Chapter 9
Aleric
There were things that other paranormals knew not to do to alpha dragons.
One of them was to keep them from their mates.
We were overly protective of our omega mates, and my dragon was becoming increasingly irritated.
He was more than ready to claim Konrad. It was difficult reasoning with a dragon at times though, and I knew it was not the time to claim Konrad, even if that was what we both seemed to want.
We were finally in Munich after a week of traveling south, then locating Wilhelm’s uncle.
It was a teary goodbye for Konrad and Elias, and I had offered several times for Elias to join us across the ocean, but he didn’t wish to join us.
Not that I blamed him. He had a warm bed in the city, something I realized I did not miss. The city.
Well, actually, I missed my bed. Having Konrad in it with me would be an added bonus.
After several goodbyes, we’d continued on and now were with Lukas in Munich.
We were resting one more day before Konrad and I set off across the ocean.
The home my parents had built was still weeks away, if not more.
I had no doubt that my mate was strong, but he had been through a great deal, and the flight would be difficult for him. This I knew.
We were fortunate that the coven had welcomed us and allowed us to rest as long as we had.
Lukas’s uncle was mated to a female vampire, which was why he was in the city.
They lived in a coven, and although I knew I would struggle in such a place, it was a welcome place to rest, knowing my mate and I would be safe for the evening.
He was just on the other side of the wall, something that irritated my dragon after having held our mate in our arms for a few nights.
The coven had been more than generous, and the master here had insisted on reaching out to the local warlock coven to ask about the shackles.
The answer we had been given was frightening.
The shackles had been cursed with black magic unlike any they had ever seen.
When they had been placed on the wrist of a paranormal being, they fused themselves on, thus bonding their way into the soul of the wearer.
This subdued their other half, leaving them unable to shift to escape.
I was more than happy to let the warlocks have the shackles.
They assured me they would look into them more, and they would let the others know the findings.
Someone being able to do such things was news that needed to be spread.
Others needed to be aware to watch out for such evilness.
We still had no real reason as to why, but knowing about the shackles was enough for now. I was almost certain the reason why was close to what Konrad and I had discussed, and it churned my stomach thinking about the warped mind of men like Feiedrich.
I rolled onto my side and wondered if it was too early to get up and collect my mate. We would not actually be taking to the skies until— I held my breath as my door slowly opened. Surely the others in the house realized that as a dragon alpha, I could not be crept up on.
I scented my mate and pushed up onto my elbow, letting the blanket fall to my waist.
“Aleric?”
“Come, Konrad.”
The door closed, and then seconds later, my mate was suddenly on top of me. I reached for him, telling myself it was to ensure he did not fall from the narrow bed.
“I want to go. I’m ready to start out now. If we leave before the sun is up, we can be high enough in the sky that we won’t be detected. Then we will be over the ocean, and it will not matter.”
I lay back, my mate sitting astride me. I had to tell myself that now was most definitely not the time to think the thoughts that suddenly were in my head.
Even if the position was ideal, I needed to be patient just a bit longer.
I ran my hand down my face, unsure of what exactly to do.
On one hand, what Konrad said was true. We could easily be high enough in the sky to remain undetected by humans.
But arriving over the ocean at the wrong time could be dangerous. If we could not find the larger islands that we would need to land on to rest and hunt, we could be in trouble if we had to land in the ocean. Dragons didn’t exactly float easily.
This was my mate though, and although we had not yet claimed one another, I could not deny him anything.
The sooner we took to the skies, the sooner we would be at our new home and start our lives together.
I only had so much patience when it came to waiting to claim my mate, and it was almost to the breaking point.
“All right. Allow me to dress, and we will go see if the coven master is up yet. We cannot just steal out of here without showing proper gratitude.”
Konrad squeaked and fell forward, throwing his arms out on either side of my head. Even in the darkness of the room, I could see the happiness on his face. My dragon pushed to the surface, responding to our mate not only being so near but also that we had pleased him.
