Rejected, Then Reborn
Chapter 92: Epilogue

To say Reed’s overprotection in the months that followed was borderline annoying was an understatement.

But the joy that had filled their home, their realm and the entire kingdom was one that was truly beautiful.

You know, never in her wildest dreams did Lacy ever think that she’d come to be accepted by a people who would have under normal circumstances thought nothing of her.

You want to know the best part?

The fact that she did not have to resort to the use of her powers to keep anyone in line.

She was with child!

The Dark Queen never in a million years would have thought that her hormones running haywire would have something to do with a baby.

Never.

And gods, her husband had been nothing but a true gem.

He took her for daily walks, rubbed her feet, fed her even when she didn’t feel like it, sang for her. (Who would have thought the grumpy Alpha King had a nice voice?)

He was nothing short of perfect.

Reed spent hours huddled with her protruding belly, having serious conversations with the little one growing in her belly, and he seemed pretty convinced that it was going to be a boy.

Lacy had been skeptical at first, asking how he knew, but apparently, most Lyken fathers could sense their children and knew their s*x even before they were born. Given that Reed had been the one to confirm her pregnancy, Lacy didn’t really know how to dispute that.

Somehow, the joy of her pregnancy had killed whatever mood swings she had been experiencing.

In short, life was perfect.

The days slowly turned into weeks, and the weeks into months.

The Dark Queen’s belly grew bigger with each passing day, and the Alpha King’s overprotective tendencies grew more and more apparent, especially when she passed the expected number of months known for Lyken women to give birth in, which was six months.

He wouldn’t let her lift a finger, and he made sure that she was always comfortable.

Lacy found it endearing, but sometimes, just sometimes, she wanted to strangle the poor man.

But if Lacy thought Reed worse, then Ace was simply put the devil’s advocate.

He fussed over her, and then when she had had enough and begged Aura to come and handle her own half, he’d fuss over her too… so much that the white Lyken wolf had resorted to shutting Lacy out whenever she sensed the Dark furry king’s presence.

Nine months came and went, and Lacy was still pregnant, and to be honest, Reed was starting to get worried, for fae delivered at three months, Lyken at six, vampires at seven, and humans at nine.

Surely, she must have delivered in one of those periods, right?

But ten months came and Lacy was still with child.

By now, the rumor mill had seriously started churning, everyone in each of the realms having their own special conspiracy theory as to why the Dark Witch was still pregnant.

Lacy herself was starting to get worried, but she did her best to keep it together for her husband and mate who seemed on the verge of losing it. One would think he was the one bearing with the discomfort of a child playing kick with his insides the way he was so passionate.

Despite all of this, the Dark Queen still adamantly refused to let Reed bring in Xavier.

She had confidence in the other hospital staff, and she herself had been a nurse once, so she wasn’t really worried. Besides, all the tests she took revealed that everything was fine.

Their little child seemed to be taking his own sweet time, it seemed.

One lovely afternoon in the twelfth month of her pregnancy, as they were sitting in the castle gardens, basking in the gentle sunlight, Lacy felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

She gasped and clutched her belly, causing Reed to jump to his feet in alarm.

“What’s wrong, my love? Are you okay?” He asked, his voice laced with concern.

“I—I think the baby’s coming,” Lacy replied, trying to catch her breath, even as she calmly put her hand under her skirts only to pull it out to find her fingers soaked in amniotic fluid.

The Alpha King didn’t waste a moment.

He scooped Lacy up in his arms and rushed her to the nearest room. Within minutes, a birthing specialist was by her side, instructing her on what to do. “Take it easy, Your Eminence, I’ll tell you when to start pushing, nurses are on their way, they’ll join us shortly,” The middle-aged She-Lyken promised, but Lacy started to feel dark energy thrum under her fingertips, and she knew that she had to get the birthing specialist out of the room before she hurt her or worse.

The Dark Queen took advantage of another violent contraction to flick the woman and the horde of nurses that opened the door out of the room, bolting the door shut even as dark mist clouded the room, “Reed… it’s—it’s going to have to be just you a—and me. Think you can handle that, my love?” She breathed heavily as she rode out the pain, clasping so tightly to his hand that she left indentations.

The Alpha King breathed heavily.

He could do this.

He had been taking classes at the clinic in the case of emergency and so he knew what to do.

Reed kissed his wife’s sweaty forehead, “Let’s bring our son out into the world.” He murmured softly, letting go of her to take his place in between her legs.

Lacy was in labor for what seemed like an eternity.

She was exhausted, but Reed was there every step of the way, holding her hand and encouraging her.

