Page 23 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

I flew some distance away and landed in the open field where we used to grow our vegetables. Aleric landed next to me, quickly pushing his larger body to mine, rubbing his head and neck against me. I tried desperately to respond, but I simply did not have it in me at the moment to return the gesture in kind. Instead, I cried out once more, getting three replies from the others. They were nearby, and when they landed behind me, Aleric rubbed his head against my neck and cheek.

I huffed, looking at my mate. I rubbed my nose against his, and that seemed to be what he was looking for. Aleric took a step away, then another, and then he was gone. My friends gathered around me, and we stood there and watched as Aleric flew above the village, his dragon’s fire raining down on the tops of the rows of houses. Many would say what he was doing was cruel, but for us, it was a way of life. Aleric was offering those in our thunder a proper burial, one that would allow their spirit to move on after the ordeal they had endured. They say that fated mates never lost one another, that when they passed, they would one day find one another again. I hoped that was true. The children were young and innocent and did not deserve such a fate. I ached for them and the suffering they must have gone through.

“How bad was it, Konrad?” Wilhelm asked, but I could not answer in this form except to shake my head from side to side.

Once the village was taken care of, we took to the skies again, heading back to the river where we’d spent the past week recovering. When the familiar bank came into sight, we followed Aleric down, landing in the open field. We shifted together, then quietly dressed in the only clothing we had.

I left the others near the fire that Aleric had started again, walking to the river to think. I found the log we had sat on often over the past several days. What now? I was what most would call lucky in this situation. I had my mate. My friends though, everything had been taken from them.

I heard footsteps behind me, knowing they belonged to Aleric. When his scent reached me, I smiled sadly. I truly had nothing to offer him now. He joined me on the fallen tree, sitting closer than he had in the past week.

“It is okay to grieve. Expected, even.”

“The twins were only eleven years old. Who could be so cruel?”

“I do not know, my mate. We can stay here and search, asking others for information. You said you all were taken in the night.”

“Yes. I’d argued with my fathers and had gone to Elias’s for the evening. Sometime after we’d gone to bed, I remember hearing a noise that woke me. But when I listened, there was nothing. Seconds later, suddenly there was this heavy pressure on my body. I called for my dragon, but they placed something over my face, and it seemed to push my dragon deeper inside. Next thing I knew, I woke up and was shackled to a wall.” I looked over at Aleric. “It does not make sense. If they were after dragons, then why only take the four of us? Why not the rest of the village?”

Aleric shook his head. “I have not a clue. It is possible they knew enough to recognize the four of you as omegas. Elias said you were the only ones in the village that hadn’t found mates and were of age.”

I started to deny it but stopped. It was true. There didn’t seem to be many omegas in our village of late. The children that were born seemed to all be alphas lately.

“Did they…what? Expect to…” I shuddered at the thought of where my mind went.

“It is possible. Some believe it works that way. It could be they planned on waiting until you went into heat and then tried to get you with a child.” Aleric’s jaw clenched as he stared out at the water rushing by. “One never knows what goes through humans’ minds when they find out about us. Feiedrich I knew of because he seemed to have an obsession with my omega father. We would see him in our village on and off, always near Da and staring at him. I’d even scented him close to our house the day we left several decades ago.”

I wanted to be ill. I wasn’t exactly experienced, but I wasn’t a virgin. I’d not spent a heat with anyone and always spent those alone in the bedroom by myself. But the few experiences I had were consensual.

“What now?” I asked.

“That is up to you. Wilhelm and Lukas have asked for assistance in getting to their extended families in Munich and Berlin. I have told them I am more than willing to take them there and help get them settled. Wilhelm has insisted Elias stays with him. I guess his family has plenty of space.”

I smiled at the thought. They most likely did though. I had met them a few times when they visited our village, always happy to see the family. Wilhelm had several cousins that were both older and younger. It would be difficult to leave my friends behind, especially Elias. They were the last of my thunder, but I had to remember that fate worked for a reason. I had been gifted Aleric when I needed him most. I could have just as easily perished in the same way my family had. I only hoped that fate would be equally kind to my friends and we would find their mates along the way. They needed their mates as much as I did.

“I will miss them,” I whispered.

“Who?”

“My family. And my friends. It was my understanding you wanted to return to your new home across the ocean. My family is forever gone from here. But my friends will be staying behind because they need to. They have somewhere to go. I’m sure I have distant cousins out there somewhere, but I’ve never met them and wouldn’t know where to look.”

Aleric got up, only to kneel in front of me. When he reached for my hands, I let him pull mine to his mouth. When his lips gently pressed against my fingers, I looked at my handsome alpha.

“It pleases me that you would leave here to go with me.”

“There is absolutely nothing for me here, Aleric. Not that I wasn’t going to go with you anyway. I had hoped to possibly convince my parents to join us, except the twins could not yet shift, and the flight would be too cold for them, as you’ve mentioned.”

I squeezed Aleric’s hand, completely in turmoil.

“I will make you a wonderful mate, Konrad. I can provide. I will protect you from monsters such as those that have forced such an injustice upon you, your friends, and families.”

I tugged my hand from his grasp and placed it on his cheek. “I know you can and will, Aleric. You have already proven your capabilities over the past week. You’ve provided for and protected the four of us after you rescued us without so much as a thought for your own safety.” He had. More than. He did not need to extend his protection to the others, yet he stepped up, rescued the four of us, and helped us all regain our strength. Never once did he complain about having to hunt for us when we couldn’t. He watched over us when we bathed in the river and had been nothing but honorable to all of us.

“Then we will prepare for the flight. It is long, and I worry already about you. It is not that I feel you incapable, but you are just regaining your strength.”

I sighed. “I know. I will do you proud. I am strong. We were taken in late winter and not given much food. It seemed as if as time went on, we were given less and less. But I grow stronger every day. I can do it.”

“I have no doubts that you can. We will continue to see to your needs and replenish your strength.”