Chapter 2
Konrad
Iclosed the door to the barn after feeding the animals for the evening and making sure they were secure in their pens.
We had sheep and chickens, as well as a pair of goats that too often I wished I could use my dragon’s fire on the little demons.
They had a habit of ramming anyone they set eyes on, even if that person was there to feed them.
I walked the short distance between the barn and the cottage, and I heard laughter inside before I opened the door.
A loud shriek followed, telling me my brothers were wound up instead of spending the time quieting down like they should be.
I was certain my omega dad was at the end of his patience with them, which was understandable.
He loved them, all of us, but the twins could be a handful more often than not.
I opened the door, the sounds of their laughter rising.
Things had been tense in our family lately.
We were deep in winter and had several cold months left before the warmer winds would arrive.
With them would be more time outside, time to work the fields and the ability for the twins to burn off their energy.
Sadly, right now, there were no fields for them to run around in.
That meant they were inside with our dad while he tried to figure out some sort of activity to keep eleven-year-old twins engaged.
“What are the two of you doing?” I asked as I entered the room.
Immediately, Gunther and Humphrey changed direction and ran toward me.
I met Dad’s gaze over their heads, and he looked completely done.
The twins wrapped themselves around me, and I had to wonder what had gotten into them.
They weren’t normally this rambunctious.
“Did they get into something?” I asked Dad.
“Not that I know of. They just seem to be more hyper than usual this evening.”
“Hey, why don’t the two of you go get ready for bed, and I will tell you both a story,” I suggested.
They seemed overly excited about that and took off toward their room.
We were incredibly fortunate that we had a large cottage with three rooms. Our fathers had their room, and I shared the other with the twins.
It wasn’t exactly ideal, but I’d yet to move out into my own place.
I was certainly old enough. I had seen over seventy summers and winters.
I should be with my own mate and have my own children by now, yet I’d not found my alpha.
“Konrad,” Dad said, stopping me as I started to follow the twins into our room. “I know this is not what you want. You and your friends are more than old enough to have set out on your own by now. I will do what I can to discuss it with your father once he returns.”
I smiled at Dad. Father was protective, but that was expected of an alpha.
“I would appreciate that. My friends and I would very much like to go out and see what else is out there.” I sighed as I glanced away before refocusing on Dad. “We don’t want to go if we can’t all go.” I shrugged.
My father wasn’t the only one who grumbled about their omega son setting out with three others to go searching for their mates.
That wasn’t how it was done. Alphas came searching for us, and Elias’s father didn’t wish for him to set out either.
It had gotten to the point that the four of us had thought about running away in the middle of the night, only we knew we couldn’t do that to our families.
They meant well and only wished to keep us safe.
“Are you coming, Konrad?” one of the twins called out.
I left the main room of the cabin, and when I entered the bedroom I shared with my brothers, I found them in their bed waiting.
To say I was a bit surprised would be an understatement.
With as wound up as they had been just moments ago, I didn’t think they would calm down anytime soon.
“What story would you like me to share with you?”
“The one about the ogre,” Gunther said excitedly. I chuckled. I should have known. It was one of their favorites. It was something that I’d completely made up with the help of Elias, but the boys didn’t care. They just wanted to hear the exciting tales of the ogre named Clyde.
I sat on the end of their bed and picked up the tale where I’d last left off, and the twins were quickly enthralled. I spun the tale for the good part of an hour before the boys gave in to their bodies and fell asleep.
Once I fixed their blanket and ensured they were truly asleep, I blew out the candle and left the room.
I didn’t see Dad in the outer room, which told me he was most likely already in his and Father’s room.
I knew he missed Father. He and a few of the other alphas had gone out on a hunting trip.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t one that would provide food for us.
They were hunting a rogue dragon that had endangered the village.
I quickly let myself outside, dashed down the worn path through the snow, and slipped into the small building we used as our bathhouse.
