Princess Lyzaria, that sounds good to me, Mitalonys chuckles.

"Princess?" Angel growls behind me. I whip around and realize that they are all still chained.

"Hey can we unchain them?" I ask my uncle who gives me a funny look.

"Why are you traveling with him in the first place?" He asks, tossing them a wary glance.

"I am staying with them so they came with me here so I can shift. Basically I'm trying to show them that dragons aren't savage monsters, and this situation isn't helping," I mutter.

"I meant, why are you traveling with the Werewolf King? The son of the man who nearly threw us into extinction?" My uncle snarls. I unconsciously bow my head, the rage and power in his voice forcing me fearfully into submission.

"He insisted on coming with me, I'm not entirely sure why though," I mumble, staring at the ground with my arms wrapped tightly around myself.

He growls before storming over to Daerius who is staring him down with a fierce gaze.

"Why did you want to come with her? No doubt you knew how dangerous the journey would be, and how much easier it would be to kill her, why did you let her live and why are you traveling with her?" He growls. My head lifts slightly, my curiosity greater than my fear.

"She was a young girl, and wasn't aggressive or as dangerous as the other dragons I've come across, I didn't feel she was a threat," Daerius shrugs. My uncle growls and I immediately know why.

He is lying, Mitalonys says.

"I've known this girl much longer than you have, and she is more aggressive and dangerous than most dragons in the world. Your wolf should have been howling for you to kill her, yet you allowed her to return to her birthplace. Why? And tell me the truth this time," he warns.

Daerius swallows before clenching his jaw tightly.

"Answer me!" My uncle snarls, grabbing his collar and yanking him upwards.

"Stop!" I yell in panic. Daerius' feet flail wildly and he grabs the collar, barely keeping it from stabbing him in the neck. My uncle's eyes swirl red, making me rush forward only to have someone's arms wrap tightly around me.

"No! Let me go!" I yell, struggling against the guard who simply holds me tighter until I can't breathe. I stop moving and try to suck in air but his arms are too tight around my chest.

"Answer me!" My uncle snarls once again, his voice sending a shudder through the ground.

Daerius looks on the verge of passing out when he glances over at me.

"Answer him! He'll kill you!" I yell, gasping for breath. I see something pass through his eyes, defeat.

"She's my mate," he says and everything freezes. Mate? The word echoes in my mind.

That explains a lot, Mitalonys says and I shake my head.

No, it explains everything.

My uncle slowly lowers Daerius to the ground, his face expressionless. Daerius looks over at me, but my face isn't showing any emotion either.

I deal with situations like this by not dealing with it at all. I pretend as if it means nothing to me when it is actually eating me inside because I don't know what to do.

I suddenly realize that the guard is still holding me extremely tight and I throw my head back. He is taller so I end up catching his mouth.

He releases me and stumbles back, a hand over his bleeding mouth.

"Do not ever touch me again!" I snarl, Mitalonys adding power to my voice. The guard falls to his knees, staring up at me with fear.

My anger quickly grows when his eyes meet mine and in seconds I have my fist smashing into his nose. He falls back with a small groan, but I don't give him time to recover.

I immediately deliver a spinning kick to the side of his head, knocking him onto his side. He lays motionless on the marble floor, Mitalonys gives me confirmation that he is dead.

I turn towards my uncle who is smirking at me.

"Now there's the Lyza I helped raise," he says, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me towards a set of double doors.

"Hey! What about us?" Angel's voice yells behind us.

"Put them with the other wolves," my uncle says to the guards who nod. They start dragging them away but the doors close behind us before I can see where they are going.

"Where have you been all these years?" My uncle asks as we walk through the empty halls.

"Somehow my father knew about the hunters coming and so we left during the night. We stayed in the mountains most of the time but occasionally visited the human town and few friends he had near the werewolf forest. We managed to escape from the hunters for years, but then my father―you know. I was trapped in that stupid canyon for months, it took me forever to heal and then even longer to find my way out," I mutter.

"We looked for you and your father everywhere. By the time we found your father's body he had been dead for months, I only knew it was him because of that necklace he always wears. The one that belonged to your mother," he sighs.

I nod. "Yeah I remember that one. He never took it off."

"So what happened after you escaped the canyon?"

"Oh, well I was with the praestrigiae for about a year, I hunted for them and created fire in return for protection from the hunters. But living with them is exhausting, it's too cold and dark around them even with the fire. So I left and then I just was being chased through the mountains for about probably another year before they chased me into the forest and I ended up with the werewolves," I shrug.

He "I can't believe how much stronger, taller, and more beautiful you are, you look nothing like the little girl I remember," he says, pressing a kiss onto my head.

"I'm so happy I found you, father said we wouldn't see you again after we separated," I tell my uncle, glancing at him beside me.

