Hazel felt betrayed.
Here she stood, before Alpha Mortis and his son. His son, her mate!
"I didn't do what the Luna accused me of doing!" Hazel shrieked. "I did not.....cheat on you!"
"And how are we supposed to believe you?" Alpha Mortis snapped.
"You were all but caught in the same room with the man!"
"Yes, but I wasn't—"
"Silence, young lady!"
Hazel swallowed her next words. Her heart was beating a rhythm, her hands were sweaty, and her eyes were prickly with tears unshed.
She turned to Kieran, who was sitting beside his father and staring fixedly at a point above her head. "Kieran, what the hell is this supposed to be?"
Kieran didn't look at her.
She was all alone in this trial, as though she was stranded on an island.
Hazel looked around the throne room, hoping to find a friendly face or a supporting figure. She saw nobody. Her parents were long dead, and her friend Zelda had been thrown into the dungeons for taking her side.
There were at least a thousand people in the large throne room, but all she could see were the eyes of judgemental people: whispering behind raised hands. All she could see were the grimaces on their faces, the upturning of their lips, and the curses flung at her like sharp daggers.
They all believed Luna's words. And why should they not? Who would believe the words of a mere Omega over the claims of a whole Luna?
"You should be disgusted by your behavior." The Luna herself spat at Hazel, leaning away from her throne. Her eyes blazed with a fire that scared Hazel.
"Luna Rhea, you must believe me!" She pleaded. "What you saw, or thought you saw, was merely me tending to—"
"I will hear not one word from you!" Luna Rhea snapped. Then she turned to a wolf elder, who was standing in the corner.
She nodded at him once, and he walked forward.
The elderly man stopped in the middle of the throne room, then turned to Prince Kieran and whispered. "Do you think we really should proceed with this trial? We're doing it at too short a notice and certain procedures need to be followed—"
Alpha Mortis answered on behalf of his son. "Continue, Jonas. We do not care about any procedure." He snapped, his eyes fixed resolutely on the wolf elder.
The old man—or Jonas—shifted impatiently. "But Alpha Mortis, that is not how things are done!"
"I said, I do not care! Do it now or I'll do it myself." Alpha Mortis growled.
"Alright, Alpha." Disgruntled, Elder Jonas turned to me. "Are you ready, Miss Hazel?"
Hazel shrugged bitterly. "Do I have a choice in this? All of you royalty have the upper hand, after all."
"That is no way to talk to the Alpha and Luna, Miss Hazel." Jonas bellowed, unusually loud for such an old man.
The man continued. "According to Luna Rhea, she caught you in very....compromising conditions. In other words, you were sighted with someone other than our prince, Prince Kieran."
Hazel narrowed her eyes. "If only you would let me explain myself—"
He continued as though he hadn't heard her. "You were discovered in a situation that is unbecoming of the mate of a Prince by several eyewitnesses, including our own Luna, Luna Rhea. This trial was thus set up to prove your innocence or guilt."
Hazel's mouth gaped open. "So, that's it? You're not going to hear what I have to say? Kieran and the Alpha are—"
"That's the prince to you, Miss Hazel." The elder cut in.
"At least, let me explain myself—"
"You lost the right to do that when you broke my poor son's heart!" The Luna roared, cutting her off.
Silence permeated the entire throne room as Hazel stood in its middle, feeling her whole world crash around her. This trial had been fixed and unfair from the very beginning. She wasn't even given a chance to explain her side of the story!
"I think, in the very end, it is left to Kieran to pass a judgment." Elder Jonas ventured.
"You're right, Jonas." Alpha Mortis agreed. Then he turned to Kieran and nodded once. "I trust you'll make the right judgment."
A tiny relief coursed through Hazel's heart. Kieran would make the judgment, thank the Goddess. He would be fair, she knew it. Kieran was never one to judge unfairly. And, above all, he loved her too much to be wicked to her.
Hazel watched in anticipation as Kieran gestured to the elder to step back, and he took the elderly man's place. His eyes roamed the silent room for a few seconds, and she prayed within her for him to look her way.
Please, Kieran, she thought. Look into my eyes and tell me you're with me. Tell me you don't believe your mother's lies.
Then his striking green eyes finally met hers, and what Hazel saw in them killed all the hope within her.
He believed every word his mother had said.
Oh, Goddess.
"Kieran...." Hazel whispered, shaking her head slowly.
"Hazel," he started, and she almost melted on the spot. "Do you deny these allegations?"
"Of course, I deny them, Kieran. In all the time we've been together, have I ever shown any signs of cheating? Why would I start now?"
"I don't know, why would you?" He snapped at her.
"I know nothing about this, Kieran," Hazel insisted. "You know I can't do this. You're my mate—"
"And I thought you were mine," he said in a quiet voice.
"Kieran...please don't do anything rash—"
"You should have thought of that before you did what you did. I was supposed to be your only man, you were supposed to be untainted, undefiled!" He pointed out. "But you went out and....sullied yourself."
"And I still am! I'm still undefiled. I didn't fucking do anything, Kieran! At least let me defend myself!"
"You lost that right when you cheated on me—"
"Goddess, Kieran! Be reasonable!" She roared suddenly, then stopped. The both of them were panting with the exertion of their battle of words now. The entire courtroom was silent, watching their back-and-forth.
Hazel would never have imagined he would do this to her. She couldn't believe he would change overnight. Kieran had been the most wonderful mate, gentle with her, and her emotions. His mother's lies had changed him so abruptly.
"Kieran, please..." She pleaded, but he cut her off with his hand raised.
"I, Prince Kieran, reject you, Hazel, as my mate. You will roam this earth devoid of a mate's warmth, as I hereby banish you from this pack. You shall take no belongings..."
The rest of the words faded into a hum in her ears. Her eyes never left his as he rambled on, his eyes full of wrath and hatred. Slowly the first tear dropped from her eye and a sob escaped her lips.
Hazel pressed a hand over her mouth, then stumbled away from the middle of the throne room. She turned and ran through the gathered pack members as several eyes followed her, then scrambled out of the throne room, away from the spiteful people and her mate's hatred.