Daniel

I basically sleep walk to the dining hall. I was distraught, confused, bothered and bewildered. And it showed it on my face. I mean, it was basically plastered all over it.

"Are you OK, cariño? Did you sleep well?" - My mom asked as I began eating, she clearly saw that something's wrong. And so could anyone, to be fair.

"Yeah brother, you look like you saw a ghost or something." - Nate chimed in, also noting how baffled I looked.

"I'm fine. Just had a weird dream." - I replied, my face still gobsmacked.

"Again? What happened in this one?" - Nate replied with a worried look.

"Nothing much, don't worry about it." - I tried to tranquilize him. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"Did you have a weird sex dream with Lauren?" - Denise snickered. My parents' faces looked disgusted. My mom was just about to say something to her when I let it slip:

"It wasn't with her, it was with..." - I stopped myself and realized it was almost too late. But the bomb had already been dropped. Everyone's mouths are agape. The look on my family's faces as they processed what I had just revealed was of utter shock.

But everyone at the table was shocked, not just them.

It's worth noting that dreams are the way the Goddess showed us who our mates are beforehand. That is, before we turn 18. But only a select few are blessed to get them. Usually, it happens to ascending Alphas like me.

In fact, every single Huntington Alpha knew who his mate was gonna be before 18, including my dad.

And his mate lived in another town. Yes, my mom came here from El Paso. However, that doesn't mean that this was a mate dream. Not necessarily. And honestly, that's what I'm counting on.

"I've told you. You owe me 20 bucks." - My mom bragged to my dad, so smug I couldn't bear it.

"Stop it, mom! That doesn't mean anything! It's just a dream!" - I tried to convince her. But that was everything she wanted to hear, apart from the actual reveal of my mate.

"Oh, I wonder what Lauren will think of this?" - Denise tormented me, but when I heard her say that, I snapped.

"If you tell Lauren this, the first thing I'm gonna do as Alpha is to ban women from being warriors, I swear to Goddess!" - I was so angry, so scared. I knew that would kill her.

All the warriors at the table stared at me in shock. Hell, everyone at the table looked at me, baffled. My sister stood up and left, incredibly distraught. My parents are looking at me disappointed. After a moment, I tell everyone:

"I apologize to all of you that you had to hear this. I would never actually ban women from being warriors. I just said that to get to my sister. But I know it's wrong of me to say. And I'm really sorry." - I looked at every single person present and shot them an apologetic glance.

Felix

I woke up sweating. I was so scared of my vivid dream that I was legitimately shaking. I had some weird dreams in my brief life so far, I watched telenovelas, after all. But this one really takes the cake.

I mean, for one I thought my male privilege would deter me from ever being sexually assaulted. I thought this could only happen to girls. Turns out I was dead wrong. It was just a dream, but that was the most scared I've ever felt in my life so far.

Suddenly, I have a new appreciation for what women go through everyday.

At breakfast, I see my sister lost in thought so I tried to pry something out of her, but she kept her lips tight ever since she met that pervert. It's really annoying! And it only makes me more curious.

Later at school, I was still a little jumpy. I went through classes basically on autopilot till I had a break, so I took out my sketch book and started drawing.

I must have drifted off as I was sketching, because I didn't even realize my sister was approaching me in the hall.

"Dude, aim lower! What do you think you're doing?" - She startled me, as she caught a glimpse of my drawing.

"What are you talking about, lunatic?" - I replied, caught off guard.

"Dude, you're totally gawking at Nate's brother! You're drooling so hard at him it's freaking embarrassing!" - She pointed out, making me realize I've been staring at him without noticing it. I've literally drawn his face.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I was staring." - I croaked, apologetic.

"He's like the straightest boy in all the school! Not only is he a jock, his girlfriend looks like a goddamn supermodel, she's so pretty!" - She exclaimed, pointing at her figure next to him. They were far across the hall from us.

I take a look at her and say:

"I don't think she's all that..." - I sighed, contemplating her perfect figure.

"That's because you're gay! She's so hot that even I'd date her!" - Daphne snickered, making me laugh at her remarks.

"I want what's best for you. But you pinning over the straight jock is a cliché I don't think you need right now." - She pondered. I could tell she was worried about me. And she was right. It didn't exactly work well for me in the past.

At the same time, on the other side of the corridor, Daniel, his girlfriend, brother, sister and friends are listening in to this entire conversation, unbeknownst to Felix and Daphne.

Daniel

"It looks like someone has a little crush!" - Lauren teased me, smiling mischievously.

"Don't even joke about it!" - I replied to her, uncomfortable that we had to listen to that.

"So, it turns out Nate's mate thinks Lauren is hotter than him." - Carl joked. We all laughed.

"I know she's hotter than me. She's not wrong about that." - Nate replied, winking at Lauren, who was basically beaming with pride.

"I didn't know her brother was gay." - Mike chimed in, which made us look at him surprised.

"The pink hair didn't give it away?" - Carl snickered.

"That's prejudice. A person's hair color shouldn't be a determining factor to their sexuality." - Mike replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Way to go, Mike! You're so right! To me, the determining factor was when Dan went to talk to them yesterday and his eyes were so glued at Dan, he didn't even blink!" - Nate interjected in an amusing tone.

At this, everyone stared at me in surprise.

"Very funny, Nate. But I actually went to talk to Daphne because you were failing miserably." - I snickered, looking at him with a mocking pity stare.

"Thanks bro, by the way. You always come through for me." - A soft smile plants on Nate's face.

"Anytime!" - I replied, confidently.

"I legit thought her brother was gonna hit me or something! He was so mad! He only calmed down when Dan entered the conversation!" - Nate explained and I was getting really annoyed by all this.

"He's the Felix whisperer!" - Carl joked, making my face scowl.

"Alright, everyone! That's enough of that! We do have classes, you know?" - I said as I started walking back towards the classroom. Everyone saw I was bothered by the whole situation, but that only makes it more amusing for them. Even Lauren was smirking.

But I wasn't amused. On the contrary. I hate the implication, especially after that weird dream today. The only person I want to dream with is my girlfriend. And I certainly hope that was a one off.