The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 23

Roman

I feel like there’s been a small shift in Samantha. It’s not trust, but it’s the start of something that feels like it might be trust. I’ll take it. Whatever she went through when she was a pup traumatized her. Somewhere along the way, she decided that Alphas couldn’t be trusted. Or maybe it’s mates that can’t be trusted. She did say the poisoned food was meant for her mate if she found him.

I gently rub my thumb over the back of her hand which is still clasped in mine. She didn’t pull away and holding her hand feels better than just about anything I’ve felt before. Goddess when she finally accepts me, it’s going to be incredible.

“I’m not really sure you saw much of the packhouse. It looked like you were focused on meeting the pack members,” I say as we walk downstairs.

“Yes. It was a lot of people all at once and I was trying to remember names and who is related to whom,” she says, surprising me.

“No one expects you to remember all of that after your first meeting,” I say.

She looks up at me. “I expect it. I could feel how much having me here means to your pack...”

“Our pack,” I say, interrupting her.

“YOUR pack,” she clarifies before continuing. “They need a Luna,” she says softly.

“You are their Luna. That makes this your pack too. Even if you haven’t accepted me yet, you seem to have accepted them as readily as they accepted you.”

She frowns and I can feel her thinking through her own emotions, the desire to take care of this pack. She may not be saying it out loud, but internally, she knows this is her pack and she’s already feeling a strong responsibility to them.

‘She’s so perfect,’ Pierce purrs.

I see Samantha’s lips twitch and she glances up at me.

“Pierce is quite taken with you and Ayla,” I say. I don’t bother denying it, it’s pretty obvious.

When we walk into the kitchen, everyone looks up.

“LUNA!” the omegas exclaim as if she’s been away on vacation and they missed seeing her.

Now Samantha does pull away from me and I let her, watching her work her magic on my omegas.

‘Our omegas,’ Pierce corrects, sighing like a love-sick puppy as he watches her.

‘Her omegas if their devotion to their new Luna is any indication,’ I say, still amazed at how quickly and easily my pack has absorbed her as their own.

“I’m so sorry, Justina, but your Alpha and I missed dinner,” Samantha says, already remembering names.

“That’s okay, Luna. We made you plates. We weren’t sure how long you’d be or if you wanted us to bring them to you, but we thought it was better if we didn’t bother you,” Justina says.

“We hope you like lemon chicken, Luna,” Ellie, another omega, says.

‘No one has ever asked me what kind of food I like,’ I say to Pierce.

‘We eat everything,’ he says distractedly. I swear I can see little hearts coming off of him like he’s a damn cartoon character gazing at his love interest.

“It smells delicious,” Samantha says, leaning over the plate and sniffing. “And is this rosemary in the mashed potatoes?”

“It goes well with the lemon chicken, Luna. But if you don’t like it ...”

“I can’t wait to try it. Do you know, I was hiding as an omega in my last pack. The Lead Omega wouldn’t let me cook anything. I’m a terrible cook,” she whispers conspiratorially to the omegas. They all begin giggling.

“You weren’t meant to be a cook. You were meant to be a Luna,” Justina says sweetly.

“How right you are,” she says, then turns to me. “Roman, where did you want to eat?”

“Oh, hi Alpha!” the omegas say, as if they’ve only just noticed that I was standing here.

‘Who cares about us when they have her,’ Pierce sighs. Seriously, my entire pack and my wolf are now under the spell of this woman.

‘Don’t pretend you’re immune,’ Pierce says.

He’s right, I’m not. Pierce sends an image of Samantha leading a bull with my face on it around by the nose.

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