"Tell me more about your family." Bo's voice was soft in her ear, the warmth in her body cooling after yet another battle beneath the sheets.

Lauren smiled. Bo's curiosity for who she was before the war started was a gift Lauren never knew she'd asked for. "My brother was a big guy, six-two, two-hundred pounds of solid muscle, a real jock. But he was smart." She shook her head. "So smart and kind and gentle. And our dog Jaffa." She held up a finger. "Named for my mom's favorite cookie." She laughed. "Jaffa was Jack's constant companion. They'd go running every morning, swimming in the lake in the evening and Frisbee in between."

Bo fluffed the pillow behind her head and lay back to listen to Lauren's tale.

She chuckled. "I'll never forget the time Jack and Jaffa were sprayed by a skunk on their way home from the lake. My mom, actually made them sit on the patio for dinner before mixing a simple neutralizing solution in the lab downstairs."

"You had a lab?" Bo was in awe.

"Well, my parents did." Lauren settled onto her back, staring up at the lush fabric canopy. "I'd use it when I could, but it was often off limits for days at a time. Sometimes I wouldn't see my parents for a week, hearing them walk around the kitchen in the middle of the night when they'd finally emerge for food."

"What about you?" Bo grinned. "I bet you were a hellion."

Lauren laughed. "My hellion years came later. In high school I never missed curfew, not because I was a good girl, but because there was nobody worth missing it for."

"I find that hard to believe."

She shrugged. "Until you, little has mattered one bit to me. I was beginning to think it was my," she held up her hands and made finger quotes. "Issue."

"If you find me a suitable mate it might very well be your issue." She smirked.

"Just wait until I tell you about my penchant for bad girls." Lauren winked and poked Bo in the side with her elbow.

"That's a little obvious, don't you think?" Her smile was heart-stopping.

Lauren smiled awkwardly at her beauty, propping herself up on an elbow. "You're not so bad…" She trailed kisses down Bo's throat.

"You've not yet seen me at my worst." She sighed, her hand coming to rest on the back of Lauren's neck.

"And you've not seen me at mine." Lauren grinned as her mouth moved towards Bo's breast.

Bo laughed knowingly. "Show me." Grinning against Bo's breast, Lauren tugged the sheet from Bo's grasp as her lips inched closer. She knew it would take a feat to impress someone who has been around as long as Bo has, but Lauren put her heart into it because that was the one thing she had aplenty. She touched her, revered her, as the Queen but she loved her, desired her as Bo. To Lauren, Bo, with her curiosity and innate kindness would always trump her role as the all-powerful Queen. Bo gasped as Lauren's mouth found its target. A smile and a shake of her head was almost imperceptible as she combed her fingers through blonde hair, the back of her hand lazily grazing Lauren's cheek. "It's true, you are a devil."

Lauren lifted her head and kissed her gently. "And what is my crime, my Queen?" She whispered against Bo's lips.

"You have stolen my heart." She captured her lips in a hungry kiss.


From the penthouse, Lauren looked down at the city below. Not quite the shell of a city that it once was, Bo had kept true to her promise and the Fae had started to rebuild. In the meantime, Lauren had transformed an old armory into a makeshift hospital where the sick and injured could come to be tended to. She had a team of primarily Fae doctors but there were a few select Humans that she had handpicked to help with the unending lineup of walking wounded.

The Doctor's biggest challenge had not been this endeavor however, rather the simple fact that because she worked as a shadow leader, her own troops did not believe that she was actually their leader. This resulted in disharmony and mistrust throughout the ranks.

Only a few months had passed since Bo had taken Lauren into her heart and into her bed. Time moves quickly when political unrest looms and rebellion is certain. As simple as it was for the Queen and the Doctor to hammer out a peace treaty, the difficulty lay in convincing all who were coerced to fight that it was now time to lay down their arms and to accept Humans or Fae into their society as equals.

