chapter 80

Valen It’s pouring down as Marcus pulls up out front so I can pick Valarian up from school. I step out of the car straight into a puddle; the drains have gotten blocked, and the gutters are overflowing and spilling onto the sidewalk, rushing like a river and filling my shoe with water. I growl, shaking my foot to get the water out before racing for the school's front door. Marcus waits in the car because he’s still on the phone with the scouts, checking if they’ve found anything about Emily's missing son, and the audio is going through the car's Bluetooth. My toes squelch in my shoes as I walk on the slippery floors to the grade school office. On the way here, I called ahead, so the moment the secretary sees me step into the small office, she calls up to Valarian’s class to let the teacher know I’m here to collect him. “He’ll be right down, Alpha,” the secretary tells me, and I nod to her, then begin wandering around the room, looking at the school awards hanging on the brown, brick wa