Luna of Mine (22 page)

These
Alphas
went to great lengths to keep
their lie a secret. Stefan went so far as tattooing his own skin to
simulate the mate markings. And each of them planned their own
suicide in the event that the other died, which is exactly what
happened—Daciana took her own life rather than letting their
deception be revealed!”

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.

“
A
re 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 wolf until 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.

“
No,
neither would Alina,” Vasile said as he shook his head adamantly.
“He would not have told anyone save his mate, but then I consider
them one so what I said to him I knew he would say to her. If I had
been worried that she would not be able to keep it to herself, then
I would not have even told Anghel.”

Ion had once again made
his way back over to the window. His eyes narrowed on the crowd
below. His jaw tightened as he finally was able to make out who was
leading the mob. “Emilian.” The name rumbled in his
chest.

“Anghel’s Beta?” Vasile
looked at Ion. “Is he out there?”

“
He is
the traitor,” Ion said as he watched the man who he knew was
ambitious enough to dig up someone’s body, even that of a beloved
Alpha, in order to gain whatever it was he wanted. Emilian called
out to the crowd, taunting them as he encouraged their agitation to
grow.

Vasile’s eyes narrowed.
“Anghel would not have told Emilian. The only reason Emilian is his
Beta is because no one has won a challenge against him, but Anghel
does not trust him.”

“Why does he not kill him
then?” Nicu growled.

“
Because
without due cause that is called murder, Nicu,” Alin answered for
Vasile.

“Only if you are caught,”
Nicu muttered.

“
What
would you have us do, Alpha?” Ion asked, ignoring the argument
between Alin and Nicu. Though he spoke to Vasile, his eyes were
still on the crowd.

Vasile’s initial response
had been to go out and declare war. Seeing his parents’ bodies,
lifeless and showing the beginnings of decay, had angered him. But
now after telling his three top wolves, wolves that had served his
father for so long, about the lies they had been told, he could not
justify a war. The pack needed a strong Alpha in this turbulent
time. He would not step down. He knew what it took to keep a pack
together, he understood just how strong an Alpha needed to be, and
he refused to let his pack fall under the leadership of someone not
capable of keeping control.

“We will fight with you,”
Alin said taking a step towards him.

Vasile had not realized
that he had spoken out loud. He looked at each of the faces of the
men now all staring at him with nearly glowing eyes. “You could
die.”

“”
Why are
we warriors if not for such a time as this?” Nicu
asked.

Vasile’s eyes glowed
bright wolf blue as he looked at him. “True enough, and warriors we
are. We will not go quietly into the night. Though I understand the
anger the pack will have at my parents, I cannot have them making
foolish decisions based on their emotions.

“
Then
let us fight,” Ion told him. “We must stand strong to keep our pack
together.”

“Aye,” both Alin and Nicu
said at the same time, agreeing with the warrior.

“
So be
it,” Vasile said gravely. He had a bad feeling about this, and yet
he could not back down. Alphas did not stay Alphas because they
walked away when things got tough. They deserved to be Alphas
because they did what was necessary even in the most dire of
situations. They stuck, they stood until they could not stand any
more, and even then they did not concede. Only if it was to protect
another did they ever back down because protecting their own was
the only thing more important than maintaining control of the pack,
which might be jeopardized if an Alpha was seen backing down from a
challenge.

“
I hope
that I can live a life worthy of your loyalty,” he told them as he
motioned for them to stand and then once again headed for the door.
“We know who our enemy is. We know what he wants. Let us not keep
him waiting any longer.”

I
on followed behind Vasile watching his Alpha closely for any
sign that the separation from his mate would interfere with his
ability to fight because there was definitely a fight ahead of
them. And more than likely lives were about to be lost.

V
asile pushed apart the doors of the castle that opened into
the courtyard. The voices that had been calling out, yelling and
growling, suddenly stopped, and the entire area was plunged into
near silence. Only the sound of the wind whispering through the
leaves and the occasional chirp of a bird could be heard. He
stepped out onto the highest step that allowed him to look out at
everyone and scanned the crowd slowly until his eyes landed on
Emilian. The Beta stood directly in front of the two coffins where
his parents lay. His relaxed shoulders, loose stance, and the
slight smirk on his lips told Vasile that the Beta knew there was
nothing Vasile could say to salvage the situation. Then the Beta
shifted his position and Vasile saw his mother’s back, bare for all
to see all and completely free of any markings. Any sense of
staying calm fled. How dare this male think he could violate his
mother’s resting place, not matter what the reason? How dare he
think to shame him, as if he did not feel enough shame without
someone rubbing his face in the choice his parents made―wrong or
right. Nicu, Ion, and Alin must have felt the shift in his emotions
because they were suddenly standing at the ready next to
him.

“
What
have….” Those were the only two words Emilian got out before Vasile
lunged. His fist connected with Emilian’s face with satisfying
crunch.

He did not let go
completely; he could not. He was pretty sure that if he ever let
his wolf lose, especially after having been so long separated from
Alina, he would never regain control of him. He heard the yells and
snarls around him, and yet he continued to hit Emilian in the face.
The Beta seemed to gather himself after the surprise of being
attacked and then began his own assault on Vasile. The first punch
that met his cheek stung, but it only served to enrage his wolf and
the man further. He felt the wolf in him stirring, pushing to take
over more and more of the fight. His focus was so centered on the
Beta that he barely noticed the fighting going on around
him.