Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 41

Valen POV

Valarian and Casey excitedly pull me down the halls of their run–down school. The floor alone is filthy with scuff marks, and I shiver with disgust, fighting the urge to start scrubbing the floor. The classrooms aren’t much better, the desks are falling apart as the chipboard flakes, some kids are even sitting on milk crates. I look around to ensure this is a school and not some homeless shelter.

Valarian shows me to his desk. His is definitely the cleanest one in the room. I watch as he removes a white table cloth from his bag and sets up his desk. His pencils sit neatly in a row as he places each one out carefully. However, Casey opens her pencil case and upends it on the table, and I see him cringe before he glares at her and starts rearranging her pencil in a straight line.

I didn’t want to touch a thing in here; this place is a bacterial infection waiting to happen when the teacher comes in. I have to do a double–take of the woman. She indeed had a poodle’s hair, like she chose the style out of a dog magazine. It was short and curly on top, and then a poof of hair cascaded to her shoulder, her round glasses perched on the end of her nose. She taps her ruler on the desk, trying to grab the students‘ attention when the ruler snaps, and she stares at it before tossing it over her shoulder. It landed in the bin, making me wonder how many rulers she had broken.

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“Oh, Alpha Valen, and why are you here?” She looks around nervously at the students like she thought I was somehow a danger to them.

“My son,” I tell her, pointing to Valarian, and she giggles. The sound was more like a hyena; damn, she was a strange lady. She waves me over, and I glance at Valarian, who rolls his eyes at her. I gave him a pointed look at his rudeness, but I now understood why he called her a poodle. I had to fight the urge to straighten her poofy hair as I walk over to her when I got a whiff of something that smelt strangely like weed, the kind you smoked. I sniff the air as I stop next to her.

“Are you high?” I whisper to her.

“You would be too if you had to teach this lot, want some, got a bit left.”

I blink at her, she just offered me drugs, I glance around the classroom wondering if I imagined it, surely she didn’t? What sort of school was this?

“Ah no, but I, my son, and Casey will be leaving now,” I tell her, motioning for both kids to come with me. Valarian starts picking up his stuff off his desk when the woman taps my shoulder with her finger. Which makes me glance at her.

“I’m sorry, sir, but you are not on either of their contact lists, I cannot allow you to take those children,”

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“He is my son, and I brought Casey here,” I tell her.

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“Unless you are on the documentation, I cannot allow you to remove them from class, and as far as I know, Valarian has no father. Everly Summers never mentioned you being his father; he is a rogue, sir and you cannot just come into a school and claim a child as your own. We have rules and regulations.”

Rules, I wondered briefly what their practices were on drugs and teachers offering parents to get high. This woman is getting on my damn nerves; not only is she high as a kite, but she also looked ridiculous and was unfit to be teaching primary age children or anyone for that matter.

“Valarian, Casey, grab your stuff,” I tell them. The entire class watches on as Mrs. whatever her name frantically steps in their way as they move to the front of the classroom.

“Sir, I am sorry, but I can’t allow you to take them,” she screeches.

Ignoring her, I reach over and grab Valarian’s hand, tugging him gently over to me when her hand falls on my arm. The growl that tears out of me makes her quickly step back away from me.

“Touch me again, and you will find yourself out there with the forsaken,” I grit out, and she gasps. Casey rushes over to me, stepping beside Valarian and I turn on my heel leaving the classroom. This was unacceptable, and I couldn’t believe Everly would allow our son to be taught here by a high

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woman. What was she thinking?

“Where are we going, dad?” Valarian asks.

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“Anywhere but here,” I tell him stalking off down the hall. I slow my steps when I see both kids struggling to keep up with my long strides.

tell; I brought

every week, Casey,” Valarian tells her.

આગળ અને પાલકન એપલ નાનો થયો પ

not,”

“You do too.”

“Na.”

tell,” Valarian and her bicker on the way

home. Marcus will love to hear about Mr. Scruffy,” I tell her, needing them to stop arguing while I thought of what to do about this entire schooling situation. When my phone rings, I stop just outside the

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to say you

Technically I am still on school property,” I tell

just rang me, Valen. Where

stoner?” I whisper the last part through gritted teeth. She falls quiet for a

are from

“It is unacceptable.”

I am in a meeting with….ah…

I am not

they need to be in school, and I am supposed to

a boyfriend, he will be very much

Macey’s daughter, it’s my turn to pick

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school before heading back into the corridor. I stop and look

one is Taylor’s

can’t just kidnap other people’s kids,” Everly

give me permission to take them. You have five minutes,” I tell her, hanging up.

Great, I start off

teacher jumps before a smug smile

before I had to ring the authorities,” she says.

you is Taylor?” I ask, and a little girl at the back raises her arm in a

her eyes dart to the teacher. Oh, right, stranger danger, I think. Shit,

when the teacher’s

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between the rest of the class and me. Like her tiny, withered frame

“Hello, Ms. Summers.”

to me before she looks at Taylor and shakes her head.

I can’t allow

whoever she was handed over to when

phone from her grip and place it

“Hello?”

kidnapping

babysitting, this is not a school,”

about it. It is the only school here for rogue children, but I swear to God you try to take my daughter out of this city; you won’t need

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finished?” I ask

18 78********

with a stranger, Macey tells me, and I walk over to the girl and pass her the phone. She talks to her mother for a second before grabbing her school bag, and she nervously hands the phone to her teacher when Casey grabs her hand. We leave the school, and I put the

and my eyes dart to her in the rearview mirror. I think

about the

can’t go there.”

not?” I ask

are rogue, it isn’t in the rogue areas,” Casey says, playing with

an eye.