Vindicator

Chapter 67

The King glared down at the former Elder from the balcony, letting out an irritated, low growl. Stepping to her mate's side, the Queen subtly took his hand in hers to calm him so he didn't act rashly.

Karma could feel Chance trembling, with what she assumed was rage. She squeezed his hand before releasing it and waltzing forward. Chance let out a sound of shock and disagreement; but, ultimately he didn't try to stop her.

"Elder Duko" she called out loudly in a clear voice. "You would not recognize me, as I believe another was in the Elder role at my birth; but I am the eldest child of your former Alpha, Russell Hemming" she said, eliciting confused gasps and chatter from the crowd. Undeterred, she continued, "the one you suggest is mated to the Prince, Theo Hemming, he is my twin brother. It is true there was confusion at first, regarding who was the true mate of the Prince; however, I stand before you today to assure you that the title is mine."

Patrick was staring at Karma as if she was crazy. "You expect us to believe that an Alpha had not only a daughter, but twins?! That is preposterous, you lying wench!"

Karma raised a brow at his statement, trying not to smile. She hopped on top of the balcony railing, staring down at him with a challenge in her eyes. "What is so unbelievable about the one blessed by the Moon Goddess also being the first daughter to ever be gifted to an Alpha? Is it more believable than—" she said, stepping forward into the air, only to appear directly before Patrick and his crew. "This?"

Although Spectre's ability to "teleport" was not a secret amongst the less savoury of the werewolves; seeing it first-hand was different than just hearing about it. All of the wolves with the Elder, and he himself, let out snarls or shouts of surprise as they jumped back when Karma appeared before them.

"And I didn't even say boo" she said dryly.

Patrick pointed a finger at her, shouting "she's an imposter! She's making up this ridiculous story to fool you into believing the Prince has a female mate! It's a lie, he—"

Karma started to laugh before cutting him off. "You tell them that it's too absurd to believe that an Alpha can have a daughter, yet expect them to believe it's not at all absurd for their Prince, who is to carry on the Royal bloodline with his pup, would be mated to a male?!" She yelled back at him just as loud as he was shouting to the crowd.

Realizing that with her statement, he had no way to prove his argument, the Elder was fuming. "You are a fool if you think this changes anything, bitch" he spat, practically foaming at the mouth.

"That was the point, Patrick" she said, emphasizing his first name to underline her disrespect for him. "My birth changed everything" she finished with a smile.

"You will regret this" he vowed.

"And you will never win the war you plan to start" she countered, taking him by surprise.

There were gasps from the Royal pack, and the crowd began to grow restless. There were angry shouts, cries of distress, and curses thrown at the small group standing before Karma. Patrick looked at the mob of angry people behind Karma, then back to her and growled "nobody said anything about a war!"

"No?" Karma taunted. "That's not what I learned from your son and grand daughter" she said, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"So you have them..." he said, the vein at his temple throbbing. "Well then, you can't believe what they say under duress. They are likely trying to strike a deal by saying nonsense" he hissed at her.

"Oh, I didn't say they told me...You see, you don't know all of my abilities" she said with a smirk. "I can get in your head, Patrick...And I can see your memories, I can hear your thoughts...And that's exactly what I did. So I saw the gathering you had, when you first lied to these people about Theo being mated to the Prince. And I saw Elder Jane disrespecting you as always" she said with a laugh.

"Although, I'll give you credit where it is due" she continued. "You did tell her the truth when you told her, and those gathered, that the Prince is mated to the Alpha heir of the Red Moon pack...Because as the eldest twin, that title truly belongs to me."

Unable to contain his rage any longer, the Elder let out a snarl as he shifted into his large, bronze wolf. The sound of his clothing shredding to bits was just ending when he let loose a long howl. Those with him seemed to take this as a signal, because they were suddenly on the offensive.

"Well now you've gone and done it" Alessia snapped.

"Welcome back, with impeccable timing!" Karma replied, having been without her wolf since she started getting ready. Alessia had once again been on the hunt for Xander.

"I'm in a bit of a pickle. If I move, the people behind me are going to get the brunt of the rage I just caused" Karma told Alessia as she watched the men before her shift to their wolves.

"Well...If they all charge at us, they can all chase us right through a doorway?" Alessia suggested.

"That's what I'm thinking...What if that howl signalled more, though?" She asked, redirecting the doorway she'd left open behind her so it would lead her out of the Royal Pack grounds.

"Then we hope the Royal guard is worthy of their title, and that the Royal pack has an excellent safety plan in place for attacks" Alessia answered.

Karma nodded her head once in confirmation, just as all of the wolves converged on her. Snarling, snapping, drooling maws came for her, and she realized...She didn't need them to chase her! Quickly, she moved the doorway in front of her so as the wolves reached her, they disappeared through the doorway and found themselves in the middle of the woods.

While this was taking place, she could hear Chance screaming out her name in concern. Behind her, the pack members were in an uproar; but, she had to rely on the King and Queen to keep them under control.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the enemy to figure out what was happening as they approached Karma. Due to this, they split off to try to come at her from different angles. Not to be outdone, Karma merely distorted the doorway to wrap it around her like one big, long doorway that protected her. One after one, the wolves who took their chances disappeared into thin air. With only four wolves left before her, Karma was hoping the end of this spectacle was nigh.

But then, the screaming in the distance began.