"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.
"Let's say we believe your version of the Spectre" the Queen began, "because I certainly prefer to believe she is an ally. Do you have a means of communicating with her?" she asked.
Jenna frowned, looking at Mason. She didn't want to lie to her Queen; but, she wasn't assured enough that the royals wouldn't try to contact Kayla for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, Karma and Alessia had been sitting back and taking the scene in. Karma was smiling fondly at the small family who were speaking up for her.
"Jenna, I'm watching what's happening....It's okay, I will meet with the Queen" she said to her through their mindlink.
Mason recognized the concern in his mate's eyes, and had turned to speak on her behalf. "Your majesty—"
With wide eyes, though, Jenna tugged his hand to stop him. "She's watching" she exclaimed, looking to the Queen. "She says she will meet with you, my Queen."
All three of the Royals looked disturbed as they peered around the room. Jenna's sudden declaration would put anyone on edge, but it especially made the royal family feel suddenly very uncomfortable in their own home.
"Are there cameras in here?!" The King bellowed angrily, squinting at every dark corner suspiciously.
"You could have done that in a less suspicious way" Alessia said, amused.
Karma rolled her eyes, although she was laughing to herself at the King's reaction. "I didn't think she'd blurt out that I was watching!" She said, defending herself.
She mindlinked Jenna once more, unable to contain her amusement. "Please tell his majesty that I'm using the powers of my Alpha, not cameras."
Jenna was checking on her sleeping son, concerned the King's outburst would have startled him. Fortunately, the pup just snuggled into the crook of his mother's neck further and continued her sleep. Jenna let out a breath of relief, then looked at the King to pass on Karma's message. "I apologize, your majesty. I spoke without thinking of how it may sound...Kayla uses the abilities of her Alpha. While they are mysterious to me, they somehow give her the ability to see us right now." She explained sheepishly.
"And how do you know she's watching?" The King demanded.
"Another unique aspect of the Forsaken pack is that their pack bond does not break when you leave them...As such, Kayla is still able to mindlink me, and vice versa." She replied.
Deciding to end the King's pointless line of questioning, the Queen opted to speak up. "You say she will meet with me. Does she not ask why I want to meet her?" She wondered.
"I assume she wants to capture me" Karma said to Jenna through their link.
Jenna grimaced at Karma's honesty, but passed it on regardless. "She says she assumes that you want to capture her."
The Queen raised her eyebrows in surprise. "And she's still willing to meet?"
"She's not the only one I'll have met with who wants to capture me. And she won't be the only one to fail" Karma snickered through her link to Jenna.
Trying not to smile at Karma's comment, Jenna answered the Queen a bit more tactfully. "She is confident that she has nothing to fear, your majesty."
The King scoffed, recognizing the meaning in her words; however, the Queen silenced him with a look. She then turned her attention back to Jenna, and smiled. "Well, when can we meet?"
"I wouldn't meet the Queen right now" Alessia warned. "You're too bitchy" she said, giving Karma a wolfy grin.
"Shut up!" Karma said, playfully elbowing the wolf, but laughing all the same. She knew it was true.
"Tell her majesty I will meet her tomorrow morning at 8:30am. Given that she is the Queen, and I doubt they'll let her meet me without the entire King's guard watching, I'll even let her choose the place." She told Jenna.
Jenna nodded in understanding. "She says that she will meet you at a place of your choosing at 8:30am tomorrow morning. She is fully willing to meet with the King's guard at your command, if that is what will make you comfortable."
"That won't be necessary" the Queen said, ignoring when the King tried to protest. "We will meet in my private garden at 8:30am tomorrow morning, then" she continued, not letting the King get a word in.
"It's a date" Karma said, getting to her feet. "And now it's bed time! Night Jenna! Give that sweet little boy of yours a kiss from his goddess-mother!
Jenna giggled a little to herself, "Good night, Kayla." She replied through the link, then kissed Kay on his chubby cheek for her friend.
Turning her attention back to the Queen, Jenna smiled and said "she says it's a date."