Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Everly POV
Two weeks later
“Everly wake up. You‘re late again,” Valen says, shaking
me out of my deep sleep. A growl escapes, and I tug my pillow over my head. He growls, ripping the heavy drapes open and floo
ding the room with light that seared my
eyeballs from their sockets..
“Everly up!” Valen growls, ripping the blanket off me. My eyes felt like sandpaper, and I was so damn
exhausted. No matter how early I went to bed, I always woke up feeling like crap, and it didn‘t help that he watched me
like a damn hawk. And wouldn‘t allow me any coffee, making me question if that was an addiction. I usually had two before I
even did the school run, and now no caffeine has resulted in me becoming a zombie.
“No, leave me,” I whined.
“Valarian was ten minutes late yesterday
and today. The tantrum I just dealt with was insane! Now up! You were supposed to do the school runs the last two
days, and on both days, he couldn’t wake you, and I had to come home!”
“I‘m tired,” I told him, reaching blindly for the
blanket that he tugged away.
“Up!” he says slapping my backside and earning a
growl.
“Why,” I whined.
“Because it is time to get up!” he snaps.
“Time for you to get up. I don‘t have to be anywhere,” I growl. It was my day off. I wanted to
sleep!
Valen growls and storms out of the room, and I snuggle beneath my blanket when I wrinkle my nose at the smell of
coffee. The smell I couldn‘t stand sent me running for the bathroom, but damn, did I miss the taste and the energy buzz. The
scent grew more potent, and I growled as his scent wafted in from behind me and the pungent
aroma of caffeine goodness.
“I swear if you made that just to make me get up to puke, I would provide the damn vasectomy myself,” I snarl before I gasp, my
throat burning. It was such an odd reaction to the one thing I loved. Once I threw up, I was good to drink it. Just the initial smell
always got to me.
Flushing the toilet, I quickly rinsed my mouth while glaring at him in the mirror
as I watched him take a sip. He was pushing my limits. I snarled as I stood up while he smiled tauntingly.
“Ah, be nice, DJAA[3_3 I may let you drink it,” he
says.
“Hand the coffee over, hun, or I feel this mining
deal may not go through,”
I tell him, “I hear the owner is a real bitch without her morning coffee,” and his smile falls.
Maybe him knowing now would play to my advantage. When I brought it, I knew if the packs
knew, they would hunt me down and probably kill me, but with Valen and my Dad behind me, no one would dare touch me now.
“You can‘t blackmail me, and that was my land
you brought,” Valen tells me.
“No claims, therefore, no–man‘s–land and now my land,” I tell him, putting my hands on my
hips.
“I still can‘t believe you did that, and you nearly started a war between me and slasher pack
Alpha.”
I reach for the mug, but he pulls his hand away. “That land would make a nice protected reserve,” I muse, folding my
arms across my chest. He glares at me before cocking his eyebrow at me and not taking his eyes from mine while sipping
the coffee.
I purse my lips. “Maybe I might sell the land right out the back of your territory. Slater, I heard, was looking to extend. I am sure
he would offer a good amount for the spot right at the back. Do you know where I am talking about? Where your
packhouse is,” I told him.
“You wouldn‘t dare, then you would get yourself in trouble!” he says and smirks.
“It was kind of the intention when I brought it, you know, to cause
trouble, and I hear it was quite the headache for the Blood Alpha,” I tell him, and
he clicks his tongue.
“Fine, one coffee, one Everly. And once that jar is gone now more, it should last you a while,” he
says.
“The whole jar?” I ask excitedly, and he nods.
“Deal?” he asks, holding out his hand.
“Two a day?” I retort.
“One!” he says.
“Three!”
“One!”
“Three, and you have a deal,” I tell him, and he
growls.
“Two then,” he says, and I smile, shake his hand, and he gives me the cup. I take it excitedly and have a
sip before it comes spraying out my mouth as I spit it back in the cup. Valen laughs.
“What the fuck, Valen! That is not coffee,” I snarl.
“We had a deal,” he laughs. “And you shook on
it,”
“Yes, a deal for coffee! Not whatever the heck that
is!”
“Decaf!” he says, and I growl. “Well, I know never to let you go over a contract. Always verify
what you‘re making a deal on, Luna,” Valen laughs. I pull a face at him and flip him the finger behind his back as he walks out. I
get dressed, pouting about my coffee fix that was not coffee.
Once dressed, I texted Zoe and Macey to see what they were doing since the hotel was under renovations. We had so much
spare time on our hands, and it was like the moment we stopped working, all of us crashed and burned.
Working seven days a week for months on end, you don‘t realize how tired you become until you have
one day off. The girls agreed to meet up with me
for lunch, and before I knew it, I was driving over to the hotel to check everything
was remaining on schedule while Valen told me he was going to see his father, who was meeting him
at the homeless shelter.
Everything seemed to be happening so fast but it was a drama free day which I liked.
Valen took care of most of the debts while I waited for my accountant and some agents to sell off some of
the land, selling off everything besides the land behind our pack and my father‘s old pack,
and out of spite, I was also keeping the land behind Nixon‘s it might come in handy later on.
Valen seemed rather shocked about everything, as one would be, but mostly, I knew I had it but never
actually thought of doing anything with it. I brought it out of spite, but it may just be what saves us from going under.
