Vindicator

Chapter 9

"Who the fuck are you? How did you get in here?" The Alpha growled.

"My name is irrelevant. I came here with my Alpha's assistance, and it is my Alpha's will that brings me here to speak with you, Alpha Mason" Karma replied mysteriously.

"Mysterious, I like it. That'll piss him off" Alessia snickered.

Mason stood from his bed, his sheets dropping to reveal he was in nothing but his boxers. He was a huge wall of muscle, looming over Karma at a height of at least 6'6". Still, Karma remained undaunted, and kept her eyes on his. "We don't have to fight" she said lazily, noting that he was practically vibrating with rage. His eyes were darkening, too, suggesting his wolf was trying to surface.

Mason barked out a mocking laugh. "You waltz into my office, in my pack, and wake me from my bed—"

Karma cut him off, "ah, but it's not your bed, is it?" She asked cheekily.

Mason growled at the disrespect of being cut off, but his brow furrowed slightly. She could tell she got his attention.

"Yes, I am referring to the bed you refuse to share with your mate" she said, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms.

Mason began to take heaving breaths, the physical difficulty of restraining his wolf apparent. "What the fuck does my bed have to do with you?" He snarled.

"Oh, nothing really" she said innocently. "However the tears that your mate cries into that bed, well...Those do mean a lot to me" she said, straightening up and fixing the man before her with a glare. "My Alpha does not take kindly to anyone who abuses the mate bond. It's considered especially despicable when the culprits are Alphas" she added in a dangerously low voice, nearly growling the words out.

This brought a full frown to Mason's face. "Abuse the bond? What? I've never—"

Once again, Karma cut him off. "Don't lie to me, Alpha Mason. I know your transgressions, and I will see you are punished for them. Your mate suffers because of you" she said, unable to contain the growl in her voice this time.

Mason growled back, his eyes flickering to his wolf's then back to his human eyes. "She suffers because of her own choices" he insisted.

Karma barked out a laugh this time, shaking her head. "Truly? Her sister, who should have been under the protection of your pack, was kidnapped" she spat. "Her sister, who means more to her than almost anything or anyone in the world, was at risk of being beaten to death" she continued, taking a step away from the door towards Mason.

"You knew how that pack treated them before, and you knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill her, yet you refused to consider any other path but the one you chose!" This sentence came out in another growl, which Mason challenged with his own growl.

"You don't know what you're talking about" he retorted. "No pack member is above any other, I couldn't risk their safety—"

"Bull shit!" Karma snapped, cutting him off. "When it was your pregnant mate on the line, suddenly you could act quickly?" She demanded.

"That's different! Everyone needs their Luna—" he tried to argue.

"And what about when the Luna's sister dies, she blames herself, and spirals into a deep depression? Probably loses the baby she's pregnant with. Did you consider that? I can understand you wanting to take time to plan appropriately. I can even understand you being upset at her. What I can't understand is your continued torment! She was mourning her baby, too, but you didn't give a shit. The one who's supposed to love and value her above all else, to cherish and protect her—you! You were the one who should have been there for her, but instead you hurt her. Every. Day! For a year!" She screamed at him, vaguely aware that someone else had entered the room behind her but she didn't care.

Mason took a physical step back, as if her words were a slap to his face. "No...I wasn't...She just...She was irresponsible...Our baby died because—" he stuttered.

"Because she went to save her sister? Or because you wouldn't? Is it secretly yourself you're angry at? You're ashamed of yourself, but taking it out on her? You should be ashamed!" She snarled at him. "And then to tell her she's unfit as a Luna? Do you think if it had been any other member of this pack, that she'd have acted any differently? I know she loves her sister, but she strikes me as loyal and protective, and as a Luna I would assume that extends to every member of her pack. She would die for every one of them, and here you've gone and turned them against her" she sneered.

"W-what? Turned them against her? That's not true!" He said, frowning.

Before Karma could reply, though, the Beta's voice spoke up to reveal he was the one behind her. "She's right, Alpha...The pack has lost respect for Luna...There's an assumption that after she gives you an heir, you'll reject her..." he said, sounding equally angry, disgusted and saddened.

"What? I would never reject her, she's my mate!" Mason insisted. He had paled at his Beta's words, suggesting he hadn't realized how far his treatment of his Luna had carried through to the rumour mill of the pack. He felt ashamed, but would never admit that in front of this stranger.

Karma shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that's not what she believes. That's part of why she needs to get away from you to safely have her baby. The constant reminder of her fear of being rejected, or even killed after she has your pup...It's too much. And now she's afraid for your pup's future without his mother in his life...So she's finally taking a stand to protect herself, for her son" she explained.

Mason frowned, snarling out "She cannot give birth to my son without me there."

Karma's eyebrows shot up, and she said with sarcasm dripping from her tone "oh, shit, it's your vagina the baby's coming from then? I must have misunderstood."

"Too far" Alessia muttered, as a furious roar ripped through the room from Mason. He lunged for Karma, but she was too fast for him as she rolled to the side.

"Alpha, calm down! I am not here to seek permission, your Luna is already gone!" She shouted at him as she dodged another lunge. She was thankful that Jamie, the Beta, hadn't joined in. Although the room was spacious for an office, it was too small for a battleground.

Her statement brought the Alpha to a halt. His voice was deadly as he said a single word. "What?"

"She's already gone, and safe within the walls of my pack. Despite what my personal feelings are on the matter, though, she wants to come back...After she's had her baby" she explained, putting emphasis on the word "her".

"For now, she just needs to be away from the negativity. I was simply here to deliver the news as a courtesy" she said with a smile that twinkled in her eyes.

Mason must have instructed Jamie to confirm his mate was truly gone, because Karma could hear his retreating steps.

"You're an idiot, then, for coming to give me such a message. And with such disrespect, too. My pack warriors are waiting to kill you if you somehow escape my own claws" the Alpha said with deadly calm.

Karma shrugged again, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's okay. I didn't want you going through the agony of thinking she'd been kidnapped...Besides, I had a lot to get off my chest" she said with a chuckle. "As for your mate...I will let her call you once she's settled in. I recommend you sincerely consider what you want to say to her. If you want to salvage your relationship, you should really apologize...And your pack might want to as well. She loves all of you dearly, not that you deserve it. Otherwise, well...My Alpha doesn't have a mate, and we could always use a Luna" she said with a laugh.

As expected, at the implication of another Alpha taking his mate, Mason lost his cool. Within seconds Karma had a snarling, shifted werewolf lunging at her from across the room. She dove to the side to dodge, yelling "Until next time, Alpha Mason!" As she slid through her gateway and disappeared right before the Alpha's eyes.

"You're an idiot" Alessia said with a chuckle.