Chapter 8
Konrad
It took a week for the four of us to be strong enough to shift and fly. For seven days, my mate hunted for us, providing not only food and drink but protection from the elements and any predators that would cause us harm, both four-legged and two.
It was darkening, and we were getting ready to shift, Elias and myself for the first time since we’d been rescued.
Lukas and Wilhelm had started shifting the day before, but finally, my dragon was ready to come out and meet our mate.
I only hoped that he still wished to claim me after meeting my dragon.
I was not quite as flashy as Lukas’s red scales or nearly as pretty as Elias’s orange or Wilhelm’s copper color. No, I’d been fated with purple scales.
“Are you ready to show me your dragon, Konrad?” Aleric asked.
He was standing next to me, but frustratingly, my alpha had kept his distance for the past week.
He saw to our basic needs, but that was it.
He kept himself apart from the rest of us while we slept, and the only time he came even remotely close was when he was providing food and sharing a meal with us.
“Do you wish to see my dragon?” I was curious because he had seemed so indifferent of late.
“I would like nothing more than to take to the skies with you, my mate. There is still the matter of our claiming we must discuss. I understand you are worried about your parents and brothers though. I can be patient when needed.”
Yes, but what if I no longer wished to be patient? As my dragon had regained strength, it had become increasingly difficult to not throw myself at my alpha, begging to be claimed. But that was not how a proper omega behaved, and I needed to remember that.
“Then I wish for you to meet my dragon. He is not nearly so pretty as the others, but he is who I have been gifted from fate.”
I took off my blouse, more than ready to never see the thing again, but for now, it was all I had. Perhaps when we found the rest of the thunder, I could get fresh clothing, and then maybe my alpha would wish to spend time near me. I knew I looked a fright, but we all did.
“If you all put your clothing in my satchel, I will carry it for you. That way, you will have them when we land,” Aleric called out loud enough we could all hear.
I rolled my blouse, adding my trousers to the bundle.
Once I had them pushed into the satchel, I stood up and met the heated gaze of my alpha.
Perhaps he wasn’t all that indifferent if the way he was staring at me was any indication.
I’d seen looks such as that before. Only I hadn’t wanted them from those alphas because they weren’t my mate.
“While we are flying, if there is a direction you feel we should be going, you will need to lead me as I am not familiar with your thunder or what I should be looking for. My dragon will sense others easily enough, but I will not know if they are who we are looking for or not. If something urgent arises, land, and we will all follow, understood?”
There was a chorus of yeses, and I nodded since he was still staring intently at me.
As Aleric walked toward me, I felt my body start to heat from his gaze.
When he was within arm’s reach, I dropped my eyes, realizing my mistake right away.
No, Aleric wasn’t nearly as uninterested in me as I had believed.
I’d seen him without clothing many times in the past week, but this was the first that I’d taken notice of his body responding to mine.
“See something interesting, mate?”
I cleared my throat and quickly raised my eyes back to Aleric. I was a dragon shifter. I had been around naked shifters since I could remember. Never before had one had such an effect on me. But he was my mate, and we’d all heard about how much mates affected one another.
“Yes, well, as you have said, we are mates. Mates that have spent the past week together yet not. You’ve managed to put distance between us at every opportunity,” I told him.
“Ah, I see. Yes, well…” Aleric leaned in, placing his lips right next to my ear. “When I finally claim you, my mate, I do not wish for it to be with an audience. I plan on taking my time with you and loving you through the night and into the next day. Then we’ll do it all over again after we rest.”
I bit my lower lip to keep the moan in. Aleric’s lips gently ran across my cheek as he stood back up. I met his gaze and, after a moment, nodded. That would…yes, most agreeable. I wanted that.
“Now, how about you introduce me to your dragon. Then he and mine can get to know one another.”
I nodded once more and took several steps back. I could do this. It was most likely better if I shifted. Then I would not be tempted to do things that, as he’d said, were not really appropriate at the moment.