It had a tub as well as a chamber pot, and after relieving myself, I looked longingly at the tub.
It wouldn’t be nearly as relaxing as I hoped, but I really wanted to soak for a little while.
I lit the fire in the small hearth and checked the cauldron.
It was empty, causing me to sigh. The boys most likely had used the bathhouse last, which would explain why the cauldron was empty.
I went outside, and after pulling the bucket up from the well, I had the cauldron filled, took the massive burden back into the bathhouse, and placed it on the hook to heat.
The fire had already heated the room considerably, not that I would be too cold if I were to bathe without the fire.
But I didn’t wish to sit in cold water, and using my dragon’s fire to heat the water was a bit unsafe in such a small area.
Once the water was bubbling, I dumped it into the tub and went back to the well to fill the cauldron once more.
I poured the water directly into the tub this time and, after testing it, found it perfect for a quick wash and short soak.
I stripped and sunk down as much as I could in the small tub.
It also was our wash tub for our clothing and linens, but on non-wash days, we used it to bathe.
Our dads were certainly thoughtful when it came to making life as easy as possible.
After washing my hair and body, I sat in the cooling water and thought about my fathers.
They were amazing, and I loved both of them immensely.
Father was protective of us, sometimes overly so, but I knew he meant well.
I was an omega, and as such, there were others who would try to get on an alpha’s good side in hopes to get to spend an omega’s heat with them.
I shuddered at the thought. I was saving that for my fated mate when I finally met him.
I thought about Father and how he and several other alphas had left a few weeks ago.
We’d not expected them to be gone quite this long, and things had become tense around the village while waiting for their return.
I’d sensed it from Dad as well. He missed his mate, but they had their mate bond and had shared updates from Father with me.
It was reassuring that he and the others were all right.
The sound of movement overhead had me scrambling out of the tub and quickly dressing in my clothing. Pulling on hose on wet skin was next to impossible, but I didn’t want to be caught unprepared for whatever the noise might be.
I peeked out of the bathhouse, found the noise no longer directly overhead, and carefully stepped out. I dashed over to the house and slipped inside. I came face-to-face with Dad, and he couldn’t seem to contain his excitement.
“Is it Father?” I asked quietly.
“It is. They’ve returned at last,” Dad said.
Immediately, I relaxed. “I was in the bathhouse when I heard the noise. I’m going to go empty the tub and reset things. I will try to keep the twins in the room as long as I can in the morning.”
Dad smiled but shook his head. “That isn’t necessary. They have every right to see their father, as do you. Reinhold and I have the night to get reacquainted.”
I nodded and quickly left the house again.
I wasn’t sure how much longer it would take for my father to return to the house from where ever they had landed, but I knew there would be little to no sleep for me tonight.
I loved my fathers, but like any mated couple, they enjoyed mating, and they weren’t exactly quiet about it.
I didn’t mind, not really. But it could make for some difficulties sleeping at times.
And when Dad had a heat cycle, it was always a scramble to take the twins elsewhere so they could do their thing.
I had been surprised that Dad hadn’t caught again since having the twins, especially as he’d had a heat every year since.
Dad had always said that things happened when fate deemed it was the right time.
I reentered the bathhouse, and after I opened the low door on the back wall, I tipped the tub onto its side to dump the water.
The water would flow outside of the building, and once that was taken care of, I took the cauldron back to the well and refilled it.
I wasn’t sure if Father would wish to clean up or not, but I was thinking it was most likely, and I didn’t wish to upset him the night he returned.
After the cauldron was filled, I rehung it on the hook and snuffed out the fire, the water I’d dumped on it immediately sizzling in the quiet room. It was still warm but not burning as it had been, and I left it, knowing it would eventually burn itself out.
I slipped back into the house and saw Father standing in the main room with Dad. They were engaged in a tight embrace, and I believed if not for their enhanced senses, they wouldn’t have even known I was in the room with them.