I furrow my brows, confused. My real mate? Landon is my real mate.

Jada holds her hand out to me.

"He will be here, as Kaden is," she murmurs. I don't take her hand. What is this girl going on about? I am mated to Landon, and that is it. There is nothing she can do about it, no matter what she says.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about," I tell her. She narrows her eyes at me, looking me up and down as if I'm some foreign creature she has never seen before in her life.

"Don't you know about mates?" She questions.

"Of course, I do, I am mated after all," I say blandly. She shakes her head at me, running her fingers through her hair as if she can't begin to comprehend why exactly I'm saying these things.

She takes a deep breath. "After the war happened, and Packs formed, the Power Pack were one of the many Packs to believe in military over religion. I had no idea they didn't teach you about mates."

"We grow up, and chose who we see ourselves fit with," I tell her. She slaps her hand on her forehead.

"I can tell you're having a hard time understanding..." She mutters, exasperated.

"How would you know who I'm compatible with anyway?" I question angrily. This girl has known me for a matter of minutes, and now she's telling me who I'm destined to be with. Not that it matters anyway, it's Landon's mark upon my neck.

Jada didn't say anything, but instead, grabbed my hand. She dragged back the way we came, dodging the same obstacles with ease. I tried to question her on where she was taking me, but she remained to herself.

"Your mate, I have been friends with for many years talks about you often. You two are mates, I know it," she said, swiftly pulling me around a sharp corner. My eyebrows furrowed. It seems everyone around here knows more about my life than I do.

"Althea!"

I turn at the sound of a male voice. It's Alpha Rylan, storming across the courtyard toward me. He looks worried, like he's been searching for me for a while. It can't have been that long...

Surprised at the sight of an Alpha, Jada lets go of my hands and runs off in the opposite direction, not turning back. So, I'm left alone to deal with the frustrated looking Alpha, who isn't even my own Alpha.

"Where have you been?" He questions me. He's breathing heavily, I notice, when he makes it close to me. I expected him to grab me, so I couldn't run, but he doesn't. Maybe he knows I'm not that stupid. I wouldn't run now anyway, as I trust Rylan more than anyone else.

"Some girl told me I have a mate," I said. The way I said that felt foreign. He nods his head, and for a moment I thought he was going to say Landon's name.

Instead, he says, "Yes, Coen."

I frown. "Who?"

"Coen. A personal Guard of Alpha Kaden," he tells me solemnly. Coen. I have never heard that name in my life, let alone known he would be someone I'm destined to be with.

"How do you know?" I ask. My head is throbbing. If it's the heat, or the information I've been presented with, I don't know. Rylan sighed, like I should know these things about him.

"I'm the Alpha of the Purity Pack. The Moon Goddess tells me," he says. I fight to keep my face expressionless. The Moon Goddess is something that I don't truly believe in, but everyone is different.

He holds out hand out to me to take. I do. "I think we should get this trial over with."

I sigh. He's right. Jada said she would try help, but I don't know how much one girl can do to save me from imprisonment for my entire life.

***

The court house is like nothing I have ever seen before. We have court houses back at home, in my Pack, but nothing compared to this. The interior is frightening. Pictures of past judges hang from the wall. Alphas are usually the judges, with little exceptions. Today, Alpha Kael will be taking my case.

And deciding my verdict.

A jury sits around the edges of the room. They all look uniform, staring at me with disgust in their eyes. I shrink back in the box I've been forced to sit in. I'm even elevated over everyone else, like my sins are being paraded to all that dare look.

Kael isn't there when we arrive. I'm left standing there for what feels like hours, wishing I wasn't. My heart aches for Landon. His comfort would go a long way at this point.

Kaden stands by the door, looking up at me. All I can do is glare at him, even though a lot more would please me greatly. A man stands beside him, dressed in a long coat. He's similar to Kaden, although smaller, with lighter hair. Every Vengeance Pack member looks similar, because there isn't much diversity.

