Chapter 1

"Let's GO River! You know the Empresses do not like to be kept waiting!" Aiden's deep, booming voice carried up the stone stairwell into the upper level of the castle. "I'm coming, I'm coming. We won't be late. We still have time," replied River as he strode down the hall adding his weapons to his tool belt as he went. The Champions never went anywhere without their weapons and River's variety of explosive devices were like an extension of his very being. River hurried down the steps, his boots silent on the stones as he descended. His heart was heavy as he went. Today would be his last day in this world. He and the other Champions had now exterminated the entire race of Manticores from all of the realms, their punishment for their rebellion against the Jewel Empresses. The Champions task was now complete. They would be retired to Valhalla.

He had honored his vows to his creators and carried out their orders. For some time now, he had been thinking he did not wish to go to Valhalla. He intended to request reincarnation instead. He wanted to live a life among beings who could fall in love and build a life together. He hoped that one day he would find someone to return the love he felt in his heart.

For many years now, he had realized he had fallen in love with his partner, Aiden. They spent everyday training or fighting side-by-side. It was only logical that they would develop feelings after so much time spent together. He knew Aiden would reject his feelings citing their duty to the Empresses. Therefore, he kept his feelings hidden deep in his heart, never to see the light of day. He had not discussed his desire to reincarnate with Aiden at all. He felt quite certain that Aiden would object. He did not want his last days with Aiden to be filled with hard feelings or regrets. So, he did the only thing he could do and kept his desires a secret from his partner.

River reached the bottom of the steps and turned the corner finding Aiden in the entryway, sheathing his sword. No doubt, Aiden had spent the morning cleaning and sharpening his sword to perfection. Aiden's sword was beautiful and strong with delicate flames etched into the hilt. The flames were a symbol of the flames Aiden breathed in his dragon form when fighting. For a moment, River was frozen as he gazed at Aiden.

Aiden in his formal uniform was simply breathtaking. Standing 6' 8" tall, with deeply tanned skin, Aiden's frame was a solid wall of muscles upon muscles. His broad shoulders and trim waist brought heat to River's entire body. His long, ebony hair swept across his forehead pulled back in a ponytail at his nape with a black leather tie as was common among the Champions. Aiden had a sharp nose and chin and high cheekbones. His almond shaped eyes, such a dark brown they appeared black at first glance, had a ring of orange around the iris.

The formal uniform was quite fetching on its own. Elegant yet functional. Black leather pants tapered down into their black knee length boots. Silver buttons lined the front of his black dress shirt. Colorful patches adorned the breast pocket of the matching waist length blazer, indicating the merits and honors he had achieved through his service to the Jewel Empresses, similar to the traditions of human military units. The pants had various loops and pockets designed to make them useful in fighting when needed.

Aiden glanced up at River and felt his heart skip a beat. He had noticed an attraction to his partner in recent years. Seeing him now, that attraction felt like a punch to the gut. Heat flooded Aiden's body, as if his inner fire had taken control. For an irrational moment, Aiden considered stealing River back up to their rooms and making him his own, his draconic instincts pushing him to own River as a treasure. Aiden shook his head to clear the wanton thoughts away. Sometimes, he thought his partner should have been a minx, instead of the sphinx form with which he fought. River's honey blonde hair was pulled back into a neat bun as was his habit. River's height fell short of Aiden's own by only 2", leaving them standing nearly eye to eye. River's lightly tanned skin reminded Aiden of the beach sands of the human realm. His features were softer than Aiden's own sharp, angular ones. His smaller frame made Aiden want to pull River's lithe body under his own and stamp his scent into him, warning others away. He inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm his inner dragon.

River was hit with a scent he recognized as arousal coming from Aiden. His heart sped up at the thought. For a split second, River considered the possibility of taking what he wanted from Aiden before it was too late. His shoulders lifted and fell with his disappointment. There was no point in mentioning it. This day was to be their last together, there was no future in it. "I'm ready. We should leave now."

Aiden stepped out into the courtyard and assumed his dragon form for their short flight to Empress Sapphire's Castle. He crouched down to allow River to mount. A terrible sadness grasped him as he realized this was likely their last flight together. As they entered the castle grounds, they noticed a great deal more in attendance than he had anticipated. Upon entering the great hall, it became obvious that all of the Champions were in attendance, as well as all of the Empresses. Shortly thereafter, a bell tone sounded throughout the room. Recognizing the feel of their Empress' magic, the Champions quieted and waited for their Empresses to enter the room. A chorus of voices sounded out through the hush of the crowd as the Empresses spoke as one unit.