And as difficult as regulating the troops was, Bo and Lauren were finding it more problematic to shut down their feelings for one another and focus on the task at hand. It was all-too often that they would stay in bed half the day before they could no longer ignore Dyson's urgings that work should be done. Lauren had grown used to Dyson's regal stares and disinterested eye rolls at her suggestions, but he was mostly just sore because Bo valued her opinion more than his. Not helping his distaste for Humans, was the decision to pair the Scout, Kenzi with the General. Initially insulted, he resisted the hanger-on. She was young, Human, impressionable and far too impressed by his wolf. Being paired with a low-ranking Human had brought much ire from the soldiers under his command, but slowly, Dyson began to soften. Kenzi had that effect on people. Her relentless dog-with-a-bone attitude garnered her a modicum of esteem from the General but it was her penchant for the drink and holding her own pushed him in the direction of respect.


Kenzi sipped a fine ale and stared across the table at the General who checked his watch for the third time in ten minutes. After breaking up a few fights and unauthorized feedings, they found themselves at Kenzi's new favourite place and Dyson's home away from home. Things between them had finally started to relax after finding themselves in a camaraderie over their respective bosses and their marathons in the bedroom. It was hard enough to get her new partner to trust her, Kenzi didn't have time to wrangle the Resistance leader, too. She sighed. "Another fruitless day."

Dyson looked at her. "The Queen is simply distracted," he reasoned.

"Well, no shit." Kenzi rolled her eyes. "What are you gonna do about it?"

He sipped his pint, capturing the foam on his top lip, with his bottom lip. He shook his head. "I am just a General."

Kenzi slumped against the back of her chair and crossed her arms. "Not such a big, bad wolf anymore if you ask me."

He growled. A low rumble that started in his chest and rattled the back of his throat. "The Queen would not take suggestions on this matter from me."

"You're right," Kenzi threw her arms up in the air. "I'm sure the Dark Queen would take pointers from little old me."

"No, but perhaps the Doctor might." Dyson knocked on the table.

Kenzi shifted uncomfortably. "We're not that close."

"Sure you are, I've seen the way she is with you."

Kenzi held up a finger. "Let me rephrase that: We are not close enough for me to tell her it's time to chill with the panty raids and get to work sorting out the districts."

Dyson held up a hand in mock surrender. "Fair enough." He sipped his brew again and pondered the relative silence of the tavern.

"It's not too late…" She pushed, knowing he'd crack.

He sighed. "Unified front?"

Kenzi slapped the table and stood. "You betcha."


They rode the elevator in silence. Each time Dyson began to speak, Kenzi would shush him. She needed silence to get her game face on, she said. When the elevator dinged, she forged ahead, marching right into the Queen's living room. Except there was no sign of the Queen, just Lauren sorting lab results on the coffee table.

Upon seeing Dyson and Kenzi enter so hastily, she stood and immediately. "What happened?"

He shook his head. "Everything's fine," he said. "Sorry to alarm you, Doctor."

"Then, what?" She asked, heartbeat beginning to normalize.

"We, uh…" Kenzi looked up at Dyson and back to Lauren. "Wanted to talk to you about your," she coughed, "work habits lately." Lauren made a face. "We're just concerned that you might not be giving everything your, uh, full attention."

Lauren turned to Dyson. "And you feel the same?" She waved a hand. "Of course you feel the same."

"We need to act quickly if we're to convince our kinds to coexist," he said. "And while I…" Dyson swallowed and looked at the floor. "Appreciate the situation you find yourselves in-"

"I get the picture." Lauren held her hand up and dropped it to her side again. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she nodded. "I have work to do." She gathered the lab reports and walked away.

Kenzi leaned over to Dyson and elbowed him in the side. "Notice how she went to the bedroom?"

Dyson's shoulders lifted and he sighed heavily. "How am I supposed to stop a succubus from having sex?"

"Is this a riddle?" Kenzi called the elevator. "Because I'm totally not good at those."

The elevator dinged and they returned to the car. "You thirsty?" He asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," she was heard saying as the doors closed.

