Vindicator

Chapter 21

"Welcome, Alpha Mason, Luna Jenna" the King greeted. "We appreciate you coming so promptly, although you needn't bother. We are only looking to speak with the victims of the Spectre" he added.

The Queen smiled at the sleeping pup, nodding in agreement with her mate. "Especially with such a young pup, you should bring him to bed. We appreciate your dedication in accompanying your pack members, though."

"Actually, your majesties" Mason spoke up, "my understanding was that I was one of the Spectre's first victims."

The King and Queen exchanged a shocked look, then turned back to the family. "You were kidnapped by the Spectre?" The King asked incredulously.

The Alpha chuckled, shaking his head with a congenial smile. "No, your majesty. That is why we are here, to explain the truth behind the Spectre. She is not a kidnapper, she is a saviour."

The Queen frowned, clearly having not expected such a statement. "Whatever do you mean?"

Mason looked at Jenna with a slight sadness in his eyes, but she returned the look with a loving smile and a squeeze to his hand. Sighing, the Alpha turned back to the royal family.

"I'm ashamed to admit that I was once negligent to my mate, to the point that the Spectre deemed it emotional abuse...And she was right. She gave my Luna, who was very pregnant at the time, a safe space to escape the stress I was putting her through...And worse, the pack was following my lead. So, no, my King, I was not kidnapped, but none of Spectre's victims are. The Spectre rescues victims, she doesn't truly create them...The only victims of the Spectre are truly perpetrators in their own right" he explained.

The Prince spoke up, skeptical. "If that's true, why not speak up sooner? And how is your mate here with you?" He demanded.

Jenna took the opportunity to reply to the Prince, since she felt this part was more her story to tell. "The Spectre's name is actually Kayla, and she's a young she-wolf who was rescued by the Alpha of the Forsaken pack. She offered me a safe space to live, where I would be free from the pressures, stresses and abuse of my home at the time...However, at no point did she force me to stay. When my mate asked me to meet him, and to allow him to apologize, Kayla was skeptical. Regardless, she supported my decision to go, and facilitated the whole thing so we were able to meet on neutral ground. It was because of her that my husband finally realized the damage he was doing to me, and we were able to reconcile" she said, smiling at Mason.

"I returned home to have this little one here" she continued, kissing the top of her sleeping son's head. "And one of the reasons we brought him was because he is the living proof of the good that Kayla does. We named him Kay, in honour of her and what she did for us" she explained.

The Queen smiled, preferring to believe the Spectre was someone good who was thwarting the evil amongst them. It meant that she was on their side, and their goals would align.

The King, however, was frowning. "And of the Prince's other question? Why not speak up before now?" He asked.

"The Forsaken pack was created by a very mysterious and private Alpha. As far as I understand, he works through Kayla, and she and her mother are the only two who know his true identity. He provides Kayla the means to do everything that she does, in order protect his identity and the location of the Forsaken pack; however...The cost is that it paints a target on her. She does this willingly, but told us both that we should never speak of our interactions with her...It was not to protect her, but to protect ourselves" Jenna said, sighing.

"Every person who has complained against her is a person who was committing evils against someone" she paused, giving her husband a look with a reassuring squeeze to his hand. "Whether they realized it or not at the time...The ones who continue to be angry, are the ones who have not seen the error of their ways. That tells me that they are not good people, and they likely want to find Kayla for revenge. She wanted us to stay quiet to protect ourselves from those kinds of people" she said, a sadness in her voice at the admission that her silence comes at the cost of another's safety and reputation.