The Mark of Betrayal (by Cooper) novel Chapter 1

Samara

Three months later

Ayla is running through the most beautiful field I’ve ever seen.

‘Ayla, where are we? How did we shift?’ I ask her.

She’s quiet a moment. ‘I think we’re dreaming. This is ... real, but also ... not real.’

‘What does that mean?’ I ask her.

The air here feels so clean and crisp, the flowers are a perfect balance of scent without being cloying. The sun is shining on our back, and it feels warm but not too hot.

Ayla begins to slow, going from run, to jog, to a walk. I follow her line of sight and see another wolf up ahead of us. She lifts her nose in the air and we both immediately recognize the scent.

GILLIAN!

Ayla races to her sister, sliding her body against Gillian’s as the two wolves whine and whimper at seeing each other again.

‘Where are we, Gillian?’ Ayla asks her.

‘Somewhere between worlds. I wanted to see you, to let you know that you don’t have to be sad for me anymore,’ she says as another wolf comes out of the forest behind her. Gillian smiles as the wolf approaches her, rubbing his large body against hers.

‘This is Shilo. We found each other in the Moon Goddess’ realm. Well, he found me,’ she says, rubbing her face against his.

‘Hello, Ayla. It’s nice to meet you,’ Shilo says.

‘You’re Derrick’s wolf?’ she asks him.

‘Yes. My mate found her way to me, and we couldn’t be happier,’ he says, nuzzling her face. ‘It was important to her that she let you know that she’s happy now. Derrick and I will take care of her.’

‘What about Althea?’ I ask.

‘She is not here,’ Gillian growls.

‘She was not welcome here after what she did to my human, her fated mate. She and her chosen mate go where those who betray the Moon Goddess go,’ Shilo says.

‘Where is that?’ Ayla asks.

‘Don’t know. We just know they aren’t here,’ he says.

‘We can’t stay long. I just wanted to come to you, to let you know you don’t have to be sad for me any longer. Thank you both for taking in my pups. I know they will have a good life because of you. Sloane’s life will be ... difficult, but she is strong and with the two of you as well as Roman and Pierce, I know she’ll be okay.’

‘Do we really have to say goodbye, Gillian?” Ayla whines.

‘I’m always in your heart, sister. And Shilo and I are always watching over you.’

They rub their faces against each other and I feel Gillian fading away as I wake up.

I gasp, feeling happy and sad at the same time.

My mate pulls me closer to him.

“What is it, baby? Are you okay?” he asks, his voice thick with sleep.

“Ayla and I just saw Gillian in a dream,” I say, and tell him about it.

“Gillian was a good wolf. I’m glad she found Derrick and Shilo. She deserved to be with them. I know if I were to leave this world before you, Pierce and I would wait for you and Ayla to join us as well.”

I snuggle against him, his warm hand resting on my bare stomach that is large and round with our son.

Gillian’s warning about Sloane having a hard time isn’t surprising. Ever since she started school, we’ve heard from Elizabeth that the kids make comments to her about her parents. It hasn’t escalated to bullying exactly, but I’m thankful that Sloane has Scarlet and that Scarlet is standing by her side. We hope that it will die down eventually, but something like that may haunt Sloane for most of her life. And since Sloane never tells us that the kids are saying things to her, we have to rely on Scarlet telling her mother and Elizabeth telling us. Thankfully, Slade is too young to have to deal with any of that. I hope that he at least can grow up without the cloud of his parents’ betrayals hanging over his head.

Elizabeth and Austin have done a fantastic job of settling my family’s old pack. They also made Timothy and Priscilla their Gammas. I was thrilled when we heard that Priscilla finally accepted him as her mate. Her daughters are still adjusting, but from what Elizabeth says, it’s getting better. And just recently, I heard that Priscilla is pregnant again, this time with a boy.

In a surprise move, Roman offered Sawyer’s Beta, Adam, the opportunity to run Dylan’s old pack until Slade turns eighteen. Even more surprising to me was Adam’s acceptance. He is still suffering from his own guilt that he didn’t realize what Sawyer and Althea had done. He told Roman that while this wouldn’t repay the debt, it would go a long way toward making him feel better about it.

That gave Alpha Sterling the chance to retire again and he and Luna Devi have returned to our pack, just in time for the birth of their first grandbaby. While they have accepted Sloane, Slade, and Aria as their grandpups, just like Roman and I have accepted them as our pups, little Teddy will be the first grandchild that is blood related.

This morning, Alpha Sterling has taken Slade out for a run on his wolf and Luna Devi is taking care of Aria for me, which gives me a chance to go see Sloane.

I knock on her door and when she calls out for me to come in, I step into her room.

“Are you packed and ready to go?” I ask her. She’s on break from school and is going to visit Alpha William. Because I’m so close to my due date, Roman isn’t taking her, so she’s not going to visit Alpha Waylon and Luna Judith on the way there. However, if I give birth while she’s gone, we’ve agreed that we can stop by on our way home.

She nods, looking around. “I still think I should stay until little Teddy is born,” she says.

I love that she calls him Teddy too. Roman still calls our son Theo, like he did with my brother, but my brother was always Teddy to me, and Sloane has picked that up.

“I know you miss your Grandpa William. And Will says he’s excited to see what skills you’ve learned in your training with Roman,” I say, making her grin.

That has been a very positive outlet for Sloane. Roman says she’s a natural at sparring. She’s a quick learner and she’s already fast, even without her wolf. He’s also made sure that he wears her out sufficiently so that she’s not running like she was. She still runs every day, but now it’s closer to five miles instead of nearly twenty.

“Won’t he be surprised if I take him down,” she says.

“He would be very surprised. Just don’t bruise his Alpha ego,” I say, making her chuckle.

“No promises,” she says, then her grin fades. “I’m going to miss you, Aunt Samara.”

“I’m going to miss you too, sweetheart. Keep a list of movies that we need to watch when you get back. And I want to hear from you every night so we can talk about your day, just like we do now.”

“I will. And you’ll let me know the minute Teddy is born?” she asks.

“You’ll be my very first phone call.”

There’s a knock at the door. “Are you ready, Sloane?” Phoebe asks her. Her belly has just popped out with her baby bump. She and Adrian are having a little girl. Because she’s not very far along in her pregnancy, she and Adrian are taking Sloane to Alpha William’s pack for us.

Sloane comes over and gives me side hug, careful not to press too hard against my stomach.

“I hope you’ve saved some of that for me,” Roman says from the doorway.

As she always does, Sloane leaps into his arms and he holds her tightly.

“I’m really going to miss you, kiddo. Who’s going to give me all those bruises while you’re gone?” he asks, making her chuckle.

“I’ll be practicing with Will while I’m gone, so who knows what I’ll learn.”

“I’ll be excited for you to show me in a few weeks. Remember, if you need anything at all, we’re only a phone call away.”

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