Page 60 of Alpha's Redemption

“And you're okay with this? It was your mother's,” I ask him.

“Of course! Besides, you just said I have an extra wife, so I'm not losing anything,” he laughs.

“Guys, I can't–”

“If not for you, accept it for Taylor,” Everly says, cutting me off. I nod. Zoe is going to lose her shit.

“Thank you,” I tell them, not knowing what else to say.

They both nod, and Everly lifts my arm and places her head back on my shoulder.

ChapterTwenty-Six

Everly

We helped Macey settle in. Valen is pissed off with Tatum and even called him. When they finished speaking, Valen assured me that it wasn't that she can't have kids, it’s because she didn't tell him from the start and to give him space. I tried to tell Macey this, but she wouldn't listen, saying she’s done and that it’s for the best.

This morning, Macey heads out to get Taylor from Zoe's—they’ll be staying on the floor below us. I know everything will work out in the end, but Macey is stubborn, and once you hurt her, she walks. She always says she doesn't have time for drama, and she’s right. None of us do, yet somehow we always find ourselves stuck in it.

“I’ll go grab Valarian from your father,” I tell Valen as I scoop up my handbag from the floor by the hall stand. I rummage for my keys before spotting the ring box—with everything going on, I had forgotten to give it to him. I grab it just as his arms wrap around me from behind and he kisses my shoulder.

As I start to open it, I suddenly realize why Dion was so insistent on this particular ring—because it actually matches and has similar patterns etched around the outside. Valen's hand clamps over my mine, closing the box before I can open it properly.

“Put it in the safe. Save it for when I marry you,” he purrs.

“You don't want to see?” I ask him, and he confirms my thoughts.

“Nope. I assume Dion helped you pick it out, so I know it will match,” he chuckles. I sigh, closing it, though I want to show him the engraving it has inside. I guess it can wait.

“Go get Valarian,” he says, turning me around to face him.

“Then you can put this away then,” I tell him, handing him the box, and he pockets it with a nod.

* * *

Three weeks later

Nixon is really pushing my father to go to the media to back him up, but after his claims, the city is divided. Valen's pack scientists have been trying to replicate the vaccine and have so far been unsuccessful.

Despite Nixon saying he was doing it to help the city and the forsaken, he’s refused access to this so-called facility, even when Valen mentioned it at the Alpha conference meeting. Nixon claimed he didn't want the pack becoming involved and the vaccine slipping into the wrong hands.

In other words, he doesn't want the vaccine replicated, knowing he would have nothing to use over my father. And with the debt hanging over my head, he uses it to get his way in the council. Nixon is also still fighting me about the Rogue laws.

We’re still fighting for the change, but until the debt is paid, Nixon still has partial ownership; therefore, my vote doesn't count. And if I marry Valen before it’s paid, then we’re one pack with Nixon still holding partial ownership and Valen’s vote won't matter either, leaving the Slasher pack in a precarious position if he goes against Nixon, seeing as they have business dealings together.

Nixon has the people of the city wrapped around his demented finger, and now he claims that my father handed the pack over after threats from Valen. He also claims that removing the restrictions against the Rogues would endanger the city, since they’re only one step away from becoming forsaken. His logic makes no sense, yet the media eats it up. Ballots go out and the city is given a voice, yet most are too scared to go against Nixon, and our packs aren't even allowed to vote on it.

The Slasher pack Alpha has confided in Valen that he’s also worried about Nixon, and how the constant media attention is dividing the city. Like us, he believes Nixon is doing something that will sway the city to get rid of the rogues completely. We just have to figure out what.

And just to add extra protection for himself, Nixon has reporters with him constantly, so no one can get to him and his every move is watched, suggesting he’s being completely open and honest.

The rogues are being painted as villains. Nixon claims that the missing rogues arechoosingto turn forsaken, and that it will only be a matter of time before the rest follow to take down the city. He looks like the city's hero and has caused hysteria within the packs, including ours, who have been questioning everything now, so we’re at a standstill.

I’m headed to the hotel after dropping Valarian off at school when sirens go off behind me and I’m pulled over by one of Nixon's officers. This is becoming a daily thing, and before the officer even reaches my car, I wind down my window and hold up my license and registration.

“What is it today, Cleo? Bald tires? No, you claimed that yesterday. Tail light? Nah, it can't be that—that was the day before. You're gonna have to be crafty this time,” I tell him.

“And why is that?” he asks, peering in the window. He looks in the back at the empty car seat.

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