"Champions, welcome home. You have served us well and completed the task for which you were created. You came here today expecting to retire to Valhalla. That remains an option for you. However, we have further need of your services if you desire. This war has cost us much; in lives lost, magic consumed, and love destroyed. The gods are angry at their losses and demand retribution. There are still traitors to be punished. Demons have escaped their realm and must be returned. Our magic is depleted and must be revitalized. The realms we protect are breaking down and the worlds are ending. We have cast great magic to reap changes across the realms. We ask now for you to make a choice to continue as our Champions or retire to Valhalla. Those who wish to retire, please exit the portal now opening on the right side of the room. Your service has been appreciated and you may now reap your reward."

The room remained in silence as the Champions made their choices. A few exited the portal. Aiden noticed that the ones who left were all severely injured from their battles. Most were missing limbs and badly scarred from burns. He understood why they chose to leave the battlefield for the peace offered by Valhalla. Slowly, the portal closed and faded from sight. The unified voice rang out again.

"Thank you, Champions. Those who now remain will be known as the first of your kind. The first Shifters. As Champions, you and your family lines will be rewarded with the power to heal nearly any injury. You will maintain order in the new worlds. Your animal form will now be a part of you, called at will and sharing a soul bond with your humanoid form. You will continue to work in teams of 2 or more. Your orders will be received via magic messengers. The tribal traitors must be located and eliminated immediately.

Soon the magic maintaining the balance in most realms will collapse. The inhabitants of the realms will be soul bonded and relocated to the former manticore realm. The planets have been cleared and the magic has been stabilized there. The 2 fae realms will remain. All other realms will be combined. A race of beings to be known as mages will begin to emerge from the human realm. These beings are of vital importance and must be protected at all costs. They hold a portion of our magic and will be needed in the new world. To balance the souls of the Shifters in the new world, a family must contain (at minimum) an Alpha, a Beta, and an Omega. Only a fated match can continue a line.

You will live long, full lives as you carry out our will in the realms. Work together to set up clans within the Shifter tribe. Clans are to be led by Champions and their mates. You must carefully guard against the divisions and hierarchies that tribes cherished in their old world. Be aware, clans will consist of many shifter types. All shifter types must learn to work together to grow and prosper in your new home. You will receive a mark to lead you to your fate. Trust in that fate. Trust in one another. Lead your people well. Above all else, restore love to our realms. Our power, and that of the gods, cannot be restored without love.

Please enter the portals at the back of the room. As you exit the portals, all knowledge you need will be a part of you and your souls will be bonded for eternity. Be strong and fight well. Our realms depend on you now."

The Empresses extended their arms toward the portals, palm up encouraging the Champions to enter. Aiden turned to River. He reached out and took River by the wrist, nearly dragging him along toward the swirling colors of the portals of light. He had no idea if holding River would change anything but if he was to start a new life, he knew he wanted River at his side to do it. As he crossed the room, he felt River's arm turn palm up and grasp his own wrist. He felt a mellow warmth in his chest realizing his partner wanted to remain at his side as well.

River had never traveled by portal before. As he and Aiden entered the portal, he felt their hands pull apart causing a momentary panic to seize him. He didn't want to lose Aiden and flailed around trying to locate Aiden again, to no avail. All around him, there was a swirl of blinding bright lights. The colors wrapped around him hugging his body lovingly and began to relax. He felt his body begin to glow with a gentle warmth. He felt the soul of his sphinx enter his chest in a slow infusion of heat and bond with his own soul in a heat that was nearly unbearable. A deep voice echoed in his mind, "We are now one. Awaken to your new life."

