I was not in the mood to fight Ace right now. Not now when everything was peaceful and quiet. “Looks like the queen did a good job in managing the realm,” Gusev commented, smirking at me. After that, Gusev directed me to the ladies and young witches who were training and I stopped him. “How about Liam? William? Or Henry?” Gusev kept on suggesting names as we walked but it still didn’t seem right. “Does your mate ever wonder where you have been?” he asked. “Be thankful you were useful to me that I convinced him not to hate you anymore.” Oh, and I had to do a lot of convening to Ace. He didn’t liked how close Gusev got to me, but I managed to find a way to cure his possessiveness. Gusev sighed in relief. “Thank goodness!” Just then, he saw Lana and wanted to call her but stopped when he saw she was talking to someone. To Markus. Gusev frowned. “When did the two of them get close?” I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I haven’t seen Lana lately so I am shocked too. And Markus, I didn’t expect him to be here now. Not now when Crimson pack needed to have a leader there. Well, I think they left the temporary job to Maximus. Markus was staring at Lana’s soul. He had never done that. He must love Lana. “Lana!” Gusev called, approaching them and breaking their moment, while leaving me. Gusev was glaring daggers at Markus. Markus excused himself and came to me. Lana’s eyes followed. Oh, I better not get involved there. Markus’s eyes met mine as he greeted me, “Your Highness.” “Why are you here with Lana? What about my baby?” I asked. “Alpha Ace is taking care of him.” I nodded. “Alright, I'll go to him.” I could see the tension between them and I just left them and headed back to my baby. Two months passed by. After a few brainstorming sessions, Ace and I finally decided on a name. We decided to name him Adrian Zaire. Adrian because I wanted it to start with the letter A, like Ace. Means dark in Latin and rich in Greek. Dark because I had given birth to him during the time of darkness, but I knew he was going to bring me the bounty of happiness. And Zaire because my baby is fond of rivers. He liked to stare at water so much that I had to build a water fountain at the entrance of our throne. I also transferred to the river near here so I could watch over him when he decided to play around it when he grew up. I woke up with a fresh start, wanting to go and take Adrian and let him have some vitamin D by letting him bathe in the morning sun. After spending time with my little Adrian and breastfeeding him, I made him burp and returned him to sleep. He looked healthier now and looked more alive. Baby Adrian was also growing at a normal rate, so I was glad I could still carry him around. After this, I had to go get dressed and prepare to go to my office to manage the realm affairs. I was only getting used to it by now and still learning the Latin language. I could also say some magic spells. When I returned to the room, I spotted Ace talking with Beta Markus who looked troubled. When Markus saw me, he instantly excused himself. “Luna Kira.” He bowed and left. I looked at Ace. “What’s wrong?” “How’s Adrian?” Ace asked. “He’s doing great, I just took him out in the sun, breastfed him, and put him down for his nap. What's wrong, Ace?” I asked. “I had let Adrian stay here for months, and I believe he is ready. I think it’s time to bring little Adrian to the pack,” Ace suddenly blurted out. I paused for a moment, taking in what he said. Of course. This moment had to come. Ace had the right to say this and we had to have this talk which I had been post- poning for quite a while now. But why did I feel sad? I masked my disappointment with a smile. “When?” “As soon as we can,” he responded. “You’re sad. I can feel it, you can’t lie to me, Kira.” He then approached me and hugged me from the back. “No, Adrian stays here. He’s more a witch and a human than a werewolf. He’s still fragile and might get sick on the way.” I was starting to find excuses on how to stop Adrian from leaving the realm. Ace grabbed my chin and made me look at him. “Baby, we need to go have Adrian undergo the welcoming ritual. We have to introduce him as the heir,” he tried to explain. “You and I both knew this would eventually happen.” I sighed, avoiding his gaze. “I know, but can we post- pone? Wait until he is one year old?” Ace shook his head. “The ceremony should be performed no later than five months old.” I gulped. “I decided to raise him in this realm. He’s much safer here.” “Safe, but he cannot grow to be an alpha here. He needs to absorb into the woods. To let him wander on his own or he’ll get called the weak alpha. You don’t want that, do you?” I knew that to be a strong alpha like Ace, little Adrian should be able to pass the test they had. To train like there was no tomorrow. To be difficult with themselves. It must be a mother’s instinct not to let her child be exposed to danger. I mean, who would want to watch their son suffer? He was only two months old. I didn’t want to see him suffering. Just thinking about the training he had to do to be strong made me sick. “Please, Kira? This is for our son’s sake,” Ace asked. “I had tried to wait until he grows up, but this environment is not for an alpha to train. It should be under worse conditions.” I gulped, thinking of a plan for how to say no for now. “How about we just let Adrian be introduced and undergo the ceremony, but let him grow here until he’s about ten years old?” Ace thought about that. “And? What about after that, baby?” “I promise to let his training start when he reaches ten until he reaches adulthood. Then let him return here.” Ace nodded. “Very well. He might be a bit late to his peers but since he is in a different circumstance, he has to adjust to the environment.” I nodded. Ten years here would be enough, right? I would start training him as a witch here once he hit seven until ten. So I would have three years of him learning spells. He might be weak compared to the young alphas but at least he could defend himself using spells. A few days had passed and we were preparing to return to the Crimson Pack and let Adrian take part in the ritual. Everyone was thrilled, and excited for their little heir and rejoiced. We stayed for about a week before Adrian started to get sick. I looked at Ace with a plea. “He’s not used to the envi- ronment.” Ace nodded. “Yes. And he would eventually be. Let him adjust for a few weeks then we can return to your realm.” I gulped. Ace had been a caring father and I knew that he was doing this as the alpha but I couldn’t bear to see my son in pain. Ace was being too hard on Adrian. And I did not want that. I decided to just confront him and pulled him aside to a private room. “If you’re going to continue like that, I might steal Adrian and seal him in my tower and not let you in. Can’t you see our son is suffering here?” Ace sighed. “Baby, please, let’s not argue.” “I have to say what I want to say. You’re being too strict when he is just a baby. I just want to create a nurturing envi- ronment for him, Ace. Because I never felt that when I was a child.” I could feel tears falling down my face and Ace instantly wiped my tears away. “This is our first fight since Adrian was born. We must not let this slide long.” “No! Ace, just understand my side. I am a human and a witch. I am a Luna who got kidnapped, and I just became a witch queen. Then I gave birth. It was hard for me to do my duties as I worried for my child’s safety. You know that I can't sleep at night because he’s tri blood. He is born with that burden. To always be in danger.” I knew I was still in the postpartum stage and pouring everything into Ace. Ace hugged me. “I apologize for not listening. I under- stand you, and I feel you, my love. What do you want? What can I do to make you happy?” I stifled in between sobs. “Can we just return to the realm?” Ace nodded. “Then we will head back as you want.” We had experienced almost everything and handled the worst of the worst, yet our bond had never been stronger. I was his, and he was mine. I was Queen Kira, once a damsel in distress, but now, the Alpha King’s human mate. And also, the queen of the Witch Realm. Time had passed, but the present continued. This had been such a journey, but adventures weren’t supposed to end. This was the beginning of our future. Especially with our three children, Adrian, Adalric, and Kaira. The legacy went on. And if somehow trouble found its way to us again, I would make sure to fight head-on. Because I was braver and had grown stronger. No one could stop me now. No one.