#13 The Dragon King and his Werewolf Princess

I groaned, my eyes fluttering open and inspecting my foreign surroundings. There was a roaring fireplace beside me, blasting me with heat while I laid under an itchy wool blanket on a very uncomfortable couch.

“River?” Calix’s concerned voice came rushing towards me as he leaned down by my head, “You’re awake.”

“Am I?” I grumbled, wincing.

“Are you okay?” He asked, ignoring me.

“I think so.” I nodded, testing out my fingers and toes to make sure they were still attached.

“I was scared to death when I couldn’t find you and even more terrified when I did, curled up in a ball in the snow as Lavender.” Calix was talking a million miles a minute.

A thought struck me and I held up the blanket, checking over my appearance. I was dressed in an oversized shirt and nothing else.

“You shifted back once I got you here and warmed up. I put you in one of my shirts.” Calix answered my unasked question.

“Uh-huh.” I looked at him sideways.

“What were you thinking? Jumping out of the carriage like that.” He was too worried to laugh at my mocking tone.

“I was thinking that I wanted to go home.” I confessed.

“River….” He started, but I cut him off,

“I wanted to go home. Not anymore.” I said and his eyes widened.

I told him all about my meeting with the Goddesses. For a long while, he stared at me like he was trying to figure out if I was suffering from hyperthermia-induced delusions or not.

“There’s more,” I struggled to sit up and Calix helped me, placing his hand on the small of my back to support me, “I haven’t been fair to you, Calix, or our matebond.” I confessed.

“River.” He shook his head at me and spoke in a soft voice.

“No, listen, it’s true. I haven’t given us a fair chance. In all honesty, I haven’t given us any chance. My sole focus has been getting back home and maybe I still harbor some blame for what happened to me when I first came here,” I took a deep, shaky breath, “I didn’t have faith, but I do now.”

“My dear, you have every right to be focused on getting back home and to have your faith shaken, and you certainly have the right to still be distrusting of me. I don’t want to earn your trust because of something that the Goddesses say and I don’t want to operate on their perceived timeline. We’ll do things our own way, mon p’tit bout.” He smiled softly at me, brushing my hair back from my face.

“Did you hear what I said, Calix? This can bring your realm out of the darkness.” I said in disbelief.

“I heard you, my dear, and I’m telling you that I care more about you than bringing down the walls of the realm. My people have been doing just fine the last thousand years and they’ll be fine for however long it takes for you to trust me.” Calix’s thumb was rubbing circles on my cheek, his gaze burning into mine.

“I’ve been afraid of something, Calix, something that I wasn’t really willing to admit to myself.” I whispered.

“You have no reason to be afraid of anything so long as I’m here, my love.” Calix cooed.

“Grier told me that you eventually turn into your dragon permanently.” I said and Calix cocked his head to the side,

“Yes?”

“Werewolves don’t do that, Calix. We don’t shift permanently, we don’t have the same lifespan as you. We grow old and we die, and our wolf is released back to the Moon Goddess to wait for another soul.” I said and Calix’s eyes went wide.

“You’ve known about this and you’ve been carrying it alone?” His voice broke.

“Grier told me the day of the attack.” I said and Calix’s gaze fell.

“Oh, baby,” He wrapped his arm around my waist and smoothly transitioned me to his lap, burying his face in my neck, “I won’t shift permanently and I’ll go with you. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.” His lips brushed gently against my neck and I shivered.

“That’s not fair to Beau Feu.” I shook my head.

“He loves you, River,” Calix dropped the word so easily, “He’ll do anything for you.”

“There’s more that the Goddesses told me.” I whispered, barely able to keep my thoughts together with his mouth on my skin.

Calix pulled his face from my neck and locked his gaze with mine.

“What’s that, my dear?”

“Everyone has a choice.” I said and Calix cocked his head to the side,

“What do you mean?”

“In the beginning, wolves had a choice. They could be with their human until they die and then return to the Moon Goddess to await another soul, or they could shift. They could save the human’s soul, their consciousness, inside their wolf form and shift permanently. But, once the wolf dies, that’s it. No returning to the Moon Goddess, no second life,” I explained what the Goddesses told me,

“Eventually, it became too dangerous for the wolves to take that form permanently. Humans were hunting them at the guidance of the vampires, and the Great War nearly wiped all the werewolves out. So, the choice was taken from them for their safety, because what wolf would choose to leave their human soul alone? Selene forced the wolf souls to return to her and, at some point, no one knew there was ever a choice to begin with.”

I took a deep breath and let that information sink in for Calix.

“So, what does that mean?” He asked.

“It means that we can have that choice again. Wolves who mate with dragons can have that choice again. Once the realms open up, dragons will begin to mate with other species, so the Goddesses came up with a plan to ensure that they wouldn’t have to be seperated. They’re giving the choice back to the wolves and the dragons. Wolves can choose to shift permanently when their human is dying and so can the dragon, or they can both choose to return to the Goddesses. Wolf and dragon can return to the spirit world.” I said,

Calix stayed quiet for a long time, just sitting there holding my face in his large hands, his fire and ice eyes locked with mine.

“I love you.” He said, startling me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but was silenced by Calix’s lips. He crashed his mouth to mine and moved feverishly against it. I gasped and he thrust his tongue inside, pushing his body against mine. I couldn’t help the involuntary moan that left my mouth and he growled deep inside his chest in response. He flipped us around so that I was laying on the couch and he was hovering over top of me, his mouth moving its way down my neck.

“I love you.” He murmured against my neck, sucking on my marking spot.

“Calix.” I moaned and his hooded eyes returned to mine.

“Yes, baby?”

“That’s my marking spot.” I gasped and he smirked crookedly at me.

He returned to the spot, his tongue licking my skin before placing butterfly kisses against it.

“Then that’s where my mark will go, when you’re ready.” His voice was deep and husky.

“Calix?” I said his name again and he growled,

“I can’t stand it when you say my name, my dear.” His eyes were on mine again.

“I love you.” I whispered.