Page 11 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“Yeah, Wil. I am. Just thinking.”

“Too much time to think. I don’t like some of my thoughts.”

The tears started falling again. I closed my eyes tightly against them.

“Yeah, I understand that,” I said quietly. I really understood that. It hurt that Wil was obviously much the same as I was and he was struggling. Then again, how could we not be?

Chapter 5

Aleric

July 1768

“Aleric, son, you are not paying attention.”

“Forgive me, Father. I did not mean any disrespect. What was it you were discussing?” I glanced around the dining table we were sitting at, but it was no use. My mind was simply elsewhere and had been since the dreams had started.

“I said, you seem to be quite distracted of late,” my alpha father stated.

I blushed, and unfortunately, my omega father noticed.

“Something you care to share with us, Aleric?”

“No, Da. I was just thinking.”

I looked around the large room and wondered again if coming here to this mountain was where we truly should be. But my fathers had been told by…something…that we needed to be here. That they should set out across the ocean and claim a mountain as theirs because eventually, it was going to be needed by our kind. I was more than old enough to remain in our homeland by myself, but at the time, I’d not yet found my own mate, so why stay where I knew they weren’t?

“His mind is wandering again,” Da said quietly. I knew he was talking to Father.

“I do apologize. If you would excuse me?” I said, getting up from the table.

“Of course. Are you sure you are all right?” Da asked, stopping me from rising from the table.

“Yes, Da. I think a walk might be good in helping me to clear my mind.” When Da dropped his hand, I smiled warmly at him before I walked away from the table.

I left our small cottage and started out on the now-familiar path. We had only been here in the new land for a few decades. At times, I missed our homeland, but I had to agree that it was a place that had become wrought with distrust and greed. We could no longer trust those around us, and flying even at night had become dangerous.

“What troubles you, son?”

I should have known my alpha father would follow. But would he have some insight? I was torn about what to do.

“How did you know we were to come here? You said you heard a voice, but how did you truly know?” I stopped and looked out at the mountain in the setting sun. It was breathtaking, but we were completely alone here. It was nothing like I’d expected. I had hoped there would be the possibility of my own mate being here, but when there was nobody else around, that limited one’s chances of finding the other half of their soul.

“You’ve asked before, and I haven’t ever given you a direct answer. I realize now that I should have shared that with you. You are an adult and deserve as much.”

Father sighed quietly before he continued.

“Your da and I were walking through the forest when we suddenly sensed a presence that we’d not felt before. We were told by a glowing light that we needed to come here. That we needed to claim the mountain and that one day, we would need to help others like us. Why do you ask?”

“A glowing light?” It couldn’t be. He moved his mate and only child several days’ travel because a glowing light told him to?

“It might sound like a moment of insanity, but she was quite convincing. Something about her calmed the decision and was a helpful deciding factor.”

“She?”

“Yes. The voice that spoke to me could not be mistaken for anything other than feminine.”

“She told you to come here specifically?” I asked, pointing down at the ground.