. Valen shudders against me, and his emotions slam into me like he just slapped me.
Guilt, overwhelming guilt so strong I nearly choke on it. Yet also immense relief that I marked him. I’m not sure what to think as my teeth pull from his skin and I run my tongue across the mark, sealing it. Valen doesn't let me go. Instead, he leans against me, pressing his weight into me. His face turns toward me, then he leans down and presses his forehead against mine.
“Now you own me,” he whispers before glancing at my blood-smeared lips. He moves his hand, cupping my face before brushing his thumb across my bottom lip and wiping his blood off. “Now you have my heart, and it's your choice whether or not you break it. But please don't,” he murmurs.
I move my hand to the center of his chest. I can feel his heart thumping beneath it rapidly, like a hummingbird's wings fighting against stormy winds, and he sucks in a deep breath at my touch.
“Don't make me have to,” I tell him before looking away. Valen nods, dropping his head on my shoulder and inhaling my scent as he presses his face into the crook of my neck. I have to fight the reaction my body has when his breath sweeps over where his mark should be laid. Every part of me urges me toward him and makes me want to curl up on his lap and let him hug away the five years of pain, let him fill the void that was caused by him. However, I know that’s the bond speaking and that his emotions are bleeding into me as if they were my own.
“We should get back to Valarian,” I tell him, and he nods before stepping back.
ChapterForty-Six
The drive back is quiet but not awkward; just a comfortable silence. I believe me marking him suddenly made everything more real. Before, it was, in a sense, easy to play off that he’s my mate, easier to deny our bond—or our weak one anyway. Now though, people will find out. The entire city will realize Valen has been marked, the paparazzi will go berserk, and now I worry about what that means for Valarian. I can handle the dramas the media will portray, but Valarian is still a child.
I know once it’s out, a lot of people will have something to say about it. Also, I can already imagine the rumors: that he knocked up some rogue whore and was forced to take me as his mate. The things I can see them saying about me in papers would sting me, but could damage my son. I’m used to negativity, but no child should have to deal with that.
“I think we should move the date of the Alpha meeting,” I whisper.
“You want to push it back?” Valen asks. I shake my head.
“Move it forward. Once the media gets their hands on this story, it will blow up; it should be announced to stop it hurting Valarian.”And my father, I think. I hate the idea of confronting him, yet I know it will be worse if he found out via some news article. I know I shouldn’t care what he believes after everything. I’m an adult now, and he no longer controls my life, but for some reason, it nags at me; some part of me believes that he shouldn't find out through a news outlet.
“Anyone says anything about our son, Everly, and they won't have a city to live in,” he says, putting his hand on my leg.
“You can't just kick people out of the city; that’s not the answer, Valen, and that’s not what I am worried about.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“I’m worried about what version of our strange… whatever-it-is…” I sigh, rubbing my temples before looking at him. “They’re going to say some horrible shit about you being with a rogue whore. Valarian has only just found out about you—well, about who you are—and I worry that what they say about both of us will have an impact on him.”
“Then I tell them the truth—simple.”
“It's not that simple. You have a reputation to uphold in this city, Valen; one that holds power.”
“I don't care about my reputation, Everly. They can say what they want about me—they do anyway—but if you think I’m going to let you take the fall for all of it, you are mistaken.”
“They’ll say I’m a gold digger, someone who trapped you. Probably even say Valarian isn't yours.”
“That they can't say, you can tell by his aura, plus DNA will shut them up.”
“My father is going to lose his mind,” I mutter, shaking my head.
“Surprisingly, my father took it pretty well,” Valen adds, making me think of Kalen and my meeting with him.
“I saw your father earlier today,” I admit, looking back out the window.
“Did he threaten you? If he did, tell me. I’ll handle it,” Valen says.
