The Peacekeeper

Being the Queen is a lot of work

Rae's POV

As I reach Gage, his face shows worry, relief and, sadness. "I didn't want to do this, but it was a lesson for the people as well as Calum." He wraps me in his arms, "I know Rae, I know." I feel the dagger press between us and Gage jerks back. "Shit, Rae! That thing is still in there!" I laugh, "Yeah, I guess it is." He looks me over, I have minor cuts and scrapes all over me. "You are a mess, My Queen. Let's get you fixed up." He starts to pick me up, but I stop him. "I would love nothing more that for you to carry me, but I need to walk out on my own. I need to show them I am strong enough to defend them." He nods. "I understand." We walk back to the Ball room and I stop at the podium, "Please, don't let this spoil your night, Enjoy yourselves, as for me, I think I need a bandaid." They all laugh and look at me with respect. I can feel it in waves coming off the crowd. I walk to to the infirmary that is housed in HC  HQ, followed by the members of the council, Gage, my team and the Royal Guard.

I plop on the bed and Octavius walks up next to me. "You did well tonight, dear girl. We are all very proud of you. Not only did you win over the crowd with you impressive speech and sooth the doubts of an old leader, you showed the world that you are a fair and just ruler. You let an angry young vamp vent out all his hate and gave him a chance to yield, showing mercy." I smile at him, "In the end, it didn't matter." He sighs, "No, but that showed you were fair, but strong. You gave him the opportunity, and he stabbed you, leaving you with no choice but to take his life." I nod at him. "Ok, so, who is the lucky ducky that pulls this damn thing outta my gut. It is annoying the fuck out of me. Damn, I need a cigarette." They all laugh. "It's pretty deep, so whoever pulls, pull hard." Gage grimaces, "Not me." He stands at my head, stroking my hair. Xavier strolls up to me, "Fine, I'll do it. You trust me, right, Raindrop?" I nod and grabs a hold of the dagger and yanks it out. I swear they all turned a little green. "You didn't even flinch!" he yells at me as the blood spills out then slows. "I need a shower and some clothes." They laugh. The Doc comes in, funny enough, his name is Doc. "Hey Rae, how's it going?" He starts looking me over, checking everything out. "I'll live, I just want a shower, some comfy clothes and a nap." He nods, "You are right about that, the smaller wounds are almost fully healed, this stab wound may take a bit longer, but it missed anything major. Take it easy for the rest of the night, if anything bothers you tomorrow, come back and see me." I nod, "Will do, Doc, thanks." He gives me a warms smile and leaves.

"You heard the Doc, rest up for the night. We will have a meeting in the morning." Octavius grins at my groan and the HC members each bid me a good night and leave. I look up at Gage. "Let's go to our room. I really need that shower." He nods, still looking a bit worried. "Don't worry, we can bandage the big one up after I clean up." I stand up, but he sweeps me into his arms and we head off to our room. I throw a good night to the team and they return it.

Back in our room, Gage finally sets me on my feet in the bathroom. "Let me help you, my wolf isn't happy about you being hurt." I nod and he begins to peel me out of my dress. I sigh, my beautiful dress is ruined. Gage notices my face and smiles, "You really did look ravishing in that dress, Rae. I did imagine peeling it off of you, but not because you were bleeding all over it." I laugh, but I feel a pinch and stop, watching a fresh flow of blood come from my stomach. Gage shakes his head, "It looks bad, my love." I smile gently as he starts the shower. "It will be ok, I promise you. I have gotten worse wounds. He just used a silver dagger that makes it bleed longer." He pulls of my underwear and bra and guides me into the shower, quickly undresses and hops in next to me.

After washing me and himself quickly, he wraps me up in a towel and lays me gently on the bed. He rushes back in to the bathroom. When he comes back, he has a towel wrapped around his waist and a first aid kit. The wound is only about two and a half inches long and about a half inch wide. He puts a couple gauze pads on it and tapes them in place. I dress in one of his big t-shirts and a pair my panties while he throws on his boxers. Then he sits me down and brushes out my long hair, braids it quickly, and lays me gently back on my pillows. When he lays next to me, I gently cuddle into his warmth and kiss him. "Good night, my Queen." He whispers. "I love you, Rae." I smile and whisper, "I love you, my King, goodnight." It takes no time at all before I fall fast asleep.

"Is she still alive?" I hear a deep voice whisper. I keep my breathing even and act like I am still asleep. "Of course she is alive, you moron. Did Gage go on a killing spree?" That voice belongs to Smoke. "Well, she is awful still." Tank, I should have known. "Gage would kill you if he knew you were in here, aggravating Rae." Smoke whispers. "Hey, He said he would be right back and watch her." Tank argues. I can't help the giggle that escapes. "You two are too funny." I say, opening my eyes and looking at two guilty faces. "Good morning, Rae Rae." Smoke smiles at me. "How are you feeling?" Tank asks. I sit up and stretch. "Fine, where did the almighty Alpha sneak off to?" Smoke smiles, " He went to get more bandages." I shake my head, "I don't need them." I push off the blanket and lift my shirt, Tank blushes and looks away, causing Smoke and I to laugh. "What's wrong, Tank, haven't you ever seen a girl's underwear?" Smoke taunts him. "I have, but she's my Luna, my Queen, and Gage's girl." He mumbles and I roll my eyes, pulling the blanket up to where it covers my underwear. "There, now you can look." I tell him. The only thing showing is my stomach. Smoke smirks and grabs a hold of the tape and yanks it off. Tank flinches, but I don't. This makes Smoke laugh. Then he stops and looks at my stomach in shock, Tank follows his line of sight and his mouth pops open. "Oh my shitballs!" He yells just as Gage pops in the room. "What in the hell is going on in here?" He yells and runs up next to me. His eyes widen and jaw drops open. "It's gone, there is nothing there but smooth skin! How?" I shake my head, "I am a lab rat, remember. They took the DNA of ancients to create me."

After grabbing a quick shower and breakfast, we head to see the HC and I can hardly wait. Please note the sarcasm. "Ah, right on time, My Queen." Gaston smirks when we enter. "Bite me, Gaston. We are all friends, do we have to do the whole "Queen" thing when we are not in public?" They snicker and shake their heads. "On to business, Rae. Last night was a great success. They did polls on how many people watched and how many support the new system and how many support you. You had people all over the world watching last night and of the people who watched 85% of them support the new system and 80% support you. That number will only grow. You proved last night that you were the right person for the job. Your speech was wonderful and inspiring. Then the way you handled Arastos, that confirmed that you are diplomatic. The incident with Calum proved you are fair and just but firm and willing do do what is needed to keep the peace and are not afraid of getting your hands dirty. You don't expect people to do your work for you. That is what it takes to be a good, strong leader. We are ever proud of you, Rae. We are here to support you and help you, should you need it. Never forget that, you are not alone in this." I smile at them all, "That means more to me than you could ever know."

The next few months are hard work. We have been putting the new laws into effect, training and placing new police all over the world, opening new schools, developing new curriculums, building new towns, businesses, homes, hospitals, etc.  Over the progress is encouraging. We have a few conflicts, but they have been small and handled quickly. Although, there have been some problems in the schools with kids picking on each other, we have put programs in place to help with that and hopefully, hate won't continue to grow. Even though things have been crazy busy, Gage and I still find time to be together, he takes me on dates and such. In fact, we have not really been apart too much at all.

I am not sure that is a good thing, because I think I'm pregnant.