Page 25 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“I cannot dress if you are on top of me, mate.” I chuckled, but my arms slid around his slender waist all the same. I didn’t wish for him to move any more than he seemed to want to.

Konrad bit his lower lip, his eyes darting between my own lips and eyes. When he leaned forward, I turned my head to the side. It pained me, and my dragon grumbled at me, but now was not the time to take such liberties. I was barely resisting him at this point, and if I finally got a taste of my adorable mate, I was unsure if I would be able to stop.

“I’m sorry, Alpha. It is not my place to initiate such things. It will not happen again.”

My hands tightened on Konrad’s hips, keeping him where he was when he would have fled.

“Do not think I wish for you to not initiate things. I very much want such a relationship with you. Just as I would love nothing more than to spend the next week or more getting to know your body and seeing what sounds of pleasure I can pull from you. You have tested my patience this week, mate. I wish to claim you, but once I do, I will not be able to deny either of us what we desire.”

“Why is that a bad thing?” Konrad relaxed above me, and I released his hips. With my hands cupping his face, I gently pulled him to me, placing a kiss on his forehead.

“My adorable mate. Once I claim you, surely you will go into heat. Once you do, I will not be able to deny you. What happens when a claimed omega goes into heat, my sweetness?”

Konrad bit his lower lip before his eyes widened. “I could get pregnant. Then why…”

“Because if you are pregnant, you cannot shift. If you cannot shift, you cannot fly. It would most certainly be too dangerous for you to fly upon my back in this form while pregnant. I would have to fly low to the water, and my dragon and I are not willing to risk that.”

Understanding finally seemed to hit Konrad, and he buried his face in my neck. I leaned a bit to the side, giving him more room but also showing I not only accepted him as my mate but trusted him completely.

“I apologize, Alpha. I…my emotions have been all over the place in the past weeks, and I was not thinking things completely through. I only wished to be yours.”

“Trust me when I say the only thing that will keep me from claiming you fully is death. I have every intention of claiming you the moment I can. Until then, we will make our way across the ocean and back to my parents and the mountain they have taken as their own.”

“I would like that, Alpha.”

Konrad climbed off me, and while he stood across the room near the door, I quickly dressed. It seemed a bit unnecessary if we were only going to shift soon, but the vampires in the coven did not feel the same about nudity as we did.

“Do you have your things?” I asked my mate.

“I will get them,” he said before he disappeared out my door. I carefully repacked my own satchel and was making the bed when Konrad returned. My precious mate was eager to set out. He had a new satchel of his own and several changes of clothing inside. There was room still for some provisions, which would help make our trip easier. We would still need to hunt while in our dragon form, but that was a given. It was a long flight, and we would need more than what our human bodies could provide.

“You are eager, mate.”

“I am. I wish to leave the horrors of here behind.”

I froze momentarily, then turned. How had I not considered my mate saw things in such a way? I should have though. He had been kidnapped, held for months, then rescued only to discover that his entire thunder had been needlessly killed.

“I apologize, mate. I should have realized.” I crossed the small room, pulling my mate into my arms. I was thankful for his height. He reached the middle of my face, allowing me to bury my nose in his hair without having to bend over.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. It is what it is. Would I change things so I could have them with me still? Yes. I will always miss my family, and there is nothing that can change that. But in the end, I found you, and that is a bright spot to look forward to.”

“I will do everything within me to give you the life you deserve,” I told him. There weren’t a whole lot of luxuries on the mountain, but he would not want for anything. Except maybe a large tub. But I had already planned on getting one the next time I traveled to trade our pelts.

“I believe you.” Konrad stepped out of my embrace and smiled at me, but it did not quite reach his eyes. I knew he was still hurting and would be for a long time to come. As one would expect.

I went back to making the bed and, when I was finished, picked up my own satchel and joined my mate at the door. He reached to pick his own up, but I grabbed it before he could.

“I can carry it, you know.”

“I do. And you will be carrying it for a time while we fly. But for now, please allow me to be the gentleman that I am and tote it for you.”

Konrad had no argument, and we left the room, being as quiet as we could to ensure we did not wake the others. When we made it downstairs, I was not overly surprised to be met by the coven master and his second. Konrad had been placed in the room beside the second, who by fate’s blessing turned out to be Lukas’s mate. When Konrad roused, most likely it alerted him to our movement.

“You will be leaving us, then?” Master Klaus asked.

“Yes. My mate has brought up a good point. If we are airborne before the sun rises, we can easily be above what any human can see. It will not get us there much faster, but I feel the sooner, the better for us.” I looked lovingly at Konrad. “My mate has been through a great ordeal for the past several months. I want nothing more than to whisk him away and start a new life with him.”

Konrad’s cheeks darkened, causing me to smile.