Everly POV
We had managed to lose one of the cheese platters for one table and the three snack platters, and I had
rung Valen, who said he would sort it out and bring some from his restaurant. Sliding my hand bag over
my shoulder after that mini heart attack was sorted, I finally wal ked to my office. Retrieving the letters, I
stuffed them and the keys in the safe when my office door opened, and Kalen walked in. All dressed
nicely in his suit, looking every part of the Alpha he should, he flopped into a chair looking exhausted,
although dressed to impress. While I looked like a staff member, not that I owned pretty formal dresses
or would wear them, I preferred organizing the events, not being a part of them.
“Where is Valarian?” I asked him.
“Just dropped him to Zoe with Casey. Valen is taking the platters you needed to the kitchen,” he says,
looking rather frazzled.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, wondering why he had hunted me down, though people had arrived early.
However, the function didn’t officially start for another hour. Grabbing the box with the name labels in
them for the tables, I tucked it under my arm.
“Oh, we are moving again,” Kalen chuckled, reaching for the box under my arm. He takes it from me.
Following me out of my office.
“Is there a reason you came searching for me?” I asked him. Kalen cleared his throat, and I could tell he
was nervous about something. He told me about losing the kids and about the snails which made me
chuckle.
“You’re not upset?” Kalen asked, and I shook my head.
“Nope, I lost Valarian for an hour when he was two. He wandered out of the apartment, found him in the
daycare, the scariest hour of my life. I was frantic. These things happen,” I tell him, walking back toward
the restaurant when I spotted my father by the end of the corridor. He was in a gray suit talking to
someone with his back to us.
“I also needed to speak to you about Valen,” Kalen said before stopping and looking at me when he
realized I had stopped. He followed my gaze to where my father was talking to someone. Kalen looked at
me before looking at the door beside me and stuffed me into a storage room where we kept linens.
“Kalen?” I heard my father call out, but luckily I was already obscured inside the darkroom. Kalen looked
at me and stuffed the box in my arms, shutting the door but not wholly .
“Alpha John, lovely to see you again,” Kalen said when I heard my father growl at him.
“What the f*ck is shit I heard from Alpha Nixon’s wife saying your son was marrying another,” my father
snarled angrily.
“Our deal still stands, Alpha John,”
“Not if your son doesn’t marry my f*cking daughter. We had a deal,” my father snarled, and I covered my
mouth with my hand, trying to muffle any noises when I bumped a shelf and knocked something off it. I
quickly darted behind the door.
“What was that?” my father asked, and the door was suddenly shoved open.
“I must have bumped something; I was looking for a bathroom and wandered into a linen closet,” Kalen
said, his back coming into view as he opened the door, blocking me from my father as he peered in.
“F*cking reeks of rogue in here, why of the places your son would hold it here is beyond me, did you
know this place is apparently owned by a rogue-whore, Alpha Nixon’s wife told me,” my father says, and
the door shuts again, once again Kalen left it slightly ajar, and I looked between the gap.
“F*cking ironic that the place he holds this meeting is at his own mother’s hotel, though how it ended up
out of your hands, I don’t know, must have pissed your dear old mate off for her to give to some random
whore,” Kalen growls at him.
“Mind your tone, John, Valarie may be dead, but I won’t listen to talk shit about her,” Kalen growled. My
father scoffed. “Coming from a man you tossed her aside, I will say what I like,” my father breathed.
Kalen growled and I heard his claws scratch the wood of the door.
“Your son better announce my daughter as his future mate Kalen, or I will tell Valen about Valarie. We
had a f*cking deal,”
“I assure you my son will take your daughter as his mate,” Kalen reassures him, and my father growls.
“He f*cking better, Kalen, or your little secret is out,” my father says, stalking off down the hall. I hear
Kalen sigh and he waits a few minutes when I hear his voice.
“Coast is clear, Everly. You don’t need to hide,” Kalen says, and I pull open the door. He turns to me with
a grim smile on his face.
“That is what my father has over you. Why you were so quick to accept me?” I asked him.
“That is not the only reason, Everly. I made mistakes, ones I refuse to allow my son to repeat. As much
as I loved Valerie, I was too worried about my reputation. When I lost her, I realized what I had done. I
punished not only her, but I also punished myself.” Kalen admits.
“So if Valen doesn’t marry Ava, my father will tell him about Valerie?” Kalen shakes his head.
“The deal was he had to marry his daughter. He never stated which one,” Kalen says; I cluck my tongue.
I couldn’t believe this was happening right now. Nevertheless, I understood why Kalen was talking to my
father after years of rivalry.
“Why does he want my sister to marry Valen? It makes no sense,”
“Honestly, dear, I have no idea; I have tried to figure it out myself. When he confronted me about Valerie,
I panicked, and I agreed. Valerie, I already lost. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my son too,” Kalen
said. I nodded; just the thought of Valerie brought tears to my eyes.
“Anything else to this deal you made?” I asked, wanting to know everything and what I was up against.
“Yes, Valen had to mark and mate her within the week of the Alpha meeting,” Kalen tells me, and I curse
and mutter under my breath.
“Wait when you say mate, do you mean to force the heat?” I ask him, and Kalen nods, looking away
guiltily.
“He wants to make sure his daughter is with child, to ensure her future. He was planning on injecting Ava
with the hormones to ensure she got pregnant.
“I do not plan on having another baby anytime soon, so no forced heat. I will let him mark me.”
“Thank you, Everly,” I shake my head and hold my finger up, telling him to wait.
“I can’t carry this secret, Kalen, I can’t. You must know how heavy it is yourself. I look at him, and all I
see is her,” my lip quivers as I think of Valerie, who she was to me, who she could have been to Valen.
“I will let him mark me, but you will tell your son, I have a week to let him mark me, you have a week to
tell him, I will not go into this with lies that can unravel us, you want me to be with your son? Then tell
him, don’t make me have to,” I tell him before walking off.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda