Last time on Blind Hope

The Councilman cleared his throat. "Since you were with the Queen all the time, you went through everything she did, right?"

"Yes." Vivian stared him down, and the Councilman did his best not to falter under the gaze.

"While Queen Hope could experience things, you would see them, correct?"

"Yes..."

"Will please recount the story of the day Her Majesty met with Victoria and Bruce for the last time?" Vivian's jaw clenched.

"Yes."

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Vivian held her hands over her mouth to stop herself from giggling as Hope searched for her. "Viv! Hey, Viv! You know, hide-and-seek is a cruel game to play with a blind person!" Vivian's shoulders shook as she barely contained her laughter. A snort escaped her, and she gasped quietly. "You're over here, aren't you?" Hope walked cautiously towards the bush Vivian was crouched behind. Vivian saw Victoria and tired to warn Hope, but before she could, Victoria was there.

Yelping, Hope spun to face her mother. "I'm playing hide-and-seek with Viv." Victoria rolled her eyes, not amused. Vivian nearly blew a gasket as she heard Victoria remark on Hope's blindness. Everything in Vivian wanted to leap out and claw the annoyance off of Victoria's face. Instead, she hugged Hope as soon as the "witch," as Vivian had been calling her lately, was gone.

Vivian did her best to console Hope, but it was in vain. The rest of the day passed in heavy silence. Day, after day, after day passed, but there was no word from Victoria. Nothing. And then it happened, Vivian received a mind-link.

Vivian, Hope is not responding to me.

I wonder why?

Don't give me lip. Bring Hope to me in my office, asap.

Vivian's teeth ground against each other as she took herself to Hope's room where she sat, waiting for her day to begin. It was sad. She only had Vivian, and that much was made very clear over the past several months.

"Your mom needs you. She says you're ignoring the mind-link." Despite not wanting to, Vivian pulled Hope to her feet and guides her down the stairs and through the pack house to Victoria's office. "I'll wait out here. It sounded serious." Vivian gave Hope a little push, and Hope obediently walks towards the door until she felt the door's smooth wood greet her hands. "More to your right." Vivian said, peaking around Hope to see the handle. Hope nodded and found the knob. When Hope disappeared inside the office, Vivian darted down the steps of the packhouse and into the large expanse of forest that served as the backyard. She shifted as she ran.

Dad, I hate the Alpha. Is that normal?

For a werewolf? No. What's up?

I can't really pin it down... Vivian skidded to a stop and sat down, thinking. I think it's because of how she treats Hope.

Well, Hope is our charge. It makes sense. In some regards, Hope would be more our Alpha than anything.

Wait, what? I see Hope as my Alpha? What does that make me? Beta? Vivian could hear her dad laughing through the bond.

Yeah, sure. Beta Vivian. Ha!

Vivian gave it no more thought. Her conversation with John was cut short, but Hope's voice rang loud and clear. Angry, frustrated, desperate, and sad. Vivian had spun around and ran back towards the packhouse as fast as her four legs would carry her. She darted into the room, having shifted back at the packhouse stairs, and lead Hope away, glaring at Victoria and Drake the whole time.

Drake was distressed. He looked upset and furious all at the same time, but Hope could care less about Drake's feelings. Her hands remained steady on Hope's arm, but Victoria's gaze nearly stopped her in her tracks.

Was it... regret?

It didn't matter. No one should treat their child like that. Vivian fumed silently, not realizing her hand's pressure on Hope's arm was growing. Hope hummed, almost nervously. "Viv? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay!? You're the one crying!" Hope belatedly reached up and wiped a few stray tears away. Sighing, Vivian gently pushed Hope down onto a nearby bench. Vivian stood by her, giving her the space she needed to process what had happened. Eventually, as Vivian knew she would, Hope began explaining what had happened in the office. The stray tears began mounting to a consistent stream.

Vivian's heart nearly broke when Hope asked her if she resented being Hope's Protector. Vivian had been appalled, hurt. That line of thought, however, made sense after what Hope had encountered in Victoria's office. Vivian sat down beside Hope to comfort her when Hope suddenly turned and buried her nose into Vivian's neck, inhaling the scent. Smell and touch - they were the best ways to calm her down.

The peace of that moment faded, however, as new voice came along the path. It was Bruce and his Beta, but when Bruce caught sight of Vivian and Hope, he waved his Beta away and came alone. Hope caught his scent and immediately jumped up to leave. Hope looked back and forth between the two of them in confusion.

"What's going on?" Vivian stopped talking, but only long enough to steady Hope. She had stood too quickly and had lost her balance. "We mad at Bruce too?" Hope merely sped up, but Vivian shook her head. "He saw us."

