Page 52 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

I sighed. If that were true, it would be such a relief.

“What brings you over this way?” I asked, hoping for anything to keep my mind occupied and off my very pregnant sleeping mate.

“Elias had asked about Konrad. I told him I would certain news would spread as soon as he had the baby, but I would come and ask if he promised to lie down and take a nap. He has started to tire easily, and he usually doesn’t argue too much when I ask him to take it easy. He has been a bit restless today though.”

Elias still had plenty of time before their son would be born, so if he was becoming restless already, did that mean his dragon was sensing something happing with Konrad? I’d not been around enough pregnant omegas to be able to answer those questions.

“I will share news as soon as I have it. Konrad is tired, over being pregnant, and looks miserable. I feel terrible about it all, but I’m not sure what all I can do for him.”

Claude placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Just be there for him.” Claude stood and nodded to me. “Be sure not to wander too far, Aleric. You never know when you’ll need to be near your mate or when he might need you,” Claude said before he walked off. I sat there, watching him leave. When he reached the trees, he turned and waved, but by the time I got my own hand raised, Claude had disappeared.

I’d asked Elias and Wilhelm what that felt like, and they said it was a lot like flying upside down and in circles in the sky. Claude had offered to take me places, but I’d declined. I wasn’t ready to be away from Konrad. The offer still stood, and I would most likely take him up on it when it came time to go to trade for things we needed, but until then, I was more than happy to stay here and not experience poofing from one place to another.

I sat on the bench, wondering what the day would bring. We had been through so much already, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of something impending. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was something, and it was going to be important.

Could it be that Konrad would give birth soon? Claude had said to be sure I didn’t wander far. He was a warlock and had magic unlike mine. My dragon, too, wouldn’t allow me to go far. In fact, I’d tried to leave the immediate area, and my dragon pushed for me to return. I was going to listen to him and stay here.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Konrad would want more children. I did not care how many we had, but I knew I didn’t care to see my mate in his current state. He was worn down, and his body seemed as if it was at its limits.

Would things have been different if he’d not been held captive for months before I found him? I had to think so. He and the others had spent a great deal of time without food, and that still had some impact on them, and it had been months since I’d found them.

I groaned, frustrated with all of the jumble of thoughts going through my mind, as well as my inability to calm my own dragon. I needed to be doing something, so I stood and went back into the cottage. There were plenty of things that could be tidied up.

When I got to the kitchen, I immediately started washing the dishes that had been left sitting in the tub. This was something that I did not want Konrad to be doing in his condition. It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable; it was that he was already doing so much by carrying my son that the least I could do was clean up after the meal I’d made us a little while ago.

It didn’t take long to right the kitchen before I was left searching for something else to do. I gravitated toward the bedroom, and when I got to the open door, I saw my mate lying there on his side. His breathing was rhythmic, and I quietly left, knowing if I stayed, I would most likely wake him.

I needed to talk to Da, so I set out to the cottage that until recently I had called home as well. I had many questions, and if Da couldn’t answer them, I most likely wouldn’t be able to find answers for them. He had always been a calming force in my life. It was the way of omegas, and although I had my own now, mine was the very source of my anxiety. I needed Da, so that was my destination.

The wind had picked up a bit, but the sky was still clear. The temperatures were cold still, and I had spent enough years here on this mountain to know that we would not yet get the warmer temperatures of the changing season. We would have snow for a time still, and it was possible there would be more added to what was already on the ground.

My dragon fought me as I entered the trees that would take me toward Da, and when the cottage I shared with Konrad was out of sight, he pushed me to turn and return to our mate. When I’d made it partway to Da’s, I discovered why when Konrad reached out through our bond. His waters had broken, and he was in labor. My mate was giving birth, and I wasn’t there. My dragon called out a loud bellow, and I raced home as fast as I could to be with my mate.

Chapter 18

Konrad

April 1769

Idid not feel well, and it woke me from a fitful nap. My dragon kept telling me to stay in bed, but I wanted to walk around because my back was hurting. What were the chances that Elias’s mate would find him and that he would be a warlock, then locate us all the way over here?

I looked around the room, still completely in awe. I had not expected to be in our own cottage until well after the weather had warmed up. But Claude had insisted on finishing the cottage for us, and when Aleric led me to it that first night, I was beyond grateful for the amazing gift.

A sharp pain in my back caused me to hold my breath for a moment, pulling a groan from me. I gave up trying to stay in bed. I needed to walk, so I tossed the covers back and sat up. My stomach was huge and hot to the touch. What did that mean? Dad’s stomach was never hot like this.

I took a few deep breaths and finally got the energy to stand beside the bed. I should have stayed in it. When I stood, a huge gush of fluid ran down my front and legs.

“Ow, ow, ow, ouch.”

I gasped and fell back onto the bed. My stomach was noticeably much smaller than it had been only moments ago.

“Aleric?” I called out but got no answer. I felt another tightening in my back, but this time, it wrapped around my sides and centered in my stomach. It was time. Where was everyone?

“Aleric?”

“Yes, my mate?”

“My waters broke. I need Da and Elias. Probably Wilhelm too.”