Chapter 68 Toward the end of the night, everyone had calmed down, and the cleanup began. In spite of the exhaustion and aching feet from standing on them all night, after the incident with my father, the night turned out well. In addition to introducing m e to many people, Valen made an official announcement to the media at the end of the meeting. Therefore, as everything was about to come to an end for the night, I was eager to crawl into bed. However, I noticed Kalen lingered a little longer when Valen came over with Valarian asleep in his Arms.
âI have people on the way to help with cleaning up; they will b e here soon. Come home, I need to get him to bed,â Valen said, leaning down. Valen pecks my lips when I looked up at him and I smooth down Valarianâs hair when Kalen walks over to u âActually, can I speak with you for a minute?â Kalen asked, and my eyes went wide. He wasnât seriously going to tell him, now was he?
âAh sure,â Valen motioned toward a nearby table, but Kalen shook his head and reached for Valarian. Valen watched him, staring oddly at his father while my heart beat frantically in m y chest. Kalen handed Valarian to me and I grabbed him; Valenâs brows wrinkled, and I could feel his confusion through the bond.
âWe can stay here for the night,â I told Valen, and he nodded.
âFine, I will be up in a minute; just let me go lock my car back u p,â he tells his father before walking off.
âI didnât mean right now,â I hissed at Kalen when Valen was far enough away..
âI need to get it over with; itâs time Everly. Besides, if I donât d o it now, I worry I wonât be able to bring myself to do it,â he sighed. I chewed my lip, slightly worried about what would happen; looking toward the car park where Valen went to lock his car, I sighed before nodding.
âIâll get Zoe to watch him for me and I will be back in a minute,â I told him, before quickly escaping back to the apartment. Zoe was also setting Casey down to bed when I walked in. Marcus was resting on the couch with his head back.
âFun night,â Marcus chuckled, while shaking his head.
âItâs about to get worse too,â I told him and he sat up, but I shook my head instead, quickly taking Valarian to bed and stripping his shoes off and jacket before tucking him in. He would pitch a fit in the morning about sleeping in his clothes, but right now I had bigger issues to deal with, like the explosion I was expecting when the news of Valerie came out..
âZoe, can you watch him for me for a few minutes?â I asked, her while walking back out to the living room. She was removing her shoes and looked over at me.
âOf course, is everything alright?â she asked and no sooner than she said it, did Marcus jerk upright when we heard a thunderous growl that was clearly an Alphaâs roar of rage. My heart skipped a beat as I ran for the door. Marcus though, was faster beating me down the steps and he took off.
The door flung against the door with a bang and I cringed at the sound, hoping it didnât wake the kids as I raced across the gardens to the restaurant.
Horrified staff stared out the window at the parking lot and Marcus shoved through them and out the doors. I gasped when I saw Valen punching into his father. Kalen was on the ground while Valen rained blow after blow into his face. Blood spraying everywhere and I pushed past my stunned workers and through the glass doors just as Marcus grabbed him, ripping him away from his face only for Valen to slam his hands into Marcusâs chest and launch him, backward and into the side of a car. His body creating an outline in the metal as Marcus shook himself out, looking dazed.
âValen, stop,â I called out to him while racing over to him. He snarled and punched his father again, and I grabbed his arm. Kalen didnât even fight back and had his arms up, letting his son pummel him bloody. Valen roared when I grabbed his arm and yanked it back, making me fall backward. My ass smacked the ground, and I grunted at the impact. The hard ground caused my tailbone to ache.
âValen stop,â I screamed, getting to my feet again and grabbing him. My grip on both his arms, however, was ineffective. Having never seen him so angry before, I was afraid he would kill him. Despite my minimal weight compared to his muscled frame, I shoved him and was pretty sure that I injured myself in the process. I toppled on top of him and he sat up, but I scrambled back and moved in front of Kalen as Valen launched himself at him.
In anticipation of the impact, I closed my eyes, but the crash never come when a ferocious growl screamed from him and m y eyes opened. The gasp that left me stuttered as I found myself suddenly nose to nose with his wolf form that towered over me.
He lifted his paw in the air with claws extended, looking for a kill before they abruptly retracted as he placed the paw on my shoulder. I could feel Kalen shaking behind me and Valen snarled, snapping his teeth at his fatherâs legs. I grabbed his furry head and pulled on his ears to draw his attention away from his father.
âStop,â I said in a barely audible whisper after catching sight o fhis eyes sparkling with tears, and he struck my hands down with a massive paw. He sat up, blood streaming down his face, and Valen paced in his wolf form to find a way past me to reach his father. However, I knew he wouldnât attack me to get to Him.