His Secret Love Child (Book One of the LOVE CHILD series)

Chapter Twenty "BETRAYAL"

A/N..................I know that you all are curious about Bethany. So here is what happened between her and Hunter. Enjoy.

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It's been a few days since the clash between Rafe and Hunter. Everyone still felt as if they were walking on eggshells around them, afraid of saying or doing anything to set of the two giants again. Especially with the clear evidence of what they were truly capable of still present outside. The grounds of the mansion resembled the aftermath of a category five tornado.

The tension in the mansion was mounting and getting on everyone's nerve. Especially Cameron, his nerve's were stretched to the breaking point.

By some silent mutual understanding and agreement with each other, the two men in Cameron's life kept the hostility between them down to a bare minimum. Hunter and Rafe studiously and meticulously avoided each other like the proverbial plague. Doing their utmost best not to be caught in the same room. Hunter couldn't stand the sight of Rafe's hands on Cameron and the affection and love between them. Not when he new that Cameron was nowhere near ready to have him, Hunter touch him in the same way. To give Cameron some credit, he did try to keep the displays of affection between him and Rafe down to a minimum, trying his best not to rub salt into Hunter's wounds.

The only time Hunter and Rafe were caught in the same room was whenever Liam was present. Under his father's care, Liam was slowly recovering. The fevers were finally abating and his body started healing as Hunter spent hours with him, using Ares to literally feed Liam his energy and to slowly bring forth Liam's wolf. Hunter knew that calling Liam's wolf suddenly and all at once could kill him. So he took his time. The plan was to make sure that by the next full moon Liam would be strong enough and ready to shift for the first time. They had two weeks to get him ready. Hunter would still have to call forth Liam's wolf, but by then Liam's human body should be able to accept the shift without hurting him.

Cameron was deathly curious as to what had happened between Hunter and Bethany. He wanted to know why she wasn't at the mansion and where Hunter's other child was. But he was afraid to give voice to his questions in case they stirred up another kettle of fish that he wasn't prepared to deal with. So he kept his burning curiosity to himself. Rafe had no such qualms.

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Rafe walked into Hunter's office without so much as knocking, slamming the door closed behind him. "We need to talk." Was his reply to the questioning brow that Hunter greeted him with.

"By all means come in." Hunter's words dripped with sarcasm. Rafe ignored him, refusing to rise to the bait.

"Just engage the soundproofing. I don't want anyone hearing this conversation." Rafe narrowed his eyes at Hunter. Hunter held Rafe's stare for a moment before reaching under his desk and pressing the hidden button to seal the room. Now no one would be able to hear what was being said or what was going on in the room.

Hunter leaned back in his chair and waited. The silence lengthened as neither man wanted to be the first to speak. After awhile Hunter had enough of their silent staring match and he growled out, "You're the one that wanted to talk, so talk."

Rafe clenched his fists at his side and glared daggers at Hunter, "You're such an asshole." He gritted out.

"Listen, I don't have all day. So either get to the point or get out." Hunter was at the end of his patience.

Rafe struggled to hold on to his own temper as he felt it spiking, "I need to know where is your queen? Where is Bethany? Why isn't she here?" Rafe gave voice to the burning questions.

Hunter surged out of his chair and turned away from Rafe, "That is none of your business." He snarled out over his shoulder, his back towards Rafe. his tone said that the subject was not up for discussion.

Rafe wasn't about to be put off or have his questions brushed a side, "Yes it is my business. When it comes to the safety of Cameron and Liam, everything is my business."

Hunter's shoulders slumped, "Like I said, she isn't here and she's not coming back. Our marriage is over. That's all you need to know."

"No it isn't. She's the woman that you chose over Cameron, our mate. She's the one that you chose over your own unborn child. So I need answers. I need to know what happened between you two and where she is now." Rafe was adamant, he wasn't about to let it go.

