#13 The Dragon King and his Werewolf Princess
Chapter 38 River

The familiar tingling feeling took over my body as we stepped through the portal. In a blink of an eye, we were stepping out the other side. Grier immediately let go of my hand and doubled over, heaving beside me, while Calix’s grip got impossibly tighter, his arm snaking around my waist.

I blinked against the bright light, looking around my unfamiliar surroundings. I was surprised to replace that I wasn’t in the castle inside the werewolf realm, instead I was inside a stranger’s house. My eyes finally settled on something familiar and my face broke out into an earth shattering grin.

“Mom,” I gasped, “Dads.” I flung myself across the room adn into their arms.

My parents’ arms wrapped around me from all sides, squeezing me and hugging me close. Until a low, threatening growl rattled the room.

Their hands tightened on me even more, trying to pull me away from the supposed threat.

“No, wait,” I argued, wiggling out of their grip and stepping back against Calix’s chest, “It’s okay.”

I turned in Calix’s arms and put my hands on his chest, forcing his attention down on me. He tore his sunset colored eyes from the strangers before him to look down at me.

“Those are my parents, Calix, this is my family.” I whispered and his eyes began to soften.

“River?” I turned around to see my parents and brothers worried eyes, “Are you okay?

“She’s not okay, look at her!” Rohen shouted, his eyes black with rage.

Calix’s hands yanked me back into him again.

“Okay, enough,” I sighed, starting to feel like the rope in tug of war, “This is Rohen and Rodrick, my brothers, my mom, Stella, and my dads, Alex and Ian. Everyone, this is Calix Dragonblood, King of the Dragons and….” I paused, looking around the room,

“And he’s my mate.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock and curiosity.

“Okay, back up. First things first, are you okay? That looks like blood.” Rodrick stepped towards me, his eyes soft and full of worry.

“There was a battle just before the portal opened. I got hit, but I’m fine. I’m already mostly healed.” I said, grateful for my brother’s calm demeanor.

“A battle?” My father, Ian, spoke up.

“I was inside the dragon realm.” I confessed, unsure of what, if anything, they knew about my time away.

“We know. When you disappeared, the Moon Goddess appeared to us and instructed us to go to the Emerald Forest pack. That’s where we are now.” My dad, Alex, explained.

I looked around again and noticed that our family reunion was being supervised by four strangers in the corner of the room we were in, which appeared to be an office of sorts.

“Princess River, I’m Luna Harlow and these are Alphas Godric, Gabriel, and Griffin. The Moon Goddess has been speaking to me since I came to Emerald Forest. I’ve learned that I have dragon blood in my veins, I’m the descendant of the House of Nyx, a dark dragon bloodline.” The woman shielded by the three alpha males spoke up, her eyes kind.

“The House of Nyx?” Calix spoke up for the first time.

“Yes,” Harlow nodded, “I sense a certain amount of loyalty to you. You’re the King of the dragons?”

“I am. The dark dragons were all killed off when the realm was sealed.” Calix said,

“Almost all. A few survived, lower ranked Houses who weren’t involved in the whole Viking War mess, they were just labeled dark dragons because of their ancestors,” Harlow explained, “Honestly, that’s all I know. I’m new to all of this.”

Calix nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing on the Luna,

“I can sense that you’re Dragonhearted.” He finally said,

“So, the Moon Goddess spoke to Luna Harlow and told her that you were inside the dragon realm and why.” My mother said,

“The Goddesses spoke to me as well, both Selene and Tiamat, the dragon goddess. They told me that Calix and I are meant to bring the dragon realm out of the darkness, to reunite them with the rest of the world.” I added, catching everyone up to the present.

“We missed you so much, River,” Mom sniffed, stumbling forward and holding out her hand, “I don’t care about anything else, just that you’re home.”

I smiled at her and took her hand, taking a few steps towards her,

“I’ve missed you all, too.” I said,

“If I may,” Harlow interrupted, “The Goddesses did reach out to me just before you came here. They said that a portal would open and you would have the option to come through. They wanted me to ask you both a question.”

I looked back at Calix who was studying her closely,

“What is it?” I finally asked.

“Do you accept the call to unite the realms? If so, I’ll add my dragon fire to the portal and it will unlock the dragon realm. Portals will open all over the realm and you’ll be able to travel freely through them. Dragons will be released on all the realms and the Goddesses will begin mating them with other species.” The weight of Harlow’s words laid heavily on us all.