At the sound of the elevator leaving, Lauren was back in the living room with her stack of paperwork, dropping it on the coffee table, she walked to the floor to ceiling windows and looked out upon the city, still lawless and volatile. A warm hand came to rest on her shoulder and Lauren turned to see Bo in her favorite red kimono eyeing her sleepily. Life with Bo was nothing like she expected. The Queen was a caring and tender lover, however inexhaustible, a gentle friend and confidant, a protector, all the while still maintaining a fury that her subjects respected and in some respects still feared. Still, Lauren challenged her and Bo delighted in this fact.

"I'm surprised by how slumberous you are today." Lauren's fingers followed the seam of the kimono, over Bo's breast and down to her navel. Above its belt, she slipped a hand inside and felt the heat coming off her in waves, as slumber had not quite left the Queen. Bo looked skyward with a sigh as Lauren's hands began to roam her body, her kimono pooling on the carpet below.

High above the city, Bo tore at Lauren's button-down shirt. She gasped as buttons went flying and her lace-covered breasts were exposed. Reaching behind Lauren's back, Bo easily popped the catches of the bra and dropped it on the floor. She pressed her hips in closer. Hurriedly, Lauren unbuckled her belt and kicked her jeans away. And when Bo sank down Lauren's body, hooking her index fingers on her underwear and slowly sliding them down her legs, Lauren began to lose herself as she was learning she always did when Bo touched her.

As she stood, Lauren's arms wrapped around Bo's neck, her mouth against her ear. "I can't be long, they're expecting me in the infirmary."

Bo's arm encircled Lauren's body. "You can't rush a master," Bo said against her neck.

Lauren's head fell back as she laughed, joyfully. "Does that make me your blank canvas?"

"No," Bo shook her head. "Never." She ran a finger over the fine bone structure of her cheek.

"Then, what?" Lauren pushed.

"You're the masterpiece that I can never duplicate."

Lauren smiled and a moment later she was turned around, Bo's hands and lips explored the curves of her shoulders and back. Her breath labored and Bo pressed Lauren up against the glass. It was freezing, but the heat from Bo's hips on her ass distracted her from the skin cooling against the window. A hand reached around Lauren's navel and plunged between her legs. Lauren's fingers squeaked as she tried in vain to grip the window with one hand and reached behind her with the other. She pressed her cheek against the cool window as Bo worked between her legs, her breathing uneven and expectant. On display for the world, though at an impossible height for any Fae or Human to see, Lauren's breath fogged the glass as Bo moved with her.

Bo spun her around without warning and kissed her hard. She lifted her leg and held it against her thigh. "You are…" Bo whispered against her ear, inhaling sharply. "Superb." She raked her hand across Lauren's thigh before sinking to her knees.

"My Queen," she gasped as Bo lifted her leg over her shoulder, covering Lauren with her mouth. She leaned back against the window, hovering above the city, teetering on the edge of something wonderful. Holding Bo's head against her, her hips rocked rhythmically until, knees quivering, sweet release shook her body.

Lauren slid down the window, settling beside Bo who kneeled there. "How do you do that?"

"It's pretty simple," she said. "You just put your lips together and-"

"Not that." She swatted at Bo. "I'll admit I am single-minded when it comes to you so I must know how can I have fallen under your spell so quickly?"

Bo leaned over to kiss her. "Because we are written in the stars."

Lauren stared at her, her lips curling into a smile. "Kenzi says we're spending too much time in bed."

"Ha." Bo kissed from Lauren's jaw, to her ear and down her neck. "There is no such thing."

Lauren's eyes closed when Bo moved from shoulder to chest. "You don't think we're ignoring our people?"

Bo hovered over Lauren, her lips finding her throat. "I think both of our people have survived worse."

The buzz of the doctor's cell phone vibrated from a few feet away, in the pile of clothing on the floor. Lauren crawled out from under Bo to reach for it, who had a hard time not taking advantage of the situation. She held her bottom lip between her teeth. Lauren returned to Bo's side with the phone and with few quick button presses later, she lowered it to her lap with an apologetic smile. But Bo didn't speak, leaning into Lauren and kissing her fiercely.

Lauren held Bo's face in her hands, dropping the phone to the floor. "Bo…" she breathed in between kisses, unable to slow her down. "Bo, I have to go."

