SWNOVELS Chapter 9 River
His words cut away and I knew why. My eyes had changed, just like his, only they turned into voids of blackness as Lavender pushed her way forward.
“Mate!” Lavender yipped happily in my head, prancing around like a giddy puppy.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed in a snarky tone.
“He’s our mate! That’s what I’ve been sensing. He’s our mate! He and dragon are our mates! Mate, mate, mate!” She sang.
“That’s not….” I began to argue,
“MATE!” She shouted at me so loudly I winced, clutching my head in pain.
“River?” Calix sounded worried.
I glanced up at him, shaking my head and clearing Lavender from my expression.
“Mate.” I whispered, finishing his sentence, “You’re my mate.”
Calix seemed surprised for a second before composing himself and nodding.
“I am. Your eyes change, too.” He observed.
“Lavender, she’s awake.” I declared, wincing as my body slowly began to piece itself back together.
“You’re in pain.” He said, his face scrunching up.
“She’s healing my broken bones. It’s unpleasant.” I said, gritting my teeth against the pain.
“I’m sorry,” He said, “I’m sorry for failing you.”
I swallowed again and finally felt as if I was getting somewhere, my throat finally lubricated again.
“How can we be mates?” I asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that anymore than I know how you ended up here, inside a sealed realm.” Calix said,
“The Goddesses.” I sighed.
“What do you mean?” Calix looked at me closely.
“Clearly the Goddesses are playing at something. They determine our mates, do they not?” I queried.
“I suppose….”
“The dragon King and the werewolf Princess? Seems like an adventitious match.” I scoffed, not bothering to keep the bitterness from my voice.
Calix looked at me strangely,
“Are you to be the Queen of the werewolves?” He asked.
“Maybe,” I shrugged, “Once I turned 18, I became eligible for the Trials.”
“The Trials?” Calix asked.
“Our monarch isn’t decided by birth order or gender. Any royal heir who wants to, has the opportunity to compete in the Royal Trials. The victor becomes the next King or Queen.” I explained.
Calix blinked at me a few times, his crystal eyes looking at me like he was memorizing something.
“What?” I asked bluntly.
Calix shook his head, his expression going blank.
“I’m just surprised at how different our monarchs are. Anyway, you won’t have to compete any longer.” He replied casually.
“And why is that?” I narrowed my eyes on him.
“You’re my mate, you’ll be the dragon Queen.” He replied matter-of-factly.
“Hold on, you want to accept me?” I gasped.
“You speak like there’s another option?” Calix’s eyes grew hard.
“Rejection.”
“Dragons don’t reject their mates,” Calix looked disgusted, “Is that a common practice for werewolves?”
“Not common, no, but it’s done.” I said,
“Well, it’s not done here.” He spoke definitively.
“Good for you,” I snapped, “But, the only way I’m going to be Queen is if the Trial judges chose me over my brothers. I’m not staying here.”
“The realm is sealed off. You cannot leave.” Calix replied coolly.
“I shouldn’t’ve been able to get in, either, right? There’s a way in, so there’s a way out. You don’t know my family, they will come for me. They’ll burn down this realm, our realm, all the realms to save me. They will burn down the entire world for me. I’m not just the werewolf Princess, I’m a Storm and we’ve faced more than a closed off realm.” I glared at him, speaking passionately.
Calix stared blankly at me, seeming to be facing some sort of internal struggle, before he spoke again,
“You can’t leave.” He repeated.
“I won’t stay.” I argued.
“You….” He paused and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second. For a brief moment, I swear I saw actual steam leaving his nostrils.
“You said that the Trials happen when you turn 18. They haven’t happened yet. Am I to assume….are you not 18?” Calix completely changed the subject.
“I have my wolf.” I stated.
Calix arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
“We don’t get our werewolves until we turn 18.”
“Oh, I see.” Calix nods.
“I turned 18 the day I was dropped into this Goddess-forsaken realm.” I said,
If Calix was surprised, his face didn’t show it.
“Dragons come much earlier,” He said instead, “It’s not a set age, but the stronger the dragon, the earlier they appear. For example, my dragon joined me when I was five.”
“Five?” I gasped, “You’ve had a dragon since you were five?”
The corner of Calix’s lip twitched upwards before returning to a flat line.
“I’m sorry that you’ve been plucked from your home, on your 18th birthday no less. I’m sorry that I’m not the mate you expected nor wanted. I’m sorry all of this has happened. But, it has happened and you are my mate and dragons don’t reject their mates.” He spoke sternly, but his eyes were soft.
“And if I refuse to stay?”
“How will you leave? Where will you go?” He asked.
“I told you….” I started to say, but Calix interrupted me,
“Maybe they come for you, maybe they find a way, but I doubt it. Nevertheless, there’s no way out right now.” Calix replied.
“So?”
“So, how about an arrangement? Until such a time when the wall to the realm opens, we act as cordial mates.” He proposed.
“Cordial mates?” I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant.
“Yes.” He replied, answering exactly nothing.
“I don’t know what being mates means to a dragon, but it means something quite different to werewolves, I’m sure. I won’t be a cordial mate to a complete stranger who thinks it’s appropriate to keep an innocent woman in your cells, beaten and starved,” I snapped, “Oh, and naked.”