Chapter 66
Roman
The next morning, after waking my mate in the best way possible, I find Sloane heading to warrior training again..
“What’s this about? You know I can’t have you spar with the warriors until you have a wolf. It’s too dangerous,” I say.
She shrugs, not answering me, so I pull her aside and crouch down in front of her.
“Talk to me, Sloane. What’s going on? Are you angry and need an outlet? I can help you with that, but not in warrior training.”
She clasps her hands in front of her, looking at the floor.
“Gillian lost her white wolf status. I want to do everything I can to show the Moon Goddess that I deserve a white wolf. If I get stronger now, maybe she’ll see that I am worthy of the gift my mother wasn’t.”
I sigh, feeling my heart clench. “Sloane, I’m not sure that’s how it works.”
“But you don’t know that for sure, do you?” she asks, unwilling to let go of the bit of hope that she’ll have a white wolf.
“No, I don’t. So, I’ll tell you what? Why don’t you and I set aside time every day to spar together. That way, I can still focus on the warriors during training and then I can focus on you during our one–on–one training. Will that work?” I ask her.
She nods. “Can I still watch?”
“Hmmm, you know, stamina is just as important as strength when it comes to fighting. If you’re going to be up every morning at this time, maybe you should start running. Stay inside the perimeter of the pack, but run as far as you can,” I say, taking off my watch and putting it on her wrist. “We’ll get you a smart watch so you can see how far you go, and you can push to go a little farther every day. Then, when you’ve gotten some stamina to your run, we’ll start working on your speed. How does that sound?”
A get the hint of a smile. “I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
I push the warriors hard and when I connect with Samara, I can feel that she’s up and getting Slade ready for breakfast. I realize we need to think about getting him and Sloane into school soon. I make a mental note to talk to Austin and Elizabeth about that.
‘I’ll talk to Elizabeth about school. You have enough on your plate right now, my mate,’ Samara’s voice floats into my mind.
‘Good morning, beautiful.‘
‘Yes, it was a very good morning,‘ she purrs.
‘When are we scheduling that ultrasound?‘ I ask, excited to know if we’re having a boy or girl so we can start thinking of names and decorating a room. I already know what I want to name our child if it’s a boy I hope Samara will agree.
‘How about Monday after you get back from Dylan’s pack?‘ she asks.
‘Perfect. It will be great to start our lives on a good note after everything else is done. I’m also going to send out invitations for your official Luna ceremony two weeks from this weekend.
‘Is that enough time for people to get here?‘ she asks.
‘Trust me,
after
your attempt to publicly shame me by rejecting me in front of a room full of Alphas, they’ll make sure they’re here to see if I’m forcing you into this,’ I say.
“According to you, my rejection was quite inadequate,” she says, walking up behind me with Slade in her arms. He immediately reaches out for me to
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take him.
“You know it was,” I say, kissing her quickly then kissing Slade’s head. “How did you sleep, little man?” I ask him, grabbing two plates and putting lood
for the two of us on them.
Sloane comes in, pouring in sweat and panting hard.
“How did it go?” I ask her.
“What happened to you,” Samara asks her at the same time.
Sloane looks up at us and I see that her eyes look a little bit brighter. Maybe running will be good for her mentally as well as physically.
“Ten miles,” she pants.
“Ten?” I ask, shocked.
She nods, bending over to gulp in air. “Had to stop. Several times. Got through it,” she huffs.
“Here, drink some water,” Samara says to her.
‘Are we okay with this?‘ she asks me in the mind link.
‘She wanted to spar, I thought she’d run a couple of miles, not TEN! She’s trying to show the Moon Goddess that she deserves a white wolf,‘ I say, watching Samara’s eyes snap to me and then back to Sloane.
‘That’s not how it works,’ Ayla says.
‘I didn’t think so either, but she said she has to try to get stronger so the Moon Goddess knows she deserves the gift of a white wolf.
‘And what happens when she doesn’t get one?‘ Samara asks.
‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.‘
We all sit down to have breakfast as a family.
“Who is on guard duty for Aria,” I ask.
“She’s already in the nursery,” Samara says, smiling at me.
“Perfect. Slade, did you start school yet?” I ask him.
“Yep,” he says.
A
“He was in pre–school. He was going to start kindergarten next year,” Sloane says from farther down the table where she’s sitting with Scarlet.
“Thank you, Sloane.” I realize she’s still nervous about us and is watching over her siblings.
After breakfast, I kiss Sloane on top of her head, kiss Samara on the mouth, taking a few extra moments to enjoy her sweet taste, then I take Slade to the nursery, hoping I can drop him off while I make my call to Alpha Waylon.
He begins screaming immediately, clinging to me, so I relent and bring him into the office with me.
“I can watch him Alpha,” Austin says, knowing I’m about to make a serious call.
“Thanks, Austin,” I say, sneaking out of my office to go to his so I can call Alpha Waylon in private.
