The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Detective Timothy

Homen

ters and put them back

After getting Sloane settled into her bed and letting my mother know where she is, I collect the letters the box. Then, Samara and I go in search of my father.

I’m so angry at what Sawyer and Althea did. I wish I could bring Sawyer back to life just so I could kill him again.

“Do we tell her?” Samara murmurs softly as we make our way through the pack.

พ

“Not yet. Let’s see how she handles this. It’s a lot for someone so young. I know you were strong, but you had support too We’ll support her and help her through this, but I won’t lie to her, Samara. We’ve all had enough deceit to last us a lifetime. If she wants to take a DNA test, I’ll allow it. She deserves to know who her real father was.”

“But would it be easier for her to know that her father was a murderer, or that he was murdered by her mother and fated

mate Goddess, no wonder Gillian wanted to die. Roman, I can’t imagine …”

Her voice chokes of

off and I ston

stop, pulling her into my arms.

“You were never the same person that Althea was. were never selfish. A mischief maker? Yes. Always in trouble? Yes Always getting into things and going places that you shouldn’t? Absolutely. But there was a reason the pack adored you, Samara, a reason they still do. They can feel the love and kindness that both you and Ayla bring to the pack.”

1 tilt her head to look up at me. “You were always a pain in my ass, Theo’s too, but we adored you, just as much as everyone else did. Althea never received that same love and adoration from anyone,” I say.

“Except the one person she discarded like he was nothing,” she growls

“Yes, except for him,” I say, seeing my father walking up behind her.

He slows his approach, silently asking if we need another moment.

“What’s up. Dad?” I ask, tucking Samara under my arm

“That person I told you about, the detective who works in forensics? This is him. Detective Timothy, this is my son, Alpha Roman and his mate, Luna Samara. Roman, Samara, this is Detective Timothy.”

“Well, that timing couldn’t be better. It’s nice to meet you. Let’s go talk in one of the offices,” I say

“I understand there’s been a change in leadership in the last couple of days for

r this pack,” Detective Timothy says

ys as we walk.

“Yes, we found out that my previous friend, Sawyer and his mate, Samara’s sister, Althea, were responsible for the deaths of her family and battle that killed nearly half their pack nine years ago.”

“Your sister? She was r

was responsible for killing her own parents and your brother?” he asks Samara

“Both of them were,” she tells him

He whistles low. “That’s about as sick as it gets,” he sa

says

“Which is why neither of them were allowed to live,” I say

“What about the pups? I understand they have two o

or three, right?” he asks as we walk into the office

“Samara and I are taking custody of the pups. They’re family and we’ll raise them as such,” I say, firmly. I have no intention of letting anyone take those pups from us. They’ve been through enough

*I understand. Let me know if you run into any problems there. I’ll do what I can on my end to help you out,” he says.

+25 BOYUS

“I doubt anyone will contest it. The only person who might is Sawyer’s brother and at this point, we suspect that he had a role in the betrayal of Samara’s family as well. If so, he won’t be around to contest our custody of the pups ”

When we sit, I pull Samara into my lap, setting the box of letters on the table beside me. Not only am I feeling more protective of her now that I know she’s carrying my pup, I can also feel the added weight of what we just found out and the possible implications of that coming through the bond.

on in a secret corridor previously only known to the

“So, your father indicated that you found bones of an unknown person Alpha family, is that correct?” Detective Timothy asks.

“Mostly correct. There were a handful of us who knew about the corridor, like me because I was close with Theo growing up

But otherwise, no one else knew.”

ridor had been

He pulls out a small notebook and a pen, flipping it open. “And when you arrived here two days ago, the corridor

closed off?”

y arms around her,

“That’s correct,” I say. Samara leans back against me and Pierce begins purring softly at her. I wrap my laying my hands on her stomach. My father catches the gesture and raises an eyebrow at me.

I give him a grin, then turn back to Detective Timothy.

“And when you went into the corridor, you found human remains?”

“Just one body?” he asks..

