She's The Alpha

Chapter 31

I didn't care that I had royals in my house. I didn't care that those royals were my mate's parents. I didn't care that they were passing judgement on my tasteless decorating and my functionalist house. I didn't care that the queen and king were having an intense conversation about what to do with their new prisoners. I didn't care that I was supposed to act brave and tough. I didn't care that I had barely moved in three days.

I was sitting my Grant's bed with tears streaming down my cheeks as I assessed his unconscious form. He was painfully skinny, even worse than he was when I had first found him and seeing him so still stressed me out even more. Karma had softly admitted that it was a miracle he was even alive, but she also told me that if he had made it this far then he should be able to recover no problem. I believed her, she was the most amazing doctor in my opinion. But it still scared me.

My head kept spinning with questions like 'what if we hadn't found him in time?'. All of the possibilities hanging in the air freaked me out. My mate could've been starved to death while I was snuggled up in another man's house. I could've ignored Greg's persistent prodding and grant could've withered away. Sterling could've captivated me and I could've destroyed everything I had.

"Vienna." Greg's soft voice and quiet knock pulled me out of my horrible thoughts.

I didn't even think. I was so grateful for company that I launched myself out of my chair and right into his arms.

"Hey." He chuckled, running a soothing had over my back.

"Thank you, for everything." I whispered, close to tears, "I don't know what would've happened to him if you hadn't told me about the royals, I really don't."

"It's okay, Vienna, you don't have to cry." Greg murmured, "That's what betas are for."

"You're the best beta in the world." I choked, the tears finally spilling over.

"Well, I'm glad you think so." Greg whispered, squeezing me tighter.

Greg stayed with me for a while, just talking to me about trivial things. I explained to him what Karma had done with Grant, telling Greg that he had been put in a chemically induced coma to keep his body from harming itself more and he was hooked up to an IV so that he could still gain all the nutrients he needed.

Eventually Greg left to go see his mate and I prepared myself for more mental breakdowns and sobbing, but someone else appeared at the door.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Karma whispered, seeming nervous.

My heart clenched painfully as I got out of my chair yet again, "Oh God, is Grant okay?" I gasped.

"This isn't about Grant, it's about something else." Karma said carefully, leading me out of the room.

"Alright, well what is it?"

"Well, can you first promise that you won't get mad and you'' actually consider what I have to say?"

I sighed, "You're freaking me out a little, Karma, just tell me what's going on."

"I found my mate."

I chucked, "That's not awful at all, you finally found the person that you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with. Why on Earth did you think I would be mad about that?"

Karma was suddenly unable to meet my eyes as she chewed on her lower lip nervously.

"Oh God, you aren't mated to Jordan, are you?"

"Oh, no." Karma said, waving her hands around and making a disgusted face, "I would die if I was mated to that pig, besides, he already has a mate and she is just as sleazy as he is."

"Then I don't see an issue." I said with a broad smile.

"Vienna, I'm mated to someone who was accused of treason and is going to be locked up for the rest of his life." Karma admitted, her lower lip trembling.

I paused, considering her words and watching her face twist with distress. Her mate had been charged with treason. Her mate had been part of the scheme to kill my mate and send Jordan into power. She was mated to a monster who wanted nothing more than to see my own mate dead and cold.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked, my demeanor suddenly cold.

"I want you to make sure he doesn't go to prison, or at least make it easier for me to see him sometimes, I can't live without him." Karma begged, tears pouring down her beautiful face, "He means the world to me, you know how long I've been waiting for my mate. I'll go to prison too if it means I get to see him every day."

I sighed, "Karma, this is a massive case, they tried to hide the prince so that Jordan could be the next royal, are you not grasping how messed up that is? Do you know how hard it's going to be to get them to lessen a sentence that involved their son almost being killed?"

Karma choked back a sob and seeing her so upset made me soften slightly. I reached out and gave her a gentle hug. I really should've been most sensitive, I knew what it was like to lose a mate. At least I got my mate and I didn't have to worry any longer about not seeing him again.

"I'll try and talk to the king and queen, okay?" I said.

"Oh thank you Vienna." Karma blubbered.

"You're welcome, now can you tell me your mate's name?"

Karma hesitated, pulling away from me and staring at the floor, "It's Sterling."

"No." I hissed, "You cannot be mated to him, he already had a mate."

"I'm his second chance mate, please Vienna!" Karma yelled, sobbing all over again, "He didn't do it, he didn't know what Jordan was planning!"

"He was certainly part of the plan Karma. I can't have that man running around my pack, he's nothing but evil." I announced, "That's final."

Karma stared at me like she was about to argue with me. I knew that she probably loved this man, but someone probably loved Jordan too and every single person who was a part of the whole scheme was going to be locked up. I couldn't release a man just because he was my pack member's mate, as much as I loved that pack member.

Finally, Karma clamped her mouth closed, stared at me with glistening tears in her large eyes, then stomped off.

I ambled back into Grant's room, feeling terrible for what I had said but knowing fully that it had to be done. I loved Karma, she had shaped up to be quite a lovely friend and a wonderful pack mate, but I simply couldn't free a convicted man. Especially not after he had a hand in the attempted murder of my own mate, who just happened to be the prince.

"V." Grant's hoarse voice snagged my attention immediately.

"Hi handsome." I said softly, trying to keep my tears at bay, but they trickled down my cheeks anyway. Hearing his voice made my whole body crumple with relaxation and it made my emotions fray a little.

"What's going on? Why are you crying?" Grant asked. He blinked slowly at me, almost like he was falling asleep again. Clearly the drugs hadn't worn off all the way.

"Go back to bed baby." I whispered, stroking his hair, "We can deal with everything later."

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So, who is your favorite character and do you think sterling is actually a bad guy?