Vindicator

Chapter 63

Karma was furious. Someone had attacked them within the walls of the Prince's own home! And she had allowed it! She wasn't sure if she was angrier with the culprits, or with herself.

Taking no time to wallow in her rage, though, Karma had to get Chance to the medical wing immediately. "Is it silver?" She demanded.

"Doesn't feel like it. I'm okay, don't worry. Just wasn't expecting it" he explained.

"Too late, I'm worrying" she muttered in response. "Let's get you to the medical wing. Can you stand?"

"No need for that, it's just an arrow, I'll be fine. I've had worse" he said, putting on the stereotypical Alpha tough-guy act.

Alessia scowled in Karma's head. "Does he forget he has no wolf?!"

"Let's remind him" Karma replied with a sigh. She then dropped to her knees in front of him and used her hands on either side of his face to make him look at her. With a frown, she shifted her eyes from her own to Alessia's, trying to make the point that he didn't have his wolf to heal him. She was unwilling to say it aloud, since they didn't know who was listening.

Catching her message, Chance's face fell. "Alright, fine" he said, dejectedly.

Recognizing that it might look a bit weird to any onlookers, Karma tried to cover up their exchange to make it look more natural. She smiled and said "I knew the puppy dog eyes would get you!" Then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Alessia made an indignant sound, taking offence to her eyes being called "puppy dog eyes"; Karma just ignored her but chuckled internally.

On the other end of the exchange, Chance was temporarily dragged out of his own dejection to look at Karma with wide eyes and a blush. He was completely surprised by the kiss, and didn't realize her reasons for doing it. She just gave him a smile then stood up and offered her hand to him.

"We should get going" she urged, wary that danger could be lurking anywhere.

Agreeing, he stood up and took her hand, easily and automatically resorting to linking their fingers together as he did. He was distracted by thoughts of her soft lips on his cheek, and the way her small hand felt so perfectly in his; the pain in his shoulder was worlds away.

Karma, unaware of the feelings she'd stirred within Chance, was in Spectre mode. She opened up a doorway to pass them through the Lupine realm, right to the Royal's section of the medical wing. Tugging on Chance's hand, she lead him through so that they appeared at the receptionist's desk, making the poor receptionist jump in fright.

"Sorry" Karma muttered half-heartedly. "Could we get a doctor for his highness? And notify the King and Queen he's here" She demanded.

Wide-eyed, the woman nodded and contacted a doctor and the King and Queen. Meanwhile, a nearby nurse came over to usher them into a cushy hospital room.

"We're going to need to get these clothes off" the nurse said, skillfully beginning to cut into the material around the arrow to give better access.

Karma jumped a little at the growl Alessia let out. "She's doing her job, and helping him!" She chastised her wolf.

Chance gave Karma a concerned look. "You alright?"

"Yeah, Alessia just startled me" she explained, flushing a little at him noticing.

The nurse finished cutting the Prince out of his jacket and shirt, leaving his torso exposed. "What's this attached to it?" The nurse asked, reaching to pull the paper off.

"Alessia? That's your wolf's name?" He was asking at the same time.

Alessia let out a purr at the sound of her name coming from the Prince's lips; however, Karma was on alert due to the paper the nurse was reaching for. Fast as could be, she swept in closer to Chance and snatched the paper from the nurse's hands just as she'd freed it from the arrow.

"Hey!" The nurse cried angrily.

"Hey yourself! This is clearly meant for his highness, and should be for his eyes only" Karma snapped back.

The nurse glared at Karma, but couldn't refute her argument. "I need to go get some supplies anyways" she said stiffly, then left the room.

Letting out a breath, Karma opened the letter to read it.

"Hey, I thought that was clearly meant for me?" Chance teased.

Unfortunately, his teasing came too late to make her smile, as she'd already read the words on the page. "We can get to you, you're not safe. Give up the throne, or we take it by force. Blood of innocents will be on your hands. You have 3 days." With a scowl, she closed her hand on the paper, crumpling it in her grip angrily.

Chance could tell by the scowl on her face that the paper held bad news. He had assumed so, anyways, since it was literally lodged into his body with an arrow; but, seeing Karma's reaction to it bothered him even more. "What is it?" He asked.

She looked up into his face and hesitated, not wanting to impart bad news on him. It was likely that he would blame himself for the threat, and any fallout from it, and she didn't want that for him. Still, she also didn't want to lie to him, so with a sigh she held out the crumpled up paper to him. Before he could take it, though, his parents rushed into the room.

"Chance! What happened?!" His mother demanded.

"We know what happened, but HOW did this happen?!" The King demanded, aiming his question at Karma.

Karma frowned at the King's implication, but she couldn't be mad at him. She was already mad at herself for the same thing, after all. Someone had managed to hurt the Prince while she was literally in his arms!

"Don't blame her, father. She's not in charge of our security, we should have been able to expect safety within the walls of the palace" Chance admonished the King.

"But she was right there when it happened!" The Queen argued. "You have a valid reason to have been unable to notice, but she has a wolf who—"

"Enough!" Chance said, raising his voice to cut his mother off. "I will not let you blame her for this. We were on a date, for crying out loud! And you want her to be on constant guard even then? It kills the romance a little!"

"Oh, it was a fake date, and you know it" his mother snapped back, angry that her son was raising his voice at her.

For some reason, hearing the Queen call it a fake date stoked a fire within Karma, and had her seething. She was about to unleash on the Queen for the hair, makeup and wardrobe woes she went through, but the King beat her to it.

"That is quite the statement to be made from someone who insisted on sending someone to doll up the fake date" he said with a raised brow. "I believe at least one person in the room was acting as if it was real, and I am not referring to either of the parties involved in the date itself."

The Queen flushed, angry her husband wasn't taking her side. "I was doing it for Chance, so he'd at least have a pretty date!" She said, refusing to abandon her sinking ship. Her anger towards the one who hurt her son needed an outlet, and she was determined to make it Karma since she was the most logical option.

"She would be beautiful in a potato sack, mother, and YOU know it" he retorted with an angry frown, disappointed in his mother's antics.

At that moment, the doctor and nurse came in together and began their work of extracting the arrow and stitching Chance up. Everyone in the room fell into an uncomfortable silence as the work was done, each stewing in their own frustrations and anger.

Deciding she needed some time to herself, and that Chance was in good hands, Karma walked to the Queen and handed her the note.

"If I'm pretty enough to still be an acceptable option, you need to announce that we're mated. I'd suggest tomorrow" Karma said, head held high but not making eye contact with the Queen. Instead, she walked away.

"Where are you going?" The King called after her.

"I need to go see my Alpha" she said as her excuse, then opened a door to the Lupine realm and left.