“I believe so. It’s prett

pretty desiccated, but in my opinion, there’s only one body,” I say, looking at dad.

“I would agree,” he says.

“And you have no idea who it might be?” he asks.

“Well, I didn’t an hour ago. That’s why I said the timing of your arrival couldn’t be better. Our niece was going through her parents‘ things, collecting what she wants to bring to our pack when we leave in a couple of days. She found this box of letters. They’re love letters from Althea’s fated mate. We think that it might be his body in the corridor,” I say, handing the

box to the detective,

As he begins reading through them, my father looks at me. “She killed him. Why would she hide the body?”

I tell him my theory that she didn’t find out until after she killed him that he was an Alpha heir. My father stands, scrubbing his face and walking to the window. I can feel the tension in him. Detective Timothy looks up at him, then back down at the

letters.

“There’s more, Dad,” I say, wanting to get it all out at once.

He turns to look at me, the grief and anger clear on his face.

“What more could there possibly be?”

“Althea had an affair with him. They slept together at least once”

“When?” he growls

“It seems like it was later in the relationship Probably right before she and Sawyer betrayed the pack”

His eyes go wide, and he scrubs his hand over his mouth, as he looks from me to Samara and back again.

“Sloane?”

과

“It’s possible” I say.

“I’m sorry, what’s possible?” Detective Timothy asks as my father turns away again

“Sloane was born about five months after the battle that killed Samara’s family. Everyone assumed she was Sawyer’s pup.

but now

He shakes his head and looks at the letters in his hand, the ones with the blood and claw marks. I’m guessing that this isn’t Sawyer’s or Althea’s blood?”

“No”

izing what he was. Once sh

Once she did, she had to hide

*So, Althea kills her fated mate, a newly appointed Alpha heir, without re

realizing

the body in case his father came looking for him,” Timothy says.

“That’s my thought.”

“Who is his father?”

“Alpha Waylon,” say

“His pack is on the border, right, between the northern and southern packs?” he asks.

“Yes, more toward the south, but at the border,” I tell him.

He stands. “Td like to see the bones,” he says.

1 stand, setting Samara on her feet. “Dad, will you stay with Samara?”

“Of course,” he says, opening his arm to her. She walks into his embrace, and they hold each other, both feeling the pain of multiple betrayals one after another

“This way,” I say, leading Timothy out of the office.

“How is your mate holding up?” he asks once we’re out of the office

“She’s strong, but finding out her sister was part of this is taking a toll on her,” I to

tell him honestly.

“You know someone will have to tell Alpha Waylon. Even if these bones don’t belong to his bastard child, he deserves to know the truth and he may want to know that he has a granddaughter.”

I growl and stop I won’t give up custody of her or the other two. I’ll fight whoever tries to take them from me, physically or financially. Either way, I’ll destroy them.”

“I’m not saying he’ll fight you for it. I’m saying, he may want to be a part of her life. He may have his own quilt about waiting so long to decide that Derrick should have been his heir. If he had contacted him sooner He leaves the rest unsaid. If he’d have contacted Derrick sooner, maybe none of this would have happened.

We’ll never know

I nod, and continue to the corridor. I push the table out of the way and open the door. “The bones are on the fourth floor, the Alpha floor.”

“That’s interesting,” he says.

“Why?” lask

It implies quilt. Althea must have felt quilty for killing him and wanted him

im close t

to her ”

“I think it was her wolf. They were very much at odds at the end. It was Gillian who begged for death so she could hopefully

find her mate again in the Moon Goddess‘ realm.”

+25 BONUS

He stares at me. Tve heard of that, wolves and humans who completely disconnect. It’s very rate. I can’t imagine not being in

total sync with Jagger.”

“I said the same about Pierce. We argue, we don’t always agree on things, but I could never completely disregard his thoughts or feelings anymore than I could disregard my own.”

“Exactly,” he says as we get to the bones. I didn’t realize he was still holding the letter with the claw marks in it until he squats in front of the bones, looking them over.

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