Iona whirled around and she came face to face with her mother, Adrianna. Right behind her was her father, Dmitri. "Mother, Father!" She was shaking from head to toe as tears rolled out of her eyes. They just won't stop. The fact that her parents were right there for her wedding, the weight of the situation, crashed into her like a tornado. She flung herself into the arms of her mother and Adrianna hugged her tightly. "You came…" Iona muttered as she pressed her face in her mother's neck. "You came… I thought… I thought…" She couldn't utter another word as emotions choked her throat. 

Her parents were here. They were right here. They had come to see her here. 

Dmitri came to the two important women in his life and circled his arms around both of them. "How could we not attend our daughter's wedding?" he said as he pressed a kiss on Iona's head.. 

Ileus took a step forward to be with them but Anastasia stopped them. "Let Iona be with them. She needs their full attention." And Ileus stopped in his tracks. 

"You have to tell me everything, my dear from the beginning to the end," said Adrianna. 

"Yes, yes, mother!" Iona said as a sob racked through her body. "Thank you for coming." She wanted to tell her everything. She savored her smell and then turned to hug her father. She wanted to say sorry to him for the time she was kidnapped, for the time she hadn't spent with him. And Dmitri couldn't stop his tears. He pressed her face in his chest. 

Pressed against her father's brutal strength, Iona felt at home. This was the way she remembered the last. He had her in his lap in the carriage. "I am so happy that you are safe, baby," he muttered. 

She just nodded and buried her face in his chest. "I have lost my magic, father…" she wailed and complained to him like a petulant child, but she wanted to tell him. 

Dmitri curled his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her face. "So what? Now you are just like me baby. I am also a werewolf. I don't have magic, but does that mean that your mother loves me any less?" 

She shook her. "I love you more than mother does," she said and laughed through her tears and squeezed him. Her father was right here. Her mother was right there and she wasn't dreaming. 

Dmitri started to laugh. He wiped her tears as she wiped his. "I think you are absolutely right. You love me more than your mother. Sometimes, your mother fights with me, but you have never fought with me." Adrianna shook her head and laughed at the two of them. They looked so adorable. 

"And I never will," Iona whispered her reply. Then she looked at Rolfe, aware that he was watching all of them from a distance, waiting for her to call him. He was the most patient man she had ever seen in her life. She beckoned him with her fingers and mouthed, 'Come.' When Rolfe was standing beside her, she introduced him to her parents. "Mother, Father, meet my husband, Prince Rolfe Cranon Aramaer." 

Rolfe bowed to both of them. Meeting Adrianna was like a dream come true. She was a legend in the Lore and he had heard way too many stories about her. "It's an honor to meet you," he breathed out. 

Adrianna smiled. "It's an honor to meet you too, Rolfe. We are here to see your coronation. The moment Ileus sent his messenger to inform us about your wedding, we hurried coming here. I think I missed a little, but I can see that my daughter is very happy." She glanced at Iona, who was still lounging in her father's arms. Her face was ruddy with too many emotions flowing in her. "And if she is happy, it means a world to us." 

Rolfe simply nodded politely in response. 

"However, I have a small request to make," Adrianna added. 

Rolfe stiffened because he knew what was coming. They wanted to take his bride away from him. The fear lodged in his heart like a thousand thorns. 

"We are planning to celebrate Yule in Vilinski. It will be a week-long celebration starting next month. Áine and Ian have invited us along with Ileus and Anastasia. It would be a great honor if you could get my Iona over there and join us," said Adrianna. 

Rolfe sagged with relief. But there was a problem. He wasn't officially called by the king and queen of Vilinski. How could he join? So he answered, "I will send Iona for sure, but I will have to see if my schedule allows me to be free." 

Right answer. Adrianna gave a tight nod. Then she turned to look at her daughter and extended her hand, "Come, we have a lot to talk about."

Rolfe's lips pursed in a thin line as he tried to hide his displeasure for the situation. It was his wedding night, his honeymoon night. Did they not understand that his bride should be with him? 

"Mother!" Anastasia intervened. Gods, her husband's family was sometimes really thick headed. That's where Ileus got his genes from. "I have something very important to discuss with you. Could you please come aside for a moment?" 

Adrianna whipped her head in her direction. "Sure, Anastasia," she said. Ileus also took his father to the side. 

"What is so important to them other than me?" Iona said, placing her hands on her hips as she watched her family moving to where Kaizan was sitting. 

Rolfe seized the opportunity. "Come here, love," he said. "I need you to introduce you to the council members of Galahar." 

"Oh!" Iona's eyes widened. This was necessary. But she tugged his hand and for a moment stopped him. "Rolfe, don't you think that we should change them considering that they have served your father and didn't do a thing when your father expelled you from the kingdom?" 

Rolfe curled his hand over hers. "Yes, love. I will do that, but in time. Right now, I have to show you off in front of all of them." He pulled her red shawl and wrapped it tightly around her. She flashed a smile at him and then he pulled her to meet his people. 

As expected, even though they all now knew that she was a royal mate to their prince, which happened after thousands of years, skepticism was high. They all judged her the moment she was introduced to them. But that was fine. She didn't particularly care for what they thought. All she knew was that she had to carve her own niche. As Rolfe was taking her around, she came across young twins, a boy and a girl, who talked about her windmill designs with eagerness. And that was the only place she stopped for some time. 

When Rolfe called it a night, the priest came to inform him to be in Galahar before dawn. Their coronation had to take place with the first rays of sun. 

It was midnight by the time Rolfe called it quits. Impatient as hell, he just scooped his wife in his arms and took her inside the fortress. "Where are the manacles, love?" he asked. "I need to lock you and fuck you so thoroughly that you can't walk!" 

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