Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 35

Valarian POV

288 iVouchers

A few hours earlier

“Valarian, are you dressed yet?” Mom yells out to me. I grab the piece of paper with my dad’s address. it and a small list I made of his description. Mom said I should recognize him, and the funny feeling I get in my tummy should tell me he is my dad.

“Coming, mom,” I call back to her while unfolding the paper again because the corners didn’t match. Why doesn’t it match? I refold it. Casey walks into the room, and I hate how she taps on my door. Two taps, it should be three, odd numbers, odd numbers. I try to refold the paper, but her knock irritates me making me stuff the corners up again.

“Valarian, we are gonna be late,” mom calls again.

“Casey, knock,” I snap, not meaning to. Casey is my best friend.

“I forgot, you are so weird, Vally,” Casey laughs but knocks on the door again, and I let out a breath. I know the other kids think I am weird, they all do but I don’t mind when Casey says it, she doesn’t say it in a mean way.

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“Did you get it?” I whisper to Casey, and she kneels pulling her bag off her shoulder and pulling out torn pieces of paper.

“I tore them out,” she says excitedly before stuffing them back in her bag when we hear footsteps.

“Valarian, come on, come on,” Mom says, ushering us out of the bedroom. Casey giggles at our little secret. Today I find my dad. Mom is getting sick, I know she Jes it, but I see the puffiness under her eyes, how she is always too tired to play and lately she has been falling asleep when she reads to me. She never has time, time, time, never enough time to play with me anymore. Dad will have time for me, I know he will have time, or I hope he does, then maybe he can make mom not so tired no more. Maybe then she will play more, I miss when mom played but now she gets tired too quickly and needs to rest. She thinks I don’t notice but I notice everything about mom, she is the best mommy.

I follow mom out of the house, trying not to think of the torn- up phone book pages. I wanted the maps. I wasn’t sure how to read the maps, but it can’t be that hard, like a pirates map, dad is the golden chest at the end, and I was going to find him and surprise mom. I couldn’t wait to make her smile.

“Valarian seatbelt,” Mom hisses; she was always in a hurry. I clip my belt in and Casey does hers, and then mom puts the car stick on the D, and the car moves, and we are on our way to school.

We stop out the front of my school. My teacher is waiting out

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Chapter 35

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grass and cigarette smoke. Plus, she talks

a kiss on the cheek before she rushes back to the car, honking the horras she leaves. I hate when she did that; the

of her, and she always looked like a poodle with her

at recess. I try to flatten the pages out, looking for

find it.

right pages?” I ask Casey, and she

I supposed to know? You said

think of another way

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this hard to follow, these ones have lots of lines and cross–sections, and none said the Alpha Valen’s home.

know where my dad lives,”

come to find the pirate

finding pirate treasure. I am finding my dad,” I tell her, pulling out the spare clothes I smuggled into my school bag. I pulled the jumper on over the top of my shirt and the jeans over my shorts. My shorts ride up and give me a wedgie, and I don’t like the creases in my jeans. Mom usually gets those out with the hot steaming iron for me.

and the lines will go away,” Casey tells me, and I nod, stuffing the maps in my bag and putting it over

the front gate. They always leave it open. Casey looks around the corner while eating her anchovy sandwich before giving me a thumbs up and I run out the gate before stuffing my bag in the dead hedges out

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I didn’t know if I was going in the right direction when I saw a man dressed in a suit,

“What kid?”

place is?” I ask, showing him the piece of paper. He huffs and takes it

“Alpha Valen’s?”

it was. Where my dad

why would a rogue boy

rogue boy; I am an Alpha like my dad,”

is your dad?”

“Alpha Valen Solace.”

laughs harder. “Is that so?”

I tell

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doesn’t have a kid, but I am sure he will think this is really funny, come on then, boy, maybe he will give you an autograph or let you get a picture with him,” the man says, gripping my shirt and

you will take me

there anywhere. in

in that big

for my dad?”

big building with the bright lights. The door opens as we climb the stairs, and

boy, Tatum?” the man in the funny hat asks.

thinks the Alpha is his

they all think that, wonder which rogue whore sent their kid up this time claiming he

He is her mate, she

claim that too, but come on, let’s get this over with,” he says, leading me

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can see my reflection in them, and

name anyway?” the man