Chapter 8
I had to hold my son on my lap in the back as the taxi driver drove us to the train station. We drive past a rundown hotel on the way to the station, and I think I may just have enough fuel to get my car there; hopefully, I did. After spending the entire night in the rain, I wanted a hot shower, wanted something warm in my belly, but most of all, I wanted the safety of four walls, even if it was only for one night.
I tell myself that one night is all I need to let it out, then I can suck it up and figure something out. I hand the taxi driver some cash from the wad my father gave me. I have no idea how much my sister snuck into the bag, but getting my key’s from the baby bag, I unlock my car and climb in, pulling the hatchback down when I realize I no longer have a car seat.
Shit! I think knowing how long I saved for that car seat. I open the bag and empty my pockets after placing my son his box bed. My father gave me $525. I snort. Gee, thanks, Dad. I think to myself. But that would buy roughly 16 tins of formula and four boxes of diapers, so it would keep me out of trouble for a while.
Opening the bag my sister packed for me, I find feminine products, hair products, makeup. Even some black slacks and a blouse and some black flats assuming she placed them here if I managed to get a job interview. I find her old touchscreen phone and a charger before finding an envelope. Opening it and pulling out all $100 bills. I feel a lump in my throat form;
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Chapter 8
she gave me everything she had.
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I know she did. There is nearly eight thousand dollars in the envelope. She gave me all her savings, and I feel a tear slip down my cheek. Turning the envelope over, I see her neat handwriting. ‘You can do this. I love you.‘ It was written on it, and I nodded at her words on the envelope. She is right. I can do this; I can because I had no choice. I would make it work.
Packing up some clothes and refilling the baby bag, I pack a little bit of food to eat later before changing my son. Once he is dressed with a fresh bum on, I grab my umbrella and toss my bag over my shoulder along with the baby bag before scooping up my son.
After locking my car, I start walking, deciding to head to the rundown hotel I saw earlier. I wonder how I had never noticed it before, but even if it was just for one night, I could pretend I am normal. After a decent shower the other night before being tossed aside by my mate and my son’s father, I now longed for a tiny piece of normal. Some dignity, a chance to feel human even if it was for only one night.
I walk to the rundown hotel; the rain is now only light and has nearly stopped when I reach the two–story rectangular building. It has peeling paint, and the gardens are overgrown. The sign out the front hung down, and the neon lights flicker as they struggle to remain on. The lines in the parking lot are faded, and the hotel numbers on the door are barely visible. Reaching the office, a woman sits on the chair out front with a cigarette between her fingers. Pushing on the door, the bell sounds, and the woman behind me smoking spoke.
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Chapter 8
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“I will be with you in a second; just let me finish this,” she says, holding up her cigarette. She stares at me, watching me, her eyes roaming over my appearance before stopping at my son in my arms.
“He’s yours?” she asks. I nod, looking down at him and tucking him closer.
“The father?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“Not your mates?” she asks, and I feel tears burn my eyes at her words.
“He is your mate, so why are you here?” she asks curiously, pointing to the chair beside her.
She leans over to look at Valarian, taking a closer look at him. She appears to be in her fifties with dark hair cut to her shoulders. She has her nose pierced, heavy eye makeup, and a tank top and jeans.
“He has strange eyes; reminds me of someone I used to know; amber eyes are usually a family trait. Not many wolves in Mountainview City with eyes like that,” she says. “So, the blood Alpha is your mate and his father?” she asks, clearly putting two and two together. I guess Alpha Valen was known for his electric amber eyes. Shocked, I look at her. She smiles. and nods when I say nothing.
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Chapter 8
“Powerful family, so why aren’t you with your mate?”
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“He didn’t recognize me and kicked me off pack land before I could tell him about his son,” I admit.
“And your family?” she asks. I fall silent, and she nods once before speaking, “My parents thought I was a rogue whore too, funny how things turn out.”
“So, you have a child?” I ask her, feeling an immediate connection between us.
“Had a child, his father took him.”
“So, you are rogue?”
“I am many things, but a rogue whore? You and I aren’t so different. My name is Valarie, and you are?”
“Everly, this is Valarian,” I tell her, and her eyes sparkle.
“Suiting, after his father,” the woman says.
“How do you know?”
“About his father?” the woman asks, looking at my son. “Only one bloodline I know that has amber eyes. Come on, let’s get you a room,” Valarie says while getting up. I followed her into the small office.
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Chapter 8
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“I take it you have no ID?” she asks, and I nod.
“I have an old bus pass,” I offer, but she shakes her head, waving me off.
“I don’t believe you will give me any trouble.”
“Here, fill this out while I hold Valarian,” she says, holding her arms out. I pass her my son, and she wanders behind the counter, sitting down while I fill out my paperwork. Yet I had no address, no keycard that actually worked anymore. I put the mobile number down for my sister’s phone.
“You hungry? I am cooking a roast, but it’s just me and too much for one person. You can join me if you want, say around five; it should be done,” she says, nodding toward the door behind her. There is a beaded curtain, and I could smell what smelt like a lamb roast. My belly rumbles at the thought of a home–cooked meal.
“How about you get settled in, have a shower, and come through that door when you are done? We can have dinner together. It would be nice to have company. Not many stop over for the night anymore, and you can tell me how you ended up a rogue,” she tells me. I dig through my bag to give her cash from the envelope when she hands me my son.
“No, keep it. Be nice just to have company, haven’t had anyone stay in months now,” Valarie tells me, and I look around, the place was a dump, but it was still nicer than the
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back of my car.
