Mated in the shadow of my sister by lady gwen
Chapter 174

Chapter 0174

(Beta Robert POV)

Losing my daughter, Stephanie, was one of the hardest things that has ever happened to me. Her death.

almost killed my mate, and it almost killed me too. No parent should ever have to deal with the loss of

his or her pup.

Did I sleep with Sheila? Yes. I am not proud of it. But I needed comfort. Margie was obsessed with

Stephanie’s death. Everything in Margie’s mind revolved around Stephanie and her own feelings of loss. I

got ignored. My feelings got ignored. My pain got ignored.

I started volunteering to go on even more business trips than normal. Business trips have always been

my way of escaping, and of taking a break. I could not spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week comforting

Margie. Even before Stephanie died, Margie was always upset about something. I needed time for

myself too.

One day not that long ago, Sheila showed up at one of the hotels that I was staying at. She invited me to

go and have a drink with her. It seemed innocent enough, so I agreed. We had a couple of drinks, and

she asked me how I was. She asked me about me. It felt nice. It had been a long time since anyone had

asked me about me. I was always the one taking care of Margie; not the other way around.

fit.

One thing led to another. I am not proud of it. Sheila is less than half my age, and she has gotten around. a lot. I had had a few drinks, but I was not drunk and I was not drugged. I was just sad and lonely. And

Sheila made me feel good.

When I got home from my trip a few days later, Margie asked me if I had had a good time. I knew exactly what she was referring to. I felt awful. But, I also knew that she would forgive me. She had before. 1

I know you have already heard about what happened with Tyler. The piece of that story that even Luna Jane does not know is that I succumbed to the pressure my family put on me; I slept with one of the she- wolves that my parents picked for me. I was desperate to prove that I was not the problem; that I could produce an heir. So I slept with another she-wolf. Just once. It happened in between Tyler and Stephanie. Again, I was in mourning. Margie was so focused on her own pain that she did not care

about mine.

Thankfully, the she-wolf I slept with did not get pregnant, but Margie did and just a few weeks later. I

never cheated again. Until Sheila, that is.

I am not trying to justify what I did. I regret it immensely. Most wolves never cheat on their mates, and I cheated on mine twice. It is because of the guilt that I felt that I allowed Margie to spin out of control.

Yes, I know Margie has done some bad things. Okay, a lot of bad things. And I know that her obsession

I also know that James has been drawn to my youngest daughter for a long time. It was not a surprise to me that James’ mate was actually Lily not Stephanie. I may have said otherwise when Nick brought it up, but I was lying to him and to myself. I never would have forced James to marry Lily, but a part of me had secretly wondered for a long time whether the two of them were mates. I just never said anything because it would have devastated Margie.

Despite everything that Margie has done, she is my mate. I love her. She has forgiven me for the ways. that I have wronged her, I owe it to her to forgive her for the ways that she has messed up too. Especially when my own actions led to her being the way that she is.

When she got pregnant with Stephanie, I encouraged her obsession with the pregnancy. I also

encouraged every fantasy and dream that Margie had associated with Stephanie. Even the crazy ones.

Even the ones that hurt other people.

I love my youngest daughter, but Lily does not need me. She is strong; she always has been. Even when Margie was beating her yes, I was aware of at least some of it- she kept her head held high. Even when others bullied her yes, I was aware of that too- she persevered.

Now, at the time, I told myself Lily’s pain was acceptable because she deserved it… but even then a small voice inside me knew that it was wrong: I knew I should blame myself for Stephanie’s death at least as

much as I blamed Lily.

What was it like to find out that Stephanie was actually alive? That her death had been faked by my daughter-in-law after Stephanie tried to fake her own kidnapping? That the guilt that I had felt was

misplaced? That the anger I had felt towards Lily was unjustified?

I do not know. I really do not know. I am still in shock.

My mate is happy. She is already telling people that James and Stephanie are second-chance mates.

She has absolutely no reason to think that, but I suppose it allows her to save face with the community.

Am I really in a position to deny it? After all, the more Margie focuses on Stephanie, and on the idea of

Stephanie and James being mated, the less Margie will focus on my recent affair with Sheila. And the

fact that Sheila is likely carrying my pup.

Plus, I have bigger problems to worry about than whether James and Stephanie are mates. The werewolf council heard everything that Stephanie, Sheila, and Jenny talked about. Nothing they said implicated Alpha Randall and I, but their argument definitely raised a lot of serious concerns. Council members have already said that they plan to stick around the pack for the next few weeks to make sure that everything is running appropriately.

They have placed Stephanie and Sheila on house arrest, and they are asking questions about elders in the care homes who may have been abused. They also want to know whether it is true that my son was

I know Margie is going to fight back against Stephanie receiving any type of punishment, but I do not

know how much leverage she or I really have.

Am I glad that Stephanie is alive? Of course I am. But what does this mean for Lily? What does this

mean for the life that I have built with my mate? What does this mean for any of us?

How do I feel about everything I heard?

Numb.

I feel numb.

And scared. As a beta wolf, I am not scared of anything. But today? Today I am scared.

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