Betrayed by My Beta Mate

Chapter 77

11 Suspicions

Evelyn POV

As I dry off, I can hear Grant on the phone. Even though he is trying to whisper, I can hear the anger in his voice. I throw on my pajamas and split the door slowly. I hear him say before my Luna finds out who she is to whoever he is talking to. A pit forms in my stomach at his words. What is this man that promised to love me hiding? He has never given me any reason to doubt him until now. “Who were you talking to Grant?” He turns smiling at me like he has done a thousand times since we mated, but I feel nothing this time. He is keeping something from me. He walks over and wraps me in a hug. The tingles that normally make butterflies in my stomach make me feel nothing but sick. “Do you feel better now that you’ve showered?” “I do but I’m exhausted.” “Well, I’ll take a shower and hold you till you fall asleep.” I step back from him and despite my best efforts to wait to call him out until I do some investigating on what he is hiding I can’t. “You’re keeping something from me. Something about that girl from the Nightfire pack.” His eyes darken “Eve, I have never kept things from you and I’m hurt you would even think that about me. I have always been good to you. Unlike other Alphas, I was willing to take on another man’s pups when I found you. I could have rejected you but I didn’t because you were my fated mate. I would have raised those pups because they were a part of you.” “Not those pups, our pups. Do you know that not once in our lives have you ever referred to the pups as yours?”

He places his hand on his head. “They weren’t my pups Eve. They were pups that you made with another man. Pups I was willing to raise with you because you are my Luna. My Luna Eve, the woman I have loved since the moment I found you. I have been a good mate to you and I have treated you well because I love you.” I walk over and grab the pillow off of the bed and head for the door. “Where the hell are you going, Evelyn?” “I will be sleeping in one of the guest rooms until you tell me the truth about what your hiding from me.” I walk toward the door and he growls. I don’t stop, I know that heContent bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

would never hurt me physically. He has been the perfect mate all these years. He has never even raised his voice at me until now. Sadie whimpers in my mind. Grant and Thiago are our second chance after Theo was killed. The thought of not sleeping next to him hurts me as much as it does her but I need to know the truth. I pick a room three doors down from our bedroom. Once I’m inside, I pull the door closed and lock it. I slide under the covers alone for the first time in a very long time. Sleep does not come easily as my mind races with ideas of what he is keeping from me. I think about Clara and why she is important to me and Sadie. Exhaustion finally takes me under and I promise myself that I will find the truth.

When I wake up the next morning, I head toward our room. I take a deep breath and Grant’s scent is very faint. I open the door knowing that Grant won’t be there. I head to my closet and pull on jeans and a blue t-shirt. I’m in no mood to wear a dress today. I feel the link from Grant but I keep my block up. I’m not ready to talk to him yet. I manage to make it out of the pack house without seeing Grant or his ranked wolves. When I reach the pack hospital I go inside and head straight down a hallway to an office. I take a deep breath before I knock on the door. “Come in,” the man says. I open the door and he stands to his feet, baring his neck to me. “Luna, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” “I have questions and I want honest answers.” I see his smile falter for just a moment. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to Luna.” “Dr. Jones, don’t make me repeat myself. I want to know what happened to my pups all those years ago and I want the truth.” “Luna the Alpha” he starts to say and I step closer. Sadie is at the surface. “It’s not the Alpha you need to fear right now.”

Cayden POV

The door to the room opens and that ba**ard Franklin walks in. I sit up and he smiles but his eyes are cold as usual. “I see you have regained some of your strength. I only allowed Lydia to help you because I needed you alive. I wouldn’t get any ideas, boy, because I don’t need you anymore.” He takes a seat across the room from me. “It seems your b**ch of a sister made it to the Nightfire pack. Do you know what packs do to b**ch rogues, boy?” I keep my expression even and the smile is gone from

his face. He wanted to see pain in my expression that he has caused many times before. He has no idea that I know exactly where my sister is and how she is being treated. I stand and he does the same. Riggs growls and his eyes widen. He reaches for a necklace and, before I can move forward, Lydia is standing in front of him with a smirk on her face. She waves her hand and I put my arms up hoping to, lessen the attack, but I feel nothing. When I look back at them, she looks pissed and I realize that a blue shield is between us. “How” she screams. “We will have our time with them Cayden. Now is the time to be free of this awful place”, Riggs says to me. “What the hell do I do Riggs?” “The same thing you told Clara. Think of any place but here.” I close my eyes and pray to the goddess this works.

When I open my eyes, the walls of the room are gone. I’m in the woods outside the collective. I smile that it worked, I’m no longer a prisoner in that f**king awful place. “Your freedom isn’t going to last long if you don’t get the hell out of here” Riggs growls. “Do you feel up to shifting?” “Now is as good a time as any to find out.” As the shift starts to happen saying it hurts is an understatement. We have only shifted once and it’s been months. I don’t fight the process and once the pain subsides, Riggs takes off. I can hear paws hitting the ground behind us and I don’t look back to see if they are close. We run for what feels like an hour before Riggs finally slows down. I can no longer hear the echo of paws hitting the ground. Riggs maneuvers through trees until we are near a stream. He bends drinking for minutes before he finally lays down. I can’t believe all that just happened. I have powers. I knew I was different, I just didn’t know how different I was until now. “I’m glad you’re strong enough to use the gifts your father gave you.” I smile and say a prayer of thanks to the goddess and my father. Exhaustion creeps in after all that running and we have no choice but to give in.

