Page 17 of Alpha's Redemption

As I’m leaving, my father follows me out and we walk back to the cars together.

“You didn't have to pick it up. I know you’re only sucking up,” I tell him.

“Is it working?” he chuckles.

“Kind of,” I laugh. We stand there awkwardly until my father hugs me. After I stand there for a second, I finally wrap my arms around him.

“I miss you, son,” he says, his voice cracking. I rub his back before he lets go and nods, racing to his car. He leaves before I get in my car. The moment I do, the mind-link opens up and Marcus' voice is in my head.

“Hey, what's up?”

“You need to get to Mountainview Hotel!”

“Why?”

“It's not good, Valen. The whole place is gone. It's just a shell.”

“Excuse me?”

“Someone cut off the water and power. We were trying to figure out what was going on when we heard an explosion in the kitchen an hour after closing, and the entire place went up.”

“Fuck! I'm on my way,” I tell him.

Hearing my phone ringing, I grab it from my jacket pocket. It’s Everly. I’m about to answer when I see my father's car come to an abrupt stop at the traffic lights before he turns the car around and drives back toward me on the opposite side of the road. He stops across from me just as I answer Everly's phone call; she’s sobbing hysterically.

“I’m on my way there right now,” I tell her.

“I can’t get a hold of your father.”

“He’s with me. We’re on our way,” I tell her before hanging up. Dad winds his window down and I do the same.

“Want me to take Valarian? It's all over the radio,” he calls.

“Head to the hotel. Everly is on her way there with him,” I call back, and he nods before taking off. I wrench the wheel and do a U-turn, following him.

ChapterNine

Valen

Pulling up at the Mountainview Hotel, I see fire trucks lining the front of the hotel with police, ambulances, people running everywhere, everything is all flashing lights and shouting; it’s a total fiasco. I can see Everly’s truck and my father parks beside it, getting Valarian out of the car while Macey stands beside it. My father is quick to get Valarian, then waves Zoe over; she rushes over with Casey and thanks him. Yet, I can’t see Everly anywhere. The entire building is on fire, flames spewing out the windows, bursting from the extreme heat that can be felt even from where I’m parked behind my father on the main road.

I glance around, waving to Zoe as I jog over to her and Marcus. Marcus has a tablet in his hand and people are lining the path, standing at the evacuation point as he finishes checking names off.

“Everyone is accounted for. The fire started in the kitchen; thankfully the alarms still triggered because of the backup batteries, so no loss of life,” Marcus tells me. I notice the tablet is a list of who was in the hotel. Ava is handing out bottled water and examining those Marcus marked off. Everyone is checked off and accounted for but one.

“Where is Everly?” I ask. As my father drives off with Casey and Valarian, he honks the horn and I nod to him. Zoe looks around before pointing between two fire trucks.

“The other buildings?” I ask Macey as she comes over.

“Fine—it was contained in the main building. The apartments out the back and the event room and storage sheds are fine; it’s only the main hotel,” she answers. At least that’s a relief. I nod, glancing around and finally spotting Everly, who stands in her pink and white cloud pajamas with her back to us. Moving across the large lawn, I head over to her.

When I spoke to her earlier, she was hysterical, but now I feel nothing but blistering, fiery anger, so hot it could give the inferno in front of us a run for its money. Yet, the underlying feeling below it is pure devastation. This place was as much her baby as Valarian is. This washers. Coming up behind her, I grip her shoulders, but she’s staring at the flames eating away her village—the village she built. I don’t know what to say. There’s no comfort I can offer to make this right.

“I’ll rebuild. This is why we have insurance. This is why I have a failsafe. The main thing is no one is hurt—this place can be restored, but lives can’t be replaced,” she says as I rest my chin on her shoulder and wrap my arms around her.

“I’m sorry, Love,” I tell her, and she nods once in acknowledgment of my words but says nothing else. Media and reporters start lining the streets behind us; murmurs can be heard, police taking statements. I wander off, helping where I can. So does Everly, organizing buses to take everyone that was staying here to my hotel.

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