"Victoria said Dad agreed with her." Vivian didn't need to hear anymore. She took off at a run, and now it was Hope's turn to stumble along. So desperate to keep Hope away from anything that would bring more tears, Vivian ignored slowing down to help her walk and insisted on speed. However, Bruce matched their speed. Hope sighed in frustration, jerking her arm so Vivian came to a complete stop, confused. "Let's just see what happens, okay? You can punch Dad if he crosses a line."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, I see." The Councilman interrupted. "You had permission to punch him."

"Let me speak!" Vivian huffed, and continued.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Vivian laughed evilly, as if already planning the punch. Or more like, she had fantasies about punching Bruce. Hope smiled to herself as she turned to face her father. It was a radiant smile, one of mischief.

The entire time Hope and Bruce talked, Vivian's anger at Victoria seemed to become a distant thing. The anger she felt towards Bruce overtook all of that previous anger and multiplied it. Hope couldn't even begin to understand how Hope felt. When Bruce called Hope disrespectful, everything just boiled over.

"You know what's disrespectful, Bruce!? Calling your child a burden."

"She is though, isn't she?" Vivian saw red. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing made sense. It was all rage and hatred. Her wolf merged with her body, and she pulled back her fist, not even hearing Hope question her father's intentions. She let the fist fly, aware Hope was walking away.

Bruce yelped in pain, falling back on the cobblestone path in shock. "You little-"

"SHUT UP!" Vivian roared, her voice deepened due to fact she had merged with her wolf. "HOW DARE YOU!" Bruce growled at the disrespect and stood quickly. He grabbed her by the throat, and Vivian made a choking noise, her feet swinging uselessly in the air.

"You will not disrespect me again." He dropped Vivian and walked away, a dangerous aura surrounding him. Vivian whimpered, her feet moving on their own accord.

"No, no, no!" She stumbled into her house, moaning. It was an Alpha command. She couldn't ignore it. "No, no, no!" Tammy came from the kitchen, a spoon dropping with chocolate batter in hand.

"Sweetie?" Her eyes glazed over, and suddenly she dropped the spoon. "Oh, no. Vivian, what's going on!? I just got a mind-link from Hope!"

"Alpha command! He game me an Alpha command! I can't go!" Vivian burst into tears. Hope even reached out to her. She could feel Hope trying to reach out to her like an instinct. Hope may not have even been aware that her wolf was seeking Vivian out. "Go, Mom! Go!" Tammy didn't wait another second, but darted away.

A pain filled sob escaped Vivian as Hope's emotions kept being thrown at her. Hope wasn't doing this to her on purpose, but she had never been without Vivian for long and was freaking out. Even Red was reaching out to Vivian's wolf Timber. Neither one could respond.

"Pain... " Vivian whispered suddenly. "Pain can break the Alpha hold." Vivian swallowed and released her claws.

She needed to get to Hope. She raised her claws to her face - the face would have the most pain. "I'm coming, Hope." She whispered, squeezing her eyes closed. She brought one claw to her forehead and cut down quickly to the ear. She screamed, falling to the floor, breathing hard.

Hope? Hope?

"It worked!" Vivian panted, struggling to her feet, holding the right side of her face. Hope didn't respond, but Vivian could make contact with her.

I'm coming, Hope. I'm coming. Vivian ran like the devil towards the pack-hospital, her parents having linked her earlier and explained the situation a little. Wolves dove out of the way as Vivian ran through the hospital hall ways as if on fire.

"Mom!? Dad!?" She shouted, reaching the part of the hospital strictly reserved for Alpha and Luna care. "Where is she!?" Hope's smell of honey and oats mixed with the metallic smell of blood reached Vivian. "WHERE IS SHE!?"

John and Tammy stepped out of a room and closed the door behind them. "Calm down, sweetie. Everything's okay."

"I need to see her, Mom." Vivian pushed past her parents, who didn't bother to stop her, and stepped into Hope's room. She was lying, pale, on a gurney. Her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. "I though you said everything was okay," Vivian whimpered, sitting in the chair next to the bed and taking Hope's hand. "This is not okay."

Vivian trembled as her friend lay looking like death.

~~~~~~~~~~

Vivian stopped talking as the memories swept back over her. "Luna?" The Councilman asked. "I know it's hard, but please continued. Did anything happen in the hospital?"

"Ah," Vivian ducked her head and wiped a few tears away. "Yeah, I guess so. My parents explained their theory on why Victoria and Bruce were acting so strangely." A smirk teased at the Councilman's lips. He nodded encouragingly. "They... they thought that Bruce and Victoria's wolves were denying Hope because they wanted their 'rightful' children to be the heirs, not Hope." Chaos broke out in the courtroom.

It was unheard of for a wolf to deny their child to such an extent, or really, at all.

"That's absurd!" Victoria shouted, forgetting herself.

"And yet," the Councilman spun around, "all the evidence is there, isn't it?" He dismissed Vivian from the witness stand and faced the jury. "Let's review, shall we?"

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