ERIK

Once I closed the door to the guest bedroom, I started to freak out again. My mind went to places it had never been. I was confused, angry, upset, and lost. I, Erik Bennet, am a straight man, I liked women, I liked boobs. So how the fuck was my fated mate a man?! All this time, I had been oblivious, thinking I was looking for a woman, but instead I should have been looking for a man. Ha! I heard people say the phrase ‘destiny works in mysterious ways’ and it never crossed my mind that it could be true. Now, I for sure knew it was because destiny was fucking me. The God/dess was playing with me. ‘Fuck!’ There was another big problem: my parents. How would they react? My brothers wouldn’t mind, but mom and dad? My homophobic parents. The ones that badmouthed Esme and Soren behind their backs, the ones that didn’t want me to come here in the first place. It was all going to be bad. 

But back to the main problem, I was having a crisis. I was attracted only to women and not to men, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful and gorgeous Raven was, even if we were the same gender. Can I imagine a future with him? I don’t know. Soren had tried to convince me to think about it, but I was not at all sure. Bonding meant forever, and I needed time to make a decision. As if I had summoned the devil, my phone rang, my mother was calling, and I dreaded answering her. I’ve had enough with my crisis already, and she was going to add more stress to it. The phone kept ringing, and I knew she wasn’t going to stop until I answered. 

“Yes mother?” I said as I accepted the call.

“Erik, son. You finally answered.” She said, probably upset, but not wanting me to notice.

“Yes, what is it?” I wanted to go straight to the point of her call.

“I just wanted to know how you were doing. Can’t a mother be worried about her youngest son?” She said acting offended and wanting to make me feel bad, but those tricks never worked on me.

“I’m doing well, mother. The Powells have been kind and welcoming to me.” I said with honesty.

“Oh? So? Did you find her?” She asked, curiosity in her tone.

“No, but I would like to stay here in Bramville for a while. I need a long vacation.” I lied because it was the best way to avoid problems. I couldn’t tell her about Raven.

“Okay, I agree. As you promised, you have to find another mate on the Bramville pride.” She said now with a more excited tone, before I could say anything, she kept talking as she always does. “No daughter of the Powells, got it? I don’t want to deal with them and if you can find another place to stay, it would be better. I don’t want you to be infected with their homosexuality.”

“Sure, I have to go, mother. I will talk to you later.” I said frowning, I was tired of the way she talked about Esme and Soren. 

She tried to say something else, but I hung up, I didn’t have the energy for that. Back to my current problem, Soren’s words came back to my mind. I barely knew Raven, but perhaps I could try to get to know him? I was open to the idea of maybe being friends? 

‘Just friends? No, Erik. He is our fated mate, and he will always be. Soren said you should talk to him, get to know him, and then see how it develops.’ Ed said in my mind, he was angry and upset with my way of thinking.

‘I don’t know…’ I said unsure. Would I be able to be like Soren? 

‘Listen, you could’ve left already, but you didn’t. You want to stay, you want to meet him.’ Ed said, and I took a moment to think. Why was I still here? If I didn’t want to mate with Raven, why am I not in a plane right now? It could be that the bond was keeping me here, or I actually wanted to give it a try with Raven.

‘Okay, you are right. I will try and get to know Raven.’ I said after analyzing everything. 

‘Good, but first you have to apologize. We need to get on Raven’s good side.’ Ed said, his anger disappearing. ‘I want to meet my mate so do better, Erik.’

‘Yeah, I will.’ I sighed, and while I waited for dinner, I decided to unpack my luggage. Raven’s image kept popping up in my head from time to time, distracting me from my task.

‘Damn you God/dess…’

RAVEN

The time I dreaded finally arrived. I sat at the table waiting for dinner to start. Some of my sisters were also at the table, chatting or checking their phones waiting. My parents walked in greeting us, but there was no sign of Erik. As people started to enter the dining room, the seats were filling up, and that gave me a bad feeling. When there were only two seats available, one next to me and the other next to Lana, Josie came in looking at the available seats. Our eyes met, and she made a disgusted face, taking the seat next to Lana. ‘Fuck!’ I cursed to myself while Rion was excited. 

“Oh, Erik! Come, take a seat.” Papa Esme said, and my eyes went to the alpha walking inside the room. Our eyes met, and shivers went down my spine. I turned my head, looking away. ‘This is bad.’ 

I didn’t even have to follow his movements to know that he was walking to the seat next to me. My nose was attacked by his scent, and I heard Rion purr in my head. He smelled so good and sweet like my favorite blueberry pie. Not only was Erik giving me subtle glances, I felt my sisters’ eyes on me. They were probably cursing at me in their heads. There was an awkward silence in the room until Dad decided to speak.

“I would like to offer a warm official welcome to our guest, Erik.” Dad said with a firm tone, looking at Erik with a smile.  “It’s a pleasure for us to have you in our home, and we hope you enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you, sir.” Erik answered with a smile.

Food was served at the table, and I started to eat fast so I could get away from here. It was so weird, awkward, and Erik’s scent was distracting. To add to that, Rion kept telling me to speak with Erik, but I was never going to do that. 

“Uhm, Raven?” To my surprise, Erik took the initiative. 

“Yes?” I answered, turning to look at him.

“I would like to apologize for misgendering you. It was rude of me, and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” He said with an apologetic smile, and I nodded.

“Oh…It’s okay. It happens all the time, but thank you.” I said with an awkward smile.

“I honestly don’t understand how people confuse Raven as a woman, he is clearly a guy.” Lesly chimed in on our conversation. She was sitting on the other side of the alpha. 

“Well, I had never seen a man as beautiful as Raven, that’s why I was confused,” Erik mentioned looking at her and then at me. I felt my face grow warm as I blushed due to his words. I tried to hide it by looking down and focusing on my eating. 

I felt a bump against my leg, and my eyes went to my sister, Lilah, who was sitting next to me. She mouthed ‘are you okay?’ to me. While most of my sisters had issues with me, Lilah was the only one who actually cared about me. More than my sister, she was one of my best friends. I nodded, giving her a soft smile. I didn’t want her to worry. She smiled back at me and then went back to her food.

Dinner continued to go smoothly, but I barely spoke. I was only listening, eating, and giving short nods to agree from time to time. I felt Erik’s shy glances at me as well, but I never looked his way, I focused on my food. Soon dinner ended, and Dad dismissed us, I stood fast and walked out of the room. I looked back before leaving and saw Erik surrounded by my sisters. It was the first time I thanked them for being so horny and alpha-hungry. I had managed to survive dinner and escaped right away. 

‘You can’t escape forever. We are in the same house.’ Rion said annoyed and upset with my behavior.

‘Watch me.’