I have no idea how much time passes when we finally wake up. Riggs stands and stretches. A growl deep and low comes from behind us. Riggs turns and there is a wolf that is red like fire standing in front of us. I’m just about to tell Riggs to shift so I can tell the wolf we are not a threat when he bears his neck. “What the hell are you doing”, I ask him and the wolf in front of us shifts. A beautiful woman who is fully dressed stands before us. She walks up, laying her hand on Rigg’s head and he growls. Not a growl of warning, but one of contentment. “What the hell is going on, Riggs?” “She is a special wolf and

she will not hurt us.” She steps back and Riggs shifts without warning. I try to cover myself and she laughs. “We are wolves. I’ve seen naked men before” she says as she throws me a pair of shorts and I slide them on. “I’m sure you realize by now that I’m not a threat to your pack.” “I do, because if you were you would be dead already. That still doesn’t tell me why you’re near our territory.” I can see she is looking at the scars that cover my chest. “I escaped the collective I have been held prisoner in since I was a pup.” Her eyes darken and a growl escapes her.

Calliope POV

Aurora stays hidden as we watch the silver wolf sleep. “He is no threat to us or the wolves, Calliope. He is more than a wolf and has a good soul.” Once he is on his feet, we make ourselves known to him. I appreciate his wolf showing us respect. I’m shocked that he would as a rogue, but as Aurora said, he isn’t an ordinary wolf either. Once he shifts, I can see all the scars on his chest. We don’t usually scar unless our wolves can’t heal us. The anger I feel when he says he has been a prisoner since he was a child scares even me. I can’t imagine what he has been through. Aurora growls and I realize again that my father isn’t the only monster out there. “My name is Calliope and I’m not a pack wolf anymore.” He looks at me confused but I don’t explain. “I’m going to need you to stay here. I will be back with the leaders of the collective so they can speak with you.” I see a glint of what I suspect is fear in his eyes when I say the word collective. “I promise you that this collective is nothing like the one you just ran from.” He nods and I take off passing the patrolling wolves. A few minutes later, Carter follows me back to the man who hasn’t moved.

“My name is Carter and I’m the leader of the Silver Paw Collective. Calliope tells me that you come from a collective that has held you prisoner”, Carter says. “I have, my name is Cayden. I have been a prisoner of the Black Mountain Collective since I was a pup. As I explained to Calliope, I am no threat to you or your wolves. I was just resting here outside your borders.” “I’m well aware of Franklin’s collective and how it is run. Our former leader did business with him often, but I will not. Calliope has assured me that you and your wolf are not a threat to our collective. I trust her and Aurora’s judgment.

We can offer you a place to stay where you will be safe.” “I’m very grateful for your offer but I need to find the Nightfire pack.” I see Carter stiffen but Cayden doesn’t seem to notice. “What is your business with the Nighfire pack?” “I need to find my sister and I believe she is there.” “We have a relationship with the pack. I can’t make promises on their behalf, but I’m sure that Alpha Lincoln will meet with you.” He looks between Carter and myself. “I will be forever grateful for your kindness.” “Come on, let’s get you something to eat and a place to sleep. I’ll make some calls and see what I can set up.”

We reach the border and as we walk toward the cottages the men are staring at Cayden. “Go back to your posts now”, Carter yells, and they scatter. Abigale is waiting with Sarah on the porch. I told Carter that Cayden is a hybrid and I’m sure that is why the wolves are leery. They scent that he is part warlock. You would think the way people judge rogues, they wouldn’t be so quick to judge others. Abigale smiles “welcome to the collective Cayden. Dinner is ready in the dining hall if you’re hungry.” He smiles and they lead the way as I walk by Cayden’s side. We walk into the dining hall and Oliver is sitting at the usual table. He and I have become good friends. Cayden and I grab the trays and take our seats at the table. I expect Cayden, for lack of better terms, to eat like a ravenous wolf, but he doesn’t. He eats slowly and not nearly as much as the others. Oliver breaks the silence and I kick him under the table. “So you’re a warlock.” Cayden smiles, realizing what I did. Abigale shoots Oliver a look and he raises his eyebrow in question. “It’s alright, honestly it was news to me until a few days ago.” I’m just about to question him when Carter stands. He turns to Abigale. “We have unfriendly visitors on the eastern border.” Oliver and I stand following Carter. I turn as Cayden stands “stay here and protect them.” I point to Abigale and Sarah. He smiles knowing that I know he isn’t strong enough to fight with us. We run and meet with ten of the patrol wolves that are facing five rogues and a woman I can scent is a witch. She is staring at Aurora. Carter shifts “why are you here Franklin?”