The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 68

Roman

As Detective Timothy and I walk to the cells, I reach out to get a feel for the pack. Samara and Ayla still have their aura over them, keeping them calm. However, I can feel the unrest, the frustration that their Alpha has been held captive for nearly a week.

I nod at my warriors as I pass them at the doorway of the cells then we jog down to the underground holding area. Up here in the north, the cells can get very cold. Usually, as wolves, we don’t feel the cold, but when you have been sitting in a cold, damp, dark cell for days, the cold eventually begins to seep into your bones. I’ve used the tactic to punish several wolves in my pack over the years. And it seems to have worked on Dylan as well.

When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I see Dylan sitting on a cot, his head in his hands. He immediately looks up then stands and comes to the edge of the cell.

“Roman, what the fuck is going on? Why did your father come here with warriors and put me in this cell? Don’t tell me you’ve turned on me,” he growls.

“An interesting statement, coming from you,” I say, stopping in front of him.

He glances at Timothy. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I know about Sawyer. I know he killed Theo and orchestrated the attack that killed the Brenners.”

Because I’m looking for it, I see the flash in his eyes. It’s only for a moment before he schools his features, but it’s enough for me to know that I was right.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Where were you that night?”

“I was here.”

“You didn’t answer Alpha Royal’s call for help?”

“I sent Sawyer and my warriors to help him. You know that Roman. What is this about? Why are you accusing Sawyer of killing Theo? He was as much Theo’s friend as he was yours, Roman.”

“Apparently, he wasn’t. The question I have, though, is how much did you know?”

“I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about,” he growls.

“Because I’ve been wondering what it is that you had to gain in all of this,” I say, ignoring him. “I mean, I get it, Sawyer was your brother. You would rather him betray his friend and take that pack than try to take this one from you,” I say pacing in front of his cell as I speak.

“What do you mean ‘was’ my brother. He still is my brother,” he growls. This time the tone is more vicious. I still ignore him. “So what else was there? Financially, you weren’t doing very well back then, were you?”

“Where is Sawyer?” he growls, ignoring me now.

“But the Brenner’s pack, now that pack was the wealthiest in the region, possibly in the country. They had that greenhouse and were established distributors across all the packs. So, you give Sawyer your warriors to take out the Brenners in exchange for money, to save your pack?”

“My pack was fine. It still is.”

“Well, we’ll find out once we go through your financials if that’s really the case but I doubt it. It took me a while to figure out your motives, but then I remembered how jealous you and Sawyer were when the businesses I built to honor the Brenners started doing so well. What was the ultimate goal, Dylan? Were you going to kill me and take my pack too? Make yourselves the most powerful duo in the werewolf world?”

“Where is Sawyer?”

“He probably expected that by his brother mating a white wolf, no one would be able to defeat them. Maybe they wanted more than just a few packs. Maybe they intended to take over all the northern packs eventually. Man, that must have really sucked for them when you started getting rich. I bet they were waiting for you to bankrupt yourself and then they were going to swoop in and take your pack,” Detective Timothy says.

“Who the fuck are you?” Dylan says, a permanent sneer on his face.

“Detective Timothy. I was the one who came in and identified those bones in the secret corridor.”

“What the fuck is he talking about?” Dylan asks me. This time, I can tell that he doesn’t know.

“What, Sawyer never told you that Althea found her fated mate and killed him, then buried his body in the Alpha’s secret escape corridor? That never came up in conversation?”

He snaps his teeth together audibly.

“I’m guessing that Sawyer also didn’t tell you that Althea lost her white wolf because of it. She betrayed the Moon Goddess, along with all of us, and Gillian paid the price.”

He turns, walking back in his cell, running his fingers through his hair before turning back.

“Where is Althea now?”

“With Sawyer, wherever those who betray the Moon Goddess go when they die.”

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