Realizing this Hunter gave in and spoke of Bethany's betrayal for the first time. "I made a huge mistake ten years ago. Under pressure from Bethany and trying not to arouse her suspicions and also against my better judgement, I slept with her." Rafe clenched his teeth at this, but he didn't interrupt Hunter.

"A few weeks later at Thanks Giving Dinner she announced that she was pregnant. To say that I was shocked, would be a definite understatement. My mind reeled at what I was going to tell Cameron. He had called Thorne earlier and asked to see me up at the cabin. He had been injured at school a few days earlier. But apart from his injury something else was off with him. But I had no idea just exactly what was up with him." Hunter took a deep breath as the memories flooded his mind. They were as painful as ever.

"I don't need to tell you of the disaster that happened up at the cabin. Cameron probably told you all of that already." Rafe nodded his head, yes he did indeed know about what happened between Cameron and Hunter at the cabin. Cameron had told him everything.

"A couple weeks later I got married to Bethany. Cameron came to watch, I didn't even know that he was here. Not until Thorne told me. In his anger he also blurted out that Cameron was pregnant. But by then it was too late. I was married and Cameron was gone." Hunter paused in his recounting to collect his thoughts and to get his emotions under control.

"My marriage was a disaster from the very beginning. Doomed to fail. I didn't love her and I quickly came to see that she didn't love me. All she wanted was to be queen and she did everything to ensure that. For a while we pretended that we were the happy couple, she was pregnant after all. But I never touched her and we slept in separate rooms. I was also looking for Cameron, with Thorne's help. He was the only one I trusted."

"It wasn't until the birth of the babies that I realized just how far Bethany had gone to ensure our marriage and that she would become my queen. She gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl. They were beautiful. But the moment I saw them, scented them, I knew that they weren't mine. The true gravity of the mistake that I had made came crashing down on me in that moment. I had given up my true mate and unborn son for a lie." Hunter's voice trailed off. Rafe gave him a moment to collect himself before saying.

"She must have known that you would be able to tell that the babies weren't yours." Rafe's voice was puzzled.

"She'd edged her bets. She truly didn't know who was the father until after they were born. I could see the panic in her eyes when she realized that she had gambled and lost." Hunter's voice was filled with disdain.

"So what did you do?" Rafe 's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I compounded my mistake by not dissolving the marriage immediately. Instead I accepted them. I claimed them as my own. The situation that they were now apart of wasn't their fault. I was not about to let them suffer for it. What I didn’t realize is that I was damning us all to ten years of complete and utter misery."

"Now I know why I've always hated you. You're a world class idiot. Always have to be the good guy, always trying to do the honourable thing, always putting other people first. Not a single selfish bone in your body." Rafe's voice was filled with disgust at Hunter. "Why the hell didn't you kick the lying, scheming bitch to curb? It would have saved you and your children all that misery"

"Because as much as I hated her for what she had done, the babies needed their mother. I was not about to take them away from her and deny them their mother. I just didn't know that Bethany didn't have a single motherly bone in her body until it was too late. " Hunter yelled at Rafe. "I don't expect you to understand. You've always been a selfish, self centered bastard."

"You're damn right about that. I'm the biggest son of a bitch there is. There is no denying that. But at least I always have my priorities straight. Nothing and no one is more important to me than Cameron and Liam. Everything and everyone else can go to hell for all I care." Rafe voice filled with rage at what he deemed as Hunter's stupidity.

"Where are the kids? And where the hell is that bitch now?" Rafe was barely holding on to his control.

"The kids are at boarding school. I had to get them out of here. Away from Bethany and her poison. They'll be here in a few weeks for winter break. Bethany is back at her parents. After Thorne told me that Cameron was coming home, I moved fast to get her out of here. I have already petitioned the High Council to dissolve our marriage. I should be getting an answer from them soon."

"Well you didn't move fast enough. Your kids have been living in misery and so have you. Now considering all that I have told you about the attacks on Cameron and Liam over the last ten years."

"Have you ever considered that she may be the one behind the attempts to kill Cameron and Liam?" Rafe's words dropped like a nuclear bomb in the room.