Valarian‘s money was locked in a trust until he came of age. I could get
it out, but the hoops to jump through would be a pain in the ass. Plus, the thought of touching it
sickened me.
The day slipped by slowly, and the girls and I went to lunch in the city center. It felt odd being served
and not doing the serving. We all looked and felt out of place. People stared and muttered mainly at Macey because she smelled
rogue still.
The waiter places our food down in front of us and a tea. Glancing at the waitress. “I think you gave me
the wrong one?” I ask her. She smiles
apologetically.
“I‘m sorry, Luna, but,”
“Valen!” I growled and she whisked away quickly. I knew that must be Valen‘s doing, seeing as it was one of his
pack cafes we were sitting at. Macey glances around before sliding her cappuccino in front of me and sends me a wink.
“I saw nothing, and I think he is being ridiculous
over the caffeine thing,” she declares.
“And cheese,” I tell them, glaring at my salad.
“Cheese?” Zoe asks.
“Yep, listeria, oh and fish, apparently mercury levels and since he can‘t be
bothered looking up which fish best to steer clear of, he
has banned all fish, oh and mayonnaise. I will kill him by the end of this pregnancy. Every night he has his nose in a baby book,”
I say with a roll of the eyes.
“Yeah, fuck that,” Macey says, and Zoe glances around like she is waiting for him to pounce on
me over the coffee Macey gave me.
“Have you told Tatum yet?” I asked Macey, she kept avoiding it. Although, she had admitted that he
had been hounding her since Tatum found out about my pregnancy, especially now that they had officially moved in with
each other.
“I will,” she sighs, picking at her caesar salad. Zoe smiles at her sadly. And I felt terrible because I was pregnant with not one
baby but three, and
Macey couldn‘t have one.
“What about you? What‘s going on with you
and Valen?” Macey asks, spearing a piece of lettuce and popping it in her mouth. I knew she
was trying to change the subject away from her not telling Tatum, but I would let it slide this once.
“Fine, he is super annoying and clingy now, but I was thinking,”
“Thinking about what?” Zoe asks, biting into her wrap and watching me. Yet it had been nagging at me, and even though
we had marked each other and I was Luna of his pack. When I signed the titles the other day, it bothered me that I was using my
last name because, technically, the pack on the paperwork were separate packs.
“Do you think it would be strange if I proposed to Valen? I know it is usually the other way around, but-“my cheeks flush. Macey
stops mid-chew to stare at me, her eyes narrow.
“Wait, you want to get married? I thought you were against the whole thing, and it’s just a piece
of paper and blah blah blah,” Macey says.
“Well, I was, but Valen is handling Dad’s pack for me, but he has to run everything past me
because technically, I am Alpha.” I tell her.
Zoe snickers, “And Valen is your Luna,” she laughs. I nudge her, but technically whoever held the titles was Alpha, so I was his Lu
was
mine.
“And Valarian has his name now and“.
“Oh my gosh, Everly, if you want to marry him, marry him, damn, you don‘t need to give us a list of reasons
why you should; it ain‘t a business deal. Just admit you want to marry him!” Macey
says.
“So, when are you going to do it?” Zoe asks, and I
shrug.
“I don‘t know, I would have to get him a ring first....just saying that sounds so backward.” I shake my head.
“Why?” Zoe asks and I shrug. It just did, and my
face fell.
“What?” Macey says.
“What if he says no?” That would be mortifying,
yet they both looked at me like I was absurd.
“He is your mate, nothing more permanent than the mark on your neck, but you think he won‘t
marry you?” Zoe says, shaking her head.
“I told you, ladies, we can become nonsexual lesbians if necessary. I will gladly marry you
both. If Valen says no. And the same goes for you,” she
says, nodding to Zoe, and I laugh.
“But I ain‘t eating pussy. I don‘t even like the look of my own vagina, let
alone getting close and personal with either of yours. Valen says no. I‘ll ditch Tatum and marry ya. I gotcha, baby girl,” she says
and winks at me. I laughed. It did sound
rather silly that he would say no.
“I say do it. Besides, you got options! Macey is your backup plan if he says no,” Zoey says, snickering before going back to
eating her food. We all ate and made small talk before deciding to
check out some of the jewelers when we came
across one hidden up some side alley.
“I did not even know this place was here,” Zoe says, glancing up at the sign. ‘Dion‘s Jewelers‘ I
shrug, opening the door and stepping inside to find some rough–looking biker man sitting behind a glass
cabinet, glasses perched on the end of his nose as he read something. Tattoos covered his arms, chest, and neck
from what I could see
poking out from his button–down shirt. 1
He glances at us while we look around. “Luna, ladies, ah, what a surprise. What can I do for you today?” he asks.
“She is looking for an engagement
ring for her mate,” Zoe answers him, peering into the glass displays. He nods, sipping his can of coke and stepping into the main
area where we were before
turning to look at Macey.
“Oh, not me, her. She is going to propose to Alpha Valen,” Macey tells him, and my cheeks heat. The man coughs on his drink
before punching his
chest.
My eyes widen as he chokes on his drink, and I move to pat him on the back while he gasps. “Are you alright?” Macey asks him.
“Went down the wrong hole,” Dion gasps, sucking in a breath. I stepped away from him
as he cleared his throat. The man was a giant and not what I expected the jeweler to look like.
“How about I show you a few things, then?,” he says awkwardly.