Page 41 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

I glanced at the floor, but all I could see was my protruding stomach. I took a few steps back and growled in frustration. That was how I usually ended up on the floor. The flour from baking ended up on my stomach, then dropped to the floor.

“I will clean it up for you.”

“No, Egon. It is my mess. I should be the one to do it.”

“But I’m not the pregnant one. You are.”

Egon came at me with a cloth in hand, and when I went to take it from him, he held it away, then dropped to his knees to clean up the mess. I started to join him, but a harsh look from him had me stopping. Instead, I went to the chair on the other side of the worktable and sat down, frustrated. It was much more difficult to work while sitting but certainly safer. I could see the work area, and my stomach didn’t get in the way.

Egon stood back up, took the cloth to the tub, and rinsed it out before hanging it on the peg on the wall.

“I vaguely remember being pregnant with Aleric. I felt as big as our hut. Ferdinand made the mistake of making a joke about our son entering the room minutes before I did once.”

I gasped. Egon looked at me and chuckled as he nodded.

“Once. He slept outside for a week. I might have stayed mad longer if I hadn’t gone into labor.”

I was not going to laugh. I truly wasn’t. Until Egon snorted. That was what broke it for me, and I started laughing. Egon joined me, and we were still laughing about it when Ferdinand and Aleric returned from wherever it was they were continually disappearing to outside. There was only so much firewood that needed to be chopped, and we had more than enough food to feed us, so I figured they were spending time flying, enjoying the freedom of doing so during the daylight hours. That was something I couldn’t wait to experience again.

“What is so funny, mate?” Aleric asked me as he crossed the room and stood next to me. Immediately, his fingers threaded through the curls on my head, and I closed my eyes for a moment before I looked up at Aleric and smirked.

“Your father sleeping outside for a week because of a comment he made to Da when he was very pregnant with you.”

Ferdinand gasped and looked at his mate, then at their son. “Son, do not make the same mistake I did. We do not speak of such things.” Ferdinand looked honestly worried about his past blunder. I felt bad for him.

“What did you do?” Aleric seemed quite concerned about what his father had done.

“It is in the past, son. We will not speak of such things ever again.” Ferdinand gave Egon a stern look, but he was not having any of it. He put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at his mate.

I sighed. My own parents had been like Aleric’s at times. Sure, my alpha father was a stickler for tradition and was overly protective, but the love he had for my Dad was undeniable. Thinking about that made me remember them during those moments and how much I missed them.

“Come walk with me?” Aleric asked, holding out his hand. I took it, allowing him to help me up from the chair. When I went to let go, he gripped my hand tighter. I smiled at my mate and allowed him to lead me to the door, where he stopped and grabbed my coat. I slipped my arms inside while he held it for me. It no longer closed in the front below the top three buttons, but it was better than nothing.

We left the cottage, and I had to squint against the bright sun shining off the snow that covered everything. There was a narrow path from Aleric and Ferdinand’s traveling back and forth, and I had thought it would lead to where they went to shift. I discovered it went out behind the cottage and over into the cluster of trees not far away.

I followed behind Aleric, holding on to his hands as he held them behind his waist. We walked maybe ten minutes, Aleric’s pace slow—something I was thankful for. My mate knew that my balance wasn’t what it normally was, and the snow didn’t help.

When he stopped, he pulled me around him, and I could only stare in shock.

“What do you think?”

My mouth dropped open, and Aleric chuckled.

“I take it that is a good look. Do you like it?”

I was staring at the shell of a cottage.

I looked at my mate. “Is it ours?”

“It is. We won’t have glass for the windows until after the baby comes. Same goes for the cookstove. We can bring our bed from the other cottage, but we will have to furnish the main room. Do you want to see inside?”

Did I? Was he being serious? He was building us our own cottage.

“Of course I do.”

I let Aleric lead me through the doorway and into the large rectangular structure that was the shell of our very own cottage.

Realization hit. “Is this what you and your father have been doing? You’ve not been out flying around for hours at a time?”