Vindicator

Chapter 71

Chance was startled by the abrupt change, and didn't respond to the kiss right away. Noting this, Alessia was a bit disappointed and that was enough distraction for Karma to snag control.

Karma let go of Chance's shirt and pulled back with wide eyes, staring at him. His eyes were still open, and equally as wide as Karma's.

"I'm so sorry! She just took control, that was—I don't know, I'm just sorry!" She said, covering her beet-red face with her hands.

Chance stood up straighter and cleared his throat, a blush on his cheeks as well. "No, no, you have nothing to apologize for...I just...Take it as an enthusiastic yes" he said with an awkward chuckle.

Karma groaned at the comment, causing Chance to chuckle again.

After a moment of allowing Karma to wallow in embarrassment, Chance sat down beside her once again. "I know that Alessia seems to be in agreement...But...What about you, Karma?" He asked nervously.

"Don't you dare say no" Alessia warned.

"I don't want to be a Queen though!" Karma complained.

"There may be no throne to sit on, so not a problem! Cross that bridge when we get there" her wolf reasoned, showing her annoyance with a flick of her tail.

"What are you, a cat?" Karma muttered in response to the tail flick, but didn't say anything about Alessia's argument.

With a quick intake of air, Karma gathered her courage and dropped her hands from her face so she could tell Chance her answer directly. She noticed that he was staring at her with anxiety and concern clear on his face; however, those faded almost entirely when she looked at him, and a handsome smile took their place.

"I..." she began hesitantly, then bit her lip as she paused. Balling her hands into fists in her lap, she made her decision in that moment and pressed forward. "I won't say no...But, I won't say yes" she said.

Chance frowned, trying not to let his disappointment show. He began to look away as he said "oh", but Karma slipped a hand to his cheek and turned his face back towards her.

"I will say...You need to learn some things about me before I will say yes...And now is not the time to talk about those things...But, if you decide after that, that you still want me as a mate...Then, and only then, will I say yes" she said to him with a small smile on her face, brushing her thumb lightly over his cheek.

In Chance's mind, he didn't think that Karma would have much that she could hide from him that would make him turn away from her. He hadn't been lying when he said he was half in love with her already, and he was convinced that her yes now meant yes overall. So, his face broke into a huge grin and he let out a happy laugh, pulling her into a hug.

She let out a laugh when he embraced her, mostly out of surprise. After her statement, she was expecting a bit more of a reserved reaction, so his enthusiasm made her smile.

After a moment, he pulled away a little and stared down at her. She watched as his eyes flicked from her eyes, then to her lips, before back to her eyes. Realizing what he was thinking, she blushed; she'd never been kissed, aside from when Alessia had stolen her body just moments before. The thought of kissing Chance was simultaneously thrilling, and terrifying at once.

"Karma..." he murmured, staring into her eyes.

"Mhmm?" She hummed in reply, subconsciously darting her tongue out between her lips to moisten them nervously.

"I don't want what Alessia did to be our first kiss" he admitted, swallowing nervously. "So...Would it be okay to try that again?"

"He even asks for consent!" Alessia swooned dramatically. "Mark and mate him, right here and now!"

Karma ignored her wolf, only nodding her head in response to Chance's question. As soon as he had her permission, he leaned in closer to ever so gently press his lips against hers.

With a face on fire from embarrassment, Karma let her eyelids flutter shut, much like the fluttering of the millions of butterflies in her belly. For a few moments, the two merely enjoyed the feeling of their lips on each other in a chaste kiss; however, when Karma pulled away slightly to moisten her lips with her tongue, she inadvertently ran her tongue along Chance's bottom lip as well. He had moved in to close the distance between them once more, and wound up interrupting her movement.

Chance took this as an invitation, and captured her tongue between his lips to suck on it teasingly. When Karma gasped, he took the opportunity to plunge his tongue into her mouth, meeting her tongue with his own. At this point, Karma still had her hand on his cheek, but she slipped it to the base of his neck and let her fingers wander up into his hair as the kiss intensified. Taking a cue from her, Chance slipped his arms around her with one sliding up her back to bury a hand into her hair, and the other wrapping around her waist to pull her closer.

Karma decided in that moment that she didn't want the kiss to ever end; however, her body disagreed. She was becoming uncomfortable because of the angle she was at to kiss Chance, so without giving it much thought she slid into his lap. Shocked, Chance was about to pull away to look at her, so he could make sure it was still Karma; but, she entwined her other arm around his neck to signal he should stay.

Deciding he didn't need more encouragement than that, Chance began to relax more as they continued. He allowed his arm around her waist to loosen, so his hand could slowly glide over the fabric of her dress and take in the dip of her spine along her back, before moving to trace over the curve of her waist.

Karma was losing herself in the kiss, having never imagined it would be this amazing. She had never understood the allure of kissing until now, and as they continued, the butterflies in her stomach turned into a hot flame of desire that welled up within her.

Just as Karma had once again shifted in Chance's lap so she was straddling him, wanting to feel even more of his body against her own, she was startled by her mother screaming her name through the mindlink. Flustered, she jerked away from Chance with wide eyes as she called back to Christina. "Mom?!"

After no answer, Karma began to worry. Chance had realized that something was wrong by now, and was merely studying Karma's face quietly, not wanting to interrupt. When she frowned and looked into his eyes, he figured it was safe to talk. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"My mom...She called out my name, and now isn't answering..." she admitted, wanting to go check on her mother but knowing she couldn't leave Chance unprotected.

"You should go to her" he urged gently, rubbing her lower back in an effort to be comforting.

"I'll keep trying...I don't want to leave you" she explained.

Chance smiled at her, feeling giddiness bubble inside from his head to his toes at such an admission. He contained it, though, knowing it wasn't appropriate, and merely nodded.

"Mom?" Karma demanded once more, urgency clear in her voice.

"I'm fine, sweetie. Sorry to scare you" Christina finally replied.

Karma sagged in relief, but responded with "you didn't sound fine!"

"I'm fine now, everything is okay. Don't worry, and protect the Prince" her mother instructed her.

"What's going on?" She demanded more insistently, not willing to let it drop.

"I was in a fight, and thought I was going to die. It's okay now...Hunter saved me" Christina explained, and Karma frowned at the way she said the last part. She got the distinct feeling her mother was warming up to Russell and Hunter again.

"Huh, so he's good for something" she scoffed, wanting her displeasure to be known.

"It's over" Christina said suddenly.

"Okay, good...Do you need help getting to a medic?" Karma asked, worried about the state her mother was in since she'd said she almost died. As moments passed without any answer, though, Karma's heart began to drop. "Mom?"

"Mom"

"Mom!"

After an agonizing few minutes, she was relieved to feel her mother accessing the mindlink again; however, she was devastated to hear the the heartbreak in her mother's tone from her next sentence.

"Your father's dead."