Claimed by the Dragon King

CHAPTER 1: ONE ARROGANT CREATURE Kaizen’s POV The entire royal court was almost burning from the intense heat radiating from my body, and honestly, I did not care if they were struggling to breathe or already feeling as if they were standing at the verge of death. I am Kaizen Velarion, the Dragon King of the entire Dragon Realm. For hundreds of years, every word I spoke had been treated as law, my strength was the greatest protection of my people, and my arrogance was what maintained the fear and respect of every group under my rule. I was not used to being denied anything I wanted with nothing more than a snap of my fingers. I did not know the word defeat, I did not accept the word surrender, and I would never allow failure under my rule, but now, it has been one year since this nightmare began. Twelve months. Three hundred and sixty-five days filled with useless reports, endless headaches, and constant frustration. The woman I loved, Seraphina, was missing. She had suddenly disappeared from the palace one year ago as if she had vanished into thin air. When she left, I was furious because I felt that she had abandoned her duty as the future queen. I believed, along with the entire kingdom, that she had simply run away because of some foolish reason. Because of that, the entire royal court had slowly descended into chaos. The old council elders were like buzzing bees, whispering in every corner of the palace and spreading rumors about who would take the throne in the future, while my best soldiers and trackers were exhausted from their endless search but had brought me nothing useful. I could not understand how there was not even the slightest trace of Seraphina's disappearance. I was sitting on my throne, my fingers resting against its golden edge. In front of me, the commanders of the army were kneeling. Every one of them had their heads lowered, unable to raise their eyes or look directly at me because they knew that one wrong movement or one wrong word would be enough to turn them all into ashes beneath the burning power radiating from my body. "We still haven't found any trace, Your Majesty," the head tracker said, his entire body trembling and his voice hoarse as he continued staring at the stone floor. "We have searched every corner of the mountains and every dark cave throughout the Dragon Realm. There is no sign of where Lady Seraphina is. It seems she completely erased her presence, or someone erased it for her, Your Majesty." My patience, already famous for being short and easy to break, finally disappeared. The anger I had been holding inside my chest for an entire year exploded like an active volcano. "One year!" A deafening silence fell over the entire hall. None of the remaining officials dared to breathe too loudly or make a single sound. "I gave you one year to find one woman. One woman!" No one answered. They remained frozen like statues, silently praying that I would not turn my anger toward them. "You are supposed to be the greatest warriors and protectors of this kingdom," I continued, every word carrying a threat. "But when I look at your results, you are completely useless. Tell me again, why should I allow you to remain in this palace when the only things you bring me every day are your useless faces and excuses?" From the right side of my throne, a quiet clearing of the throat suddenly echoed through the serious atmosphere. It was not the sound of someone who was afraid. It was the sound of an old man who was bored, annoyed, and completely unconcerned about how much anger I displayed. Damn this old man. I turned toward Grumblewick. He was my ancient guardian, the only creature who held that title. The old man had served my family since the time of my great-great-grandfather, which meant he knew every habit and tradition of our bloodline. He was incredibly old, always sarcastic, stubborn as stone, and worst of all, he was not even slightly afraid of me or my power. Even though I had become the strongest and most ruthless Dragon King in the history of our world, to him, I was still the small, crying boy he had once seen throwing a tantrum whenever his milk was spilled on the floor. "Do you find this situation funny, Grumblewick?" I asked arrogantly, raising my right eyebrow as my voice carried all the authority of a king. The old man looked at me without being bothered by my tone. He slowly adjusted the old glasses resting on his nose, even wiping them with his sleeve before finally speaking. "It's not exactly funny, my dear Kaizen." He paused to gather his strength and released an incredibly long sigh, as if he were the one carrying all my problems. "To be honest, if you ask me, it would be more accurate to say that everything happening right now is extremely predictable." The commanders still kneeling on the cold floor almost gasped in shock. No creature in the entire Dragon Realm would have dared speak to me that way, but for Grumblewick, being this direct with me was just another ordinary day. I stared at him sharply, feeling my face grow hot as my eyes began glowing blue, the color of my dragon form. If someone else had done that, they would have been ashes by now. But the old man simply sighed again in front of me, completely ignoring the death stare I was giving him. "You have been angry and frowning for three hundred and sixty-five days, Kaizen," Grumblewick said while waving his old wooden cane through the air as if he were teaching me a lesson. "Perhaps tomorrow, you could try