Chapter 47

KNOX STOOD IN THE LODGElater that evening to meet with his trusted advisers. John had a map of their current buildings, tents, and treehouses.

Knox ran a hand through his head as they planned how to expand so that everyone would have shelter for the upcoming winter.

They"d all made it safely to Vidrland, except for Scarlet who had decided to go to Olive and seek advice.

Knox felt a renewed energy from sleeping with Eirwyn earlier in dragon form. It had taken nearly an hour for his knot to deflate enough to slip free. Then he"d shifted back into his human form so he could dress her.

Then he"d shifted back to dragon to fly them both to Vidrland. She"d slept through the entire thing. He"d tucked her into the treehouse he normally stayed in, then had gone to see how he help get everyone settled.

Now that dinner was ending, several others were trickling into the main lodge. He kept catching snippets of conversations as he talked with John, Ashur, the two old druids, and the other half dozen around the table.

"He lets just anyone listen in on political meetings? How original."

"What"s this voting thing about? How does that work?"

"Did you see him fly into town this afternoon with the princess? Wait, is she still a princess or is she a queen? Is this a town, a city, or a village? What are we?"

The last one had made his lips twitch as the teenager had hit the nail on the head. What were they?

Just then Lailant tapped her cane on the floor where she sat at the table. She"d insisted on joining them at the table and listening in.

Lailant looked at Knox. "Are you ready to assume the mantle of responsibility you were born to?"

Knox nodded silently, his jaw clenching. She must"ve heard the teenager too.

Then Lailant nodded her head and arched a brow. "Then you know what to do."

He sighed and rubbed his head as he looked over the crowd. Eirwyn walked through the door, smiling and nodding as she listened to one of the cursed castle servants. A human watering can who seemed to leak water out of his sleeves.

He consulted with the others at the table, then he lifted his voice to the crowd and said, "We"re going to have our first public meeting in one hour. Spread the word. Anyone can join but we need to outline some rules, policies, and procedures."

Eirwyn came to him, and he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly as people began to stream out the door to invite others to the meeting.

"Sore." Her wide grin and twinkling eyes made him pull her closer.

"Have you eaten dinner?" She nodded so he continued. "In that case, let"s take a quick dip in the hot springs. John, we"ll be back in half an hour. You have the agenda drawn up with our talking points?"

John nodded, so Knox placed his hand on the small of Eirwyn"s back and led her through the bustling crowd. Before they walked through the door, a stray thought had him turning. He took in the large room. They"d never be able to fit everyone inside.

Eirwyn seemed to know what he was thinking because she squeezed his hand. "In the capital, there"s a coliseum with rows of bench seating. Could you make something like that in here?"

He ran his other hand on the side of his head and nodded. He took a deep breath and waved his fingers. On three sides of the building, he built rows of benches, angling them down toward the center of the room.

He created three sets of stairs and aisles but left a wide area around the central oval table and near the massive fireplace on the fourth wall. Those still inside yelped at the shifting floor and walls, but none of them fell.

When he was done, he sighed and Eirwyn looked up at him, pride shining in her eyes.

"That was amazing." Her voice was awed, and he felt his cheeks heat.

"Wait until you see how we"re going to build up the town." He grinned and led her outside.

He was going to need to push back the wall of trees around the growing town, but it would have to wait until tomorrow. They approached the S path entrance to the hot springs. It was tucked in a secluded glen, and he was grateful to see it empty. Everyone was scrambling to prepare for the meeting.

He wasn"t worried, though. With his mate by his side, they could handle anything.

"You"re rather quiet tonight," he said softly.

She sighed and leaned her cheek on his arm as they entered the glen. "I know. It"s just a lot to take in. My brother is dead, my friend is... well, I don"t know what Bella is anymore. And Scarlet–"

"Will be alright. She"s tough, a survivor, and she has Olive"s help."

Eirwyn sniffled and nodded. "I know, but she"s stuck in the forest now unless she goes into Glathen. Some refugees are Hunters, did you know? What will they do for income? How are we going to feed all these people through the winter? And there are so many Growlers here."

