Page 1 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

Aleric

DESTINED PARANORMALS BOOK ONE

Chapter 1

Aleric

July 1730

Iweaved my way through the village’s market. Many had come out to sell their early crops as well as the wares they’d worked on over the long winter. It had been warm enough for crops for several moon cycles now, and I’d been sent by my parents to purchase dried meat and other foodstuffs. I wasn’t exactly sure why, as we were dragons and could hunt for meat without any issue, but they’d insisted. Here I was.

“Good morning to ya, Aleric. Are ya perhaps looking for something specific?”

I turned toward the familiar voice. It wasn’t that I wanted to, but I did not wish to be rude. Despite our past dalliance—which had been completely unfulfilling—I had to be cordial with Otto. I knew he was insinuating more; I just wasn’t interested.

“Good morning, Otto.” I quickly looked at the items he had for sale and didn’t see what I was searching for. “This morning, I’m specifically looking for meats and other dried foods my father has asked for.”

“Oh.” Otto quickly glanced around his booth. He had colorful scarves and blankets that I knew his mother and sister had made.

“Enjoy the warm morning, and best of luck to you today.” I walked off as quickly as I dared. I did not wish to bring any unnecessary attention to myself.

After visiting several booths, I felt I had what my fathers had asked for and took my purchases back to our home. We lived in the middle of the forest, away from the village. Even there, we had to be incredibly careful about shifting. Too many times, others from the village were discovered near our place, and we had to intercept them.

There wasn’t anything incriminating in our house, but as men with the ability to turn into fire-wielding dragons, we had to protect ourselves and what we were. It made for a somewhat lonely existence for me. My fathers had each other, but I had yet to find that perfect match. The one my fathers had talked about.

I longed for my fated mate. I knew about them, of course. I’d seen firsthand the connection between my parents. But my dragon had not told me that anyone was ours. I wanted that person. Someone to hold during the long winters. To go for walks with in the summer. Someone to take flying.

During my walk, I continued to reflect on the life we had here. I would not say it was incredible. We did not necessarily struggle for things as others did, but the continual need to ensure secrecy could wear on you. As it was, my fathers could not be true to who they were to one another. We lived under the story of my mother having died in childbirth and her brother moving in to help out with raising me. Of course, I no longer required a surrogate parent at my age. But the villagers seemed to accept the story, and most didn’t question it.

I was at the halfway point when I heard noise to my right. I slowed my steps and let my dragon come forward enough to use his senses. What I scented put me and my dragon on alert. Feiedrich König made both me and my dragon uneasy. I wasn’t sure what it was about him, but I trusted my dragon, and he said that Feiedrich was not someone to be trusted.

I readjusted the satchel on my shoulder and continued on my way. My steps were quicker now, hoping to put more distance between me and the older human. We’d seen him around more times than we cared to. Always he was discovered staring at Da. I had to agree with Father about that; it was concerning.

As I got closer to the house, Feiedrich’s scent weakened, which told me that he’d not been by this way. Small favors, as I really didn’t wish to have to kill the man. He was from a wealthy family, and they were the type to go on a hunt if he went missing.

When the house came into view, I smiled when I saw Da pulling clothing from the line. He’d been in a cheerful mood this morning and had been up and doing the wash earlier than normal. I didn’t wish to ask what put such a pep in his step, but I smiled at my carrier father when he noticed me.

Da watched as I approached, and when he noticed the heavy satchel, his smile grew. “You found what we’d hoped.”

I nodded but raised a finger to my mouth. Immediately, Da was on alert. It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted, but I was being cautious. I stood not far away while he finished with the laundry, and when he picked up the pile, I reached to take it from him. I chuckled when Da rolled his eyes at me.

“I had to offer,” I told him as we entered the house. I quickly took in the interior state of the house. It looked nothing like it had when I’d left hours ago. No, there were two large trunks in the middle of the room, our table having been pushed to the side to make room.

I walked to the table and carefully set my satchel down. Father came out of the bedroom and nodded when he saw me.

“I’m glad you returned. Did you get what we asked?”

“Yes,” I told him as I looked back and forth between my fathers. Da had started putting the clothing into one of the trunks while I could only look on and wonder what they were doing. Father added some pots to another, making me question what was going on.

“Aleric, bring the satchel over here,” Father said. It took a moment, but I did as told and held it out. Father took it, carefully arranging it inside the trunk.

“I scented Feiedrich in the forest on the way home.”

Father froze, then looked up at me.

“How far away?”

“Closer to the village than here.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Are you and Da leaving?”