“It's alright,” Emrys assured me. “We have more plates.”
“What's wrong?” Deryn whispered in my ear.
I shook my head. “Nothing, just got lost in thought.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “We can go outside to talk if you want to.”
“No, really. I'm alright. I'm sorry.”
Rhys was looking at me with a strange expression. He looked into my eyes and then glanced at his mother and back to me. I shook my head. No, this wasn't because of what his mother and I had discussed.
A servant brought out a new plate and wiped off my place setting, so I wouldn't have any of the pieces of the broken ceramic on the table still. Deryn remade my plate for me and I ate in silence, listening to what everyone else was saying instead of focusing on the thoughts swirling inside of my head.
Everyone finished eating and we continued to another room, this one had a ten foot tall tree decorated with lights, hand crafted decorations, and pine cones. Beneath the tree sat a giant pile of presents. The room had several large couches and we all took seats on it while Emrys stood before the tree.
“Tradition here is to give out presents from youngest to oldest,” Emrys informed me.
“Did you bring the presents?” I asked Rhys.
He nodded. “They're under the tree already.”
Good. I would have felt awkward opening presents when I hadn't brought any myself for others to open.
“Tonight, however, we are changing it up a bit,” Emrys said.
“What?” Rhian grumbled. “Why?”
“Tonight, we want to give Jolie her present first. Then we will resume our normal course of action,” he explained.
“I can wait my turn,” I assured him. “It's really alright.”
He shook his head, picked up a package wrapped in beautiful teal and magenta and set it on the ground in front of me. “Merry Christmas, Daughter.”
Kneeling on the ground, I ripped open the present and opened the box. A gasp escaped my throat before I could stop it. Inside of the box lay a transparent piece of paper with a swirling dragon on it. I knew it wasn't just a drawing though. This was the symbol of their clan, the one that they all had tattooed on them once they could prove that they could shift and were accepted by the clan.
“Is this...are you sure?” I asked, looking up at the King and Queen of Dragons with tears in my eyes.
They both nodded.
“May I?” Rhys asked, holding out his hand.
I nodded, speechless, and handed him the piece of paper. Unlike tattoos done by machines with ink, this was done by magic. Rhys turned me to face him and looked down at my body thoughtfully. Finally, he turned me and pulled down the right shoulder of my dress, baring my shoulder to him. I kept a tight grip on the front of my dress so that it wouldn't drop lower and cause me to flash his family. Rhys pressed the paper to my shoulder blade and whispered in a language I didn't understand. A brief zip of pain shot through my shoulder and then warmth spread from it until it engulfed my body.
I could feel them. All of them. I could feel all of the dragons in this room and beyond. I was part of their clan.
“Welcome to the Clan of Dragons, Daughter,” Emrys said with a wide smile.
Rhys kissed my tattoo and the little bit of pain that had stayed, disappeared. After fixing my dress, I stood and walked to Emrys, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me and whispered into my ear, “Even if something happens between you and my son, now you will always be part of my clan. You will always be my daughter. You will never be alone and never be cast aside.”
“You're going to make her cry,” Adelaide chastised him. She pulled me away from him and kissed my cheek. “Welcome to the clan, Daughter. You are officially our princess and will forever be so, unless you take over ruling and become queen.”
That did not sound like something I wanted to do any time soon, but I didn't say that. I just hugged her and said, “Thank you.”
“Alright!” Emrys said with a clap of his hands. “Let's open the rest of the presents.”
I took my seat on the couch beside Rhys and didn't stop smiling the entire night. Accepted. They had accepted me.
Everyone loved the gifts I had given them, especially Gavin who swore he would wear the bracelet I'd purchased every day.
We said our farewells and drove on to our next destination. Rhys ran his fingertips over my shoulder, over the tattoo, as we drove while looking out the window.
“Did you talk to your dad about what happened?” I asked, even though I knew they had.
“Yes, he said it is because I've become lazy and just relied on it to happen. I've got to get back to doing things on purpose and not on habit. He's, of course, right.”
“Well, I'm glad it's just that,” I said with a sigh. I had been worried something might be wrong with Rhys.
He kissed my cheek and whispered, “I'm fine, love. And, even if I were dying, you have my family to support you now.”
“What are we, chopped liver?” Fox asked with a scowl.
“Yes, she'll have you as well,” Rhys chuckled.
The time with the mages was a somber affair and I wasn't the only one glad to be done when we climbed in the car two hours later.
“Sorry,” Nico whispered. “Dad's not been the same since the Summit.”
“Because of me?” I asked.
“Because of himself,” he snapped. “Because he was so willing to sacrifice you despite knowing how much I love you and how much the others love you. Despite knowing what Dan and Emrys feel for you. He realized what a terrible decision he made and he's not sure how to atone for it.”
“Is that why he gave me such a huge present?” I asked, looking at the card in my hand. He had pre-loaded a credit card with one thousand dollars and told me I could use it for whatever I wanted, since he wasn't really sure what I wanted or needed.
Nico nodded.
