Chapter 3 #2
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.
When I woke in the morning, it was to a pounding in my head from lack of sleep and food the day before.
The fire had once again burned out, and I cleaned up the area and set it up for the next time I visited.
After removing the clothing and storing it in the trunk with the blankets, I walked to the mouth of the cave and called for my dragon.
He pushed out, and after I moved closer to the edge of the cave to where I could feel the spray of the water as it fell in front of me, I simply jumped into the water. When I opened my wings, I caught wind, and with two flaps, I was flying in the gorge with the river not too far below me.
It didn’t take long for me to fly to the top, landing where I’d left my clothing tucked into a small satchel and hung on a tree the previous day. I quickly dressed and then headed for the cottage I shared with my fathers.
I could smell the smoke from the fire before I could see it, and when the plume of white to gray came into view, I could also scent baking bread.
Da had been up for a while, it seemed, and he’d already put bread in the fire to bake.
Father and I had done everything we could to give Da everything he wanted, but it wasn’t as if we didn’t benefit from our work.
When I opened the door, I knocked my boots on the side of the frame, knocking off the snow that had stuck to the soles.
“Aleric, welcome back. Did you have a good evening?” Da asked. He was standing at the table he used to prepare food. It was separate from the one we ate on because Da had wanted one that was taller, and he wouldn’t have to bend over nearly as much to knead bread or dice vegetables.
“It was interesting. I spent a lot of time flying, thinking about things,” I told Da.
I noticed Father sitting at the table with a mug in front of him.
I would love nothing more than a cup of coffee.
Father and I had found a merchant in one of the towns farther east of here that sold it, and although it was more often me who went and traded the furs we’d started trading for goods, every so often, Father would join me, and he’d find things that Da would say he wanted.
It had been a bit comical trying to get the number of goods we’d traded for one especially lucrative visit out of the populated area.
Once we’d been able to ensure that we weren’t followed and had made it to our landing place, I left Father with the trunks while I returned the rented horse and wagon to the livery.
I walked back to where Father was and found the trunks now secured and in the nets that we’d flown over the sea carrying.
When Father and I had finally returned to our cottage on the top of the mountain and Da had seen all of the goods that we’d brought, I’d had to leave for a few days because they couldn’t seem to keep their clothing on.
It wasn’t that I minded sex. It was as natural as us shifting into our dragons, actually. But I simply did not wish to see my fathers knotted together in the kitchen while Da had been working on preparing a meal.
That was too much for me, and I’d spent several days away. When I finally returned, it wasn’t discussed, nor were my whereabouts during that time.
“Aleric? Did you hear me?” Da asked.
I shook my head a few times, then focused on my omega father. “I apologize, Da. I was thinking again. What was it you said or asked?”
Da chuckled. “I asked if you would like something to eat?”
I nodded, but when Da started to prepare me a plate, I crossed to him and placed a hand on his arm. “I would love something, but I can get it. Why don’t you join Father and relax? The bread smells amazing from outside, so I know you’ve been busy this morning already.”
It wasn’t that Da did all of the cooking in our house.
Father and I both shared those responsibilities with him, just as we all washed the linens and clothing and took turns making soap as well as candles.
Father and I did most of the hunting, while Da did the foraging for berries and other foods the forest provided for us.
We’d used tools to turn the soil, and every summer, we had a small area where we grew vegetables that we stored in a small underground cellar. It wasn’t overly large, which, hindsight being what it was, was a mistake. We were three dragons, and we ate a lot.
Da joined Father, and when they linked their hands together and stared at one another, I could tell from the look on Da’s face that they were communicating through their bond.
It was beautiful yet painful. My dragon stirred, and obviously, Father felt him because he looked back at me, his own dragon pushing to the surface.
“It’s all right. I was thinking again. I do apologize. My dragon has become a bit irritable for lack of a better word.”
That seemed to have both of their complete attention. “Is there something amiss?” Father asked.
I shook my head. “No. Perhaps he’s simply restless and it’s time I spend a few weeks away. There’s a chance I could find what he’s searching for while out this time,” I said, still not sure what I’d been dreaming about was even a reality. But what if it was?
“We had agreed that you would go later, once the weather changed and the snow was gone,” Father reminded me.
I sighed internally. Outwardly, I clenched my jaw and nodded to Father before I turned and went about fixing food for myself.
I knew I would be thinking a little more clearly once I had a good meal in me and my dragon and I could focus on something other than my rumbling stomach.
It was never a good idea to try and discuss things with Father first thing in the morning.
We were both too stubborn to do so without becoming cranky.
In the end, I fixed my meal and took it to the table and ate without saying a word while my fathers sat there and talked silently about their plans for the upcoming summer trip to the town to trade pelts for merchandise. So very engaging.