Knox waved his fingers on the edge of the hot springs and formed a bench. He sat and cupped her face, wiping her tears away. "It"s going to be fine. We"re going to build up Vidrland into a proper town and protect the people. That"s what our meeting will be about tonight. I"ll explain how we"re going to build shelters, where we"ll find food, and how we"ll set up a trade network with Glathen, with your help that is."

Her brows rose. "My help? Really?"

He nodded and sat back with a smile. "Absolutely. I can"t lead people without you, Eirwyn. You can help negotiate a treaty and convince them to recognize our reign."

A stab of apprehension flooded him at her stunned expression.

"Our–oh, Knox, I love you so much." She wiped the corner of an eye then threw her arms around his neck.

"I love you too, princess. Although I should probably call you my queen now, huh? Can we have a coronation ceremony tonight? I"d like to claim you in front of the entire world, if you"ll have me? Will you marry me, be my mate, my Feral queen?"

Eirwyn gasped and pulled back, her eyes shining with excitement. "Oh Knox, I"d love to. You know, I"ve always hated the idea of matters of the state. Politics was always something I despised, possibly because I always felt lacking around Gastone."

He frowned and began to unbutton her dress. Where she"d found a dress that fit her reasonably well he had no idea. But the soft blue cotton was perfect, gathering under her breasts and hanging to her toes. It was a style the women in Vidrland had adopted over the years, as they needed more movement than the tight bodices of Busparia or Glathen allowed.

"If you don"t want to be involved, that"s alright too. I was thinking we can rebuild Hartsgrove and live there? If you"d like, that is. Maybe even a town around Hartsgrove manor. Would you like that?"

He wasn"t a fan of towns but since he"d stopped wearing his cloak and hiding who he was, it was like a feeling of peace came over him. Perhaps a town where everyone accepted him wouldn"t be so bad.

Eirwyn clapped and nodded. "Yes, we can raise our children there!"

Knox" eyes widened at her exuberance, and he swallowed hard. "Kids, yes. I hadn"t ever thought of having kids before."

She bit her lip and dug her toe in the dirt as she looked down, suddenly apprehensive. He felt it come off her in waves. "Do you want kids?"

He raked a hand over the side of his head her erratic emotions giving him whiplash. "I think so. I"d like to wait a while though. We need to get Vidrland built up, Hartsgrove rebuilt and a town started, and convince Glathen to recognize us as a nation and sign a treaty and trade agreement. That"s probably going to take some negotiating with the Growlers too."

He undid the last button on her dress and let it fall to the ground. She turned and put her hands on the hard knot that was her stomach. "Well, I think that ship has sailed because we"re pregnant."

He stared straight ahead at her stomach and blinked, his jaw dropping. "Are you–are you sure? Oh gods."

His mind raced as he leaned forward and put his hand on the small bulge, feeling how hard it was. It was the size of an apple, but definitely something that hadn"t been there a few days ago.

She bit her lip then rushed out, "Lailant confirmed it, yes."

"Oh gods, how long do we have to prepare? My egg was the size of a human newborn. How are you going to give birth to that and survive? Humans are slipper and long, but an egg is wide, and you"re so petite–"

Eirwyn kissed him, stealing his breath. He swallowed and invaded her mouth, making her moan. She teased his tongue, dueling and teasing him with her plump lips.

His panic over her safety shifted into racing desire, and his balls grew heavy. He pulled her closer, reaching for her body. But she pulled away, breaking the kiss and looking up at him with raised brows.

"Don"t panic. Lailant said I"ll deliver in a few weeks, but dragon pregnancies aren"t like human ones. We"re mated though, so my body has changed. I"m suited for this, Knox, and I"ll be alright."

He breathed deeply through his nose. "I just need to protect you and keep you safe, my love."

She smiled and cupped his cheek, running her hand up and over the scales at his temple. "I know, and I love you for it. We"ll get the books from the dwarves and Hartsgrove and find everything we need to know. And if that doesn"t work, we"ll see if we can find answers in Glathen or Busparia"s capital libraries."

