At this, the gathering began to murmur as one. Shouts of “Liar!” came from somewhere in the back of crowd.

“But please, don’t take my word for it, fellow wolves. I am not of your pack. I am the Beta of the Western pack. Why would you believe me? Come closer and see their fraud with your own eyes.”

Emilian motioned for Ivan and Marian to remove the lids of the two wooden boxes that he had strategically placed behind him, each flanking him on either side.  Inside the boxes were the two coffins, the lids of which Ivan and Marian promptly removed and dramatically cast aside with their superhuman strength. Emilian stepped closer and tried not to smile as the wolves around him held their collective breath inching closer wanting to see inside. Most were hoping against hope that the coffins were empty or that they held someone other than their beloved Alphas. But a sinking feeling was working its way around the crowd, like a plague infecting a village―unstoppable, uncontrollable, spreading from wolf to wolf. They knew the terrible truth was about to confront them.

“Behold your beloved Alphas,” Emilian said pitifully with his eyebrows raised, as if he were speaking to a handful of dull six year olds. He stepped out of their view and swept his hands across the coffins. “You can see that this is indeed Daciana and Stefan. We have unearthed the true pair and this is not some farce. Note that she has no markings on her body. She was never truly mated.” There were gasps as the group crowded in closer, jostling each other to get a better view.

“It’s true!” He heard one say. There would be anger at Stefan for his actions, but there would also be pain over the betrayal of the ones that were pledged to protect them.

“We want to hear from Vasile! We want to know what our Alpha has to say!” A shout sounded out above the rising murmurings of the crowd.

And so it begins, thought Emilian as a sly smile stretched across his face.

“Are you just going to rush out there with fangs bared and claws unsheathed?” Alin asked before Vasile could reach the doorway to the hall. “Perhaps, it would be wiser to let one of us go assess the situation.”

“My parents’ bodies have been disturbed from their resting place and now lie open, before the Great Luna and the rest of the world, with my mother’s bare back showing. So, yes, I am going to run out there with my fangs bared ready to tear into the mongrel that would do such a thing. What part of the situation, exactly, do you think you need to assess?” Vasile’s voice was slow and deliberate and the underlying threat beneath it made it clear that Alin’s answer had better be to the Alpha’s liking.

“I do not doubt your ability to defend yourself, Alpha,” Alin began carefully. “But, many times I have heard not only you but also your father say that only fools rush in. I plead with you now to hold your wolfuntil you know all the players and what their motives are.”

“I agree with him, Vasile,” Ion said and Nicu nodded as well.

Vasile did not like to consider himself a fool, and he knew that if three of his wolves were telling him to slow down, then maybe he had better listen. His wolf wanted to tear through the castle out into the courtyard and start ripping flesh from bone, but there was a reason that the Great Luna joined the strength of the wolf with the wisdom of the man. He turned back from the door and looked at the three wolves who stood waiting for his decision and his command.

“Fine, I will wait, but before you go out there, there is something you all need to know.” He took a deep breath as the weight of the world, and something even more than that, settled on his shoulders. He suddenly felt tired, worn, and hollow, as though everything inside of him had been poured out right there on the floor and now only a husk was left. He told them everything he had told Anghel—about his father losing his true mate, about him falling in love with his mother despite the fact that she was not his true mate, and about how they kept the secret all these years. He told them about the tattoos and the plan for one of them to take their life in the event of the other’s death. He told them of their love for each other and how still it had not been enough to save his father from the darkness. He thought he would be emotional if he ever had to tell the story again, but for some reason there was nothing―no sadness, no grief, no anger―just nothing.

“Vasile,” Nicu said. “Are you alright, Alpha?”

Vasile rubbed his forehead as though that might somehow wipe away the headache that had begun to pulsate behind his eyes and he nodded slowly. “I am fine. I have dealt with their loss and cannot fault them for choosing a life together. Up until a decade or so ago my father was a good Alpha. He wasn't perfect, but he loved this pack, and he continued to love it. He just could not show it the way he needed to.”

“We do not hold it against your parents,” Alin spoke for the three of them and the others muttered their agreement.

“Someone has discovered that my parents were not true mates.” Vasile motioned towards the window. “And now they are alerting the pack of their Alphas’ treachery. They will not want me as their Alpha, regardless of my standing with them; they will see me as the product of a lie and they will not trust me.”

“Not everyone,” Ion argued.

“The majority will and that is all it takes for an Alpha to lose control of his pack.”

“Who knew this information besides you?” Alin asked.

“I told only Anghel, just days after their deaths. And I told my mate.”

“Would he…,” Alin started but was cut off.