Page 61 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

Baby? There was a baby involved? I could guess how my mate had ended up being responsible for young siblings, and it wasn’t anything good.

I heard talking the farther we went into the house. I knew we were headed for the large back room that was filled with windows that let in amazing light. I wouldn’t ever complain, but I would love to someday be able to have a house that had a lot of windows.

I heard squealing and then laughter, followed by quiet talking. When we entered the back room finally, I discovered the other fate sitting there with Alpha Forest and alpha mate Aspen. I wasn’t sure where their children were, but the noise had come from two much younger children. Those I could assume were my mate’s siblings. They were definitely cute.

“Oscar?” Aspen said as he slowly stood up.

“Hello again, Alpha Forest, alpha mate Aspen,” I said. I nodded to Thomas, the other fate that was sitting in the room with the others. But it was the tall, slender man who stood with a slow smile gracing his face that drew my attention. He was most certainly not overly intimidating like most alphas were. Immediately, I felt a sense of safety as he started walking closer.

“Hi there. I’m Monroe,” he said while holding his hand out in front of him. When he was close enough, I took his and instantly felt a tingle in my palm. What was that about?

“Oscar,” I said quietly. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m Oscar. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Da-da, da-da.”

Immediately, I let go of Monroe’s hand and looked toward the little cutie that was running toward him. She wasn’t exactly steady on her feet, and there was one point that I was certain she was going to fall down, but she managed to make it to Monroe and grab ahold of his pants.

He gave me an apologetic smile before he bent down and picked her up. “This is Maelie. We call her Mae more often than not though.”

I waved to her. “Hi, Mae. I’m Oscar. You have very pretty curls.”

“I have curls too!”

I looked at the boy who was rushing over to us and chuckled. I knelt down so I was more on his level. “Yep, you do. And what’s your name?”

“Mason. But everyone calls me Mason because I don’t have a nickname.”

I nodded. “Me either. I’m just Oscar. No nickname or anything like that.”

“That’s all right. Monroe doesn’t have one either. But he said I could call him dad since Mae does. He’s our brother though. Our mom and dad died when Mae was born. I don’t remember it, though, cuz I’m so little.”

My eyes widened, and I could only nod. “My parents died too. But I was older when it happened. That doesn’t make it easier though.”

Mason nodded, then held out his truck. “Do you like trucks? I do. I had three, and Monroe let me bring all of them cuz he said we were moving here. There is a mountain with dragons,” Mason said with big eyes and lots of enthusiasm.

“There is. I have a friend who is mated to a dragon, and they have baby dragons. Well, they will shift into dragons when they become teenagers.”

I wasn’t sure Mason’s eyes could grow any larger, but they did. “Whoa. That’s so cool. I’m going to have magic when I get older. Monroe said he’d teach me how to use it. Do you have magic? Or are you a dragon?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’m just an ordinary wolf. A little one at that.”

“I’m sure there is nothing ordinary about your wolf,” Monroe said. He held out his hand, and when I took it, he pulled me to my feet. When I tried to drop his hand, he held on tighter, and those tingles came back.

I couldn’t help but smile at him. The things I was currently feeling, I’d not experienced since I was a teenager with my first crush on an alpha in the pack.

“Da-da,” Mae said. Monroe looked at her, and when she pointed at me, she grinned. “Daddy?”

My eyes widened now. “That’s right, Mae. Oscar is going to be your other daddy. Is that all right?”

The adorable little girl just babbled nonsense before she stuck her thumb in her mouth and laid her head on Monroe’s shoulder.

“We’re getting a daddy? Really?” Mason asked.

I glanced down at him and nodded. I didn’t know what else to do, really. I couldn’t, nor would I deny that Monroe was my mate. Mason ran off yelling and whooping, and Monroe leaned in closer. “I’m sorry about that. I never meant to put you on the spot like that.”

“It’s all right. We are mates. But I think we should probably talk and discuss some things.”

“Of course. I have a few things I’ll need to make sure you are aware of as well,” Monroe said. I nodded at him, and he stepped away a little. When I gently tugged on my hand, he sent me a questioning look but did let go and wrapped his now free arm around Mae, who had fallen asleep.