Page 85 of Her Dragon King (Her Dragon King Duet 2)
There had been many weddings since he and his Chloe had gone from having only each other to finding themselves in possession of a family larger than either of them could have ever imagined—even back when they lived with all of Fenris’ kin in one longhouse.
That longhouse was gone now. It had been torn down and replaced with a thriving Norwegian kingdom village hundreds of winters ago. And those villagers had greeted Chloe and Fenris with great celebration when they traveled to his land of old in a magical flying device called a drone. They also threw them a parade.
However, the Northlands were no longer ruled by an alpha king, Fenris had discovered. The fenrir monarchy had been replaced with a system called democracy upon which every citizen voted for the fenrirs of their cities and towns. They also elected an overall fenrir for the land they called Norway. Indeed, the main fenrir of Norway was a she-wolf with no need to defend her thrones.
“If I displease the people, they will simply vote me out when I run for re-election,” the female fenrir explained to Fenris in a language which only bore a passing resemblance to the one he had spoken when he ruled over the Northlands. “Greece and the North American territories are one of the only developed wolf societies that still have Kings and Queens with powers and rights that can be ceded to a challenger.”
It was a delightful visit. But Fenris never returned. For it had not felt like a homecoming. Home…that place was truly gone. Occasionally that realization made his heart ache.
But then he had only to look upon his dark beauty and his ever-growing family and his soul would calm. Their happy life in the land of Michigan was worth more than anything he had ever given up.
Where was he?
Oh, yea, the bridal march was playing. That meant it was time to stand up.
It was not as easy as it used to be for Fenris to make such an action. And even though Olafr helped him to his feet, his bones ached terribly with the movement. The wolf healers of this time had told him he had something called arthritis. This disease of bone rendered it hard for wolves of his age to move about.
The healers had offered several cures, including the complete replacement of certain parts of his body. But most of those cures would require a biosystem and Fenris had refused to take such unnatural medicine into his body, much to his children’s dismay.
But his wife understood. “This time period has been a huge adjustment for me. I can only imagine what it’s been like for you,” she told him after FJ yelled at Fenris for being “stubborn as a boar.”
FJ had been upset with his father’s decision to cease all medical check-ups. Why waste his remaining time with such fuss? FJ had argued the many reasons why before storming out of their humble home.
But in his wake, Chloe had patted her mate’s arm and told him, “I can understand why you only want to deal with things you can fully understand. I feel the same way.”
Chloe and he were mostly happy to be reunited with their family. But they were different from the children who had spent most of their adult lives in Chloe’s future land. These differences were why they’d agreed to live with their sons and daughter-in-law on a peninsula in Michigan but refused to move into the main kingdom house. Instead, they’d made a good home in the small cottage that had been built for the great-grandfather of their sons’ mate. For unlike the kingdom house, this abode was not filled with so-called smart walls which constantly monitored their health conditions and urged them to see a doctor.
His sons often teased their parents about refusing to step foot into their too intelligent house. They wondered why he and Chloe continued to live from the yields of the little farm they’d set up in their backyard when anything they could ever want could easily be delivered. But both Chloe and Fenris preferred the peace that came with living as they always had.
Where was he?
Oh yes, Wiltonia, the bride was coming over the covered bridge now in a red gown embroidered with gold. Their great-granddaughter looked so splendid in red, and her tawny brown face glowed with happiness as she walked toward her groom on Odin’s arm.
Fenris continued to call her father Odin, even though he’d confessed soon after their arrival in this future land that he was actually not a god, but an alien who could manipulate their minds.
It was too much witchcraft for Fenris to fully comprehend, so he’d continued to call his grandson-in-law by his god name. And after a few feeble attempts to correct him again, he gave up.