“I cannot dress if you are on top of me, mate.” I chuckled, but my arms slid around his slender waist all the same. I didn’t wish for him to move any more than he seemed to want to.
Konrad bit his lower lip, his eyes darting between my own lips and eyes.
When he leaned forward, I turned my head to the side.
It pained me, and my dragon grumbled at me, but now was not the time to take such liberties.
I was barely resisting him at this point, and if I finally got a taste of my adorable mate, I was unsure if I would be able to stop.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. It is not my place to initiate such things. It will not happen again.”
My hands tightened on Konrad’s hips, keeping him where he was when he would have fled.
“Do not think I wish for you to not initiate things. I very much want such a relationship with you. Just as I would love nothing more than to spend the next week or more getting to know your body and seeing what sounds of pleasure I can pull from you. You have tested my patience this week, mate. I wish to claim you, but once I do, I will not be able to deny either of us what we desire.”
“Why is that a bad thing?” Konrad relaxed above me, and I released his hips. With my hands cupping his face, I gently pulled him to me, placing a kiss on his forehead.
“My adorable mate. Once I claim you, surely you will go into heat. Once you do, I will not be able to deny you. What happens when a claimed omega goes into heat, my sweetness?”
Konrad bit his lower lip before his eyes widened. “I could get pregnant. Then why…”
“Because if you are pregnant, you cannot shift. If you cannot shift, you cannot fly. It would most certainly be too dangerous for you to fly upon my back in this form while pregnant. I would have to fly low to the water, and my dragon and I are not willing to risk that.”
Understanding finally seemed to hit Konrad, and he buried his face in my neck. I leaned a bit to the side, giving him more room but also showing I not only accepted him as my mate but trusted him completely.
“I apologize, Alpha. I…my emotions have been all over the place in the past weeks, and I was not thinking things completely through. I only wished to be yours.”
“Trust me when I say the only thing that will keep me from claiming you fully is death. I have every intention of claiming you the moment I can. Until then, we will make our way across the ocean and back to my parents and the mountain they have taken as their own.”
“I would like that, Alpha.”
Konrad climbed off me, and while he stood across the room near the door, I quickly dressed. It seemed a bit unnecessary if we were only going to shift soon, but the vampires in the coven did not feel the same about nudity as we did.
“Do you have your things?” I asked my mate.
“I will get them,” he said before he disappeared out my door.
I carefully repacked my own satchel and was making the bed when Konrad returned.
My precious mate was eager to set out. He had a new satchel of his own and several changes of clothing inside.
There was room still for some provisions, which would help make our trip easier.
We would still need to hunt while in our dragon form, but that was a given.
It was a long flight, and we would need more than what our human bodies could provide.
“You are eager, mate.”
“I am. I wish to leave the horrors of here behind.”
I froze momentarily, then turned. How had I not considered my mate saw things in such a way? I should have though. He had been kidnapped, held for months, then rescued only to discover that his entire thunder had been needlessly killed.
“I apologize, mate. I should have realized.” I crossed the small room, pulling my mate into my arms. I was thankful for his height. He reached the middle of my face, allowing me to bury my nose in his hair without having to bend over.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. It is what it is. Would I change things so I could have them with me still? Yes. I will always miss my family, and there is nothing that can change that. But in the end, I found you, and that is a bright spot to look forward to.”
“I will do everything within me to give you the life you deserve,” I told him. There weren’t a whole lot of luxuries on the mountain, but he would not want for anything. Except maybe a large tub. But I had already planned on getting one the next time I traveled to trade our pelts.
“I believe you.” Konrad stepped out of my embrace and smiled at me, but it did not quite reach his eyes. I knew he was still hurting and would be for a long time to come. As one would expect.
I went back to making the bed and, when I was finished, picked up my own satchel and joined my mate at the door. He reached to pick his own up, but I grabbed it before he could.
“I can carry it, you know.”