Vindicator

Chapter 60

"You what?!" Christina shrieked at her daughter, after the two reunited in her guest room. There was a lot of loose ends to tie up, so it wasn't until the next day before they could catch up.-

"It's the most likely way to avoid war" Karma replied, chewing on her bottom lip. She had removed her face covering and hood, but remained clad in black from her neck down, so her mother could see her nervous habit.

"Sweetie...I know you've only ever seen the worst side of mates, but...I promise you, your mate is out there and it's worth trying to see if they're one of the good ones" her mother told her gently. Christina had long known that her daughter had no interest in finding her mate; but, she held out hope that one day she'd meet them and appreciate the bond. In the beginning of her relationship with Russell, she wouldn't have traded anything for the blissful experience of being with her mate. She wanted that for her daughter.

Staring down at her lap, Karma was fidgeting with her hands and unwilling to make eye contact with her mother. "Well...I found my mate, mom" she whispered.

"What?! When? Do I know them? Tell me what happened" Christina gushed, trying not to be too excited, since Karma herself seemed downtrodden.

"It's hard to answer the 'when'...You know when the identical twins needed help, because one snatched her sister's mate out from under the other?" Karma asked.

"Yes..." Christina answered, not sure where Karma was going with this.

"Normally that rule applies to identical twins only; but, the Moon Goddess made an exception in my case" Karma explained, without answering her mother directly.

Christina frowned, piecing the puzzle together slowly. When it finally clicked, she gasped. "No way!"

Karma just nodded as her answer.

"So then...Now that his bond with Theo is broken...The Prince will recognize you as his mate? Did that already happen, and that's why you're so dejected? Was he upset?" Christina asked, reaching out to take Karma's hands in her own as a comforting gesture.

"No...His wolf, Xander...He cut him off, so he is essentially a human right now. He doesn't know I'm his mate" Karma answered.

"Oh...So, let me get this straight. You are a twin, whose mating rules follow the same rules as an identical twin. Your mate was meant to be the Prince, but Theo met him first and the bond was created between them. Now that the bond is broken, the Prince should be mated to you, but his wolf has cut him off so he can't recognize you as his mate...And yet you're going to announce to the world that you're mates in hopes of stopping an impending war?" Christina asked, her brow furrowed.

"Yes, but also if a war isn't avoided, I will be in a position to protect him until we find a way to repair his bond with Xander" Karma added with a sigh.

Christina scrunched her nose up, thinking hard for a few moments. Finally, she shook her head with a sigh. "That's a lot, honey...But, how does a wolf cut off their human? I have heard of shutting them out, but I didn't think that impacted the mate bond."

"It's an ability unique to the royal family I guess. Another piece to the messy puzzle...Anyways, I didn't want you to talk me out of it. I think it's the best way to try to avoid a war...And it'll appease Alessia. She wants to be with him" Karma explained, muttering the last part.

Christina raised a brow and grinned at her daughter. "Since when has the crabby Alessia wanted a mate? She was more determined than you were to avoid them, if I recall correctly!"

"Yeah, she was, until she wasn't anymore. Traitor" Karma grumbled.

"That's because I got to see our mate, and he's wonderful" Alessia retorted with a purr.

"He can be a selfish, condescending twat" Karma said to her wolf.

"And you can be a bitch. But you're still wonderful most of the time" Alessia snickered.

Karma rolled her eyes, but didn't bother answering her wolf. She focused her attention back on her mom with a small smile. "Anyways, thanks for listening mom...I guess I didn't need advice, as much as I needed an ear."

"You'll always have my ears, sweetheart" Christina promised, pulling Karma in for a hug.

Hugging her mother back tightly, Karma sagged into her warmth and sighed. "What have you been up to, anyways? Why were you by the dungeons when I saw you earlier?"

Christina stiffened a little, causing Karma to pull back and give her a suspicious look. "What's with that reaction?" She demanded.

"What reaction?" Christina demanded back, trying to act like nothing happened.

"Mom...Does this have to do with Russell?" Karma asked with a raised brow, trying not to sound accusing. When Christina didn't answer, though, Karma gasped. "Mother, no! I won't let you go back to that shitstain of a werewolf!"

"It's not Russell I miss, it's Hunter...Faith misses him, too...We didn't notice it for all of these years, but seeing him brought back so many good memories. I was going to wait and get you to escort us to the Red Moon pack house, but Faith wanted us to show them we could handle ourselves now. He seems different, from when he abandoned us, even to when Hunter was trying to kill your brother. The mate bond is so, so powerful...It can truly drive a wolf crazy when they lose their mate. I believe that's what happened to Hunter. He's a good mate, though" Christina explained without looking Karma in the eye.

"Well Hunter is attached to Russell, who had no excuse of going mad to account for what he did to you. You can't have one without the other, mom...Please don't put yourself in a position to be hurt by him again" Karma begged.

"I know sweetie...I promise, I won't do anything drastic. I just wanted to talk to him, to see if I could tell if he was acting or not...I wish I knew if he was sincere..." Christina lamented.

"Well...I'll tell you what. Once all of this nonsense is over, and the King and Queen decide if he's even going to be allowed to live, we can insist he lets me into his mind if you want to try to mend anything...I won't stop you, as much as I want to...Just know that I am so, so, SO against it" she said, squeezing her mother's hands.

"I know...Thanks honey" Christina said, kissing Karma's forehead.

Karma smiled at her mother, and was about to detail exactly what she'd do to Russell and Hunter if they hurt her again; however, she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Her eyes widened, since she wasn't wearing her mask.

"Who is it?" Christina called out, frowning at the door.

"It is Prince Chance...Is the Spectre in there? I think we need to talk."