Page 8 of Alpha's Redemption

“Everly!” he calls out when I don’t immediately come running after him.

“Yeah, hold your horses. I’m damn well coming,” I growl before stalking after him. Valen comes out with a rolled-up blue mat as I pass him in the hall.

“Grab the other one,” he says.

I retrieve the other, dragging it down the narrow hallway to the living room. Valen is unrolling the other one before he comes over and helps me undo the strap that holds it together. He unrolls it, and that’s already enough exercise for me.

“Everly, hurry,” Valen says when I go to lay on the couch. I roll my eyes but snatch up my clothes and quickly run into the bathroom to slip them on before returning to the mats.

“Do you know Al–” The moment I step on it, I’m thrown on my back when he sweeps my feet out from under me. Valen laughs while I glare up at him. He offers me his hand, and I growl at him, slapping it away and getting to my feet.

“As I was saying, do you know Alpha Nixon's son? His name is Carter?” I ask him.

“Why are you asking about him?” Valen asks as he takes his stance. I mirror him, waiting for him to attack. We circle each other looking for an opening.

“Something Ava said to me,” I told him.

“What did she say?” he asks, swinging at me, but I duck out of the way, stepping to the side before punching him in the ribs. Valen is bigger, a lot bigger, but I’m quicker.

His foot connects with my thigh a few moments later when he recovers. “You didn't answer,” Valen grunts as he blocks me and pins me to the damn floor. I lift my hips, trying to throw him off.

“I don't want to say because it may piss you off,” I tell him, trying to get an advantage over him, but I can't really be bothered, and he knows it.

“Come on, it's easy. I’ve seen you get out of this one,” Valen growls at me, but I give up, dropping back on the floor. It’s too damn hot for this crap.

“Can you turn the damn AC on at least?” I snap at him. He growls, pushing off my wrists before moving toward the panel on the wall and fiddling with the air conditioning.

“Better? Now, why are you asking about Carter?”

I chew my lip while he motions for me to get back to my feet, but I refuse, just lying here on the cool mat that’s sticking to my back with how much I’m sweating.

“Everly, up now.”

I shake my head. Valen growls, reaching down to grab my wrist and haul me to my feet, but as soon as he gets close enough and bends down to grab my hips, I turn on my side and kick his legs out from under him. He lands on his ass and side. I laugh but remain where I am while he rubs the hip he landed on.

“Ava told me Carter was who I was supposed to be married off to,” I tell Valen. He sits up abruptly, looking down at me.

“And you’re only just telling me this now?” he growls.

I shrug. “So you do know him?”

“Of course I know him. We’re the same age, I saw him a few times at meetings. But I wasn't aware he was back in the city.”

“What do you mean?”

“He left after high school. Been years since I saw him last. He went looking for his mother,” Valen tells me.

“His mother? Wait, Nixon's mate isn't his mother?”

Valen shakes his head. “No, Carter's mother was a forsaken, and the woman you see with Nixon isn't his real mate. He took her as a mate; she was his mistress while he was married to his first wife.”

“Wait, if Carter's mother is forsaken, why did he go looking for her?”

“She wasn't always a forsaken, but she was one of the forsaken we kept an eye on. When Nixon met Leah, she was an Omega and he was already married. Leah had Carter and Nixon took him. She stayed in the city for a while until Nixon marked his other mistress after Leah killed his wife.”

“Leah killed his wife?”

Valen nods. “Nixon's first wife was an arranged marriage; he never marked her. She found out about Leah and attacked her. Leah stabbed her in self-defense,” Valen says, wiping a hand down his face.

---