He pulled her head to his chest and breathed slowly, just holding her and ensuring she was safe. He wanted to be like this always.

"Is–are you upset?" Her voice was small and vulnerable, and he pulled back and looked into her blue eyes as he sank to his knees.

"I"d never be upset over this, Eirwyn. This is a miracle that I never expected to have. Thank you."

Knox kissed her stomach reverently, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased as she smiled. His chest felt near to bursting with joy, and he swept her up in a hug that brought her off her feet.

She laughed and wiped a tear from her eye. "Well, thank you for mating me, because I didn"t think I"d ever want to settle down. Then you came along."

He nuzzled her neck, holding her naked body in his still clothed on. He kissed up her cheek to her lips. "I"m ready to settle down with you too, Eirwyn. Settle down into the sweet, wet depths of your pussy."

His dick hardened, and he nipped her bottom lip. Now that he was back in human form, he was down to only the one cock, but that was alright with him as long as he could still satisfy his queen.

"Knox, we don"t have time," she gasped and giggled.

He groaned, kissing her lips softly. "I know, I know. Just a kiss."

He swooped in to steal a kiss. He devoured her, a promise of what he intended to do later tonight. She kissed like an angel and fucked like a demon. He never wanted to stop holding her, touching her, being near her.

When they finally broke the kiss, they were out of time to dip into the hot springs. He helped her pull her dress back up, but his hands must"ve wandered too much because she was laughing and slapping him away. She finished the last few buttons herself, then they walked arm in arm back to the lodge.

****

Eirwyn chuckled again, surprised by ringing truth of their conversation. She really was ready to settle down now, be a mom, a wife, a queen. It"s funny how she wanted to fly free of all the responsibilities just a few weeks ago.

And now her life was completely different, yet the responsibilities, rules, and structure of society didn"t weigh on her shoulders like it did before. Perhaps it was because they were forging a new society in the forest. They could set the rules so that they were fair and logical for all.

When they walked into the lodge, a hush fell over the crowd. It was packed and standing room only, even with the addition of the benches that were angled almost up to the ceiling. They walked down the newly made center aisle to the oval table in the center of the room.

Lailant sat in one chair along with the dwarf and gargoyle. Two old druids sat along with six others whom she assumed were former soldiers and Robins.

Knox pulled out a chair, and Eirwyn sat. Then he sat beside her. Ashur stood and turned to the crowd as Knox took her hand in his.

She hadn"t ever attended a Council meeting with her brother, so she wasn"t sure what to expect. But somehow she doubted it was quite like this.

John slid two pieces of paper over to each person on the table. Eirwyn read through each line as Ashur spoke.

Ashur outlined the Robin"s code, the core rules that governed them all. He explained how he"d come to be in Vidrland and how he and Knox had formed the Robins. Then he explained how Knox had been born from an egg.

Eirwyn flipped the page, her brows rising as she read the agenda and plan for the fledgling nation.

"He is a dragon, but that"s not something to fear. All his life, he has protected this forest and its people, well before he realized it was his birthright. I would like to formally nominate Knox to be king of the Feral Forest. Do we have anyone to second?"

One druid said, "Aye, I"ll second the motion."

Ashur nodded and proceeded. "All in favor will say aye and all opposed with say nay. All in favor, say aye."

Ayes chorused around them, the loudest coming from the Robins. Then Ashur said, "All those opposed, say nay."

A louder group said nay. Knox squeezed her fingers. Ashur looked at Knox, and Knox nodded, his voice projecting even though he didn"t stand up or release his grip on Eirwyn"s hand.

"If anyone has concerns to voice, do so now. There will be no repercussions."

Someone shouted from the crowd, "We just got rid of one tyrant. We don"t want to exchange it for another."

Knox nodded and several others murmured their assent. She could feel his disappointment and frustration. He just wanted to protect the people, but if they didn"t let him...

She bit her lip, bouncing her leg as an idea began to take root.