And then, finally, just when she had almost given up, she heard the first powerful shriek of her baby.

“It’s a… a girl, Lace… we just had a girl,” Reed announced to his wife, pleasantly surprised even as they both burst into tears of joy.

The Lyken sense was rarely wrong, but it did not matter any way… the Alpha King knew without a doubt that they were not going to love her any less. They both didn’t care that their child wasn’t the son Reed had predicted, they were just grateful to have a healthy, beautiful baby.

The dark energy died out completely, and the door burst open, the birthing specialist and her horde of nurses dashing in to take over from there, and it was then Lacy realised that a violent storm was raging outside.

“We think your pain triggered it, Your Eminence, because now that you’re okay, it seems to be dying down.” The Birthing specialist explained at her curious look.

The middle-aged lady placed the shrieking baby in her mother’s open arms. She instantly became silent, her curious striking blue eyes seemingly taking everything in.

“What do you want to name her, my love?” Reed asked, his eyes still stained with tears.

“Callahan. Callahan Yara Winchester.” The baby cooed in delight at the name, and everyone burst into laughter, even as Lacy used magic to painlessly cut the umbilical cord.

As the days passed, Lacy and Reed settled into their new roles as parents.

Lacy was in awe of the tiny human they had created, and Reed was more protective than ever.

The naming ceremony had been celebrated with pomp and style, each of the realms wanting to outdo one another in their show of love for their new princess, but slowly the excitement gradually died down.

“I can’t believe we created something so perfect, Reed,” Lacy gushed as she held Callahan in her arms.

Their little Callie.

For some reason, whenever she was fussy, all they had to do was get her out into the gardens, and she’d instantly quieten down.

It didn’t matter whether it was daytime or midnight.

It was on one such evening that the Dark Queen and her perfect little family sat outside, enjoying the smell of flowers and the sounds of crickets, and relishing in the ivory hue of the beautiful night sun.

Reed was playing with Callie, who was giggling in delight at his goofy antics when suddenly, the air around them shimmered, and a figure appeared before them.

It was the moon goddess, Selene, and she was looking directly at them.

The Alpha King was quite petrified, but the Dark Queen, who had met her once, remained calm.

“Lacy, let me take a look at my lovely descendant,” Her voice was like music to the ears, and she didn’t even wait for Lacy to answer. She stretched forth her arms, and the little baby came trundling towards her by way of magic.

The Alpha King was panicking, but Lacy reached for his hand, calming him down.

Little Callie cooed and ca-ahhed in delight as she was held in the Deity’s arms, and for a while, the Moon Goddess forgot who she was, making goofy faces at the child who continued to giggle in amusement.

But when she lifted her head up to stare at her parents, gone was her look of playfulness.

“Lacy, Reed, I have a message for you.” She said, her voice echoing around them. “Your child is special. Very special.” She informed them. “Callahan has a heart of steel and a darkness within her that cannot be tamed. It will only grow stronger with time, consuming her from the inside out. But fear not, for there is a way to control it.”

Lacy and Reed looked at the Moon Goddess in confusion, not sure what she meant.

“When Callahan finds her mate, the darkness within her will be calmed, and she will find peace. But until then, you must be careful. Keep her close and safe, for her powers will attract many who seek to use them for their own gain. And in the wrong hands, she would be a tool for mass destruction.”

Selene came close, carefully dropping the child in Reed’s waiting arms.

The Alpha King was stoic, his one hand going towards his wife, pulling her closer to him and their child.

“We’ll protect her.” He swore, his voice firm.

“And I have no doubt that you will,” The goddess replied, before disappearing as suddenly as she had come.

Lacy and Reed were left sitting in the garden, staring at the spot where the goddess had been.

“It wasn’t a dream, was it?” Lacy asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It wasn’t, Lace,” Reed confirmed.

He could see the worry in his mate’s eyes, see that she was about to panic. “What are we going to do, Reed? What are we going to do?” She lamented, feeling a strong desire to stand up and pace.

But her mate wouldn’t let her.

“I honestly don’t know, my love,” Reed replied truthfully, his eyes locked on Callie who was sound asleep, completely oblivious to what lay in store for her. “But one thing I know is that we will not let harm come to our princess.” He assured her passionately, “Whatever it is that we have to do, I know we’ll figure it out. Together.”

And so, with that, the Alpha King and the Dark Queen settled into their new reality, determined to protect their daughter from the darkness that threatened to consume her.

They didn’t know what the future held, but they knew that they would face it together, with little Callie at the center of their world.

The end.