Page 21 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“Further down the line, yes. But you are…your parents were some of the chosen ones.”

“And your grandparents or great-grandparents are of the same,” I told him. “It matters not to me who or where your family line comes from, mate. You are mine. My treasure to cherish for as long as we have together.”

“But what if…my grandfather is not a dragon.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. I didn’t because that wasn’t going to get us anywhere. “Neither is mine. I do not see an issue. My grandparents were human. I’ve never even met them. It wouldn’t matter, though, because my fathers had been required to cut all contact with their families when they were gifted the ability of changing into a dragon.”

Konrad’s smile was sad. “Yes, but mine was a wolf.”

“Still not an issue for me, mate. Now, tell me, is that the only thing worrying you?” Surely there was more. There was nothing dishonorable about having a wolf shifter for a grandfather.

“When do you wish to leave for the land across the ocean?”

Ahh, perhaps that was it. “We will leave when you are ready. Not before then. Right now, it is too dangerous for you to travel such a distance. You are not ready to fly the distance, and it is not safe for you to travel on my back for such a flight. It is too cold for your human skin, even that of one who shares their soul with a dragon. Do you not wish to join me at my home?”

“I do. I will miss my family though.”

“We will ask them to come with us when we find them,” I told him. Konrad looked at me, surprised. I still was not sure if we would ever locate the rest of his thunder, or even if they were alive, but we would make an honest effort to locate them. The four of them deserved as much.

“Come, let’s join the others and rest. I will hunt for food again later, and when you have regained some strength, we will set out and search for your thunder.”

I hoped we would find them alive and well, if not worried for the four that had been taken. But deep down, I feared that what we would find would not be what they wished for.

Chapter 8

Konrad

It took a week for the four of us to be strong enough to shift and fly. For seven days, my mate hunted for us, providing not only food and drink but protection from the elements and any predators that would cause us harm, both four-legged and two.

It was darkening, and we were getting ready to shift, Elias and myself for the first time since we’d been rescued. Lukas and Wilhelm had started shifting the day before, but finally, my dragon was ready to come out and meet our mate. I only hoped that he still wished to claim me after meeting my dragon. I was not quite as flashy as Lukas’s red scales or nearly as pretty as Elias’s orange or Wilhelm’s copper color. No, I’d been fated with purple scales.

“Are you ready to show me your dragon, Konrad?” Aleric asked. He was standing next to me, but frustratingly, my alpha had kept his distance for the past week. He saw to our basic needs, but that was it. He kept himself apart from the rest of us while we slept, and the only time he came even remotely close was when he was providing food and sharing a meal with us.

“Do you wish to see my dragon?” I was curious because he had seemed so indifferent of late.

“I would like nothing more than to take to the skies with you, my mate. There is still the matter of our claiming we must discuss. I understand you are worried about your parents and brothers though. I can be patient when needed.”

Yes, but what if I no longer wished to be patient? As my dragon had regained strength, it had become increasingly difficult to not throw myself at my alpha, begging to be claimed. But that was not how a proper omega behaved, and I needed to remember that.

“Then I wish for you to meet my dragon. He is not nearly so pretty as the others, but he is who I have been gifted from fate.”

I took off my blouse, more than ready to never see the thing again, but for now, it was all I had. Perhaps when we found the rest of the thunder, I could get fresh clothing, and then maybe my alpha would wish to spend time near me. I knew I looked a fright, but we all did.

“If you all put your clothing in my satchel, I will carry it for you. That way, you will have them when we land,” Aleric called out loud enough we could all hear.

I rolled my blouse, adding my trousers to the bundle. Once I had them pushed into the satchel, I stood up and met the heated gaze of my alpha. Perhaps he wasn’t all that indifferent if the way he was staring at me was any indication. I’d seen looks such as that before. Only I hadn’t wanted them from those alphas because they weren’t my mate.

“While we are flying, if there is a direction you feel we should be going, you will need to lead me as I am not familiar with your thunder or what I should be looking for. My dragon will sense others easily enough, but I will not know if they are who we are looking for or not. If something urgent arises, land, and we will all follow, understood?”

There was a chorus of yeses, and I nodded since he was still staring intently at me. As Aleric walked toward me, I felt my body start to heat from his gaze. When he was within arm’s reach, I dropped my eyes, realizing my mistake right away. No, Aleric wasn’t nearly as uninterested in me as I had believed. I’d seen him without clothing many times in the past week, but this was the first that I’d taken notice of his body responding to mine.

“See something interesting, mate?”

I cleared my throat and quickly raised my eyes back to Aleric. I was a dragon shifter. I had been around naked shifters since I could remember. Never before had one had such an effect on me. But he was my mate, and we’d all heard about how much mates affected one another.

“Yes, well, as you have said, we are mates. Mates that have spent the past week together yet not. You’ve managed to put distance between us at every opportunity,” I told him.

“Ah, I see. Yes, well…” Aleric leaned in, placing his lips right next to my ear. “When I finally claim you, my mate, I do not wish for it to be with an audience. I plan on taking my time with you and loving you through the night and into the next day. Then we’ll do it all over again after we rest.”