ERIK

The moment the plane landed in Bramville, nervousness and excitement came over me. This was my last chance to meet my fated mate, and I prayed that the God/dess would finally allow me to find her. I always wondered what she looked like in human form. She was probably beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to meet her. After collecting my luggage, I got into the car I had arranged in advance and the driver drove to the Pride. Passing through Bramville, I decided to look out the window and a flower shop caught my eye, Leafy Heaven. 

‘Flowers for our fated mate. Yes, buy some, Erik.’ Ed, my animal self, suggested and I agreed, giving the driver a signal to stop. Once he did, I stepped out and walked into the flower shop, greeted by beautiful plants of all kinds and colors. What should I pick?

“Welcome to Leafy Heaven. How can I help you, sir?” A voice said. I turned, finding an omega standing close to me with a big smile. His odd hair color made me realize he wasn’t a regular human. 

“Hello, I would like to get a bouquet, but I don’t know which option to choose,” I said with a gentle smile. 

“May I ask who it is for?” The omega said with a soft smile and I nodded.

“Yes, it’s for my fated mate. Well, it’s the first time we will meet in person. I thought flowers would be nice for her.” I confessed and the omega’s smile grew wider.

“I see. I would recommend roses but they tend to be cliche for love. If you want to give a message to your mate, I highly suggest red camellias.” He said guiding me in the direction where the flowers were. “They mean faithfulness, longevity for couples, burning love, and passion.”

‘Oh! Yes! Get those.’ Ed said in my mind and I nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t know flowers had such a deep meaning. I will take your suggestion.” I said smiling. 

“Of course, follow me to the counter.” The omega said and I did. As I made the payment with the other omega—a wolf— behind the counter, I couldn’t help but notice some sparks coming from the odd-haired omega’s fingers and into the flowers, making them look lively, their colors brighter. A nymph, perhaps. Interesting. 

With the bouquet in hand, I returned to the car and resumed the ride to the Pride. My phone rang and I sighed, seeing who the caller was, and took the call. 

“Hello, mother.” I said in a serious tone.

“I see you made it to Bramville, son.” She said without a greeting. Typical mother behavior.

“What is the matter, mother?” I said wanting to get over with the call.

“I just wanted you to remember our deal. If you don’t find your fated mate you have to take another mate.” She said and I rolled my eyes.

“Yes, mother. I understand.” 

“Perhaps you can mate one of the daughters of the Powells. I’ve heard they are quite beautiful.” She mentioned, and before I could respond, she kept talking. “No, scratch that. I don’t want to deal with homosexuals. Find a mate within Bramville Pride.”

“I haven’t even gotten there, mother.” I said.

“Yeah, yeah. But keep that in mind. We are giving you a lot of freedom, letting you go to that homosexual’s house. I still can’t believe they managed to have so many daughters.” She continued to say, if I didn’t stop her she would keep talking.

“Was that what you wanted to speak with me about? I’m ending the call.” I said annoyed.

“Remember, don’t get too close to the parents.” She said before I hung up the phone.

I sighed and left a text to the group I had with my brothers, telling them about my arrival in Bramville and the phone call with Mother. Our parents were known for being homophobic. My brothers and I almost went through that same path, but we ended up being more open-minded than them. Dealing with homophobic parents was tiring and as their only mateless son, a lot of pressure was laid on me. Especially since the last chance, the last family on my list was the Powells. I had heard my parents talk nastily about them just because the couple were both males, but that didn’t bother me. I just wanted my fated mate.

The car stopped at the Pride’s gate and after letting the beta guards know the Powells expected me, I was let in. Now, as I stood in front of the Powell manor, my nerves returned. I fixed my clothes, took a deep breath, grabbed the camellia bouquet, and walked to the main door. The door opened before I could knock and I was greeted by a short black-haired omega with blue eyes, his age showed on his face.

“Erik Bennet, welcome to our house. My name is Esme, Esme Powell.” The omega said with a big smile. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Powell.” I said politely with a smile.

“Oh, please, don’t call me that. I may be one of the heads of the house, but leave the mister to my husband. You can call me Esme.” He said embarrassed, letting out a soft chuckle.

“Sure thing, Esme.” I smiled.

“Your luggage will be taken to your room. Now come inside, make yourself at home.” He moved away from the door so I could walk inside.

“You were quick to open the door, darling.” A deep but familiar voice said and I turned to see its owner. The head of the family. Soren Powell.  

