Page 118 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“I’m twenty-eight. So very close in age.” I glanced toward the bedroom, wondering how long Calum would be. Not that I felt overly uncomfortable with his omega dad. “Calum mentioned they have twins.”

Étienne’s face lit up. “Yes. Spencer and Maverick. They were born in February this year. They’re crawling everywhere, and Eli loves every minute of it. He’s gotten used to Benjamin having to go out on assignments now, but Rainier and I help as much as we can. We don’t want to overstep. But we’re always available to help with anything if needed.”

“Thank you. I’m the youngest of my siblings, and I’m quite a bit younger than my next oldest. I honestly think I might have been a bit of a surprise.” I shrugged, and Étienne gave my hand another squeeze. He had nothing but understanding on his face, which was actually more of a relief than I would have thought. “I’ve never been around children. Not really. I have friends that found their mates, and of course, they have families, but I’ve not been around babies or younger children for longer than just a passing moment.”

“Well, we’ll figure it all out together. I know that the doctor at the council has books for omega pregnancies that he was given by a colleague. Benjamin and Eli could answer any questions and, of course, Calum. He helped quite a bit when he was visiting earlier in the year.”

Just then, Calum and Rainier came out of the hotel bedroom, talking about houses. Yes, it was all becoming so very real right now.

“Are we ready?” Rainier asked. Étienne stood, and I did the same. I glanced around Calum, looking for my bag, but didn’t see it.

“I just need to get my bag and put my shoes on,” I said.

“The bags have already been sent to our house in Montana,” Rainier said.

“Your house?” I asked.

“Just for the time being,” Calum said. “We have to go and see if we can find somewhere to stay.”

I nodded. That made sense. I was normally not quite so…overwhelmed. But I could feel myself starting to shut down a bit because there had just been so much in such a short amount of time. Maybe the fates should have waited a month or two before sending me here. Until Calum wasn’t stuck in the middle of a different country with a nasty sandstorm swirling and hissing around outside.

Instead of sitting and pulling on my shoes, I chose to use magic and had them on my feet with a thought. That was certainly helpful.

Calum came to my side and tilted his head while looking at me. “Are you all right?”

I nodded. I wasn’t. Not really. I needed some time alone, in a quiet place without knocks on doors, new people to be introduced to, and so many new changes were happening before I fully processed the previous ones.

“We’re ready,” Calum said. He placed his hand on my back, and seconds later, we were in a completely different place.

It not only smelled different, but it felt different. This place was cool but cozy. Gone was the brown noise from outside. In its place was a bright light. I pulled away from my mate and walked toward a window and stared in wonder. There was snow outside. I didn’t even think about it for a second; I simply willed myself to be out in it, and before I could blink, I was standing knee-deep in snow. I knelt down and touched it, finding it incredibly cold, but then again, so was the air around me. I looked up at the sky, and it was filled with gray clouds, but the sun was shining behind them.

“Asher, you need a coat,” Calum said as he came rushing toward me.

I turned at the sound of his voice and smiled. “It’s snow, Calum.” I scooped some up and tossed it into the air. It was like a powder and fell down around me. I blinked when some of it landed on my lashes, but I really didn’t care. I was standing in snow.

Calum’s arms wrapped around me at the same time something heavy suddenly appeared on me. I looked down at my arms and chest, noticing I was now wearing a thick jacket.

“Where…did your father do this?” I asked. I held up a foot, seeing that my shoes were now gone, and in their place were some rather nice leather boots.

“You can’t be outside in the cold without at least a coat, sweetheart. You aren’t a shifter. You’ll get cold if you’re out here too long.”

I looked up at Calum, my happiness of being in the snow suddenly gone.

“I apologize. I won’t do this again.”

I started to pull away from my mate, but he held me tightly while growling. I froze and looked up at him.

“I’m not upset, simply worried. You are not used to the cold. It’s in the teens, and that’s drastically different than what you said the fae realm was like.”

I looked around the place and saw the house just ten or so yards away. “I apologize. I was simply excited to see it.”

Calum cupped my face and slowly lowered his mouth to mine. He pressed our lips together briefly before he moved back enough so I could focus on his face.

“You can be excited to see it. We can run and play in it. But you have to have a coat and boots. You should probably have a hat and gloves as well at these temperatures, but the coat and boots are really important.”

I nodded. “How do I get a hat and gloves?” I shook my head immediately. “I should actually go inside and apologize to your parents. I was rude to just pop out and into the snow. Especially after everything they’ve done already.”

“They understand.”