Aiden's eyes flew open. Slowly the trip through the portal replayed in his mind. He felt a moment of panic when he remembered losing his grip on River's wrist. He remembered the voice of his dragon telling him they were now bonded. He glanced around the room and recognized it as his bedroom in his castle. The portal had brought him back to the castle he shared with River. He had never thought of it as his home before, but perhaps that would change now that he had a future. He leapt from the bed and tore through the castle searching for River. As he passed a window, he paused as he realized the outside looked different than before. There were two suns in the sky telling him they were in what was once known as the manticore's realm. His knowledge of his Empress told him their magic had made this possible. His castle had been transported to the new world. The knowledge instilled in him during his transformation in the portal told him the new world was called Terra Adamo. His steps slowed a bit as he took in his surroundings. There were new halls opening up into new wings that had never been there before. He felt the magic of the Jewel Empresses fresh all around him. He knew there were things he would need to explore here and to learn what changes their magic had wrought.

As he descended lower into the castle, he knew exactly where to go to search for River. For as long as they had been fighting together, their mornings started out with combat training. Any time their lives became more challenging or difficult, River had a habit of going to the training room and working out his frustrations. Aiden headed to the one place he expected to find River if he was around. He felt the need to work out his own energy as well. As he entered the room, he removed his blazer and formal shirt, leaving only his pants. He didn't want to ruin his formal uniform by working out in it. He caught sight of himself in the mirrors they used to perfect their fighting forms. He noticed a symbol had appeared on his chest. It consisted of three interlocking circles arranged in a triangle. Each piece of the circle had a small image inside; a flame reminiscent of his own fire breath, a pyramid, and an eye. The circle containing the flame was outlined in white. The other two circles were outlined in black. The space where the three overlapped was filled in with a dark black. He briefly wondered what the Fates had in mind for him.

Aiden's musings were cut short as an overwhelming scent of vanilla and cherries filled his nose. He heard the sound of footsteps moving toward the room and. Out of habit, he tensed up preparing for a fight and turned toward the entrance. River rounded the corner into the room, shirtless and clearly prepared to work out. Aiden's symbol on his chest began to burn as his eyes met River's across the room. His eyes darted to the matching symbol on River's chest. On River's symbol, the flame and eye circles were black, and the pyramid was white. As he watched, the circle around the flame turned white and the overlapping area of solid black lightened to a dark grey. The voice he now knew to be his dragon said, "Mate. Our treasure. Keep."

River's heart did summersaults in his chest. His Aiden was here, with him, a part of this new life. He was so excited, he almost missed the sweet smell of chocolate and marshmallows that surrounded him. He felt a burning sensation on his chest. He looked down to see a symbol on the left side of his chest that was currently changing colors. As he looked on, with both fascination and confusion, the burning died down and he looked back at Aiden. He saw his symbol now matched the one on Aiden's chest exactly. The voice he heard in the portal returned with only one word that would change River's life forever. "Mate." River's pulse skyrocketed. In that instant, he knew without a doubt that Aiden would be his, forever. All of his yearning would now be rewarded with the one thing he wanted more than all else. He silently sent a prayer of thanks to the Gods, Fates, and his Empresses for this blessing. "You're my fate," he whispered.

Aiden's eyes widened as the realization of what had just happened hit him with the force of a mid-air dragon collision. Every instinct he had demanded he take his mate, right now, and seal their union. He wanted to drag River down to the mats on the floor, rip his clothes off and fill him with his scent. He wanted to mark him to warn others that River belonged to him. It was only his ironclad will that stopped him from making those instincts a reality. "Our fates are intertwined. We will never be separated from this day forward. Our future, whatever that may hold, will be together," responded Aiden. "We have much work to do in our new lives. Together, we will build a clan of which we can both be proud. Come, let us begin our day as always. Then we can explore our new castle together. It seems our Empresses have made some improvements and relocated us to a new realm."

River felt both comforted and hesitant at Aiden's response. He was looking forward to the familiarity of their routine and getting started on their new life together. His hesitancy came from not understanding how Aiden could ignore the demands of his beast. Did Aiden's dragon not feel the same as his sphinx did? Was he not demanding they seal their mate bond in the most primal of ways? Could these feelings be one-sided on River's part? He carefully replayed Aiden's words in his head. Nothing Aiden had said indicated he had any intentions of being more than just partners. Again, he detected the scent of Aiden's arousal. He had scented it before, but Aiden had not acted on it then either. His heart sank at the thought that his life had not really changed after all. He slowly nodded his head in acknowledgement of Aiden's statement and moved across the room preparing to complete their morning routine together. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he could live in this life knowing what heartache it would bring him. Could he spend eternity living with Aiden yet knowing Aiden's heart would forever be just out of his reach?