Mated To The Devil's Son

Book 2: Chapter 53

TWO WEEKS LATER

Lenora's Pov.

"I owe you my gratitude," I said, as my hands freely caressed her face, causing her little hands to ball in reflex as she sneezed.

Watching her nose scrunch soothed me. Watching her little mouth open wide to yawn and every movement she made brought joy to my eyes.

Her soft cry was music to my joyful ears, and her leg scrunch the moment I picked her up from her bed made my heart flutter.

Never have I ever seen anything as beautiful as this precious baby girl in my hands, making it almost hard for me to believe that this little creature had passed through a lot before coming into this world, yet she stood strong and has the healthiest body ever recorded.

"Your highness, please don't say such. I owe you my life for the sins I have committed against you," Josh replied, falling to his knees as he stared at me with his teary eyes. He was trying his very best to keep the tears from betraying him, but the more he resisted, the more salty tears welled up in his eyes.

"Okay, first, you don’t need to address me so formally, and second, I've forgiven you," I said.

"You saved me by instantly rushing me to the hospital as quick as you could, and without you, we wouldn't be in the presence of this adorable charm right here," I added, referring to the dark-haired baby in my hands. It's no surprise that she was born with a head full of hair because her father also has a lot of hair.

Despite my attempts to make it easy for Josh, he didn't find it easy with himself. I also wouldn't have found it easy on him, and I most definitely didn't want to, but if I chose to forgive a cruel beast such as Anselm, why should Josh not also be forgiven?

Perhaps some would say he deserved to be dealt with, but if I had dealt with him, then there would have been no one available to save me the moment I landed on the ground. No one would have rushed me to the hospital, and I might have ended up losing both my life and that of my baby girl just because of an irrational decision.

"But…" He attempted to protest.

"As your Queen and friend, I hereby forbid you from apologising over the past incident," I ordered, knowing that the only way that Josh would ever let go of this topic was if it was an official command. And it worked; he no longer spoke about the incident and was now standing on his feet.

"Thank you your high…"

"Thank you, Lenora; I promise I will never let you down again," he said, with a sigh of relief and a smile spreading across his face.

"We've packed the baby's food and also some clothes," Jasmine said, walking into the room with Alaric by her side. He looked exhausted, but the moment he sighted me and our little Aurora, a smile beamed on his face as he approached us.

"We're all packed and ready to leave," Jasmine said, earning a scoff from me.

"You still haven't forgiven me?" She groaned. But how could I forgive her when she intentionally almost killed herself in the battle with Anselm? She could have fought her way out of his grip and escaped. The knife held to her throat could have been a special type of knife that can kill extraordinary things, but it had the same effect on her as any other knife, and she had to stay behind and let that cruel beast slit her throat before passing out.

"Of course I have," I whined sarcastically.

"It was for your own good; I knew you had to need a trigger to bring the beast out of you." She protested for the thousandth time.

"Take it easy on Jasmine, Lenora," Alaric chuckled.

"Whatever," I replied, causing Jasmine to shake her head with her palm massaging her temples as I shifted my gaze back to Alaric.

"You're so beautiful," he said out of the blue, but I couldn't help but smile at him.

"I can't wait to please every inch of you all night, once we get to the head quarters," he said through the mind link, causing me to instantly flush as I bit on my lips.

He leaned towards me, his hands reaching for my neck as he attempted to plant a beautiful kiss on my lips, but the moment our lips were about to touch, a loud knock, no, a terrifying banging, was heard from the door.

"Who is it this time?" Alaric groaned like a child, returning to his initial position. Since I put to bed, we've been having loads of visitors who came to visit the next heir to the throne, but hopefully today will be the last day because we'll be moving to the headquarters for a permanent stay.

"Nora!" A familiar screech filled the air, and my whole body immediately recognised the voice. As an act of reflex, I placed Aurora on Alaric's hands because I knew what would happen after that sound.

"Nora!" She screamed again after the door had been opened, and I was standing face-to-face with Ariel, my best friend.

"Ariel!" I screamed, returning the same energy as she jumped on me on the chair, embracing me in a tight hug without paying any attention to the rest of the people in the room, nor did I care about them at this instant.

"I missed you so much!" I cried.

"Please don't cry," she said, but her voice broke as she also burst out in tears. We were both crying together in the room while, I believed, everyone else stared at us in disbelief.

"I should have visited you sooner," she added.

"Please don't say so; you were in a coma for a long period of time before you recovered." I said, pulling away from the hug to look at her face.

"It's my fault that you lost your baby," I added as tears freely rolled down my cheeks. I can't bring myself to imagine the excruciating pain she must have gone through.

"Everything happens for a purpose, and besides, our rainbow baby is on its way," she said, chuckling as my eyes widened in surprise and excitement.

"No way!" I exclaimed with a smile.

"Yes way!" She replied with the same energy.

