Destined Paranormals, Volume One

Chapter 1

Aleric

Iweaved my way through the village’s market.

Many had come out to sell their early crops as well as the wares they’d worked on over the long winter.

It had been warm enough for crops for several moon cycles now, and I’d been sent by my parents to purchase dried meat and other foodstuffs.

I wasn’t exactly sure why, as we were dragons and could hunt for meat without any issue, but they’d insisted. Here I was.

“Good morning to ya, Aleric. Are ya perhaps looking for something specific?”

I turned toward the familiar voice. It wasn’t that I wanted to, but I did not wish to be rude. Despite our past dalliance—which had been completely unfulfilling—I had to be cordial with Otto. I knew he was insinuating more; I just wasn’t interested.

“Good morning, Otto.” I quickly looked at the items he had for sale and didn’t see what I was searching for. “This morning, I’m specifically looking for meats and other dried foods my father has asked for.”

“Oh.” Otto quickly glanced around his booth. He had colorful scarves and blankets that I knew his mother and sister had made.

“Enjoy the warm morning, and best of luck to you today.” I walked off as quickly as I dared. I did not wish to bring any unnecessary attention to myself.

After visiting several booths, I felt I had what my fathers had asked for and took my purchases back to our home.

We lived in the middle of the forest, away from the village.

Even there, we had to be incredibly careful about shifting.

Too many times, others from the village were discovered near our place, and we had to intercept them.

There wasn’t anything incriminating in our house, but as men with the ability to turn into fire-wielding dragons, we had to protect ourselves and what we were.

It made for a somewhat lonely existence for me.

My fathers had each other, but I had yet to find that perfect match. The one my fathers had talked about.

I longed for my fated mate. I knew about them, of course. I’d seen firsthand the connection between my parents. But my dragon had not told me that anyone was ours. I wanted that person. Someone to hold during the long winters. To go for walks with in the summer. Someone to take flying.

During my walk, I continued to reflect on the life we had here.

I would not say it was incredible. We did not necessarily struggle for things as others did, but the continual need to ensure secrecy could wear on you.

As it was, my fathers could not be true to who they were to one another.

We lived under the story of my mother having died in childbirth and her brother moving in to help out with raising me.

Of course, I no longer required a surrogate parent at my age.

But the villagers seemed to accept the story, and most didn’t question it.

I was at the halfway point when I heard noise to my right.

I slowed my steps and let my dragon come forward enough to use his senses.

What I scented put me and my dragon on alert.

Feiedrich Konig made both me and my dragon uneasy.

I wasn’t sure what it was about him, but I trusted my dragon, and he said that Feiedrich was not someone to be trusted.

I readjusted the satchel on my shoulder and continued on my way. My steps were quicker now, hoping to put more distance between me and the older human. We’d seen him around more times than we cared to. Always he was discovered staring at Da. I had to agree with Father about that; it was concerning.

As I got closer to the house, Feiedrich’s scent weakened, which told me that he’d not been by this way. Small favors, as I really didn’t wish to have to kill the man. He was from a wealthy family, and they were the type to go on a hunt if he went missing.

When the house came into view, I smiled when I saw Da pulling clothing from the line. He’d been in a cheerful mood this morning and had been up and doing the wash earlier than normal. I didn’t wish to ask what put such a pep in his step, but I smiled at my carrier father when he noticed me.

Da watched as I approached, and when he noticed the heavy satchel, his smile grew. “You found what we’d hoped.”

I nodded but raised a finger to my mouth. Immediately, Da was on alert. It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted, but I was being cautious. I stood not far away while he finished with the laundry, and when he picked up the pile, I reached to take it from him. I chuckled when Da rolled his eyes at me.

“I had to offer,” I told him as we entered the house. I quickly took in the interior state of the house. It looked nothing like it had when I’d left hours ago. No, there were two large trunks in the middle of the room, our table having been pushed to the side to make room.

I walked to the table and carefully set my satchel down. Father came out of the bedroom and nodded when he saw me.

