Worth Waiting For

Epilogue

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~~~  One Year Later  ~~~

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It has been a long year for Malachi and Ashlynn.

Since the night of Lucas's death, everything was in turmoil. What made it worse was the fact that the King had died during the fight. This opened up the position. A position that the Queen wanted. She wanted the power to herself. She wanted the power to take down Malachi and Ashlynn.

Her anger at the loss of her Beloved outshone the fact that Ashlynn had found hers. Even more so than the fact that her daughters Beloved was now one of the most powerful being that currently walked the face of the earth.

However her fight for the crown was a losing one. The rest of the vampiric kingdom wanted Malachi and Ashlynn to reign supreme. They knew of the power that Malachi held at his fingertips and they knew that if needed, he would protect his own. This fact alone, left the former Queen in the losing side.

"Do I really have to do this?" Malachi asked Ashlynn as he stared into the full length mirror, admiring his pitch black suit and black shirt and tie. He was nervous to say the least due to the fact that he was going to reigned in as the King and at the same time Ashlynn, the Queen.

"Of course you do." Ashlynn chuckle softly as she exited the bathroom and into the room. Since they had decided to move back to the mansion where Malachi was turned, they had made this the new royal house. The castle was in ruins after Lucas's father had come for his son's body and without Malachi or Ashlynn being there, he went all out.

Malachi turned to Ashlynn with a smile on his face as his green eyes lit up. She was wearing and elegant dark blue long sleeved dress that hugged her figure with perfection. The dark red multi gemed necklace around her neck gave her a high class aura. Her red hair straightened and braided, hung down her back, reaching her buttocks. The sides of her hair braided and tied backwards, keeping the hair from her face.

"You look stunning." Malachi said as his eyes shone brighter, betraying the lust he felt for her at that moment.

"We have a coronation to get to. Don't go getting ideas now." Ashlynn chuckled more as she saw the reaction Malachi was giving her.

"Come on." He said as he walked over to her. He rested his hands on her hips as he looked into her eyes.

"No. Later." She replied with a smile as she eyes his lips with an equal lustful gaze.

"Fine." He said as he bent down and kissed her softly.

They left the room and the ceremony began.

It took no less than two hours to finish the coronation and now Malachi and Ashlynn, the King and Queen of the vampire kingdom were welcoming their guests to their after party. Of course they thanks them for coming as well, but to them, they wanted to be alone. In each others arms.

Malachi was the first to notice Gertrude and her granddaughters enter the large hall. He walked over to them with Ashlynn quickly following close behind.

"You made it." He said with a smile as he hugged Gertrude. It was an odd relationship but he saw her as the grandmother he never had. As well as the fact that she could shed some light on what he truly was and how he came to be.

"Of course we would." Gertrude laughed as she hugged him back. "Kirsten was a little anxious to see you again, after your last altercation." She turned to the blushing blonde to her left and let out a soft chuckle.

"Water under the bridge." Malachi said in a happy manor. He let out a laugh when Ashlynn moved closer to him with her eyes glued to Kirsten.

"But don't touch him again." Ashlynn warned as Kirsten felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Come on, Ash." Haylie said with a laugh of her own. Malachi still couldn't understand what changed with her, but now Ashlynn and Haylie were now good friends. He began to wonder what happened to Mark, but then his mind quickly wondered to his Queen, who was currently cuddling her way underneath his arm.

"Don't mind her." Malachi said with another laugh. He turned to Kirsten with a soft smile. "Please forgive her this once, she is currently more protective than normal."

"It's okay." She said as she lifted her gaze to meet his. "I was the one at fault that time."

"Then water under the bridge." Malachi said and smile when he saw Kirsten smile too.

"Come on all." Malachi said as he slightly twisted his body to the left, not bothering Ashlynn as he did so. "It is an open bar. Please enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you." Gertrude said as she smile brightly and walked past Malachi and Ashlynn. Her granddaughters trailing behind her. Malachi quickly stopped Haylie as she walked passed him.

"Haylie?"  Malachi let his curiosity win out after all. "Can I ask you a quick question?"

"You're the King." She chuckled loudly. "Of course, you can."

"What ever happened to Mark? He used to hang around you quite protectively." Malachi asked and he saw the emotion flow passed her eyes.

"Lots of things happened." She said as she glanced down slightly. "He was bitten by a werewolf a few weeks after your awakening. He has joined the leading pack of the US and is currently their Beta. He is strong, but his mind is weak." She began to explain as her mood dropped. "It turned out we are Mates. The bad news is that he is was over protective and he has a bit of a rage issue."

"If he hurts you, I will deal with him." Malachi said as if protective of her.

"It seems that not only Ashlynn is becoming overly protective." Haylie let out a laugh as her mood brightened. "By the way, he still hates both of you. So things might get complicated in the future."

"Doesn't matter." Ashlynn said with a laugh. "Malachi will protect us."

"Fine." Malachi mocked whined as he pulled Ashlynn into a hug. He kissed her softly as both he and Ashlynn returned to the party, following Haylie to the open bar.

When the party was over, Malachi held Ashlynn in his arms at the foot of the bed where they shared their first precious memories. It was at this point that he knew that he would not let her go for anything.

He stared into her eyes with loving affection. Her eyes reflecting the same.

He kissed her softly before the gazes met once more.

"We really should get married." He told her with a smirk. "And no declining this time." He added which illicited a chuckle from Ashlynn.

"Fine, but only after one more year." She said as she pecked his lips softly. "We have to settle in first."

Malachi slowly shifted to his knees as his hands found Ashlynn's protruding belly. He felt whole at this moment. With his child growing in his Beloved's belly.

He leaned closer and whispered softly.

"Hurry up, baby girl." He continued to whisper lovingly. "I really want to meet you."

He rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around Ashlynn, holding her carefully.

"I love you, Red." He said with soft smile as he gazed into her eyes.

"I love you too." She replied as she found herself becoming lost in his eyes. "This was really worth the wait." She said softly before leaning forward and capturing his lips with hers.