"I'm sorry about your father. We burned his bones after we found him. If I had known you were still alive I would have buried him instead so you could have said goodbye," he says somberly, looking over at me.

I shake my head. "No, I should apologize. He was your brother and it was my fault he died, if I had just been more patient and listened, he might still be alive," I mutter, my voice cracking.

"Your father did his best to teach you and you did your best to learn. Remember what Sari used to say? 'neither the teacher nor the student can learn if the curriculum is bad'. Nobody knew how to teach you control but, your father did his best," he tells me and I smile.

"Yeah, I guess he did."

We suddenly stop at a set of dark wooden doors. "This is your room. I built this place before I knew your father was dead, I had hoped you both would still return," my uncle tells me. I shove the doors open and gasp.

The room is massive. A four poster bed sits across the door with a walk in closet and huge bathroom on either side of it. There is a dresser that is nearly as tall as me and a large chest in front of the bed. I instantly recognize the red and gold swirling lines on it.

"Is that—" I start to say but am cut off by my uncle's nod.

"Yes it is, my guards found it in the rubble and cleaned it up for you. You're lucky cold iron is difficult to destroy," he chuckles.

"Unfortunately there were a few things missing from the wreckage," he sighs. I look at him, worry in my eyes.

"What?"

"Your dragon's collar was one," he says making me gasp. My hands fly to cover my mouth and my eyes go wide.

"But—without it I can't shift," I say, tears starting to well up. He puts his hands on either side of my face and tells me to calm down.

"I had a new one made, but it won't work as well since your dragon's blood isn't in it. Not to mention our relationship with the witches have been tense," he mutters.

"Since I'm here now can we make a new one? The witches liked me before."

"Yes, but it will take a while," he tells me. I nod and look around the room once more, grinning at the view from the window.

"Did you do that on purpose?" I ask, pointing to the window that gives me a perfect view of one of the most violent volcanoes.

"Actually Kailo remembered that Mors is your favorite volcano," he says and my eyes widen.

"Kailo is still alive?" I breathe and he nods.

"He is away on a scouting mission but he will return tomorrow morning. Now you should get some sleep." He kisses my forehead and gives me a big hug before leaving.

I take a shower, scrubbing the dirt that has layered onto my skin over these past few days. Then I change into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt from my dresser. It is fully stocked with clothes, most of which are adjustable to my size.

I climb into the bed, sighing as the gold silk sheets slide over my skin. I fall asleep to the mesmerizing light show of Mors.

*******

Everything is blurred, but I can make out the faint shadows of the prison. Strong arms are under my legs and behind my back, pinning me tightly against a solid chest.

I can feel slight pain in my head and remember when Angel pushed me against the wall. I suddenly feel a light pressure on my forehead and realize someone is kissing me.

I hear Daerius' voice whisper softly in my ear.

"Heal well, my little mate."

*******

I open my eyes and sit up, looking around in confusion for a few moments before I remember where I am.

It is good to be home, Mitalonys says and I can't help but agree.

Aside from the whole mate thing this is great, I reply, getting up to take a shower.

What do you plan on doing about it? You cannot simply ignore the wolves forever, he tells me.

I stand under the water with a sigh. No but I can try. I don't want to accept him as my mate because that would make me the Luna and I don't want to live with the werewolves for the rest of my life, especially not now that we found everyone, I say.

I understand, but will Daerius? Mitalonys asks. I think for a moment then growl angrily.

If he wanted me to be his mate then he would have told me before uncle almost killed him.

That may be true, is all he says before going silent.

I get out of the shower and dry myself, pulling my hair back into a long ponytail. I dress in a pair of black fitted pants and a red tank top and leave my feet bare.

I am staring it the window when I hear knocking at my door.

"Lyzaria!" My uncle calls.

"Yeah?" I ask, opening the door.

"Kailo is here, let's go," he says and I nod, following him down to the room where his throne sits.

I spot a very handsome man waiting, surrounded by half a dozen guards. He grins a lopsided smile when he sees me.

His eyes are a brighter green than I remember, but his light brown hair and muscular figure is the same as when I last saw him.

I run over and throw my arms around his neck. He picks me up and hugs me tightly, burying his face in my hair.

He sets me down and immediately kisses me on the mouth. His lips are just as soft as I remember them, the familiarity makes me grin happily.

"I cannot believe you are still alive," he murmurs, looking over my face as if I will vanish at any moment.

"I can't believe you ever doubted me," I say, earning a chuckle.

"Well now that you're back, we can finish what we had started," he says and my eyes widen.

"I thought you'd find a mate by now," I say in shock.

He shakes his head and puts his hands on the sides of my face. His thumbs brush against my cheeks as soft as a feather.

"I promised I would stay faithful to you, that I would never love another, or be with another. And now I need to fulfill my last promise," he says. I nod for him to continue, my lips curling into a grin.

"I promised that one day I would make you my mate."