Valen POV
My entire world came crashing down violently around me. Everything I thought I knew about her was
wrong, so very f*cking wrong. How didn’t I see it? She was wrong for me, and for a few seconds, I
thought I had found my mate, the mate that was supposed to be my other half turned out to be a liar.
She lied straight to my face. I thought when I met her I could look past it if she were a rogue-whore but
now faced with the truth, I realize how utterly idiotic that thought was.
“Valen, what the f*ck, bro!” Marcus says as I walk across the car park. I ignore him.
“Valen, you can’t just leave, “
“She lied to me,” I snarl at him while walking over to his car. I should have brought my own.
“Keys!” I snap at him, and he fishes them out of his jeans pocket and tosses them at me.
” So that’s it? You aren’t going to let her explain?”
‘What’s there to explain? She f*cked some man and had a kid, pretty straight forward Marcus, ” I growl
while unlocking his car. I climb into the driver’s seat and start the engine.
“You don’t know that?”
“I do know that you said she had a kid, and she admitted it,”
“That doesn’t mean you know the circumstances, Valen; for all you know, she could have been raped.
She could have had him run off on her,”
“What do you want me to do Marcus, either way, she has a kid and he isn’t mine and my father will kill
me if I bring a single mother home to be a god damn Luna, “
“My mother was as a single mother, your father a single father. What the f*ck does that have to do with
her ability to be Luna?” Marcus snarls at me. I rub my temples instantly realizing my mistake.
“F*ck, I didn’t mean it like that.”
” No, you meant she is rogue -whore, I thought you were better than prejudice bullshit, so what if she
is? She is your mate, “
“Just let me think, I have two weeks until the damn Alpha meeting and no mate to present, just F*ck! ” I
scream, flooring it down the main road, the tires screeching on the road as I take off.
“You can be a real jackass, you know that,” I chuckle, don’t I know it, but either way, it changes nothing.
I will be eaten alive by the vulture press if this shit gets out. Marcus fiddles with the radio, my mind
racing while he continues to ramble about what an idiot I am being and yadda, yadda. I was too
distracted that I didn’t see the light turn red up ahead until Marcus’s hand slammed against my chest,
shoving me back in my seat.
“Valen! ” He screams, snapping me out of my head. I hit the brakes swerving around the corner, the car
fishtailing up the side street before stopping and my heart leaped out of my throat as I white -knuckled
the steering wheel.
” F*ck, that was close, ” Marcus says, clutching his head as he looked out the back window, the front
tires on the curb, and we had narrowly missed those seated out the front of the cafe. People had their
phones out, taking pictures, and I knew instantly what the headlines would read. Alpha Valen drink
driving or Alpha Valen putting the public at risk with his stupid stunts, or something along those lines. I
hang my head.
“F*cking breathe, it isn’t the end of the world, ” Marcus snaps at me.
“It might as well be,” I tell him.
“Why is it, you get a mate and kid in the same day,”
“Only you would think like that,” I scoff before chuckling and shaking my head.
“Just drive. We will already be over the front page tomorrow, lets get out of here, ” Marcus says,
slapping my chest.
“And you better not have buckled my rim,” He adds, and I roll my eyes.
“I’ll buy you new ones, “
“Na don’t worry about, you already did for your mate trashing my car, they come next week, “
“What?”
” Don’t leave your credit cards around, besides not like you can’t afford it, I took my bonus early, ” He
says.
“Do I even want to know how much?”
“Nope, but thanks, bro, ” I laugh, starting his car up but this time slowly pulling away from the flashing
cameras and the murmuring crowd that had built up around us.
“What this shit?” I ask, flicking through the stations when something catches my attention.
‘Amber alert, a rogue male child wearing a blue school uniform and primary doves hat has gone
missing,’ The radio host states, and I look at Marcus.
“Well, maybe you won’t be splashed over the papers tomorrow if they don’t find that kid,” Marcus
murmurs, listening to the description.
“Amber eyes?” Marcus mutters, and I jam the breaks on just as Marcus’s eyes go wide.
“Everly’s kid?” he asks.
“No, must be coincidence, ” I tell him.
“How many kids do you know that have amber eyes, ” “Well, none, you said he had amber eyes, not
me,”
“Probably right. We should head back. We have that meeting in twenty minutes anyway, “
Yeah,” I sigh, having completely forgotten about the meeting.
“You calm yet,” I clench the steering wheel and nod once.
“Yep, same shit show, I am just the idiot shoveling the shit, something I am used to,”
“That a boy, after the meetings, we can head back to your apartment and get drunk. How does that
sound? ” Marcus says.
“Na, I think I will stay in tonight, “
“Great, that means you can be designated driver and watch me get drunk,” Marcus says, and I roll my
eyes.
“Or you can sit at mine and, I will watch you get drunk while I figure out how to get out of this arranged
marriage, ” I tell him.
“Sounds good as long as I am getting drunk; I need a drink after all your dramas today, ” Marcus
laughs. We were nearly back at my Hotel when my phone starts buzzing and I groan when I see my
father’s face and number pop up on the screen. I quickly answer it putting it on the loudspeaker so I
can continue driving.
“Yes Dad, “ I say in a bored tone. “Where are you, you are late?“
“Pulling up in the car park now, “ I lie, I was still ten minutes out.
“Good, good, so what did you want to tell me about the Alpha meeting, I got your message earlier but
forgot to reply, some announcement, is this you agreeing to the marriage?“ My father asks and I
completely forgot I was going to tell him today about finding my mate. I hesitate for a second trying to
think, maybe we can keep her son a secret, send him to boarding school for a year or so. Shit could I
even ask that of her?
I could just mark her and be done with it, nothing he could do then. Marcus eyes me, waiting to see
what I say.
“Ah, yeah, we can talk about the details tomorrow; I will be too busy after the meeting,” I lie trying to
buy more time to think of something.
“So, you are agreeing to marrying and marking, Ava?”
“No, dad, but I think I have a solution to our little issue,”
“Valen, this is the solution, you need a mate and this is a good idea, it will calm the packs,”
“I said we will talk about it later, I will see you soon,” I tell him before hanging up on him.
“Now what?” Marcus asks.
“Now I need to find a way to get Everly to send her kid away for a bit so my father doesn’t find out
about him and convince her to let me mark her, ” Marcus laughs.
“Yeah right as if that is going to happen, ” I shake my head, I had no options; either the kid disappears
for a bit or I forcefully mark and order him away.
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