“I’m glad you returned. Did you get what we asked?”

“Yes,” I told him as I looked back and forth between my fathers. Da had started putting the clothing into one of the trunks while I could only look on and wonder what they were doing. Father added some pots to another, making me question what was going on.

“Aleric, bring the satchel over here,” Father said. It took a moment, but I did as told and held it out. Father took it, carefully arranging it inside the trunk.

“I scented Feiedrich in the forest on the way home.”

Father froze, then looked up at me.

“How far away?”

“Closer to the village than here.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Are you and Da leaving?”

“We are, yes.”

I nodded once. “Were you going to tell me?” I asked.

I was irritated now. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t live on my own.

I could. My fathers had raised me to be self-sufficient.

I was capable of cleaning, cooking, and doing my own wash, and of course, I could hunt and forage—in both forms. “Very well. I wish the two of you well.”

“Ferdinand,” Da growled out. Father froze before slowly looking at his mate. “You said you discussed it with Aleric and he was coming with us.”

This was all news to me. I had no clue what was happening. “You have made plans for me without consulting me first? Where is it we’re to be going? I was unaware it was time to move on again. We’ve only been here five seasons. I have not heard of things being said about us.”

Da glared at Father before he crossed to me, holding out his hands. I took them, giving them a squeeze.

“Aleric, we would love for you to come with us. If you don’t, we can and will accept that.

” Da sent Father another look. It was not one that I ever wished to be on the receiving end of.

“That being said, we really hope you will. We have decided to fly far away—across the ocean. Make a new life for ourselves and hope for somewhere with less strife with corruption and manipulation.”

I could understand that. I nodded. That sounded intriguing.

I was curious as to how many others would be there.

Would they be like as? Would they shift into dragons?

Wolves? Other species? I was curious, and my curiosity got the better of me.

Perhaps I could find my forever mate there.

I wanted that more than anything, and I was willing to do whatever it took to find him.

“I’ll go with you. I will need to pack my things,” I told them.

“No need,” Da said, a small smile on his face. “I was under the impression you were joining us already. I’ve packed all of your clothing, as well as your favorite books and journals.”

“You mentioned Feiedrich,” Father said, grabbing my attention. “I was concerned about him. Egon said he’d seen him in the village last time he was at the market, which is why I’d asked you to go today.”

I looked between my fathers. “Is he after Da?”

Father shrugged. “I have no real way of knowing. I would like nothing more than to drop him from a great height, but the one time I’ve been near him, I could tell there is something not quite right with him. I do not wish to put your Da in any sort of danger. Thus, I’ve chosen to leave him be.”

Da snorted. I pursed my own lips to keep from laughing. It was true that Father was protective of Da, but Da was also a dragon—he had been gifted with such ability just as Father had. He was more than capable of taking care of himself.

“When do we leave?” I asked. Da went back to packing the trunk he’d been filling with clothing.

“At nightfall. The plan is for us to shift and Egon to help us with the trunks. We will carry the large trunks while he carries a smaller satchel with immediate needs when we stop for breaks.”

I nodded. It sounded like a sound plan. I wasn’t quite sure completely of the reasoning, but I wasn’t going to argue with my father.

He was in protective mode, and his dragon was close to the surface.

I wasn’t going to say anything that set him or his dragon off.

Not that I feared my father. I didn’t. I simply didn’t wish to get into an altercation with him before we left.

The day passed with us readying the house for our departure.

In past times, we’d always moved with a cart and taken everything we could with us.

But being limited to only two trunks and a satchel, we would be going into this move with next to nothing.

That wasn’t something that bothered me. We were dragons and could live in our scales for as long as we needed.

We obviously had to be much more careful when doing so though.

Da was determined to get as much into the trunks as he could, and when he finally deemed them ready, he closed and locked them.

It was going to be a great responsibility to carry one all the way across the ocean.

It wasn’t as if my dragon wasn’t strong enough to do it.

That wouldn’t be an issue at all. But needing to clutch it in my talons for such long periods would undoubtedly get tiring.