"Does this mean we are accepting the mating bond?" Daerius asks. I sigh, biting my lip in thought.

"I guess but there is one problem. You are going to go back to your pack, and I will be here. How is that going to work?" I ask.

"Why are you staying here?" He sounds surprised and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Because this is my home. I didn't know before that anyone survived the massive attack years ago. But now I have family, I'm not going to throw that all away after years of being completely alone."

"Well that puts us in a difficult position," he growls, roughly running a hand through his hair.

"Maybe not, I mean now I can shift. If you can get the order for the extermination of dragons to be removed, then I can come to visit you everyday. It takes an hour max to fly over the Zhyden Mountains," I suggest.

His lips quirks up into a half smile but then falls into a deep frown.

"I can remove the order but I don't know how they will react. It might not stop the killing."

"It's worth a try isn't it?"

He looks into my pleading eyes for a few moments before nodding firmly.

"It's absolutely worth a try."

**********

"No."

"What do you mean no? It's been our custom since the very first dragons," my uncle growls.

"I said no. I'm not allowing my mate to fight another dragon for my hand," I growl back. His eyes flash red and he stalks closer to me.

His massive form towers over mine, but I don't back down. I stand up straighter and can feel my eyes start to swirl glowing red.

"Zari you know I hate it when you disregard customs," he warns.

"I don't care. My mate is not fighting another dragon, and if you force us to endure a Fight Circle then I will kill any male that challenges Daerius. So you are going to have to choose between your precious customs and losing some of the few fire dragons we have left for no reason at all," I snarl, Mitalonys adding power to my voice.

He takes a step back—in surprise or fear, I can't tell. He lowers his eyes for a moment then frowns.

"You are still the only person to ever defy me Lyzaria. And I'd rather skip the Fight Circle than lose all of the dragons I know would challenge the wolf. Even if it wasn't for your hand, they'd fight just to kill the Werewolf King."

I sigh, my shoulders dropping in relief. My whole body relaxes. I walk over to hug my uncle and kiss his cheek before leaving his room.

Daerius is waiting in the hallway, a confused look on his face.

"What is a Fight Circle?" He asks as we walk outside.

"When a female dragon comes of age, males will fight to be their mate. Also, since female dragons are rare, when a female's mate dies, the males are supposed to fight for her again," I explain.

"So Kailo fought to get you then?" He asks. I nod.

"After I shifted into my dragon at 14, my father declared my availability. Kailo was the first to claim me, but then another man decided he wanted me too."

I sit down on the slick black rock, leaning back against the palace walls. Daerius settles down beside me.

"Kailo fought and killed three fully trained adult males, one after the other. He killed three senior warriors to win me and nearly got himself killed in the process," I say, biting my lip.

My eyes start to water at the remembrance of the boy I fell in love with more than ten years ago. They fall down my cheeks when I think of Daerius beside me. I close my eyes and let my head fall against the wall.

"I still can't believe you were going to make me watch you marry him," I hear Daerius growl and I purse my lips in annoyance.

"Just think of it as payback for keeping me prisoner and torturing me even after you found out I was your mate."

I hear him wince. "Yeah okay that's fair," he sighs.

"I don't know, I think maybe you should endure a fight circle just to make it up to me," I mutter. I feel him freeze and I chuckle a little. "You can relax, I was just kidding."

"Wait so normally if I wanted to be your mate I would have to fight any other males that wanted you as well?" Daerius asks, his voice nervous.

I nod, swallowing the hard lump in my throat. "Yeah, but I convinced my uncle not to, I don't want to risk losing you too," I mutter quietly.

"Hey!" He says quickly, moving so he is kneeling in front of me. He grabs my chin and pulls my face so that I am looking at him.

"Lyza, you are not going to lose me," he says.

"But what about when you go back to your pack? I can't leave my home, my uncle is the only family I have left," I sob, my emotions tearing me apart inside.

Daerius pulls me onto his lap, hugging me tightly to his chest. I bury my face in his neck and feel my body instantly relax. He kisses the top of my head.

"I'm not going anywhere."