Vindicator

Chapter 46

Karma's breath caught in her throat at Chance's question, and Alessia nearly barrelled past her defences to answer in her stead. At the last moment, Karma was able to wrench away from Alessia before she could take control.

Chance noticed that Karma's heart rate picked up suddenly, and her breathing was off after his question. He frowned, realizing she likely didn't have a great experience if that was her reaction.

"Sorry, that's a bit of a personal question I suppose...You don't have to answer" he said.

Karma gave him a weak but appreciative smile, even though he couldn't see it. She leaned her cheek against his back, and the two fell into silence. As the silence dragged out, Karma realized that Chance's breathing was uneven and sometimes ragged, and he was tensing up randomly.

"This isn't enough contact, is it?" She asked softly, not wanting to startle him when she broke their silence. Nonetheless, Chance had been so focused on trying to contain his own agony that the sudden sound of Karma's voice caused him to jump. He let out a breath he'd been holding and shook his head.

"No, but it's better than having no contact at all. It's fine, I don't want to make you uncomfortable" he said.

"He's so considerate" Alessia said adoringly, eliciting a scoff from Karma.

"He wasn't considerate just ten minutes ago when he was about to cause a civil war" Karma argued.

Alessia snorted, not dignifying Karma's response with an answer, which was fine by Karma.

Snapping back to the conversation at hand, Karma let go of Chance to roll up her sleeves. Taking a steadying breath, she then wrapped her arms back around him and slid her hands under his shirt so the skin on her hands and arms made contact with his stomach and sides. As she slid her hands along his skin, she blushed at the feeling of the indentations along his rock-hard abs and tried not to think about them. She gasped in surprise, though, when she felt Chance reach down to catch her hands in his. With his hands atop hers, he entwined their fingers then splayed her hands over his stomach to try to absorb as much of that cooling sensation she delivered as he could. The two remained in their awkward embrace, once more opting for silence; for Chance to concentrate on his pain, and for Karma to think of anything but Chance.

Before this latest bout of torture had ended, the Queen came rushing back into the parlour with Tom and the King on her heels. The three paused awkwardly when they saw Karma and Chance cuddled up together, as if not knowing what to do. Truthfully, the scene was just so bizarre given their current news that it just gave them pause; however, Chance irritably barked at them to get over themselves.

Aless gave Chance a disapproving scowl, but his words nonetheless snapped her out of it. "We have news back from the intelligence team. They were able to determine that Theo was texting a number just before he disappeared, and that the number belonged to a young woman from the Red Moon pack. Her name is Tiffany Duko, and her grandfather is the elder for the Red Moon pack...Patrick Duko" she explained.

Chance bared his teeth and growled, jealousy pulsing through him at the idea of his mate contacting this she-wolf. Karma, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all and just let out a sigh. It was good that they had a name, she'd be able to track this Tiffany down in the Lupine realm.

"And then what?" Alessia asked flatly. "Kill her?"

"No" Karma answered back in irritation, "but maybe...We take over her mind once we confirm she's involved."

"That could destroy her mind if we don't have consent" Alessia pointed out.

"Well, if she's evil, there are sometimes consequences. Maybe she'll point us to someone else we can use who is even more despicable and deserving, though" Karma suggested hopefully.

"Maybe" Alessia agreed, although not sounding nearly as optimistic as her human.

"So, Spectre...Karma...This was what you demanded we find out" the Queen said, glaring at her. "Now what?" She demanded.

Finally realizing that the Queen was using her real name, Karma frowned and her stomach dropped. How the hell did that happen? When did she find out? Karma was furious, but managed to keep her rage burning quietly inside of her. She decided to push forward for now and ignore the potential implications of the Queen knowing her identity.

"Now I can wait until your son doesn't need me anymore, and then I will go find Tiffany" she answered simply.

"To what end?" Came the next question, this time from the King.

"To determine if I must use her, or if she is an innocent and can direct me to someone else more optimal to use" Karma explained, keeping her responses vague.

"Use how?" Tom asked, simply to satisfy his curiosity. The Queen had told him and the King about what happened, but he wasn't as angry towards Karma as they were. He understood her point of view better than Chance's parents, and didn't think she was entirely in the wrong.

"Freeing Theo, of course" Karma said with a grin that was hidden behind her face mask. Even still, there was a glint in her eyes that announced what her hidden face couldn't. It told the others that she was confident in her plan.

The enemy should beware.