The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Gentle Search

Samara

I could tell that Roman didn’t like me racing through his mind. I wanted to find out everything I could before he shut me out. I was surprised when he not only let me roam through his mind, but he only shut me out of the time where my family was murdered I could take that as him having secrets to hide, except I felt the wave of overwhelming grief before he slammed

those doors closed in his mind

1 really don’t think he betrayed us,” Ayla says. I’m more and more convinced that she’s right. But what does that mean for his friendship with Sawyer? He and Sawyer are still very close. Would he believe me over his best friend if I told him Sawyer killed Teddy?

I made sure that Ayla and I had our mind locked down tight before I accepted Roman as my Alpha. I have no intention of giving him any information about who I am until I’m completely confident that he didn’t have anything to do with our family’s betrayal and that I can trust him. I’m nearly there on the betrayal part, but definitely not there on the trust

was surprised that he let me see his relationships with other women, he let me see his relationships with his parents, and even the hurt of them leaving after the deaths of my family. He didn’t close me out of the past memories when he was younger and he, Teddy, and Sawyer would go out and do whatever it is that boys that age would do. He even has fond memories of me following them around. His memories almost seemed like he enjoyed seeing how I would find them and what trouble I would get myself into. His love and concern for me back then were nearly the same as his love for Teddy. He loved Teddy like a brother and best friend. And while I didn’t have access to the memories of the time when my family died, he’s told me that Teddy was like a brother to him.

“He didn’t have those same feelings for Sawyer,‘ Ayla says, hoping to convince me to trust our mate.

“No, he didn’t.” They were friends, but he didn’t and still doesn’t love Sawyer the way he loved Teddy. Roman loved Teddy the way that I do.

It’s because of his love for my brother that I give him the access he asks for. He won’t get everything, but I’ll give him access to my life with Alpha William. I saw in his mind the image he has of my mind, like a castle built behind a fortress. With that mental image, I lower the drawbridge of the fortress and give him access to the courtyard. He’s not yet allowed into the castle of my mind, but he can come inside the walls of my inner sanctuary.

Mentally, I watch him slowly walk across the drawbridge Unlike me, he doesn’t race forward, looking for answers. It’s as if he’s making a point that he is only going to access what I let him see.

Even in my mind, he walks with the sexy, confident Alpha swagger. He and Pierce, who is walking beside him in my image, look at the walls I built around my mind, taking it all in as they slowly approach-

mental

When they step into the inner sanctuary of my mind, Roman stops, looking around again as if assessing where he wants to start and then he goes to the most recent memories, and starts there. I push the conversation with Alpha William right before I left out of the group he can see. He notices, but doesn’t push to access the memory, then he begins going through my memories backward. He smiles when he sees the deadly meal I had planned for him.

“So you were going to kill me?” he murmurs softly. He doesn’t sound angry, he’s just confirming something he already knew

Since he gave me access to his memories, I wanted to give him open access to mine as much as I can. But I’ve hidden my reasons for the deadly dinner from him, so I make up an excuse.

“I was prepared if my mate showed up ”

He slowly makes his way through my life. “Alpha William was good to you. And he lied. I can tell by the way he looked at you that he knew were you an Alpha”

I don’t respond, letting him make his own assessments. He latches on to one with Ayla running through the forest and Pierce

begins to purt

+25 MONUS

‘My mate is strong and fast,‘ he says, as he and Roman watch from her eyes, feeling the sensations inside her as she runs through the forest, feeling the air around us, listening to the sounds of the forest while she pushes her muscles to their extreme, working out the kinks of being confined in a human body

Ayla and I are careful that he does

see our fur in the image, only feels the sensations of her run. They stay connected until we get back to the pack border, watching as Ayla assesses where the patrols are

“Alpha William must have given the patrols the order to let you come and go,” he says, his voice remaining soft as he

watches my memories

“Why do you say that?”

“The patrols would have smelled your scent. I’m guessing, since he knew you were an Alpha, that he had the patrols alert

him when you left and when you returned so he could make sure you were safe while still giving you the freedom to run”

His eyes focus on me. “He knows who you are, doesn’t he?”

I don’t answer, but I don’t have to. When he nods and starts to reconnect with my mind, I finally speak

“Don’t you dare hurt him.”

His eyes refocus on mine. “I won’t. My word as an Alpha. He was good to you, better than I realized. I owe him a lot for taking you in and keeping you safe.”

He says

s it like he means it. I only have a moment to consider that when he’s back in my mind, carefully and slowly going

through my memories.

“You were alone on your first shift?” he

he asks, obviously

usly not happy about it

it

“I have always been alone when I’ve shifted,” I tell him.

His eyes quickly focus on me, watching me for a moment. “And you won’t reconsider letting Ayla run with Pierce?”

I slowly shake my head no. “Not until I’m sure I can trust you”

“Are your shifts still painful?”

“No,” 1 say smiling,

“Of course they aren’t. My mate is strong.” Pierce purrs again. “I look forward to the day when I can run with you, my fierce Ayla I bet you’ll make me work hard to catch you.”

“Who says you’ll catch me? Ayla purrs back, making Pierce bark out a laugh.

Roman smiles, shaking his head, but his eyes go unfocused as he reenters my mind.

“So you didn’t have Ayla when you arrived at Alpha William’s pack?” he asks, going back to the time when I was weaker

without her.

“No”

He begins growling when sees my time in the hospital. I close off all the memories of hearing about my family, but I leave the griet there for him to feel. He goes all the way to the point where I felt exhausted, collapsing and ready to die when Alpha. William’s warriors found me

Everything before that is locked down in my mind.

“You almost died,” he whispers

“Yes,” I say, my voice as soft as his.

“You could have died and I would never have found you. I would have searched my whole life and never found you I’m guessing you don’t trust me enough yet to show me what brought you to that point?”

“No. But I will say I’m not trying kill you anymore,” I say.

He stares at me a moment, then a smile spreads across his face.

“Well, I guess that’s progress. So, Ayla has never been trained to fight, and you’ve haven’t trained since what? Pup training?”

“Pretty much,” I say, exaggerating the truth a bit. I went beyond pup training because I’m an Alpha, but my father and Teddy wouldn’t let me do much more because I didn’t have Ayla

“At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, I’d like to start you

“Why is that shooting yourself in the foot?” I ask.

your training tomorrow.”

“Because you’re already ridiculously strong and so is Ayla. You’ll only get stronger when you train. I’d like to train Ayla too, but I guess that will have to wait until you’re willing to shift in front of me.”

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