Page 48 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“After our evening meal, I will help with furniture if you wish. There will be no need to trade furs in exchange for the items I provide. It is not necessary. You have already given me the greatest gift I could ever hope for, Aleric, when you rescued Elias along with the others.”

I looked to Claude, stunned. I could only nod. I had only been doing what any decent alpha would. There was no way I would have ever considered leaving the others behind.

“Very good. Is there a place you had in mind?”

“For the furniture?”

Claude chuckled. “We will get to that later. I was meaning for the cottages for me and Elias and another for Wilhelm.”

“Oh, this way,” I said, pointing off in the direction of another clearing. It was perfect for a cottage, and I had almost built mine there, but the place I had chosen was closer to the waterfall, which would always be special to me and Konrad.

I led Claude to the clearing and watched, completely fascinated, as a cottage suddenly appeared, smoke rising from the chimney.

“Now Wilhelm. Here? Or somewhere else?”

“This way,” I said, leading him a short five-minute walk away. I observed once again as Claude used magic to place another cottage in position, this one a bit smaller.

“When he finds his mate, we will add on to his place. For now, he will feel more comfortable in just the two main rooms. Shall we return to the others? I believe you have a sleeping mate that will be giving birth soon.”

I stopped. “What do you mean? He has a month still, from what we can guess.”

“Children come when they are ready, Alpha. Not all of them like to wait a certain amount of time to make their appearance.”

I thought about those words as we walked back to the cottage, as well as Father’s just a bit ago. Was Konrad carrying twins? Would he be giving birth soon? His father had given birth to twins. It was not uncommon for dragons to do so, although it was not nearly as common as it was in wolf or feline shifters.

When we returned to my parents’ cottage, I let Da and Father see to our new family members while I hurried to my mate. He was still sleeping, but I could tell it wasn’t peaceful. After removing my clothing, I crawled in behind him and pulled him back into my chest. Immediately, Konrad’s dragon seemed to settle, allowing my mate to do the same.

That was odd because I had not really felt Konrad’s dragon to that level for some time. Perhaps what the others were saying was true. Maybe Konrad would give birth soon. Time would tell, and even I knew there was nothing we could do except wait. For now, I lay there holding my mate and listening to his and our baby’s heartbeat.

Chapter 16

Konrad

March 1769

“What are you making?” Elias asked. I glanced at my friend and smiled.

“Sweet bread. Ferdinand has a fondness for it, and I am not above using that knowledge to make him happy. He has been so accepting of me, and I feel it’s the least I can do. I came here with nothing to offer, and he thought nothing of it. He just welcomed me when Aleric introduced me.”

“What makes it sweet?” Wilhelm asked.

“The honey,” I told them. I glanced at Elias. He was carrying a baby as well, but he didn’t look nearly as pregnant as I did. “When do you think you will have your baby?” I asked. Elias and I were only two days apart, but our babies wouldn’t be born quite as close together.

Elias sighed. “I’m only halfway through my pregnancy. I have quite a bit more time than you do.”

But that was still close. I looked to Wilhelm. He shook his head. “I would be happy to have my own mate, but I’ll have to hope to meet him in some city or something in the future. There’s nobody else that’s unmated here.”

I felt terrible for Wil. Much like Aleric for many years, he was facing being alone while the rest of us had someone else to spend our nights with. Then again, there was nothing that was keeping him here. He could leave at any time if he chose to.

I finished kneading the bread and put it back in the bowl to rise. I placed it near the fireplace on the hearth and covered it with a cloth. It would be a nice addition to the meal that Egon was making.

I looked around the cottage, still in awe that I was in my very own cottage. Aleric and Ferdinand had been working on it since shortly after we arrived, but it was slow going with only the two of them. With a simple thought, Claude had it finished, and it had many luxuries that even Egon had stared at with longing. Elias had shared that Claude had added several upgrades to Ferdinand and Egon’s cottage as well.

I’d not been on the mountain for long, but in the week that the others had joined us, there had been a noticeable shift in everything. Claude had no issues with using his magic to make life easier.

“Do you still think about it?” Wilhelm asked suddenly. I had wondered when either of them would ask about it. I was a bit surprised that it had taken this long.

I sat and stared at my friends. “Sometimes. Especially when the baby kicks. It makes me remember the twins, which sends my mind spiraling,” I told them.