Valen POV
It was bucketing down as Marcus pulled up out the front so I could pick Valarian up from school. I
stepped out of the car into a puddle; the gutters overflowing and spilling onto the footpath. The drains
were blocked. The water flowed down the gutter, rushing like a river and filling my shoe with water.
I growl, shaking my foot to get the water out of my shoe before racing for the school’s front door. Marcus
waited behind in the car because he was on the phone still, the audio going through the car’s Bluetooth.
M y toes squelched in my shoes as I walked on the slippery floors to the primary office.
On the way here, I called ahead. So when I stepped into the small office, the secretary called up to his
class the moment she saw me walk in to let the teacher know I was here to collect him.
“He will be right down, Alpha,” the secretary tells me, and I nod to her before walking around the room
and looking at the school awards hanging on the brown brick walls. I shrugged my coat off, which was
drenched from the downpour, and draped it over one arm as I looked around.
“Scouts found nothing,” Marcus says, walking into the small school office. He shakes his head, spraying
water everywhere, and I growl when it gets some on me, wiping my face with the back of my hand, and
he laughs, running his fingers through his wet hair. He had been on the phone with the scouts to check if
they had found anything about Emily’s missing son.
“You tell them to head back? This storm looks like it will be a big one,” I ask him, and he nods before
dialing a number into his phone. I watch as he holds the phone to his ear, his face lined with worry.
“Zoe is not answering her phone. I have tried to call five times today,” he whines when I look at him
questionably. Marcus hangs up when she doesn’t answer and sends her a message instead. He purses
his lips in frustration, and I raise an eyebrow at him as he glares at his phone screen.
“She is probably working,” I tell him, and he sighs.
“I know, but she feels funny through the bond; I feel so hot!” he says, tugging at the collar of his shirt.
“They have the heaters up way too high here,” he growls. He had been complaining all day about the
heat and spent most of the day in just his button-up shirt, while I spent most of the damn day shivering
and only just took my blazer off because it was drenched.
“Just go if you want. You don’t have to come with me,” I tell him just as his phone starts ringing.
“Hm, Everly,” he says, showing me the screen. I motion for him to not tell her we are together, pressing a
finger to my lips.
“I know, I know,” he says, walking off to take the call out in the hall. A few moments later, Valarian
appeared in the office with his teacher, his bag slung over his shoulder, and I reached down and took it
from him, chucking the strap over one shoulder as I kneeled before him.
“Here you go, Alpha, you just need to sign here,” she said, handing me a printed slip and a pen with his
student information and photo. I reach up and lean on the desk and quickly sign it before grabbing
Valarian and pulling his raincoat from his bag. I place it on him and button it up before picking him up and
standing pack up to leave.
“I forgot my umbrella, so we need to make a run for it,” I laugh, and he pouts, not happy about getting
wet. Just as I was about to head for the door leading out to the hall, Marcus came rushing in, the door
narrowly missing us as he burst through it. He looked frantic and chucked me his keys.
“I gotta go. Zoe is in heat,” he says, and I only just catch his keys before they fall on the floor.
“Ah, I can drive you home,” I call out to him, but he is already shifting into his wolf, his clothes shredding
u p the hall before he bursts through the doors leading out, hitting them in his wolf form so hard they
smack against the walls.
“He will get wet,” Valarian says, watching after him.
“It will be quicker, though. He won’t be restricted to the roads. He will be fine,” I tell him, walking down the
corridor. Valarian sighs, and I hoist him higher before draping my jacket over his head and pushing the
door open. We make a run for the car out front, and I become drenched even worse, my white shirt
turning see-through. Valen squeals and whines that he got drenched too, despite having the jacket
covering him. I place him in his booster seat before jumping into the driver’s seat.
Valarian’s teeth were chattering as we got in the car, so I turned the heater on full blast to warm and to
try to dry my shirt a little bit. Pulling away from the curb, we head further into the city, heading for our
destination, when my phone starts ringing through Bluetooth.
“Who is love muffin?” Valarian asks, looking at the screen, and I snicker.
Everly would probably demand I delete that name from my contacts.
“Your mother,” I chuckle, and he scrunches up his face.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?” Valarian asks, and I shake my head.
“Nope, I don’t want your mother to know I kidnapped you from school early,”
“She will keep ringing. And she probably already knows. My watch has a child GPS tracker in it,” Valarian
says, just as the phone cuts out. Only for it to ring again.
“It has a what?” I asked him while looking in the rearview mirror at him. He holds up his wrist to show me
his black watch.
“Yep, it is linked to her phone. She got it after I went looking for you when I ran away, said it was so she
could keep an eye on me.” he says with a shrug.
“Where are we going anyway?” Valarian asks.
“To the jewelry store,” I tell him, and his tiny brows pinch together.
“Is that why you pulled me from school to go shopping? I wanted to do the show and tell; I brought my
dinosaur to school today.” Valarian pouts.
“Well, I need you to help me, since your mother doesn’t wear jewelry. I don’t know her tastes, so I want
you to help pick it out,” I tell him.
“Mum doesn’t wear jewelry. Maybe you should get her flowers. Mum like flowers, but make sure it’s in a
pot. She said cut flowers die and are a waste,”
You want me to ask your mother to marry me with a flower?” I ask him, glancing in the mirror, and he
nods before I see his head whip up, a big grin on his face.
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