Page 16 of Alpha's Redemption

“It's gone, Everly! It's gone!”

“What's gone?”

“The hotel! It spread so fast. You need to get here!” she cries before the phone cuts out. I try calling her number again, but all I get is her voicemail. I instantly call Valen's number.

* * *

Valen

My father and I stand awkwardly in the elevator together, both staring at the doors in front of us.

“So, where are you heading off to?” he asks.

It was bad enough that I had to sit through an awkward dinner, thanks to Everly. Now he wants to know where I’m going. I know she was only thinking about my and my father's relationship. It’s still uncomfortable, yet I can't complain to Everly about my problem, so I tell him.

“Going to see Dion.”

“The jeweler?” he asks, and I nod.

“Wait. Are you proposing to Everly?”

“Why else would I be going to see him?”

“Well, it's about bloody time,” my father says, and I can't help the tug of my lips. I know that if he had his way, I would have married her the day I met her.

“So the ring is ready? What sort of ring did you get her?”

“One of Mom’s rings. Valarian picked out the stone,” I tell him, and my father nods and glances away. He swallows.

“So you are picking it up?”

“No, there’s an issue, so I’m stopping over there,” I tell him. The doors finally open, and I step out, heading for my car.

I pull up in front of the plaza and walk over to Dion's Jewelers. He had called, saying there was something wrong with the engraver. What I’m not expecting is for my father to follow me in his own car. He pulls up behind me.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Coming to see if I can help,” he says, though I know he’s trying to spend more time with me. He was always extra clingy when I was upset with him, and this feud of ours has lasted weeks. Though, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy his company a little.

We walked to the jeweler's together, and I knock on the door. Dion comes over and unlocks it, locking it behind us once we’re in, and we follow him to the back of his store.

“What's wrong with the engraving machine?” I ask him. Dion shrugs, picking up a rag and wiping his forehead, which is covered in sweat from the lights in here.

“No idea. I've been pulling the damn thing apart, but I’m a jeweler, not a damn technician, and the ring holder won't spin,” he grumbles. My father shrugs his jacket off before pulling a stool over and sitting in front of the laser machine.

They spend hours trying to fix it before deciding it needs some part. Dion then spends a few hours on eBay and various sites trying to find the part for the specific engraver he has. When he finally finds it, he tells me the shipment will take another two weeks on top of the time it will take for the stone to arrive.

“What is with shipments these days?” I growl. I was already impatient to get the ring back before—now it’s adding even more time!

Dion shrugs apologetically. I sigh, knowing it isn't his fault when my father speaks.

“I can go pick it up?” he offers.

“It's a four-day drive,” I tell him, and he shrugs. “Better than waiting. When does the stone arrive?” he asks Dion.

“Hopefully next week; they were able to ship it off on the next flight, so it's arriving early,” Dion says. Well, at least something good came of this.

“It's settled then. I will go pick up the part and bring it back here, so you should have your ring earlier than expected,” my father tells me. He looks down at Dion's computer and Dion fills out something about picking it up. My father then jots down the address on a piece of paper.

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