I take a deep breath and dial. He answers on the third ring.
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“Alpha Waylon.”
“Alpha Waylon, this is Alpha Roman Hartwell.”
“Alpha Roman, this is an unexpected call. What can I do for you?”
“Well, Alpha, it’s more about what I can do for you.” I proceed to tell him about Sawyer and Althea’s betrayal of the Brenner family, how we found the notes from Derrick in Althea’s closet and the letter that he sent to Derrick. And then about the bones that we recovered and how Detective Timothy determined that they belonged to his son.
I hear him take a deep breath and then try to cover a sob.
“I need a minute,” he says, obviously grief–stricken.
“Take as much time as you need.”
I wait as he sets the phone down, quietly crying for the loss of his son. After blowing his nose, he returns to the line.
“I’m sorry about that,” he says.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I wanted to be the one to tell you since I feel responsible for the Brenner family. The betrayals of Sawyer and Althea ran very deep.”
“The were so fucking smart to hide his body from me. I bet you didn’t know that I came to the pack after the battle?”
“No, I didn’t know that,” I say sitting back. That would definitely explain hiding the body.
“Alpha Sawyer, Sawyer, told me that he had died in battle and his body had been burned with the others. It wasn’t hard to believe. So many had died.”
“Too many died,” I agree.
“How did you figure it out after all these years, Alpha Roman. How did you figure out that Sawyer and Althea were the ones who betrayed the Brenner family?”
“Were you at the Alpha meeting several months ago?”
“I was.”
“I’m assuming you saw, as everyone did, that I found my mate and she tried to publicly reject me.”
“I did. How’s that going?”
“It’s going well now. I just had to earn her trust. My mate is Samara Brenner. She witnessed Sawyer killing Thed.”
He huffs out a sigh. “That little girl that you searched for, practically ripped packs apart to find? That Samara Brenner? But, that girl in Alpha Williams‘ pack was an omega, wasn’t she?”
I chuckle. “She was hiding as an omega. Had been for nine years. Theo told her to hide and not trust anyone, and she listened a little too well. However, after I learned the truth, I understood why she didn’t trust me either.”
“It must have been terrible for her to learn that her sister betrayed the family as well.”
“It was and still is. Plus, Sawyer and Althea have three children. They’re living with us now. They are also struggling.”
“So much pain. I knew my son was dead, at least, you think you do. But there’s always that little glimmer of hope that maybe he got away and they didn’t know. Now, I know for sure. Thank you for telling me and for bringing his bones back to me. I’m happy to come to you so you don’t have to make the trip I didn’t do right by Derrick. Maybe if I had, he’d still be here.”
“You can’t live off what ifs, Alpha. But there is one more thing you should know.”
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“What’s that?” he asks, sounding tired.
“Their oldest child, Sloane, was born five months after the battle.”
There’s silence, then I hear him sit forward.
“And?”
“And one of the letters that Althea kept implies that she and Derrick had been intimate.”
“Is she Derrick’s daughter?”
“I don’t know, and I’ve given Sloane the choice of deciding if she wants to know. Neither choice is a good one. Either her father was a murderer, or her mother murdered her father.”
“I want to see her,” he growls.
“I thought you might, but I have some parameters that I insist that you agree to and respect, and I will also be very clear with you now. If she is your granddaughter and you attempt to take her from me and Samara, I will destroy you. She is ours. If she’s Derrick’s daughter and she decides at some point that she wants to know that, she can choose to have a relationship with you at that time. But that will be her choice, not yours.”
“I understand. But I’ve made mistakes in my life. Big ones. If she’s Derrick’s daughter and I can do right by Sloane, even if she never knows that it comes from me, I want to do that.”
“I’ll talk to Detective Timothy and see if there’s a way to do the DNA test without her knowing. Her entire life has been turned upside down. I won’t add to that until she’s ready.”
“I appreciate you protecting her and the other two. When can I come see her?” he asks.
“As it so happens, I intend to have Samara’s formal Luna ceremony two weeks from this Saturday. You’re invited to attend and if you’d like to come early or stay longer, you’re welcome to.”
“Derrick’s mother and I will be there. I’ll talk to her and see what works best for her, then get back to you if that’s okay?”
“That will work. And Alpha, I’m sorry about your son.”
“Me too,” he says, the grief flooding back into his tone. “I’ll see you in two weeks.”
“See you then.”
I hang up and stare at the phone. He said he’s bringing Derrick’s mother, NOT his chosen mate. I’m guessing there’s a story there, but I have enough of my own drama. I don’t need to worry about his too.
When I return to my office, I send out the invitations for Samara’s Luna ceremony. There’s one person in particular that absolutely must attend her ceremony and I want it to be a surprise for her.
I pick up the phone and dial.
“Alpha William.”
“Alpha William, this is Alpha Roman Hartwell.”
