The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 29

Samara

I was glad Roman was distracted today. I could tell something was wrong but today is a hard day for me. It’s Teddy’s birthday. I don’t know why Althea and I were never as close as Teddy and I were. The ten-year age difference probably had a lot to do with it, but Althea was always out with friends or dreaming of becoming a Luna. She didn’t want me chasing after her and her friends. And, in truth, at my young age, I didn’t care about make-up and boys. Teddy and Roman were much more fun, exploring the forest and getting into mischief. And Teddy never seemed to mind me chasing after him and his friends. I still mourn on Althea’s and my parents' birthdays, but it’s not the same as it is with Teddy. He was my best friend and my hero.

I was surprised when Roman didn’t say anything about my longer than usual run. He only said he wanted to make sure I ate. I tried. I ate as much as I could in our room, then I just stared out the window, watching the day go by and images and memories of my life before Teddy’s death flashed through my mind.

When I showered and realized that Roman still hadn’t come to our room, I went looking for him. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve fallen even more in love with the man. He’s not what I expected, but he is everything I used to dream of in a mate. He’s not at all intimidated by my strength or the pack’s love for me, although it still annoys him. Instead, it makes him proud. That’s the kind of man I have always wanted to bind myself to, a man like Teddy.

When I step into his office, I can smell his masculine scent mixed with the scent of whiskey. I tasted it on him earlier and I realize he must have been drinking in here all day. Curious, I walk to his desk to see what has kept him so engrossed today.

The moment I realize what I’m looking at, I gasp. He did search for me. He searched everywhere in the north and even into the south. He just didn’t come far enough south. I must have run farther than he thought I could. And he’s been looking into my family’s murder since they were first killed. I can tell by how old and worn some of the pages are that he’s looked at this information many, many times over the years.

“What are you doing, Samantha?” His voice, filled with grief, startled me. When he stepped out of the shadows, telling me that this is the sum of his failures, I could see the grief and regret etched on his face. The last of my resolve snapped and I realized it was time to tell him the truth.

The intense relief I felt from him when he realized that he’d finally found me was overwhelming. Tears began streaking down my face at the intensity of his emotions mixed with my own, at finally being able to reveal who I really am. But then, he’d said he was going to tell Sawyer. I knew I had to show him. He wouldn’t believe me any other way, so I forced my still-clear memory of that traumatic night into his mind.

The sound he made when he fell to his knees was so heart-wrenching, so perfectly matched to the pain I’ve felt at losing my family all these years, that there could be no mistaking the complete and utter grief behind it. When Pierce began howling with the same pain, Ayla and I couldn’t take it anymore. Sobbing, I fell to my knees in front of him, grabbing hold of his hands.

I sat, crying, watching Roman’s own tears streaking down his cheeks until he and Pierce finally stopped their agonized howl.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he pulled me to him, cuddling me in his lap and scooting back until he was leaning against the wall. He rubbed his hand over my back and I tucked my face against his neck as we let the mate bond help to soothe us.

We stayed like that until both of us had calmed enough to speak.

“Show me what happened when you ran,” he says softly.

I open the memory and show him how terrified I was, running blind and doing what Teddy told me, avoiding the packs and heading south. I showed him the thickets I hid in, the water ways I followed and my increasing exhaustion until I collapsed. He growled softly at that, his arms tightening around me when he realizes how close I came to dying.

Then I let him hear the conversation when I was found, meeting Alpha William for the first time, how he found me when I heard my family was dead and how he held me, letting me cry myself out.

“He always knew who you were,” he murmurs.

"Yes," I say and open the memory of my talk with Alpha William right before I left the pack and I feel Roman chuckle softly.

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