“No, I wasn’t. I just didn’t want to leave our guest waiting, Rennie.” Esme said approaching his mate, hugging him.

“Sure thing, darling.” Said the alpha leaving a soft kiss on his mate’s forehead. I wasn’t used to seeing same-sex couples growing up as my parents avoided them like the plague, but looking at the Powells made me realize that, unlike what my parents badmouthed about them, the Powells were a cute couple and you could see the love between them. “A pleasure to meet you Erik, I’m Soren Powell. We spoke on the phone.”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr Powell.” I said politely, giving him a firm handshake. “May I say your house is quite lovely.”

“Thank you. We hope you have a nice stay.” Soren answered with a proud and gentle smile.

“Would you like to meet the others? I was thinking of waiting until dinner but I’m sure you want to see our kittens.” Esme asked and I nodded, the anticipation growing inside me.

“Yes, I would love to meet them,”  I said with a smile trying to hide my nerves.

“Okay, let me go get them,” Esme said with a smile and went running up the stairs.

A maid walked past us, taking my luggage up the stairs while Soren kept me company. It felt awkward being next to him, he had a strong alpha aura and his piercing green eyes were intimidating. I heard footsteps coming closer and looked up the stairs, seeing Esme walking down, accompanied by his daughters. The rumors were not fake; they were beautiful, and I wouldn’t mind taking one of them as my mate. The ladies stood down the stairs in a long line, all their green eyes on me made me feel self-conscious, but I proudly walked close to them with my nose open and ready to smell their scents. 

“Erik, these are our daughters. I will let them introduce themselves.” Esma said to me with a smile and then turned to look at his daughters. “Girls, go ahead.”

“Welcome to our house, Erik. I’m Robin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Said the first one with a gentle smile. She looked like the oldest one with a short black bob and piercing green eyes like her alpha father. 

“Likewise.” I said with a smile and a short nod. ‘Nope. Not her.’ Ed said in my mind.

Two girls followed, their resemblance uncanny. Twins. But their style in clothing was different. One of them had a pinky girly style while the other gave more of a Rockstar vibe.

“My name is Josie.” Said the rockstar one with a smile.

“And I’m Jean.” The other twin jumped in this time with a shy smile. 

“It’s nice to meet you, handsome,” Josie said winking at me. 

‘Nope. Nothing.’ Ed said and I continued to the remaining three. My hope started to go down and I was starting to get disappointed because none of them had that scent. 

“Hey, handsome. I’m Lesly and I think we would look nice together.” Said one of the remaining three placing a hand on my chest, she gave me a flirty smile and I did my best not to look at her clothing. She was wearing a very revealing tank top. ‘Hot but nope.’

“Lesly stop it.” One of the other girls scolded her and then looked at me with a gentle smile. “Hi, I’m Lilah. Nice to meet you, Erik.”

“Nice to meet you both.” I smiled at them and looked at the last daughter, holding back my disappointment.

“Sup. The name is Lana and I can be yours if you want.” She said with a wink while chewing some gum. ‘Nice try but no.’

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” I said with a smile and then turned to Esme. “Are these all of them?”

“We have another daughter but she is already mated,” Esme answered with a smile and then continued to talk. “And there’s also—”

A sudden scent hit my nostrils and distracted me from what Esme was saying. A familiar scent, one that I smelled years ago. I couldn’t hear what the older omega said as my ears listened to footsteps coming closer. Then in sight, walking down the stairs came the most beautiful omega I had ever seen. She had white skin and short hair, black like the rest of the family, but unlike her sisters, like her omega father, she had blue eyes. 

‘Mate. Mate. Mate.’ Ed chanted in my mind and I acted fast. Walking past the other daughters and walking up the stairs, meeting my omega in the middle. Offering the bouquet of Camellias to her.

“You are the most beautiful omega that I have seen. I have searched for you, my fated mate. Allow me to court you with the intention of making you my mate, my bride.” I finished saying with a smile. A loud gasp filled the room coming from her family. The omega in front of me cringed and then looked over my shoulder looking at her parents, let out a sigh, and then her eyes met mine.

“I have no interest in becoming someone's mate, much less if it's someone who mistakes me for a woman.” The omega said in a serious tone, taking me back.

“What?” I said confused and heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Raven, this is Erik Bennet, our guest,” Esme said to his daughter and then looked at me, noticing my confusion. “And Erik this is Raven, our only omega son.”

Did I hear that right? Son? My fated mate was a man?!