Rejected, Then Reborn
Chapter 81

“There’s no way we can mate now, Reed,” Lacy smiled sadly at her mate as they cozied up in bed, the smallest time they’d had to themselves in almost a week. “So much to do, and so little time,”

“I know, Lace…” The Alpha King kissed her temple, breathing in her calming, intoxicating scent, “I know,”

But even as he said the words, Lacy could sense Ace’s agitation, brimming to the surface, making her mate slowly tense up under her touch.

The Dark Witch rubbed her fingers through Reed’s thick dark curls, something about the action calming his Lyken Beast somewhat, but still not stopping him from carrying out what he wanted to. He seized control, and Reed, knowing how the beast was feeling had let him, hoping that Lacy could talk him down before he had a full-on meltdown, destroying the little progress they had made with the realms.

For a while, Lacy was silent, just smoothing his thick, dark fur, over and over and over again.

It seemed to be working.

“Mate,” The Ruthless lyken wolf whined against her.

Lacy was so sad for her beast mate, never had she seen him look so broken, but she needed to make him understand. “Oh Ace, tell me you get it,” She murmured softly, “You do get where I’m coming from, don’t you?” She asked, “I need to establish myself as the Dark Witch and Queen of the realms first before I settle down and think about making my family, else what’s the point of having all this power if I can’t make lives better? What is the point of having my dream come true while others continue to suffer?” She caressed his beautiful dark fur softly, her own primal force stirring at the mention of power, a deep hunger for it gnawing at her insides.

It was a dangerous thing, this desire for power she had, and Lacy was neither stupid nor naïve, she knew that just one wrong mistake, and it could all go sideways, throwing her on the wrong side of everything she was literally putting her life on the line to bring to fruition, but as the Dark Witch, it was essential to her role.

This was something she knew, perhaps the Moon Goddess had had it imbedded in the very fiber that made up her being.

She needed to be strong and fierce, feared and respected, perhaps, loved by her people if she got lucky, and yet, there was a small part of her that longed for the peace that came with settling down with her mate and forgetting about everyone else… a part of her that just wanted to say f**k it and be selfish for once.

Ace growled low in his throat, his wolf eyes flashing in the dim light of their bedroom. “I understand your desire for power, Lacy, but it doesn’t change the fact that I need you. We need each other. Our beasts ache for the completion that only comes with mating.”

Lacy sighed, knowing really well that he was right.

Their bond was strong, but it was still relatively new, and they had been pulled in different directions ever since they had claimed each other. It was even a wonder that they had still stubbornly stuck it out together and gotten this far.

But she turned to face him fully, placing her hand on his furry chest.

“I know we need each other, Ace. I feel it too, believe me I do, but we can’t just ignore our duties, there’s no one else out there who would be able to f*****g carry them out like I know we can. I have to establish myself as the Dark Witch, and you have your responsibilities as the Ruthless, kind Lyken Wolf I know you are, the very same responsibilities that have almost doubled since Reed agreed to take Blue Valley under his wing.”

Ace’s eyes softened as he gazed down at her. “I know. The bastard took them on without consulting me, but I know that I would have done the same thing if I had been in control, so I cannot really fault him on this one. I just wish things were different. That we could be together without any distractions.”

Lacy smiled sadly. “Me too, my love… me too,” She whispered, “But we have to be strong. For each other, and for our people. This is what we have been put here for, and I know it will not be easy, but I know that with you by my side, there is truly nothing I cannot achieve.”

There was a moment of silence between them as Lacy hugged him, as they just lay there listening to their breathing, Lacy staring into the Lyken wolf’s beautiful red glowy eyes, her own green eyes shining with adoration.

Something about their position eventually calmed him down enough to make him hand back control to Reed.

Lacy smiled softly as she stared at her mate’s sky-blue eyes once more. “I need you to teach me how to handle him like that, it was just like watching you make magic, or seeing you come, just as amazing,” He chuckled in good mirth, Lacy joining in with a fit of giggles of her own. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, pouring all of her love and longing into the k**s.

It was a bittersweet moment, one that they would both look back on and cherish as they faced the challenging times ahead.

As they pulled away, Lacy saw a glimmer of determination in Reed’s eyes. “We’ll find a way to make this work, Lacy. We just have to. I will support you in all that you do, but we can’t neglect our bond, promise me that we won’t. That we will make time for each other, no matter what.” He implored seriously.

“I promise.” She swore solemnly, assuring him.

Lacy felt a surge of gratitude for her mate, and she leaned in to k**s him again, more passionately this time.

They spent the rest of the night entwined in each other’s arms, just enjoying each other’s warmth and company like they had gradually started doing, their love a powerful force that pushed aside any doubts or fears.

In the coming weeks, they saw even less of each other, Lacy threw herself into her role as the Dark Witch, traveling across the realms and using her magic to help those in need.

Her new era was still taking some getting used to, her unfathomable power even more so, but that was understandable given that there had never been anyone like her in the history of all Supernaturals.

If only they knew just how vast her powers really were, then she was pretty sure she would have had people choosing to follow more out of fear than for the fact that they believed in her legitimacy as Queen, and gods knew she did not want that, no matter how much it would have made her job much easier.

But that did not mean that she wanted her legitimacy questioned though, and luckily no one dared oppose her, (at least not blatantly to her face) but even she could understand their wariness, and it was justified, although it put her even more on her toes, keeping her up all day and all night trying to work out details with her new council to ensure that each realm had their best interests taken into account.

Yes, Lacy had gotten a new Council up and running, it was one of the first things she had done when she got into the process of establishing her rule and so far, it seemed like one of the best things she had ever done.

Truly, it was beautiful what the Dark Queen had managed to achieve in just a week.

Pretty impressive too.

The Dark Forest, which was supposed to be her headquarters, had totally been transformed, an impressive building mounted on a special incantation Synn Gloom, the Mother of Thorns had apparently left her in her cottage.

You see, Lacy wanted to bridge the gap that was between all five realms, and she had this elaborate plan that involved working on the Supernaturals first, and she had a set of amazing delegates who were all also tired of the old order and wanted something new, something refreshing like what she was bringing to the table.

And suffice to say, it was working.

It was exhausting work, but the Dark Queen felt fulfilled knowing that she was making a difference.

In that same vein, Reed and his beastly half, Ace focused on his duties as the Ruthless Alpha King, leading his clan, and his vassal state, the Blue Valley Pack with strength and integrity.

Within a week, his due diligence to his new Clan had had the other Werecreatures approaching him too, first, the Werebears, then the Werecats and the Phoenixes, asking to join his growing kingdom, unifying themselves into one giant realm with him as their ruler like it was meant to be all along.

All four realms, with their new leaders had all sworn their loyalty to the Dark Witch, with a test trial of one full year already underway to make sure that the system was full proof before they moved on to the next stage of involving the humans in the new era.

Ever since the dawn of time and the creation of Supernaturals, never had peace reined this supreme, cutting across all four realms like that, the goodness of it all had all the skeptical people who had been wary of a Lady ruling over them shutting up, gradually coming to accept the Dark Witch for the amazing Goddess and Queen she was.

Despite their busy schedules and completely different roles, the Dark Queen and her Alpha King Mate always found moments to steal away together, even if it was just for a quick embrace or a stolen k**s.

They knew that their bond was too strong to ignore, and they refused to let their duties get in the way of their love, even if it sometimes seemed impossible.

The new era had truly begun.