Page 130 of Alpha's Redemption

Macey peers down at the bracelet, softly brushing her thumb over the back of the tiny hand.

“Five remarkable women, and I couldn't think of any better way to honor them,” Valen tells them.

“Well?” Zoe asks, and Macey sniffles.

“Claire Macey Solace,” she stammers, and Tatum grips her shoulders.

“Our village,” I tell them.

“Our family,” Valen adds.

ChapterFifty-Eight

Everly

6 Weeks Later

The two of us have pretty much settled into a routine by this point. Everything seems to be going smoothly. We finally moved into the packhouse, and the extra room is very welcome. Dad and Ava are currently living with us to help with the girls, though he and Kalen are quite busy during the day; they’re now the heads of the council, and as a result, the laws against rogues have been removed completely.

Clarke, along with the others, pleaded guilty to their charges and are now rotting away in prison cells. We still have no idea where Nixon is, and though they’re watching his wife, she almost never leaves the house; when she does, she never leaves her old pack territory.

Unfortunately, the hotel had a plumbing hiccup and still isn’t open. Dad and Kalen are stuck helping Valen deal with that today while I’m at my dress fitting. Valen is meeting me afterward so we can go grocery shopping.

“Valarian, can you pass Evelyn her pacifier?” I ask him while the lady finishes pinning my dress. Zoe and Macey were supposed to come to the fitting with me and help me pick out my dress with Ava, but all of them are busy today. It was quite the mission to haul all the kids in the car by myself, so I brought Valarian along instead of sending him to school.

The three of them chose violet bridesmaid dresses, and I chose an off-white dress. I’m still dropping weight, and now my boobs have gone back to normal, the dress needs taking in even more. I have one more fitting after this one to retake my measurements.

The dress fitting feels like it takes forever, and I’m looking forward to getting home. I’m exhausted, and the girls are sick of sitting in the stroller, which barely fits in the back of my car. Slipping the dress off, I quickly get changed and decide to call Valen to find out how far away he is.

I kind of hoped he would volunteer to do the grocery shopping himself. Though I know he wants me to come with him so that I can go to the reserve and finally shift on the way home.

I still haven't. Time is always against me, or I’m far too tired, and knowing how it usually exhausts me, I’m not all that tempted to shift.

Valen answers the phone on the second ring, and I can tell he’s in the car by the echo.

“Where are you?” I ask, coming back out of the dressing room. I thank the ladies that work here and kick off the brakes on the stroller.

“About fifteen minutes away,” Valen tells me.

“Okay, I’ll start getting the kids in the car,” I tell him, pushing the stroller out the door as Valarian holds it open for me.

“Yep, I’ll follow you home. Dad is meeting us there. He said he would watch the kids for us while we go grocery shopping and out for a run,” he tells me. I sigh but say nothing. We hardly spend any alone time together, and I know he’s craving that. I can tolerate being exhausted if it makes him happy.

“Okay, see you in a few minutes,” I tell him, stepping into the hot sun and squinting at the brightness.

“That you will. I love you.”

“Love you too,” I tell him before hanging up.

It’s scorching hot today, the sun high in the sky. Valarian and I make our way across the parking lot and I hit the fob, unlocking the doors as we approach. Valarian climbs into the back and sits on the center console so he can help do up the seatbelts. He’s my little helper and loves being able to assist in any way he can; he adores his sisters. And we worried he would be upset about not having a brother! But he seems to have all but forgotten that now.

I place Claire in the middle seat, and Valarian starts entertaining her while I get the next one out. We clip all three of them in and I ask him to play with them while I fold the stroller down. His car seat is in the front, which isn't ideal, but Valen is getting a van next week for me. We’re just waiting for it to arrive.

As I’m trying to collapse the stroller, movement near the bakery down from the bridal store catches my eye and I see Amber walking out looking terrible. It’s the first time I’ve seen her. She glances at me before dropping her head and rushing toward her car. I sigh, going back to my task.

After finally getting the stroller down, I pop the trunk and jam all the crap in it. I definitely need that bigger car; I push all my weight on the trunk just to close it. I can see Valarian shaking the rattle for the girls excitedly and I smile, watching him for a second. He waves to me, and I wave back when a strange expression crosses his face. My brows furrow when he suddenly shouts.

“Mom, behind you!” he cries with the most blood-curdling scream, it sends instant chills through my whole body. Almost instantly, I feel someone grab my hair and hear the sound of my head smashing into the trunk before everything goes black.

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