Rejected, Then Reborn
Chapter 40

It all made sense.

Why everyone seemed so okay telling her everything about this strange place she had stumbled into.

To be honest, Lacy was feeling a lot of things. Your girl was a whole myriad of emotions. From angry that her brain was going to be tempered with like that… to disappointed that everything she had gathered over here, all the memories she had made over here and perhaps at Blue Valley as well was all going to go away. She was even understanding of the entire situation, because even she could get that sometimes-uncomfortable things needed to be done for the sake of the greater good. This was exactly like in medical practice, when patients with complete brain death gave their organs away to other ailing patients, she understood it all. But perhaps, the feeling that scared her the most was the relief she felt at the thought of just forgetting about everything. Lucius’ cheating, the many murder instances, her rebirth, the Goddess Arrangement, the fact that despite the connection that was starting to grow between them, Reed still couldn’t let go of everything and claim her…

She was going to forget it all.

With every second that passed, Lacy felt her heart open more and more to the idea, she felt her anger dissipate into whisps of smoke, she felt her understanding of the whole situation goad her into acceptance. It all didn’t seem like a bad idea after all.

“Lacy, you’ve been awfully quiet, please say something. Tell me how you feel.” Anaya interrupted her after a while, her heart hurting for her friend. You’d best believe that if there was a way she could get her friend out of this, she’d do it without any hesitation whatsoever, but it was what it was.

“I’m fine, Anaya.” The human girl informed the Lyken Princess, a little sad smile on her face, “I mean, am I a little bummed out about it? Yeah, sure… but hey, perhaps it’s all for the best anyway. Perhaps it’s the only way I can properly heal.”

“I—I don’t really know though how this healing is going to work, seeing as the Rejection Process failed and all.” The redhead mused out loud, calling Lacy’s attention to a new problem.

Lacy thought through it carefully, her face scrunching up in concentration, “If the little ache in my chest is anything to go by, I’m guessing I’ll forget about him alright, but I’ll still be reminded that I’m tied to somebody, though I wouldn’t know exactly who that person is?”

“Perhaps.” Anaya conceded, collapsing unto her friend’s bed with a loud sigh. Lacy joined her on the huge bed.

The duo were quiet for a while, and then Anaya was saying, “You know, I really thought when I told you about the mind wipe, you’d definitely change your mind and stay, you know?” She confessed softly, invoking a small giggle out of the human girl, “Well, you were wrong.”

“I see that now,” She grumbled.

“You know what, promise me one thing when I’m gone, Anaya,” Lacy turned to face her friend, “Promise me that you’d choose your friends when I’m gone. That you’d not allow some stupid conventions to hold you back on who to have a relationship with. I’m not saying you should befriend her instantly, but you know one of the maids who used to bring me my meals, Chreisa?”

Anaya seemed lost in thought for a while, “Wait, the beautiful maid with the scar?”

“That’s the one.” Lacy confirmed. “I can actually see you guys getting along very well. We pretty much hit it off in the little times we interacted, so if you seem in doubt, at least you know where to start from?” She suggested. “You’ve got to let those girls go, Naya… they’re just seconds away from back stabbing you if the conversations I heard them have when they came over to yours is any indication to go by.”

“You don’t think I know that?”

“Well, it didn’t seem like you did.”

The Princess stood up, not allowing the subtle barb get to her. “Come, if this is your last night over here, you might as well spend it in my room.” She said with a sad smirk.

“Yes, Your Eminence,” Lacy saluted, satisfaction coursing through her veins when the princess laughed. “How many times do I tell you that Reed is the only one who gets to be called that?” She asked as they stepped out and Lacy proceeded to lock the door, surprisingly still stuck in the red dress that had caused all the avalanche of problems she had been bombarded with tonight. “Between you and I,” Lacy leaned in conspiratorially as they walked towards her friend’s room, “I think you deserve the title better.”

Anaya’s loud laugh could be heard across the hallway.

