The Alpha King's Human Mate by HC Dolores

Chapter 33 Chapter 33 "Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions yet our roots remain the same." Unknown As I stood inside the crowded LAX terminal, I couldn't remember the last tI'd felt so lost.

After Alessia and I had gotten off the plane, our goodbye was brief. She'd promisedthat she'd tell my family I was safe and wishedhappy hunting — I'd rolled my eyes at that — and then left. Apparently, one of her pack members was already waiting outside the terminal for her, so she had no reason to wait around.

And now I was alone in a state I hadn't been in for nearly seven years ~ not since I'd lived with my mother. (7 When Alessia had first toldher pack lived in California, it had felt like fate. It was the state my mom lived in, the state I'd lived the first eleven years of my life in. However, now that I was actually sitting on a bench inside the LAX airport, the whole thing felt ridiculous.

Thadn't seen my mom in seven years ~ I hadn't even spoken on the phone with her since she'd droppedoff at my dad's house all those years ago. She'd made it clear she wasn't interested in any contact with me, so why did I think she'd takein now? She knows about the existence of werewolves, so maybe she'd be willing to hearout if I told her I was trying to escape from one. * There was a small part ofthat didn't even want to contact my mom at all. If she could go so long without even a phone call, did she really deserve to be in my life now? But whatever pride or ego she had wounded with so many years of no contact would have to wait. I was desperate. I didn't have a lot of options.

Unfortunately, I also had no current address or phone number for my mom. When I had lived with her as a kid, we spent most of our ton the move - living in shitty apartments, motels, or just crashing on the couch of s"aunt" or "uncle." There was no telling where she'd be now. It was even possible that she might not live in California anymore but I doubted it. My mom had lived in California her entire life, and she had never been fonding of leaving those roots behind. .*! I bet Uncle Steve knows where she is.

Given my lack of current contact information for my mom, I knew my best shot at getting in contact with my mom or finding her whereabouts was through Uncle Steve.

Steve - or Uncle Steve as I'd always called him as a kid ~ was a family friend of mom. They had gone to school together and stayed in touch throughout the years. Living with my mom had never felt very stable as a kid, but Steve was one of the few things that didn't change. No matter what motel we were staying at the week or what new boyfriend she had, Steve stuck around. | Sometimes he'd bring us food or babysitwhile my mom was strung out on something. There were even a few times when he'd run off sof her unsavory boyfriends.

Most people considered Steve to be the point of contact for my mom too. You could never trust that my mom was living in the splace or that she had even paid her cellphone bill, but you could always trust Steve to know where she was. (*) When she used to dropoff at friends' houses so she could go on a bender or splurge with snew boyfriend, I always had Steve's number in case I needed something. I'd had his phone number memorized by the tI was ten.

eve and mom are still run ule out that things changed ~ maybe they'd had a ty years before I was even born. He was the only constant s, maybe Uncle Steve would be will ssages from my family, but none of them were urgent. They didn't know I'd left the cas ing. I skimmed through the list of text messages.

Told mom and dad about your mate. Pretty sure dad almost had a heart attack but I think he's proud, Lily had written.

e. We should talk about what this mean wasn't worried that his human daughter w Hey there! Just a friendly reminder that if you're not reading this book on 5s.com, you might be missing out on the complete story. Head over there to dive into the next chapter-it's all free! s pack's advantage. "= 1 ignored everyrized since t ng. By the third ring, I was beginning to wor new number when - "Hello?" most couldn't believe it, and I felt my throat go dry. God re?" Steve repeated." ve," I fin Now he was the quiet one. Silence hung over the line but it was r than God, he probably doesn't even know who lam.

Maybe this was a mistake.

his voice hoarse. "Clark ears my mom's last name, that is. I had been Clark Bellevue since the minute I it felt like everything I wanted to say had fallen out of my he

"I can hardly believe it," Steve said, and I could hear the disbelief în his voice. "It's been years since I've heard your voice, kid. You sound You sound exactly th I just can't believe it. I didn't th Yeah,either.

e, but you wouldn't happen to know how to get in co "are you okay, Clark?" he asked, "You're not in any trouble, are you?" whether you consider

nvolved in my mess so 1 tried to choose my words carefully."'Okay, el it's nothing too serious con, kid," he sa long have I stuck by your mom's side? That hasn't changed." I breathed a sigh of relief — thank God. Steve having current contact information for my mom made my life a hundred times si ng withfor a little while now. I know tha address if you want to cby." ") It was slightly surprising to hear that my mom was living with Steve (and it certainly ruined any

plans I had to keep him out of this mess), but at least knew where she a was. This was a good thing. ove to mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofifl0&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1