He meets my eyes, and I feel something stir in my stomach. Do I know him?

Suddenly Jada barges into the room. Her cheeks are flushed, her clothes rumpled. She brushes past Kaden without a fear, and stands at the edge of the jury seats. She seems distracted by something.

We meet gazes, and she winks. This makes me relax a little. Did she manage to convince him to let me free? How she could do it is something I don't really want to think about...

Alpha Kael walks in a little while later, fixing his shirt a bit. They definitely were up to something.

I glance at Jada again to see her nodding toward the man standing beside Kaden. He smiles at me, and I know instantly what she means.

That man is supposedly my mate.

Coen.

"Althea," I hear a familiar voice say. I glance down from my box, to see Landon within the crowd below me. He looks at me with a pained expression, but tried to give me a smile.

I smile back, trying to show him I'm not scared. Having to be shouldn't be a thing, if Jada did what she promised.

The court is bustling. Werewolf court rooms require three individual powers to control someone's fate. The judge, which is usually the Alpha. The jury, made up of important Pack members, and the viewers. The viewers get little say, but enough to tip over fate.

But over all, it will be Kael that decides who walks out of here a free man.

The ceremony begins with Kael introducing himself, then me. He gives a brief history of my background, and what I may have done. Supposedly. He presents the evidence himself, and the suspects. Everyone goes stiff when Kaden's name is mentioned.

This whole thing lasts more than two hours. It drags on and on, Kael mentioning a bunch of Werewolf jargon I'm unsure of.

I keep finding my gaze fluttering back to Coen as Kael talks. He's staring at me blatantly, not worrying about being polite or anything. I'm hardly taking in what Dallas is saying, but at times, it's as if he's batting for my team.

By the time it comes for me to make my one and only plea in my defence, I'm stuck for words.

Everyone turns and looks at me, as I stutter over my words. What should I say.

"I can't be the killer..." Is all that comes out of my mouth. Kael looks at me, his head tilted to the side.

"And why is that?"

"Because Alpha Kaden is more of a killer than me. It's obvious he planted the knife in my house. If you ask my parents, I haven't been home in a long time. I've been spending time with my mate, Alpha Landon. Also, I would like to say that some man from the Vengeance Pack killed Cyrus. You can check Landon's criminal records from the prison below his estate. Kace, is his name. He is dead now. But he killed Cyrus, you will find. I would also like you to know that I have never killed before, or even done anything remotely illegal. I am an innocent person, who does not deserve to be locked away in prison," I finish.

The silence stretches beyond the court. Instantly, I can tell my word has gotten through to them.

"Right, well, I guess we will take a moment to come to a decision," Kael said. He stood up swiftly, gathering has papers before leaving the room. Discussion began, and I was let out of the tiny box I've been stuck in.

As I went outside to get some air, I hoped I would bump into Landon. I needed to see him to tell him I love him, before Alpha Kael made his final decision.

Instead, I saw Jada.

She ran at me, a smile on her face.

"I think you're going to get out of this alive," she said happily, grabbing my shoulders and giving them a little shake. I forced a smile onto my face, but I'm not so sure.

Suddenly I see Kaden from the side of my view. He strides over, a look of anger on his handsome face. I hate to think of him as attractive. I'm sure he belongs to someone else out there.

"I'll give you two a moment?" Jada said nervously, seeing Kaden approaching. I want to tell her to stay, but she skips off quickly. I stand my ground, waiting for him to why to me, and hopefully not kill me.

"Althea."

"Kaden."

"I hope you know that you will pay for what happened to Kace. Whether Kael is the dictator of that, or me," he mutters to me. He's talking lowly so no one can hear his threats, which worry me to the core.

"Back off," I growl, pushing him by his chest. He doesn't even flinch.

"Do you really want to try me?" He questions, his voice dark.

"Kaden, leave her alone."

Kaden turns, and I look from behind him. His personal guard, Coen, approaches.

My mate. Apparently.