******

“You’re letting her go back to the human world?!” Xavier Mendoza stared at his friend in complete disbelief.

He had been woken early Sunday morning, (the only day he got a free break to himself, by a loud bang on his door, and he had irritably opened it to see his best friend, completely distressed behind the door.

The information he came with was grave.

One that Xavier, for the love of him did not understand.

“Have you realised that ever since she stumbled into this place, you two haven’t even gotten together yet, and she has already started making you better? Why would you let something like that go?” He mused out loud, “I really don’t know what’s pushing you to do this, but all I know is, I think you’re making the biggest mistake of your life, man.”

“You think I don’t know it? You think I don’t know it?” The Alpha king’s temper seemed to be rising by the minute. “I cannot give her what she wants, Xavier,” He admitted sadly… truthfully, for the first time in a long while allowing himself to be vulnerable without being under the influence of alcohol and silver like he usually did. “She wants to leave, and I’m seriously not going to stop her.”

“Tell me this, Reed…” Xavier closed the door behind him, following his friend to one of the very comfortable couches in the large room, “Do you believe what she’s saying about the whole mate bond thing?”

“I… I believe her now.” The Alpha King admitted, “You know we even tried the Rejection Ritual that were in those Werewolf books we used to read as kids,”

“And what happened?”

“They didn’t f*****g work. If anything at all, I feel a bit more drawn to her than before.”

“And Ace?”

“The stupid i***t is over the moon with joy that she’ll be leaving.” Reed grumbled bitterly.

“You know this stupid i***t can hear you, right?” The Lyken beast in question quipped in the Alpha King’s head as he stretched and shook out his dark fur, amusement lacing his tone. Reed didn’t even bother to reply, he just placed the block in place.

“I’ve already sent for the old Hex. She’ll perform the mind cleansing ceremony, and then Lacy’s free to go.” Reed said with a deep sigh, “I’m pretty sure in about two days, everything will be back to normal.”

“You really think so?” Xavier just didn’t get it. Sometimes, his friend who was pretty smart seemed anything but. And in those instances, he had a stubbornness so powerful to back it up that made him completely oblivious to reason.

So, this time, the good doctor told himself that he wasn’t going to interfere, he was just going to sit back and observe and watch how things were going to play out. Hopefully his best friend came to his senses before it was truly too late.

“What about her husband, Lucius?” Xavier found himself asking, even though just seconds ago, he had promised himself that he wasn’t going to interfere.

“What about him?” The Alpha King’s warning growl told him that he needed to proceed with caution.

“Don’t you think that he’d go after her once word gets to him that she’s no longer under our protection? Nobody in their Pack knows that she’s alive after all, and we both know that once news of her being alive reaches them, the werewolf council could open up a committee of enquiry that could in the long run put the Alpha’s rule in jeopardy. I don’t think Lucius would want that.”

“It doesn’t matter. Lacy would have protection when she goes back to the human world.”

“She’s safer here, Reed.”

“JUST DROP IT ALREADY, XAVIER!” The curly haired Alpha King heaved bitterly, his temper completely taking over. “This is hard enough as it already is, I’m only telling you because I need support. The girl has decided to go, and I for one am not going to stop her. It is the easiest way out, after all. There’s Rieka and a lot more at stake if I so much as dare to dream of a future with her, man. It’s all better this way.”

Xavier sighed deeply and nodded in understanding, pulling his best friend in for a hug.

He completely didn’t agree with anything the Alpha King was going to do, but hey… he was an adult capable of deciding what was truly best for him, and so if support was all he wanted, Xavier told himself that he was going to do his best to provide it, even though his conscience was gravely protesting at every turn. “I’m here for you, man,” He murmured softly slapping his friend on the back before he pulled away.

The Alpha King’s striking blue eyes glazed over for a minute, and then he was back to normal once more and saying, “The Hex is here, Xavier. Come with me, let’s go and get this over and done with.”