Every feature and detail that I remembered about her were still there, and she was still as beautiful as ever. I wouldn't pretend that I didn't miss her, whereas there was not a day that passed without me remembering her and missing her so badly.

I couldn’t help but regret my decision to get ice cream with her; if I hadn't taken her along with me, she would never have fallen into a coma for a long time while carrying a child, but I'm happy the moon goddess has decided to bless us all by making her conceive. Even though I forgave Anselm, I can't help but feel happy for the fact that his body is trapped in a concrete box with only his head left without concrete for breathing. I promised to spare him, and keeping him this way is the most I could do for him.

"I missed you so much; I'm glad you're fine now and everything is over." She said, pulling away from our embrace as she wiped the tears off her face before proceeding to wipe mine off.

It was only after she pulled away from the hug that I realised that all eyes were on us, including Brandon, who stood in absolute shock with a pink handbag on his hands.

"Brandon! It's lovely to see you," I greeted him, and his smile never faded as he stared at his mate and me.

"I'm just happy you two have finally gotten to see each other again; she wouldn't stop whining and crying every day." He said the whole room burst out in laughter, including my Alaric, but his deep laughter seemed to have disturbed Aurora as she began to cry.

"No, no, no, please don't cry, my princess." Alaric cooed, but none of what he was doing seemed to be helping out. Aurora's cry only increased.

"My love, she won't stop crying," he complained, his clueless face showing as he juggled Aurora in an attempt to make her stop crying.

"Please help me out here," he muttered under his breath.

"Sorry, Alaric, I think you're stuck with her for now," Jasmine chuckled. Everyone laughed, and fortunately, Alaric managed to find a button that made Aurora calm.

Looking at their faces as they all laughed made me feel something I had never felt before. It was like a sense of contentment washed over me. I had everyone and everything I have ever needed: love, friendship, and a family that will forever be by my side. Even in the face of tragedy and adversaries, I know I have people I can rely on. I will never have to be alone anymore, nor will I need to beg for love.

I have found my happy ending.

But for some moments, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of grief over the loss of Simon. He died in an attempt to break free from Anselm's control, but he wasn't strong enough to match Anselm. He died in an attempt to save me from himself; he never wanted to hurt me or kill me, and he had to do what he knew would stop him from ever obeying Anselm again or ever having to worry about hurting me.

Jasmine told me how they found him lying dead by the door of my room with a little note squeezed in his hand.

"I'm glad I died loving you."

I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my cheeks or myself from whimpering the first time I read that note, but being surrounded by Alaric and the people who truly loved and cared for me made the pain go away.

"I wish Simon was here," I sighed under my breath, but Alaric heard it and gave my hand a light squeeze while firmly holding on to Aurora with his other hand.

"I owe you an apology, Ariel. Taking your family away from you..."

"You don't need to; I figured out the evil crime my father committed, and as for my brother, that was his fate," Ariel said, interrupting Alaric with a shrug and a bright smile on her face.

This was always one thing I loved about Ariel: she's understanding and forgiving even if, at first, she breaks every bone in your body.

"I'll like to make it up to you by giving the Serene pack to its rightful owner; please accept it," Alaric begged.

Ariel was quiet for a moment as she turned to face Brandon; they were both contemplating whether or not they wanted to accept the offer.

"I guess this could be best for my unborn baby," she answered. Brandon sneaked his hands across her waist and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you," Alaric said.

"We should be leaving for the headquarters as soon as possible; there's a storm coming, and we might be delayed if we don't go now," Josh said, scrolling on his tablet.

"You're leaving already?" Ariel protested.

"I don't want to leave you," I replied, tears already welling up in my eyes.

"No one needs to leave anyone. It's a coronation ceremony, and everyone is invited," Alaric said, sighing. I could tell he was already getting tired of the drama between Ariel and me, but this is just the beginning.

"Let's go now," Josh said. Jasmine requested some servants, and one by one, they all trooped into the room, transporting our luggage onto the plane.

"I can't wait to have lovely sleepovers with you in the head quarters; we have a lot to catch up on," Ariel said. I turned to look at Alaric's face, and he looked like he had just made a terrible mistake by inviting Ariel to the coronation ceremony.

As we headed to the plane, I found myself feeling more and more at peace. I was laughing with my friends, reminiscing about old times, and sharing stories of our lives. It was a moment of pure happiness and maybe chaos because Ariel wouldn't stop screaming at the top of her lungs how much she missed me, but it was a moment that I knew I would cherish forever.

"Thank you all for everything," I said, my voice choking with my emotions.

"We're always here for you," Alaric said, planting a kiss on my head.

"I love you, Lenora. You're my everything," Alaric added. Caressing the mark on my neck.

"Everything is now okay," I said, my voice filled with conviction.

Alaric smiled, a sense of hope filling his eyes. "Yes, it is; we have each other."

I nodded, feeling at peace as we settled on the plane. I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be. Surrounded by love, surrounded by happiness, and marked by the devil's son.

(THE END).