The Queen buried her face in Lauren's shoulder with a groan, her hands squeezing her waist. "I need to schedule an appointment."

Lauren chuckled and kissed the side of Bo's face. "That's not necessary," she said, sliding out from under the Queen. She stepped into her jeans and slid them over her hips before picking up the shirt. She pulled it on and crouched next to Bo. "If you need me, you know where to find me."

With a smile, Bo watched Lauren disappear into the bathroom. These were the days that she would never forget; nestled between duty and love. These were the days that would define Bo's reign, not the years of destruction that took place before. It was always someone else's war but now it has become their origin story. The Human Doctor and the Dark Queen, hand in hand, helping those who their factions had once harmed, rebuilding a city torn apart by years of misguided rule.

Legacies were funny things. The hit or miss nature of history books, highlighting the high and low points but often missing the in between, leaving the real work hidden. Bo looked out the window, Lauren having just left for the infirmary. It was something she hadn't done for years before Lauren pulled the curtains apart that fateful night. She was the one. There was no doubting or denying it now and Bo was, for the first time in her life, truly happy.

She had cast off the diabolical inheritance of her parents and followed her heart of all things. Yes, the Queen could love. The end result was Lauren in her arms at the end of the day and a colony that had its flaws, but with members and leadership that were committed to working on them, because legacies were funny things. This time Bo wasn't blazing her own trail, she was creating a new life for herself, for Lauren, and everyone else in the compound. She was fulfilling a prophecy that was as old as she was but the next chapter, that was in their hands.


The dust storms were the worst. With make-shift soda bottle goggles, he could see a few feet in front of him, at least. As he climbed over a mile of dead, firebombed and looted vehicles Vex fixated on that damned Dark Queen and her pathetic Human Doctor. As if anyone would follow them into battle. Vex had been poised for a takeover but now he was scraping by in the Outlands, eating possum and drinking distilled piss by a campfire.

He saw the lights before he heard the roar of the engine. Squinting off into the distance, he watched as fate approached on an ATV. A gang of bandits, he figured, and prepared to get hijacked for everything he had gathered in his travels.

He stood and dusted himself off. Better to face destiny head on than to try to outrun it, that's what his mum always told him. The four-wheeler spun out in front of him and a tall man, a misfit, hopped off the ATV.

"Vex, I presume?"

"How could you presume anything?" Vex held his hands out and dropped them to his sides, dust clouds rising from his clothes. "There are thousands of miles of lawless, drought-suffering, unpopulated country to search and you presume to know who I am?"

"Well, you're Vex, aren't ya?" He asked, hand on his hip.

"Yes and who the hell are you?" Vex was sleep-deprived and hungry and had no time for trespassers.

"Come with me." He motioned with his hand.

"Are you having a laugh? I'm going to be eating my dinner before crawling into my kit and you, you bloody pirate can get arsed."

"I thought you might say that." The tall man approached him with a bundle of ropes and before Vex could protest, he had already been hog-tied and roped to the back of the four-wheeler on his belly.

"Where are you taking me?"

"The Queen requests an audience."

Vex swallowed. His hands were still healing and he was defenseless, is this how the Queen wished to rid the world of him? He choked at the dust storm the four-wheeler stirred up and bounced hard on his belly as they rolled over the washboard-like ruts in the dirt. His teeth chattered, echoing inside his skull at the vibration. It was fifteen merciless minutes of this before he was being hoisted off the ATV and untied. Mr. Long Legs booted him inside a tent, something that looked like was stolen from the circus. Vex was ready to meet the ringleader when he saw her unmistakable form sashaying toward him.

"Vexie, sweetie." Evony put her hand on her hip, pouting. "I heard Queen Bitch finally got tired of your shit." She clapped her hands together. "You're in luck! It just so happens I'm in the market for your brand of mischief. Fancy another go at the Dark Queen and her pet Doctor?"

"My Queen!" He bowed dramatically. "At your service."


Fin.


***stay tuned for the sequel, Outlanders coming soon to a fan fiction site near you!***