“Well, you'll have fun with the pack,” Deryn assured me. “Dad pulled out all the stops for you.”
“You guys really didn't have to go through all of this for me,” I whispered, feeling embarrassed.
“Dad heard that you hadn't really enjoyed a true family Christmas and immediately went into action. I could not have stopped him if I had tried,” Deryn told me. “Plus, you know how much he loves you.”
I did. Dan had been the first to decide I was good for his son and had claimed me for his pack immediately. Though, Emrys had been the first to officially claim me.
We pulled to a stop in front of Dan's house and twin whirlwinds of fur bounded around the truck, barking and yipping for me to get out. I stepped out and they tackled me to the ground, covering my face with puppy kisses.
“Hello, nieces,” I said laughing as they continued to greet me.
“Girls,” Dan said in a chastising, but kind voice.
They stepped off of me, sat on their rumps, and looked at me with wagging tails. Deryn pulled me up and I wiped my face off on the bottom of his shirt.
Dan pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. “Daughter, I have been waiting all day for you.”
“We told you we would be here at this time,” I reminded him.
“I know,” he admitted, “but I had hoped you would come sooner.”
“Jolie!” Sharla exclaimed, rushing forward and pulled me out of Dan's arms and into her own.
I hugged her back and kissed her cheek. “Sharla!” I exhaled.
She kissed my cheek and then pulled back to look into my eyes. Her hand whipped out and she twisted my ear harshly, making me cry out in pain. “If you ever sacrifice yourself for me or Martin again, I will skin your hide!”
“Sharla,” Deryn growled, stepping forward.
I held out my hand to him and he stopped.
“Sharla,” I whispered, seeing the tears in her eyes. “You know that I could not let Martin die. I could not let him die and allow myself to live. I would not be able to look at you or the gir
ls knowing I had let him die. “
“You almost died!” she snapped at me, growling softly, but her grip on my ear released and she buried her head in my neck. “He told me how they found you.”
“I'm alive,” I whispered and hugged her tightly. “We are all alive and that is what matters.”
“Don't you ever do that again,” she ordered me, her growl vibrating my entire body.
I stepped back from her and shook my head. “I can't promise you that,” I said honestly. “If Martin is in danger and I can prevent his death with my own, I will always place myself in danger.”
“You're supposed to let me die for you,” Martin said, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
I turned around and hugged him tightly. “There was no way I could let that happen.”
“You're so stubborn,” he grumbled into my hair.
“That's enough,” Dan ordered us. He pulled me away from Martin and put his arm around my shoulders. “Come on, let's go inside and start this party right.”
Dan led me inside, but then took me to his office and shut and locked the door.
“Dad?” Deryn called and knocked on the door.
“Give us a minute,” he ordered Deryn, the order carrying power enough to make Deryn leave.
“What?” I asked Dan.
“They're right,” he told me.
“Who?”
“Sharla and Martin. You cannot sacrifice yourself like that.”
“Dan, what would you have done if they said to sacrifice yourself or Deryn dies?” I asked him with hands on my hips.
He growled and turned away.
“Exactly,” I said and pointed at him. “I could not let them die. I love them. I had been in relationships with them. I could not let them die. I would do it again. I don't care what pain I endured. As long as they survive, that is all that matters!”
“You matter!” he yelled, the wolf showing in his eyes. He paced back and forth in front of his desk a few times and then turned to face me. “You are not just a human girl. You are the Princess of the Four Clans. You are the Queen of the Four Princes. You are my daughter, though not by blood, but that does not matter to me. You are important to me. You matter to me. Do I want to lose my son? No! But, I don’t want to lose you either. I hope I never have to worry about losing either of you. If there is ever a time where you must choose between you and Deryn, I hope that you choose yourself.”
“Dan!” I gasped. “He is your son. Your prince-”
“And you mean the world to him. If he loses you, I fear that he will fall into a darkness that I will not be able to pull him out of. When your connection was severed, he collapsed to the ground, like a puppet with their strings cut. He collapsed and cried. My boy never cries. He has never cried in his entire life! Not even as a baby. He would whimper or fuss, but never cry. Your connection was cut and that hard-ass wolf cried and wailed. I feared the worst. I feared you were dead from his reaction. I tried to comfort him, but he was inconsolable. The others were much the same. I have known those four their entire lives, Jolie. I have seen them together and seen them in battles and in times of joy. I have seen them with females, some they thought they might love. I have seen them face down enemies I did not think they could defeat, but they did. I felt my heart breaking for them when your bonds were cut. They thought you were dead. They thought you were gone from them forever. They were desperate, unthinking, and began to rush around to look for you. We had to sedate Deryn. Please, do not tell him I told you. He was shifting uncontrollably. He tried to attack me. He was so beside himself in grief he could not even form sentences.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I demanded, tears in my eyes attempting to stream down my cheeks.
“Because, I want you to know how much you mean to them. I need you to know that if you sacrificed yourself to keep them alive, it would eat at them for the rest of their lives. They would never forgive themselves. You are the only thing that matters to them. You are the most important thing to them. I understand the desire to protect them. I'm not saying you should not protect them if you can. Just, please don't sacrifice yourself like that again.”