I looked over Aleric’s shoulder and noticed that Lukas and Wilhelm had both shifted and were waiting for the rest of us.
I took a deep breath, trying to center myself and bring forth my dragon.
He was right there—had been for days now.
I felt the familiar tingle on my skin, then saw the creamy skin give way to deep purple scales.
My dragon burst from me faster than he ever had before, and I bellowed in both surprise as well as a bit of pain.
It took a moment for me to get my bearings. When I did, I looked down at the alpha that had come from nowhere and rescued us.
“You are truly magnificent, Konrad. Your dragon is a gorgeous color. You are perfectly colored to fly at dusk and dawn, for you could glide through the air virtually undetected.”
I leaned down to scent my mate and received a gentle hand to the snout. I closed my eyes, enjoying the touch and attention from my mate. My dragon was relishing the praise and attention from our mate.
“So beautiful. I wonder what our children will look like. I hope they get your coloring, in both forms.”
My eyes popped open. My alpha mentioned children. He wanted baby dragons with me? I scowled at him, and it must have shown, for he chuckled.
“Not the right time to start mentioning them, is it. Especially not when you cannot respond. I do hope you wish for children, mate. I am an only child, and I would like to have more than one if at all possible. If you do, that is.”
I nodded. After all, Aleric had nodded and shaken his head in response to our questions while he was shifted.
“That is good to know. Now, let’s get started on our search, shall we? The sooner we find your thunder, the sooner I can whisk you off and claim you.”
Aleric walked away, and when he had enough room, he quickly shifted into his own scales. He said I was the perfect coloring for flying at dusk, but I believed he was. His scales blended in with the night sky perfectly.
Aleric’s dragon came to me, towering over my own dragon.
He surprised me when he rubbed his snout under my chin, raising my head.
It took only moments for me to realize what he was doing, and I returned the gesture.
My mate was not only marking me but also showing acceptance.
It was also often part of a courting routine, asking a partner for acceptance.
He rubbed his snout against mine once more before he huffed, then stepped back.
With an effortless jump, Aleric was airborne.
Lukas and Wilhelm both joined him quickly, leaving me on the ground with Elias.
I walked over to my oldest friend and bumped snouts with him.
He huffed, then took a little bit of a running start, and then he, too, was flapping his wings and was in the sky.
I watched for a moment before I took two steps, jumped, then spread my wings.
My dragon called out, more than pleased to finally be free and in the air where he longed to be. There was a responding call, one that, although I had only met him just a week ago, I would know anywhere. Aleric. My mate was nearby.
When I saw a large dark blue dragon just above me, I flapped my wings just a bit harder, and when his tail was within reach, I gently tugged on it with my mouth.
I was rewarded with a loud call, followed by Aleric flipping over midair and looking at me.
He quickly turned back upright and glided through the air.
We formed a triangle with Aleric in the lead. It was the most difficult position to be in as he did not experience any of the benefit of the wind displacement. We flew for what felt like hours, but I knew it wasn’t nearly that long.
Wilhelm seemed to pick up on something as he called out, then started to descend.
We all followed, landing near him as he shifted back to his human skin.
I did not need to shift back to know where we were.
I scented the village off in the distance.
Only it did not smell fresh. Instead of the scents of home, there were odors of dirt and decay.
Aleric called out once, halting Wilhelm in his haste to move into the village. With a push of his massive head, Wilhelm moved back to the rest of us. We stood there, surrounding Wilhelm, while Aleric took to the skies again and flew over to what used to be our village.
“They cannot all be gone,” Wilhelm said. I wanted to shift and comfort him but was sure Aleric would not like that at the moment.
My mate came back quickly, landing next to us. His shift was once again effortless, but where he normally seemed serious after a shift, he now looked sad.
“There is nothing here for us,” Aleric told our group.
“They’re all gone, then? They came back and killed them?” Wilhelm asked.
“I do not know about all. I can say for certain there is death in that village, and they did not receive a proper burial. I will offer it now, and you may help, or if you wish to wait elsewhere, I will understand,” Aleric told us.