Page 37 of Alpha's Redemption

‘Okay, thanks. Mind-link me if John tries anything,’I tell him before I cut the link.

In an effort to wake myself up, I walk to the bathroom and shower, pondering what Marcus said about the girls. Does that mean Everly doesn’t feel safe here with me? I don’t understand it; she was fine before and it's the first time I’ve seen her do it.

My shower is quick and I dress equally quickly. I can’t believe I wasted an entire morning! I know Everly is going to be at the homeless shelter, so I’ll make sure to meet her there so I can take her to her appointment. After having lunch at my father’s place, I drive over to the homeless shelter just in time to see a crane lifting a huge sign on top of the building, but my eyes are drawn to the mural on the front of the building.

Climbing out of the car and approaching the building, I can see she’s finished it, but as I get closer, my footsteps halt at the front gates and I find myself staring up at my mother. Everly, I can see, is guiding the men on the cherry picker, telling them the sign isn’t straight as they attach it above the mural and front doors leading in.

My eyes go back to roaming over the huge mural; last time I saw it was a blank canvas. On one side of the doors is the woman I remember from the pictures Everly had shown me. She used the photo layout, but instead of Everly, Zoe, and Macey beside her like in the original, my mother's arm is tossed over the shoulder of Emily, and her son stands between them both.

I suddenly feel like an asshole; she got up this morning to finish this despite us arguing. Emotion clogs my throat as I stare up at the women who influenced my mate the most and made her into who she is today. Dad’s words come back to me about how the rogues were all she had, and seeing my mother up on the wall, I now know what he meant. Valarie was my mother but also Everly’s, and now I understand why Everly went ahead with her challenge; it wasn’t just for the rogues—it was for Mom! She wanted to fix the one thing my mother couldn’t.

Walking over to Everly where she’s staring up at the sign the men are placing in the brackets, I find her covered in paint and sweaty from the hot day. I wrap my arms around her waist and she jumps.

“Thank you,” I whisper, kissing her cheek. She sighs in relief and points to the sign. I look up and watch as the men peel away the white film covering it, revealing the sign beneath.

‘Valerie's Place’—Where your village begins.

“Now, no one will forget her name,” Everly whispers.

ChapterEighteen

Everly

I worked on the mural all morning, only stopping when my parents arrived for lunch. The meeting with them went well, but the pack's finances are destroyed. Dad has been using loans to pay off loans, which only put him into more debt, and I have to think of a way to absolve all of that.

I don't have millions packed away. What savings I do have aren't enough to cover the debtandthe hotel, and I’m not about to ask Valen for the money. Then there’s the contract between my father and Nixon, who holds the pack as collateral for the debt my father owes. Dad has kept up with his repayments, but all those repayments are loans from the bank too.

I’m in over my head, I know it, and with Valen not speaking to me, I don't know anyone that can help without selling off the pack assets. All the pack businesses are in the red as well. A few of the loans taken out are through two of the banks owned by Valen's pack, so maybe I could at least have the interest rate lowered or relinquish those businesses back to the bank to remove those debts without filing bankruptcy.

I paid most of the others off completely today, but the larger sums I have no way to cover. As for the debt to Nixon, I called Kalen and asked him about it, since he handles most of Valen's accounting, and he said there was no way around the contract—that now that debt is mine because it was put on the pack's finances, not on my father's personal finances. The pack still owes Nixon 1.6 million.

Which leaves me with two options: sell what remaining assets my father's pack has or try to get a loan, which I don't want to do because it will just get us into more debt. We have six months left to pay off Nixon, or the pack—and all its assets and land—belong to him.

I know my hotel's land alone is worth more than that, but I’m not willing to give it up; this place isn't just mine. So now, I’m debating whether to see if, once fixed up again, Valen's pack would buy it. Then I wouldn’t be losing it and neither would the rogues. But with how angry he is, I’m not sure if he would help, even if it was his mothers.

I get the text message saying the sign is ready to be placed just as Dad and Mom left after lunch. Before heading outside, I quickly check on Macey and Zoe, who left a little while ago to pick up the kids. They’re inside the rec room, putting up the finishing touches. It looks great, and I quickly kiss Valarian before rushing back out.

I pause to check that the paint is dry on my way through the door, and it is. Seeing Valarie up on the wall makes tears spring to my eyes. Out of every mural I’ve done, this is my favorite; maybe because of its meaning. I just hope Valen likes it and the one I did inside the rec room.

I watch as they put the sign up and instruct them to move the bracket a little higher on the left, as it’s a little crooked and I know it will set off Valen's OCD that he believes he doesn't have. They’re setting it in the brackets when I feel arms circle around my waist and I’m tugged backward against a hard chest. His scent envelopes me. I was so preoccupied, I hadn't even realized he was here.

“Thank you,” Valen whispers, kissing my cheek.

I look up and point to the sign. Valen tilts his head up to see, and I watch as the men peel off the white film covering the sign.

'Valerie's Place'—Where your village begins.

“Now, no one will forget her name,” I whisper.

“Is that Mom's handwriting?” he asks, choking a little on emotion.

“Yep, I used the letters and blew it up so I could transfer her handwriting,” I tell him.

Turning my head to look at him, he rests his chin on my shoulder.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you,” I tell him.

“I'm sorry, you felt you needed to hide it from me,” he says, kissing the side of my mouth.

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