“I will do my best,” I replied.
“I almost killed him,” he told me, fists clenched.
“Who?” I knew he didn’t mean Deryn.
“That stupid fucking Mage King. I wanted to rip his head off and Emrys was right there with me. Had you died, no one could have stopped me. I would have killed him. Nico seemed close to doing it himself. I've never seen him attack his father before, but that night, he sent his father flying into the castle wall and told him if he ever put you in harm's way again, he'd take his place as king.”
Holy shit!
“When did this happen?”
“The night you were returned to us,” he answered.
The night I came back basically dead. I'd barely survived.
“The princes are powerful beings,” he whispered. “More powerful than the kings. They're the most powerful any of us have ever seen and we aren't quite sure how they became so powerful. When someone is that powerful, they usually lose their humanity. But you allow them to keep their humanity. You keep them humble and remind them that there are people to fight for. People who need their help.”
I teared up again at his words. I thought I made them weaker, not stronger.
“Promise me, Daughter. Promise me you won't sacrifice yourself like that again,” he whispered, setting his hands on my shoulders.
“I promise I will do everything in my power to stay alive,” I answered.
He sighed then chuckled. “I suppose that is the best answer I will get from you. Come, let's leave these serious discussions for later.”
I nodded and followed him to the living room where we found the twins in wolf form wrestling with Deryn in human form.
“That's something we had never seen before,” Dan whispered to me. “He loved children, but he did not engage with the pups often. Now, he plays with all of the pups, letting them jump and climb on him and playing.”
Deryn looked up and his wide smile wavered a moment as he took us in. The girls turned to see what he was looking at and rushed towards me. I held out my hand, making them slide to a stop before me. “Shift,” I ordered them.
They shifted and stood before me in matching red dresses. “Auntie,” they said in unison.
I got down on my knees and hugged them. “Hello, girls.”
“We've got to go,” Martin told the girls.
“I'll come see you tomorrow,” I promised them. “I have awesome presents for you two.”
“Yay!” they yelled in unison, hugged me once more and followed Sharla and Martin out of the house.
“They're very fond of you,” Deryn said behind me. “They never want to talk to me about anything other than you.”
“They're great girls,” I whispered.
“Come!” Dan ordered us. “Time to eat.”
“I can't believe how much you've eaten today,” Fox said to me.
“I know,” I agreed.
“What did the old man want to talk to you about?” Deryn asked, keeping his voice low while Dan talked with Nico.
“It's personal,” I whispered and tried to walk away, but he grabbed my arm gently and stopped me. “I'll talk to you later about it,” I promised.
“You're upset,” he whispered.
I turned to look him straight in the eyes, rested my hands on each side of his face, and whispered, “You are amazing. I love you, Deryn.”
He blinked twice and said, “I love you too, Jolie.”
Dan had given me a tattoo as well, making me an official member of the pack. The little wolf was on my left shoulder blade and it was a bit strange being connected to so many people at once, but as we drove back towards our apartment complex, their minds faded a bit into background noise.
Deryn taught me how to block them completely and that was a huge help.
Once home, the guys stood in front of the tr
ee, all looking down at the one present from me.
“Sit,” I ordered them.
They obeyed, taking seats on the couch.
I picked up the present, fumbled with the bag, and pulled out the four black boxes.
“Tricky!” Fox exclaimed.
“This was your dad's idea,” I chuckled.
“I don't doubt it,” he grumbled.
After handing each of them their boxes, I sat on my knees in front of them and smiled. “Open them.”
They lifted the lids and all of them stared at it in shock.
Dropping the front half of my body to the ground, I bowed to them. “I'm a lowly human girl. I don't have powers, unless I borrow yours. I don't have much money. I'm not the most beautiful woman in the lands. I don't have much of anything. But, I do have a heart that beats only for you four. I love you four more than anything else in the world. I'm not worthy. I'm far from worthy. I'll never be worthy. However, I can't deny my feelings. I love you four. And, I have one thing to ask. Will you become my mates?”
I had rehearsed the speech for hours, but it still didn't come out quite right. I just hoped they knew what I was trying to say.
“I accept,” all four said at the same time.
I looked up and the four of them put the bloodstone beneath their left eye, between the eye and their cheekbones. It melted into their skin until it was part of their body, the crystal showing with a slight glow from the magic and blood within.
Mates. They were my mates. Now and forever.
All four bowed to me and said, “You are my queen and my mate from now until the end of time. None shall separate us. None shall come between us. You are mine and I am yours. My heart, my body, and my soul are yours. I shall touch no other female. I shall love no other female. You are mine and I am yours. Forever. This vow I make you, my mate and my queen.”
The magic surged through us all and I cried fat tears of joy, hugging and kissing each of them. We weren't perfect. We weren't going to be safe from danger and problems. But, we had each other and that was all that mattered. And, tomorrow I would have them add their blood to my bloodstone to put under my eye, finishing our bond.
“Forever,” I agreed.
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