something new for a change. For example, smile. Or maybe try being a kind creature for at least five minutes. Honestly, you already have so many wrinkles on your forehead from all that shouting that you look older than me." "Get out of my sight," I ordered coldly, forcing myself not to break the armrest from sheer irritation. Smile? Does he ever hear himself? How would I even do that? Grumblewick did not move even an inch from where he stood. Instead of becoming frightened, he leaned his back even more comfortably against the stone wall of the enormous room, making it very clear that he had no intention of following my order. "Of course. I will do that with great pleasure, my dear Kaizito." What the hell did he just call me in front of all these people? What does he think I am, a baby who still pees himself whenever he is not wearing a diaper? "I said leave now!" I shouted furiously, finally standing from my throne and causing several objects around the room to shake. "Okay, Your Majesty. I heard you the first time because I am not deaf," he replied while slowly walking in my direction, his steps steady and showing no intention of actually leaving through the door. "I am old, yes, but my hearing is still perfectly clear enough to hear you shouting. Besides, I clean my ears every day." Despite how irritating his constant backtalk and sarcastic attitude could be, every official and creature in the palace knew that he was not simply a funny old man who loved making jokes. He was my only anchor in this world, the only creature brave enough and powerful enough to stop me and remind me when my arrogance had gone too far and my pride had begun interfering with my decisions as king. He was the most loyal and longest-serving companion of my family, and I knew that behind all his insults and jokes was unmatched loyalty and genuine love for my family and the entire kingdom. When he reached the large wooden table in front of my throne, the playful expression on his face suddenly changed. His playful smile disappeared, replaced by a serious and formal expression that I rarely saw on him. Everyone fell silent as they watched his every movement. Slowly, he reached his wrinkled hand into his deep pocket and pulled out something wrapped in golden cloth. When he removed the cloth, he placed an ancient stone on top of the table. My eyes widened in shock. How dare this old man bring out the Ancient Bloodline Sacred Stone without my permission? The stone was the most sacred possession of our family, an artifact hidden inside the Sacred Chamber. Only members of my family and Grumblewick were allowed to enter that room. We were the only ones with the right to open it and visit it. The stone now sitting in front of me looked dead. It was dark gray and completely lifeless, with not even the slightest trace of energy coming from it. The stone only responded to new life carrying Velarion blood. And since I had no children, there was no reason for it to come alive. So what kind of nonsense was this old man planning by bringing it here and displaying it right in front of me? I was about to grab the stone from the table in anger, but before I could do so, Grumblewick slowly bowed his head and whispered an ancient spell from our bloodline. A sound like a rush of wind swept through the entire room, and for a moment, I was stunned. All the anger and irritation I had felt earlier suddenly disappeared, replaced by amazement and deep shock. The once-dark and seemingly lifeless gray stone suddenly changed. A faint light appeared from within it. The light was not strong. It slowly blinked, alternating between red and white, like the weak beating of a heart. "Don't be too harsh and angry. You might scare the little dragons," Grumblewick whispered, a proud smile forming on his lips as he looked at me before winking. I frowned, completely confused by his words. "What are you talking about, Grumblewick? What children? I don't have any children. Seraphina left on her own one year ago!" The old man took a deep breath and looked at me seriously. "That is your biggest mistake, Kaizito. The reason I brought this stone here is because I came from the Sacred Chamber earlier. While I was cleaning the room, something suddenly changed. I saw the sacred stone glowing on its own, without anyone touching it. And you and I both know what that means. I think it has been glowing on and off for quite some time, but I only happened to see it today." I froze. It felt as if someone had poured ice-cold water over me. "The stone only glows when there is a new generation carrying blue blood," I told him. I could not take my eyes away from the stone. "Exactly." Grumblewick nodded. "Seraphina left one year ago, and she was pregnant, Kaizen. You didn't know because you knew nothing about pregnancy, so you never realized her condition before she disappeared. She carried your children inside her, and she gave birth somewhere outside this kingdom. She laid your eggs outside this palace." "Are you telling me I was a fool?" "Hmm." He pretended to think. "About a handful." I clenched my jaw but forced myself to calm down before I could breathe fire at him. I did not want to believe what I was seeing or hearing. Seraphina had been pregnant when she left? I had children somewhere outside this kingdom? And why did she leave? For an entire year, we had received no news, and I had believed that she had simply abandoned me. But the truth was that she had been carrying something far more precious than I could have