Page 7 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

There was a small pool in the back that provided fresh, clean water, and I’d brought several small things here and kept them in a trunk. I always had a fresh set of clothing and a spare blanket or two that I’d picked up on some of my trips to search for my mate. Despite never finding my mate at any of the various places I looked, I had found places for more resources and had managed to purchase goods to bring home for our small family.

Sadly, my mate didn’t seem to be here in the new land that we’d traveled to. I never expected to move from Germany to America, but here we were.

I called for my dragon to let my human side come out, and when I felt the familiar quiver go through my body, in moments, I was standing on two human legs. It was still cold here in the mountains, and behind the waterfall was warmer than outside of it, but I knew I would quickly chill if I didn’t get dressed and light a fire. I wouldn’t become overly cold, but it would become uncomfortable.

I started the fire, then went to the trunk and pulled out a set of clothing as well as a blanket. I folded it, placed it on the bed I’d made out of twine and small logs I’d brought into the cave, and lay down to stare up at the rock ceiling. The fire threw shadows along the ceiling, and I quickly became mesmerized by them.

I’d spent many nights here, wondering about what my life would end up being like. Never did I think it would be as it had turned out. I had grand ideas that we would be coming to a place that had many other shifters and I would find my mate among them. Alas, that wasn’t how it was.

Did I regret coming here with my fathers? No. My dragon had said we were doing the right thing, that Feiedrich was going to become more of an issue because of his unexplainable obsession with Da. It was possible he was attracted to men, such as myself and obviously my fathers. But it didn’t seem quite that simple. There was more to it. Something a little bit…not quite right.

I wasn’t sure what the future would bring. We never did. Our future was up to whatever fate had in store for us. I would hope that I wouldn’t be skipped, that I would someday find my own fated mate and have children, but I knew dragons and most certainly some wolves that didn’t ever find theirs. They’d gone through life never finding that perfect someone for themselves and died after many, many years, alone and often bitter. I didn’t wish that on anyone, and I hoped that I wasn’t destined for such a future.

I rolled over, now staring directly at the flames, and let my dragon come forward a bit. I had long ago been taught to trust him, to always let him guide me through life. I had listened to that advice and had always found myself safe and not having to worry about making choices that weren’t right for either of us.

I closed my eyes, listening to my dragon and letting his thoughts course through my mind. A calmness came over me, one that I only ever experienced when I was in my scales. Life was so much simpler when you were a dragon. We flew with our powerful wings, hunted for food, and it was very rare that we were challenged by others. One did not simply take on a dragon and walk away unscathed.

I saw myself flying in the sky, high above the ground. As I looked down, the land below changed from green to brown to green, and then there was water. I’d flown over the lake at the base of the mountain many times. But this wasn’t the lake. It was larger than that, and I had seen it before.

My dragon’s head lifted, looking for my fathers, but they weren’t with me. I was flying over the sea solo, gliding along with the winds this time. I was flying to a place yet unknown, but my dragon was pushing that I needed to be somewhere, that it was important. I flew to the large island that we’d stopped at so long ago, and after a day’s rest, my dragon wouldn’t be denied any longer. Once more, I set out to what I now realized was our homeland. I was flying back to Germany, unsure why but trusting my dragon all the same.

I flew over the terrain that long ago had been somewhat familiar. My dragon seemed to know where he was needed, and I let him lead, going where he took me. We landed not far from a castle, one from a family with obvious great wealth because of the size and number of men that could be seen walking along the top walkway.

My dragon seemed hesitant as to which way was best to get inside, but he knew he absolutely needed to be inside. Our future lay inside those walls, and my dragon wouldn’t be denied what was ours.

In through the front door, the wooden door was not much of a match for my dragon’s massive head. It was brightly lit inside, there were several torches along the walls, but that wasn’t the only thing my dragon noticed. There were several people here, but with them, there were omegas. I didn’t scent any alphas, and that had my dragon pushing for me to find the omegas and see to them.

