Chapter 25

“Why? I am only touching what belongs to me, If I want to touch you, I will, and no one would dare to
stop me, Everly. Remember that,” He growls before tugging me against his chest. I push off his chest
with my hand, trying to escape him.

“Valen, let me go,”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“I will make you, ” I growl back at him though I doubted that. However, usually a knee to the balls was
enough to drop any man.

Valen laughs softly, his hand moving lower before he grabs my ass. I glare at him before thumping his
hard chest with my fist clutching the coasters. He laughs, plucking them from my fingers, and his brows
furrow. He reluctantly lets me go. I move to the other side, so I am out of reach. He clicks his tongue
holding up a coaster, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing but that is the second time you have done that like you knew what I was thinking, ” he says.

Nope, I just know my son, and it seems they share a few odd similarities. I shrug.

“One of the kids of one of the rogues has OCD. I saw you rearrange my shelf, “

“Observant, but I don’t have OCD, just certain things

bother me,”

“Coasters are one of them. Your reluctance to be my mate is another,” he then mutters something
under his breath, too low for me to hear while shaking his head. And I sigh, sipping my soda.



His scent filled the small room, yet I found it oddly calming. However, the quiet was beginning to get
awkward as we stood there staring at each other.

Making me question why he came back here tonight. Did the bond pull him back here or was he here
for more sinister reasons?

“You didn’t come here because you wanted to talk, ” I state.

“Not exactly, ” I raise an eyebrow at him.

“I was going to mark you,” he states before wiping a hand down his face, and he sighs while I step
back, my lower back hitting the bench.

“I won’t, I want to, but I won’t, not yet at least we still have time for you to come around to the decision
on your own,”

“And if I don’t let you,”

“You can’t just ignore a mate bond and don’t think about rejecting me Everly, or you will force my hand.
I won’t have a choice if you do,”

“Everyone has a choice, Valen.”

“Not everyone, I don’t. My father is pushing me to marry and provide an heir, ” my stomach twists at his
words thinking of Valarian.

“If you can’t, what will he do,”

“F*ck!” He groans, his eyes darkening and his aura slips out before he stifles it.

“You need to let me mark you. I won’t be married off and forced to mate someone that is not my mate, “



“You’re an Alpha; he can’t force you to do anything, and I won’t be forced to accept you.”

” I have responsibilities to my pack Everly; my father is going announce it at the next Alpha meeting, “

“Well, I hope you and your future mate are happy together, ” I tell him, placing my empty soda in the
bin.

“How can you say that? What is your issue with me?”

“My issue with you is that your exactly like every other Alpha, only giving a f*ck about titles and pack
business, thinking you can go around ordering those beneath you,”

“I don’t give a damn about titles; you’re a rogue. If I cared about titles, I would have rejected you by
now. Most Alpha’s would have, you should be grateful I want you; others wouldn’t given your status.”

“So you admit it then, titles matter because you just admitted to needing to mark me out of obligation to
your pack like I am some breeding machine made for you to provide an heir, all because your asshole
of a father told you to,”

Valen growls at me, taking a step closer. “You don’t know my father, so don’t speak of him that way, he
founded this City, have you no respect, and as for an heir, that is exactly what you were created for,
you were fated to me, and therefore belong to me,

Everly. You are lucky my father stopped the rogues being tossed from the City and made forsaken. You
should be thanking him, not cursing him out.”

“And at what cost, whose lives did he destroy to make sure he got where he is, the only thing Alphas
care about is reputation and how much land they own, while rest of us are cast away and forgotten
about, thank him, he is half the issue with this City he created,”



“Oh for the love of God, I didn’t make you a damn rogue, my father isn’t responsible for what other
packs do, rogues make the choices that get themselves banished from their packs, I am not
responsible for their actions, or yours, “

“So you believe every rogue whore decided they wanted to raise their babies alone with no mates or
pack support, have their Children forced into crappy schools because they can’t attend pack ones,
work for less than minimum wage while struggling not to be picked off by the forsaken or hunters,
forever blamed because they did the one thing all you egotistical men did, they had a child and you all
shun them for it, it takes two people to have a baby Valen, yet only the woman is punished for it,”

“So you’re telling me you are a rogue whore, that’s how you became a rogue, you weren’t born one, I
won’t raise another person’s kid because you wanted to screw around,” He says with a growl.

I scoff. This is precisely what I meant ; he still shared the same beliefs as his father; the title is all that
matters.

“I am not a rogue whore, but it shouldn’t matter if I were. This entire place is run by rogue whores
Valen. Not like we tried to keep it a secret, ” I tell him.

Technically I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t a rogue whore. My mate fathered my son, and I just couldn’t let him
know about it.

“So this about your friend you live with then?”

“What, no,” I pinch my brow, letting out a breath. How does he not get it? I click my tongue, annoyed.

“I am offering for you to be part of my pack. You should be happy to have me as your mate ; you won’t
have to be rogue anymore, isn’t that what you want? Don’t you want to be in a position of power and
not slumming it here with rogue whores?” Valen asks.



I wanted so many things, and not one of them could he give me. I wanted Valarie back, my family back.
I wanted the rogues to feel safe in the City they lived in. I wanted to be able to walk down the street
without being glared at and have people move away from me like I would steal their mates.

I wanted the pack’s views of us to be better, but most of all, I wanted the packs accountable for the
anguish they have caused us. We were the same, only declared different because of who our parents
are or because of who we shared our beds with, punished for nothing, shamed for making our own
choices, choices that took two people to make.

“I want you to leave is what I want,” I tell him before walking out before I slap him.

“You will regret this Everly; you will come running back, you’ll see, you will beg me to mark you,”

I don’t acknowledge his words. Instead, I am angry that he was blinded by what was happening in his
city, the City, his father, helped build.

The following day, I was helping organize a function when a man with a clipboard approached me with
Macey. I recognized him quickly, and he looked around nervously.

“Jim, long time no see, what brings you in here?” I ask, looking at the man that caused us hell while
trying to get this place in order. The health and safety inspector taps his notepad.

“We have had a call come in with a few complaints. I am just here to check a few things, ” I fold my
arms across my chest and raise an eyebrow at him.

“This complaint didn’t happen to come from Alpha Valen, did it,” I ask, and he clears his throat.

Uncomfortable with my question, he sighs, looking down at his clipboard.

“I am not at liberty to say,” he says when Zoe suddenly comes rushing through the doors, waving both
her arms, trying to get my attention.



She slows, spotting the inspector before stopping beside me and leaning close to whisper in my ear.

“There is a tow truck towing your car, ” “What! ” I shriek, walking quickly through the gardens and
stalking around the front to the car park.


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