Page 97 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

I’ll be in contact again once the storms pass. I’ll be sure to keep you updated about my progress and where I am in my trip. For the first time in quite a while, my fox seems to be at peace. He is happy with what I’ve been thinking about and is more than ready to be in a place where I can let him out frequently.

I love you, Dad. And I want to say thank you for always being your amazing self. Your suggestive but not pushing email seemed to be that last little shove I need to take a step back and look at what I have in my life and where I want to be. I understand others don’t find that special someone until they are even older than I am, and I can accept that. It isn’t ideal, but it is what it is.

Thank you, Dad. For once again, always being you and seeming to know exactly what we need and when we need it. Now, maybe start working on the grouch. Although, I’m not sure Pierre will ever leave France and his books. His profession though, he could do it anywhere, so maybe you can work your magic on him next.

I’ll be in touch. Tell Father I love him, and please give the twins hugs and kisses for me.

Love,

Calum

I hit Send without thinking twice. I knew if I hesitated even a little, I would backtrack on sending it and start second-guessing myself. Like I’d told Dad, now that I’d decided to start working on relocating closer to them, my fox was incredibly happy. I’d spent hours running through the forest in Treasure Ridge. It was freeing, something I’d not had in too long. The only thing that would have made it perfect was if I had my own mate by my side.

I grinned at the email I’d just sent. Even a few years ago, we couldn’t have spoken so freely through email. But now, with the new secured email as well as secured para-web as it were, we no longer had to worry about such things. The council had been incredibly good for the majority of the paranormal world. Well, the honest ones, that was.

With that out of the way, I finally felt settled enough to shut down for the night. I closed out my programs and shut down my laptop once again. After I had it packed up, I shut off the lamp before crawling into my too-small and uncomfortable cot. Tomorrow night, I told myself as I tried to get comfortable. Tomorrow, I’d be in a hotel and would have a comfortable bed and hot water.

Chapter 2

Asher

“Asher! Stop playing in the dirt and come inside and wash the dishes!”

I cringed at the sound of my father’s voice. I wasn’t playing in the dirt. I was digging for a specific type of rock that I’d discovered could be polished up and traded for money. I was saving every coin I could get. I desperately wanted to get away from here. Even if it meant only going to the next village or the one beyond that, I still didn’t wish to live with my parents any longer. I was twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine, and I was still treated like I was nine sometimes.

My parents weren’t terrible, but they weren’t exactly great either. I was their youngest and, according to them, thankfully last child.

Sadly, I’d not had any luck with finding my own mate. I’d tried. I’d gone around our village frequently, and nothing. I’d only had the chance to visit a neighboring village once, and that had been some years ago. Since the portal to the human and shifter realm seemed to forever be locked now, that meant I would have to travel from village to village in search of my mate.

That thought made me a bit sad. Not that I would be completely upset if my mate was a fae alpha. I’d just always dreamed I’d end up with a shifter for some reason. Maybe it was because I longed for a different life, one that wasn’t here in our realm. I’d dreamed about being places where I could dig up fascinating things from the ground. I’d read a few books about giant fossils that were found underground. They were on display in places that had giant collections of them. I dreamed about going to the shifter realm and experiencing snow. I knew it was a lot like what happened when we put water in our icebox, but it was different in many ways.

“Asher!”

I winced. Dad was really upset now. I looked down at the small pile of rocks I’d uncovered. There were many more in this hole, but they would have to wait. I shoved the ones I had found into my bag and collected my things. I had just stood and turned when I encountered two strangers. I fell backward, landing on my ass, and winced at the pain.

“Ouch,” I said under my breath.

“We apologize, Asher. Allow me to help you?”

I looked at the tall, dark-haired man who had friendly blue eyes. He was slender, much like the fae, but he was much taller than most of us. And his voice told me he wasn’t from here. But for whatever reason, I felt that I could trust him and took his outstretched hand, letting him pull me to my feet.

“Thanks,” I said as soon as I was back on my feet. “I have to go. My dad is calling for me because I didn’t clean up after breakfast.” It wasn’t as if he couldn’t wash the dishes. He was completely capable, but I couldn’t remember the last time I saw my father do any sort of house chore.

“A moment, please,” the tall man said. “Allow us to introduce ourselves.” He gestured to the very muscular man beside him. “This is Canyon, and I’m Thomas. We’re the fates, and we’ve been given the ability to reopen the portal.”

My eyes widened immediately. If these two were the fates and they were here talking to me, did that mean I had been chosen?

“No you’re not,” I said, suddenly disbelieving them. I glanced around, wondering where they actually came from. The fates didn’t talk to people individually. “If you were the fates, you would be in the village center. That’s how they’ve always done things in the past. They don’t come to our houses.”

I moved to go around them but suddenly found myself stuck to the ground. I looked down at my foot and glared. Why wasn’t it moving? Why couldn’t I lift it? I returned my gaze to the two men who claimed they were the fates.

“We just need a little bit of your time, Asher. It is true that we used to visit village centers and pull others from there to go to the human realm. We are doing things a little different this time around since it’s been a while since we have been able to get into the fae realm. We are instead visiting those we’d like to send to the human realm individually. It keeps others from being disappointed, and we feel it’ll overall go over more smoothly than if we were to randomly pick a few from the entire group.”

“Are you for real?” I looked from Thomas to Canyon. “You’re seriously the fates?”

“Two of them, yes,” Canyon said, finally speaking up. His voice was completely different than the other, and I wondered if they were from different realms themselves.

“We have an alpha picked for you, Asher. His name is Calum, and he would love an omega to cherish and spoil.”