I followed my dragon’s instincts, and when I got to a narrower hallway, I saw a familiar yet unknown figure. Feiedrich had aged and not well. He looked old, worn, and in his last years, if not moments. When he raised a sword toward me, called out in our native tongue for others to get the dragon, I let out a loud cry and a burst of my dragon’s fire.

Wailing screams were cut short as the humans’ bodies were no match for my dragon’s flame. I called out once again, then walked down the walkway. When more men armed with swords that were no match for my scales came up behind me, a swipe of my massive and powerful tail ended their advance. The wall crumbled at the strength of my hit, but I couldn’t be concerned with that at the moment. I was searching for the omegas.

I walked to the end of the hallway, and a door that was locked stood between me and something that called to me. There was the scent of magic, but not kind magic here. I didn’t pay it any mind and simply pushed against the door with my powerful head. I moved in as much as I could, then froze when my dragon’s eyes met the bluest ones I’d ever seen in my life.

Crystal-blue eyes were staring back at me from across the room. My dragon stirred more, pushing me to go into the room and claim what was ours. Mate.

I woke with a start, immediately reaching for someone who wasn’t there. I sat up, looking around the cave, and noticed the fire had gone out. A quick glance toward the cave opening showed darkness beyond the water. It had been hours that I’d been inside here. That wasn’t uncommon, and my fathers never questioned my whereabouts.

I was an adult, and although I had moved here with them, I didn’t need to be supervised, and I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased. I respected my fathers immensely though, and when I had plans to leave for more than a day or two, I always discussed my plans with them beforehand.

After getting the fire started again, I curled back up on the makeshift bed and thought about the dream I’d just had. What did it mean? Was it truly what it had seemed like? Was my mate in Germany? Was he in a castle and chained to the wall in a room? Why would Feiedrich do such a thing? And what about the other scents that my dragon seemed to have subconsciously told me about?

Were there several omegas being held captive? Was my mate truly one of them, or was it that my dragon had finally lost his ability to think straight and he was projecting his burning desire for our forever mate?

I had no way of knowing, but one thing I did know was that I wouldn’t be able to rest until I flew back to our homeland and found out. I wasn’t sure how to discuss this with my fathers, but I knew that there was a very real possibility that if I did indeed discover my mate in Germany, I might never see my fathers again.

That wasn’t something I’d ever considered. I had always believed that my mate and I would live near my fathers, that we would raise our children near them and that they would be completely involved in their lives. What if that wasn’t the case?

I, of course, knew my dragon and myself would do whatever we needed to in order to make our mate happy. But did that mean giving up my family? I had never thought of such a thing. I already knew I would do so but also knew my dragon would suffer because of such a choice.

I got up, retrieving another blanket from the trunk before lying back down. I lay there, pondering what was the best choice. I was supposed to always trust my dragon, and he was telling me I needed to return to Germany. He was insistent on it, which told me that was the way, that I wouldn’t have the ability to deny him for long.

Once that was realized, I thought about how I was best going to discuss this with my fathers. Would they be supportive? Would they be willing to go with me? My dream hadn’t shown them there, but it was possible my dragon simply didn’t know. He seemed intently focused on the gorgeous blue-eyed man with dirty-blond hair.

I closed my eyes tightly, hoping to see him again. I was able to conjure a fuzzy image of him from my dream, but it left me more frustrated than anything. Was he even my mate? My dragon had said so, but now that I was awake, I realized just how impossible that was. My dragon didn’t know what our mate looked like any more than I did, nor would I until I actually met and scented him.

Frustrated with not only myself but my dragon, I rolled over and tried to fall back asleep. It was obvious that I was projecting, and it had somehow gotten into my dreams. It wasn’t normal for one to spend as many years as I had with nobody but my fathers to talk to. I needed to see about finding others to have conversations with. My dragon obviously wanted his mate, as did I, but the fact that he could suddenly see him was something that had never happened before, and I didn’t believe it to be true.

I tossed and turned throughout the night while trying to sleep. When I was able to fall asleep, I kept seeing the blue-eyed man as if he was there with me. Did he even exist? I was guessing that no, he didn’t even exist.