Page 20 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

The others sighed. I was not sure if it was from the idea of getting clean or the prospect of getting more to drink. Either way, we needed to start in that direction soon.

Once Konrad finished his second fish and had a healthy drink, I placed the empty canister back in my satchel. The others looked full and sleepy, and although it was tempting to stay where we were to rest, we should get cleaned before we slept. We would rest better that way.

“I know you want nothing more than to sleep now, but we must move to the river. There are some trees by it that we can rest in after you get clean and I refill the canister. It will make it easier to catch our next meal as well.”

The others easily agreed, standing and stretching their tired bodies. Wilhelm took the lead and started walking in the direction of the river. Once I had the fire out and the evidence that we had even been here covered, I followed behind, taking in our surroundings.

I overheard the conversation ahead and felt bad for my mate and his friends. The chances of us finding their village were slim, and they seemed to realize that. It would be easier once they regained their strength and could take to the sky. So much more ground could be covered when we were in our scales and wings.

The sound of the river reached us, and the four with me picked up their pace, the thought of getting clean encouraging them to carry on.

I smiled when I finally reached the riverbank. There in the shallows, all four of them were splashing and playing in the water. It would not clean nearly as well as the scented water my da was fond of, but it would feel much better than the grime that covered the four for who knew how long. The conditions they’d been in were more than enough to warrant the lives I’d taken on their behalves.

It did no good to think of such things, for it only made me wish I had not given Feiedrich such a quick and painless death. What he had done to these omegas earned a much more painful death, and I was sure I did not know even a fraction of what had transpired.

I watched for another moment before moving upstream a bit and knelt on the pebbled riverbank to dig a hole. I made sure to dig it big enough to fit the canister, and then I sat there waiting. The water that immediately filled the hole was murky, but in time, the sediment would settle, leaving clean water for us to drink.

The others as they took off their clothing and started scrubbing their bodies with the sand from the bottom. Should I share my lye soap? It was better than the sand and pebbles they were using. I dug through the satchel and pulled out the canister as well as the yellow bar. I walked to the bank, where they were just a few feet into the river, and held out my hand. Elias squealed and came rushing toward me.

“Thank you, Alpha.”

“You are most welcome. Please call me Aleric. Enjoy the soap, but do try not to lose it in the river,” I called out as I walked back to where I had claimed a spot. It was as good as any, and I gathered dried wood that had been drifting in the river and started to make a pile. They were going to need to dry themselves, and that meant another fire was going to be needed.

I had a nice fire going, started with a flint this time, when four dripping and now a whole lot cleaner dragons came walking over to me.

“The fire will keep you warm and help dry your clothes. Of course, if you wrung them out, they would dry faster.”

Wilhelm was the first to strip, twisting his clothes near the water before he shook them out and put them back on. If there were larger boulders nearby, I could heat them with my dragon’s fire, and their clothing would dry quickly. Sadly, there were no such boulders.

“I have set up a fire over by the trees as well. There is a nice patch of grass near that looks promising for taking a nap. We only need to take an ember over to start it.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Wilhelm said as he carefully picked up the nonburning end of a longer log and walked in the direction I’d indicated. Elias went with, quickly followed by Lukas. When Konrad tried to join them, I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Sit with me for a moment?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I sighed.

“Is there a reason you are suddenly indifferent toward me? Have I done something to displease you?” This would be the shortest mating in history if that were the case. I’d not done more than rescue and feed him. Yet he was already irritated with me, it seemed.

“No. You are being most kind.”

“I am only doing what any worthy alpha would. I am not only helping those that require it, but I am looking after my mate and seeing to his needs. I will ask again, have I done something that has upset you?”

“No, Alpha.”

I growled, getting Konrad to finally look at me. His blue eyes spoke volumes. He looked sad and scared.

“Although I do not dislike you calling me alpha, I much prefer to hear my name on your lips,” I said. He said I had not done anything to displease him, so I decided it was time to have our talk, starting with sharing my intent with him. “Say it, please. I wish to hear you speak my name.”

“Aleric,” he whispered.

“Yes. Now, tell me why there’s a wall between us before we can even start our courtship.” I pulled Konrad to me, getting a squeak from my omega. He truly was adorable. Now that he was clean, his hair was a lighter blond, and I could not wait to see what it looked like once it was completely dry. Would my fingers tangle in the curls that were hanging down around his face?

“You said your parents were once human.”

“Yes. They were chosen by the goddess to become what we are. What of it? Your family line will have come from those similarly.” We all had. Did he not know that?