"Hello, Mate," Alpha Trent said simply.
"Trent," Casey choked out, relief washing over her. She didn't know if she walked over or flew over to him, but in an instant, she found herself across the council room, flinging herself at her mate, as she breathed in his familiar scent. "Trent… oh, Trent," she murmured, unable to form coherent speech. Somehow, being near him, seeing him awake and out of a coma, being able to hold him, was enough.
Casey felt exhilarated. Now that he was okay, they could go home, and everything would return to normal. Her wolf purred within her as she drew in his scent for the second time. She wondered what he would say when she told him he was going to be a father very soon, that she was pregnant with their first child.
"Trent," she whispered again, pressing herself even tighter against him, but something was wrong… Trent's arms did not come around to hold her, and he did not say anything, merely stood motionless in front of her. Casey pulled back to stare into his dark blue eyes, and what she saw there sent a jab of painful fear shooting through her heart.
Trent's eyes were cold, unfeeling, and there was a look of disgust in his expression. "You are right – mate," he added the 'mate' title in a mocking afterthought. "No one has the right to reject you on my behalf, so let me do it myself. I, Trent, Alpha of the Redmoon pack, reject you, Casey, as my mate. Now, accept the rejection."
Casey stood stunned for several minutes, unable to process what had just happened. While she stood accused by the council, she had no doubt that if the Alpha recovered immediately, he would stand by her. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that the love of her life, her mate, the only man she had ever loved, the first man she had been with, the man she was pregnant for, would so callously choose to reject her.
Her voice was so tiny and broken, she barely even heard herself. "May I know on what grounds you reject me?"
"Grounds, ha!" Trent gave a short bark of laughter that was jarring in its harshness. Clear blue eyes stared into his dark blue ones, and Casey shuddered at the barely concealed rage she saw in them. "Okay, here's your grounds," he continued. "I am rejecting you because you are not only a deceitful little bitch, but also because you are a pathological liar and a cheat. You tried to kill me, all so that you could be with your many lovers, one for which you are currently pregnant, while under my roof!" His voice was raised at the last phrase, and a new fear sank into Casey's heart as she realized he really meant to do her harm.
"How did you know?" she whispered softly as fresh tears clouded her eyes. She should have been specific; she should have asked, 'How did you know I was pregnant?' Unknown to her, the way she asked the question only made her look more guilty.
Alpha Trent smirked, calm, calculated, and dangerous. "You want to know how I know? Step out, Macey."
Just then, her twin sister stepped into the chamber, dressed in rags of all things. Casey's heart skipped several beats as she stared into the wicked eyes of her twin sister. As always, both sisters looked like carbon copies of each other. The same gold-red hair, the same large clear blue eyes, the heart-shaped face, and bowed lips. They were both enchantingly beautiful women, but while one had a heart as lovely as her physical appearance, the other had a heart of stone. Cold, calculating granite where her heart should have been.
"Macey?" Casey asked softly, a jumble of emotions choking her. "…you will accept every single allegation I'll lay on you, and in exchange…." The words of her sister spoken some hours back ricocheted in her mind, and Casey suddenly realized what everything was all about. Those allegations came from Macey; that was how Trent had known she was pregnant – Macey had told him.
"Do you deny the allegations?" Macey asked, with a look of utter innocence, only Casey saw the evil that shone through her eyes.
Casey stared at her sister. She had made a wolf-binding vow not to deny these allegations, in exchange for the recovery of the Alpha. She opened her mouth and shut it again wordlessly. If she dared deny the allegations, she would lose her wolf.
"I do not deny it," she said finally, her eyes staring up pleadingly at her mate, daring him to see beyond the lie in her words to whom she really was, to see how much she loved him.
"Good. Then I reject you as my mate." Alpha Trent's voice was clipped, and there was a brief look of pain in his eyes, as though he had expected her to deny it. It's not true, my love! Casey's heart screamed silently at him from the other end of the room, but she remained silent.
"I accept your rejection," Casey said, with her head bowed to hide the tears that had sprung up.
Macey merely smirked. "Don't act like such a darling now, Casey, with your tears and all. I know you're a wicked and mean person. You have maltreated me all my life, and now that the moon blessed you with such an awesome person as Alpha Trent, you tried to kill him, all because of your many lovers."
A brief look passed through Alpha Trent's expression, but it was too quick for anyone to read. The betas in council remained deathly quiet, waiting for the next order from their Alpha, but what he said next shocked everyone.
"It is done. I reject you as my mate, Casey, and in your place, I name Macey as my new Luna."