Page 104 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

Calum chuckled. “Yes. There is certainly snow. There’s snow on the ground right now, and my brother was talking about how they were expecting it to snow more tomorrow night. They’re celebrating the winter solstice with a festival up on the mountain and are hoping the heavy snow holds off until they are able to have the party.”

That sounded like fun. “We had gatherings like that. It was more of a big market gathering though. We would get booths and sell our things to others. Sometimes trades were done. It just really depended.”

“Perhaps we could go next year? This year, it won’t be possible, but if we are in Montana next year, I would love to take you.”

“I would like that.” I honestly would. I loved to be around people. I wasn’t normally shy by nature, but I could be a bit hesitant when first meeting them. I quickly picked up on the fact that Calum’s aura was showing concern when I first entered his room. I was nervous, I would think understandably, and I had no idea if he would even be receptive to having a mate. “Do you have any questions for me?”

“What did you do in your village? You mentioned that it was the younger ones that did most of the jobs and such.”

I grinned. “Yes. I helped my parents, but I also worked in a bookstore. I know it’s not really that interesting, but I love to read. It’s where I found most of the different books that were about this realm. I’m not sure where they came from or how they got there, but some were really fascinating.”

“We’ll have to go to a bookstore here. And a library.”

“Do you like to read?” I asked.

Calum nodded. “Yes. It’s a large part of my job, really. I have to read for research for both expeditions and papers I write. It’s all part of being a professor.”

I sighed. “That sounds like fun.” I wouldn’t dare ask because I knew I had no right to ask if I could go to university like he’d mentioned. It was another thing that was briefly covered. I knew that when we came here, papers were created for us and were put with our things. I’d not looked in my bag yet, but I was sure my papers were in there with the money they’d mentioned.

“Would you like to go to college? It’s not an issue. Maybe we could flip things around, and I’ll stay home with the kids and you can go to college. You won’t be able to attend while pregnant though, unfortunately.”

“I could do that?”

Calum chuckled. “You can. We can get you some information on different programs, and you can pick one. I meant it when I said you wouldn’t have to work. I’ve made more than enough funds in my lifetime already to support us for a very, very long time.”

I thought about it for a moment and shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I could do that. Leave my kids. I think I would want to be with them.”

Calum gave me a huge smile. “Well, eventually, they will need to go to school. If we’re planning on settling near my family, I know there is a shifter school in Timber Valley that all of the kids go to. There is also a childcare center on the pack’s lands. There are some couples that are still having children and both parents are working, so childcare is needed. It will ultimately be your choice though.”

I wanted to do both. “Do I have to decide now?” I also knew that once we started having kids, I might change my mind. There were a couple of friends my age who were already mated, and I loved spending time with their little ones.

“You don’t have to decide anything at the moment. Everything will be on your timeline, so we’ll do things how and when you want.”

I nodded and then realized what he’d said. “Wait. Everything? You mean if I said I wanted to wait a couple of months to claim each other, you’d be all right with that?” That would never happen because as a fae, we all knew that we only had about a week at most to claim our mates and be claimed by them once we met them. If we went beyond that amount of time, the tingles and vibrations in our bodies when our auras recognized our mates would become too painful to bear.

“If that is what you wish, absolutely. I will do whatever I can to romance you. I want you to accept me and our claim on each other,” Calum told me.

“I already do, and I would never make you wait that long.” I remembered something he’d said about his family. “Your sire is a warlock,” I stated.

Calum nodded. “Yes. As are my older and younger brothers.”

“Do they, too, not have the tingles?”

Calum looked confused. “The tingles?”

“Yes. The tingles. They are what our body experiences when our auras talk to our mate. Unlike you, I’m not a shifter. I don’t recognize my mate by scent. I recognize him by the tingles. When we are near our mate, those tingles increase. It’s like vibrations on our skin. As time goes on, they increase until they become painful.”

“I can’t say I remember any of them ever talking about it. Maybe they did and I just didn’t pay close enough attention because it didn’t really pertain to me. I’m not sure.” Calum seemed thoughtful for a moment. “So you’re telling me that if we don’t claim each other quick enough, you will be in pain?”

I nodded. “Not really fair, huh? Just like birth control not really working all that well for the first fertile period after mating. I’m not sure why things are the way they are, but there are several things that just make me scratch my head in question.”

Calum chuckled. “You and me both. I think that for a while at least, there was a bit of a lag in the mates being paired, and now they seem to be working overtime to make up for it. I’m not sure though, and I might be wrong, but you never know. Anyway, I want you to have a choice in things. We’re supposed to be partners. But it sounds like you’re not necessarily going to have that.”

I shrugged. “It’s just how it is. I won’t be able to control when my fertile period hits either. Nor if I get pregnant or not. It’s just how fate works. Will we be able to have some control over that next time? I think so, but I can’t be sure.”

“We discussed kids already.” Calum paused, looked like he was trying how best to continue. “Did you really want six? Not that I’m against it.”

I held up a hand and started laughing and shaking my head. “No.”