imagined—the future of my bloodline. Before I could find the answers inside my mind, my thoughts suddenly stopped. Deep inside my heart and soul, something I could not explain suddenly awakened. My inner dragon, the spirit and natural instinct of a father and a predator that had been asleep for so long because of sadness and anger, suddenly went wild inside my chest. A powerful surge of energy rushed through my body until I heard a deep, roaring growl inside my mind. I could no longer control my body. I immediately stood up with such force that my heavy golden throne was knocked backward. It crashed onto the floor with a powerful boom that shook the entire room. I could feel myself changing. The normal color completely disappeared from my eyes, replaced by pure, glowing, blazing blue—the color of the highest power of a Dragon King when he was ready to kill or enter a war. Without hesitation, I roared from the deepest part of my lungs and the very bottom of my heart. I want to see my children. I began pacing back and forth in front of the large table, my fists clenched so tightly that my claws nearly pierced my own skin. "I can feel them," I said. My voice no longer sounded completely human. It carried two different tones—the voice of the king and the voice of the dragon, both ready to cross anything and everything just to find our heirs. Every commander and official in the room had become like a statue. They could do nothing except remain frozen on the floor, unable to believe what they were hearing. For one year, there had been no news about Seraphina. Everyone had assumed she was either dead or hiding somewhere. But now, right before their eyes, the sacred stone had given them undeniable proof. The King had children. And the official heirs of the entire Dragon Realm were alive somewhere. "It seems my suspicion was correct," Grumblewick said while continuing to stare at the blinking red and white light of the stone. "The children are awake and searching for their connection. Their lights are beautiful." His grin grew wider, and I could immediately see how excited he was at the thought of taking care of the children. "Where are they?" I asked quickly. I stopped pacing and moved close to him. I placed both hands on the table and leaned so close that my face was almost touching his. "Tell me, Grumblewick. Where are my children right now?" The old man looked at the blinking stone. His expression became serious, and deep concern appeared in his eyes. "They are very far away, Kaizen. The light reaching this stone is extremely weak, which is clear proof that there is a massive barrier and a very thick dimensional wall between us and wherever they are. But I am certain of one thing... there are two dragons whose hearts are beating right now." "How far away are you saying they are?" I demanded, my eyes searching for the exact location of my heirs. "No distance is too far for me! I can fly across and search the entire Dragon Realm within a single day if that is what it takes to find them!" "This is not a matter of distance on our maps or territory, Kaizito," Grumblewick replied. He took a deep breath before looking directly and firmly into my eyes, forcing the truth into my mind. "If I study the movement of the light and the barrier surrounding them, there is a very high possibility that they are in another world." Another world. I frowned at his words, but not even the slightest doubt or fear entered my heart. I did not care if they were at the farthest edge of the universe or if I had to pass through a hundred portals filled with death and danger. My children had awakened. My own blood was alive. That was the only thing that mattered to me at that moment. No creature, human or shifter, had the right to touch or claim them except me—their father and king. Could Seraphina be the one keeping our children? I turned toward my soldiers, who were still kneeling on the floor, and shouted so loudly that my voice shook the entire palace tower. "Prepare my best warriors! Prepare every elite squad!" The commanders immediately straightened from their kneeling positions, their faces filled with a mixture of renewed hope and fear as they waited for my next command. "Prepare all the portal trackers, every type of weapon, and the most powerful magic we have in this kingdom. Bring everything we need because we are leaving right now. No one sleeps until we begin the journey," I ordered while lifting my heavy golden throne with one hand and placing it back into position, my arrogance once again showing through my determination. Grumblewick looked at me, still holding his wooden cane, and asked with a strange spark in his eyes. "Where are we going, Your Majesty? Which dimension or world are we going to disturb and explore tonight?" I walked toward the enormous window overlooking my vast kingdom. I closed my eyes and filled my lungs with the air of the Dragon Realm one last time before leaving. Deep inside my mind, my inner dragon gave me a clear, certain, and unmistakable answer about where the faint heartbeat of my children was coming from. Their energy was coming from a place filled with weak, fragile, and powerless creatures. "The human world," I answered coldly. I turned toward my soldiers, and this time, my entire face and expression slowly became harder, more terrifying, and completely emotionless. My natural arrogance had been replaced by a dangerous and dark aura that no one would dare stand against. "Find my children," I commanded. "And whoever is keeping them.”