“Wait,” Rodrick said before I could open my mouth, “River, you don’t have to do this.I don’t care what they say. If you don’t want to take this on, you don’t have to. If you don’t wantt o be with him, you don’t have to. You can just come home.” He was glaring at Calix who was definitely taking it personally.

“Rodrick,” I smiled at him, releasing Mother’s hand to take his, “I love you so much and I’ve missed you more than anything.” I said,

“I’ve missed you, too, sis.” He grinned.

“But, Calix is my mate and I love him.” I said and his eyes widened.

“You do?” He asked breathlessly.

I stepped back and pulled my hair from my neck, revealing his mark. Everyone’s eyes were glued to it. Then, I pulled down my shirt and showed them my brands.

“He branded you!” Rodrick shouted.

“Chill out, dude, seriously.” Rohen rolled his eyes, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“In the dragon realm, they are marked for their House which is their family and their rank. Their people are ranked into different categories, it’s much more complex than any of the other realms. This is the mark of the House of Dragonblood and this is the mate mark,” I pointed out the one on my shoulder and the one on my neck,

I looked over my shoulder at Calix and he revealed his own neck silently,

“Calix and I have accepted each other and then we were wed, hence why I have his House mark. His people created a new mark for me, the Mark of the Wolf, so I could be ranked just like the rest of the people,” I continued to explain,

Everyone was gapping at me, mouths open.

“The matebond is the same for dragon’s as it is for wolves, it means the same and it holds the same weight. Calix and I mean as much to each other as Mom means to Dads.” I pleaded with them to understand.

“You love him?” My mother repeated and I nodded,

“I love him, Mom.” I smiled.

She walked towards us, but her eyes were glued to Calix.

“Do you love my daughter?” She asked him and Calix’s eyes were trained on her.

“What kind of question is that?” Calix grunted and I elbowed him in the stomach, “My apologies, Queen Storm, I don’t mean any disrespect, but, you see, asking me if I love your daughter is like asking if I need air to breath or if I love my realm or if I have a connection with my dragon. The question in itself is offensive. My entire life revolves around River, love isn’t a big enough word for what I feel for her.”

I blushed and craned my neck to look up at Calix, smiling lovingly at him.

“And you’ll protect her?” My father, Ian, asked.

“With my very last breath. Grier,” He motioned towards Grier who had been standing silently beside us, “Is her guard, similar to your Gammas, I’ve been told. She has four other guardsmen as well. Of course, I learned quite quickly that River can defend herself, but I’ll always be there to have her back.” Calix kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arm around my waist again, pulling me against his chest.

“You’ll see to her needs?” My dad, Alex, asked.

“Dad.” I groaned, but Calix spoke anyway,

“River has to problem asserting herself and her needs to me, but I continue to try and meet them before she has to ask. She’ll always have everything that she needs.” Calix spoke sternly.

“Rodrick, Rohen,” I caught my brother’s attention, “You should know that I’ve officially relinquished my claim to the werewolf throne. A few days ago, I had my coronation and was named the Queen of the dragons.”

Rodrick and Rohen looked at each then at me,

“It’s a shame, sissy, that you felt the need to run to another realm to get out of the Trials with us.” Rodrick finally grinned.

“Oh, no, I went to another realm to give you two a fair chance of becoming King.” I returned the jab.

Rodrick and Rohen chuckled and then threw their arms around me, yanking me from Calix’s grip to crush me in a famous Storm Sibling hug. Once they were done suffocating me, they squared up to Calix,

“Alright, Mr. King of the Dragons,” Rodrick mocked, causing me to shake my head, “If you want to take on my psycho sister, you go for it, but just know that I don’t care what you turn into, either way, I’ll tear you apart if you harm a single hair on her head.”

“We both will.” Rohen added, his face stern.

Calix looked at them both before nodding and offering to shake each of their hands,

“I’ll let you do just that if I ever harm your sister.” He agreed.

The three men shared stern looks before backing away and allowing the mood in the room to relax.

“We just want our daughter to be happy and cared for.” My fathers stepped up to Calix then, Alex speaking first.

“And she is, she always will be.” Calix replied.

“River,” My father, Ian, looked at me, “You’ll always have a home in the realm with us, the castle will always be open to you.”

“I know, daddy.” I smiled, tears prickling at my eyes.

“The full weight of the realm will be at your disposal should you need it to settle your people,” He said, looking at Calix, “And should River need it to defend herself.” He added carefully.

Calix offered Ian his hand,

“I understand.” They shook hands, as did Calix and Alexander.

“So, the decision, then?” Luna Harlow spoke up.

I looked up at Calix who nodded at me,

“Let’s open the realm.” I said, turning back towards Harlow.