RAVEN

I was in my room getting ready to go to the movies with Erik. The night before, after dinner, we had decided on a time to see the movie. When I was talking with Erik, I felt the stares my sisters were giving me. I felt their jealousy, but I just decided to ignore them. It wasn’t my fault they were not trying hard enough to get Erik’s attention, or perhaps he wasn’t that interested in them. Anyway, I finished getting ready and checked out myself in the mirror. I didn't know why, but today I wanted to look good, so I put on my best black pants, combined with a purple t-shirt and my favorite black leather jacket. I even changed my ear piercings to purple ones to match my clothes, but I decided to keep my black collar. I looked fantastic. I checked the time and noticed it was almost time for our meet-up. 

‘Our first date. I’m excited.’ Rion said, and I grimaced. 

‘It’s not a date, we are just friends.’ I said in a serious tone.

‘Friends to lovers exist, you know.’ He answered, and I rolled my eyes.

‘Shut up, Rion.’ I said with a sigh. Thankfully, he obeyed and stopped bothering me.

I checked myself in the mirror one last time and then left my room, walking to the front door where I would meet Erik. I went down the stairs and saw the alpha waiting for me. He was wearing casual clothes, but his shirt fitted his form, showing how toned his body was. ‘He is so hot,’ Rion purred in my mind, and I shook my head from any perverted thoughts, tuning out Rion in the process.  

“Hey, you ready?” I said as I walked up to Erik, who turned to see me with a smile.

“Hi, yes. I’m excited about the movie.” He said, and I saw him checking me out a bit. I felt like maybe I had overdressed. “You look great, purple suits you.”

“Thanks, you look great too,” I said with a smile and a soft blush on my cheeks. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” He said with a smile opening the door for me. I walked outside with a smile, and he followed me to the car, my car—a black Genesis G70—I rarely used it, but I thought it would be nice to not depend on cabs to get back home later today. Or perhaps I was just trying to impress the alpha. “Nice car.”

“Thank you, my parents gave it to me on my 18th birthday. But I don’t use it much.” I said being honest with him. He gave me a confused look.

“Why not?” Erik asked curiously and confused.

“I’m not a big fan of driving cars,” I said with an awkward smile, and he nodded in understanding. “I'd rather ride my motorbike, but that would be uncomfortable for both of us.”

“Would you like me to drive then?” He asked with a gentle smile.

“Would you? I don’t want to bother you with that.” I said, scratching the back of my collar, unsure. 

“It’s not a bother. I would love to.” He said with a smile and stretched his hand out towards me, palm up, waiting for me to give him the keys.

“Okay.” I gave them to him and got inside the passenger seat while he went to the driver's seat. Something about having him drive my car made my chest flutter, but I put that feeling away, and soon we went on our way to the cinema.

ERIK

The movie had been great; it wasn’t the best movie in the world, but it had been entertaining, and Raven liked it too. I was slowly getting to know him better and discovering his likes. For example, something that shocked me was that he liked eating popcorn with nacho cheddar cheese; it sounded like a weird combination to me. But Raven encouraged me to try it, and after I did, I realized it wasn’t bad at all. It was actually delicious. After the movie ended, Raven offered to show me around the town. After the movie, Raven offered to show me around town, which I gratefully accepted since no one had offered to do so yet, and being in the house and at the pride all the time was starting to get to me. 

Raven took me all around town, pointing out the best go-to places in Bramville. He showed me which stores I could buy nice clothes, the best restaurants in town, and places where I could just go and hang out if I was bored. His tour was helpful, and I could see myself making good use of it.

“And this is Piper’s Delights. The best place to get baked goods.” Raven said as we stopped in front of a store. There were tables outside full of people, and the inside was no different. It must be a good place.

“Is that all for the tour?” I asked as I turned to look back at the omega.

“Not really, we are missing the park, but I thought we could buy some treats at Piper’s and then go to the park to hang out.” Raven suggested with a smile, and I nodded.

“Sounds like a great plan to me.” I said, smiling back, and we entered the store.

Once we entered, the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries hit my nose. It smelled delicious, and I could understand why the lack of available tables inside and outside. We walked to the counter and I checked all the goods being displayed. They all looked incredible, I couldn’t wait to taste them. 

“Welcome to Piper’s Delights, how can I help you?” A gentle voice said and I looked up. Behind the counter was an omega, his hair looked like fire and I noticed some scales on his neck—a snake. I looked around the place, and by the scents I realized we were surrounded by supernaturals. I had never seen such a large amount of them together, and it wasn’t just here because when we walked around town, I saw all kinds of them. I made a mental note to ask Raven about that later. 

“Hey, Piper. This is Erik, he is visiting the town and I wanted him to try the goods.” Raven said friendly to the omega behind the counter. So he was Piper, the owner. 

“Oh, welcome to Bramville.” Piper said to me with a gentle smile. “What would you like to try?”

“What do you recommend to me?” I asked the owner and he smiled.

“Well, everyone loves the cheese bread. We have a sweet one and the usual salty one.” The omega said and continued to explain all the breads and baked goods they had available.

Raven and I decided together what we wanted, and after we were done, I paid for everything. Raven protested against that, but deep down, I knew he was happy to be invited. Piper packed everything and placed the bags on the counter, but I noticed there was an extra bag.

“What’s that?” I asked confused.

“Oh, it’s Chocolate cream cheese danishes. It’s on the house.” The omega smiled widely at me.

“You don’t have to do that.” I said and took out my wallet. I preferred to pay for them, but Piper rejected my card.

“I want to. Thank you for your purchase and have a great stay in Bramville.” Piper said with a big smile. I looked at Raven, who looked excited about the extra bag, and then smiled back at the owner.

“Thank you.” I said smiling, and he nodded.

Raven and I took the bags and left the store. We walked in the direction of the park. It was beautiful and peaceful. We walked around it for a while and then decided to take a seat on a bench to try the goods we bought. We unpacked everything and displayed it in the middle of the bench. Everything looked fantastic, but I decided to go for the sweet cheese bread. I took the first bite, and a huge number of flavors attacked my mouth. It was so good I almost purred, and leopards never purred. 

“This is delicious. Wow. I never tasted something so good.” I said to Raven, who was also eating one and doing a tiny excited dance. ‘Cute.’

“Right? Piper has magic hands.” Raven said with a smile and kept eating his bread. I looked around the park as I ate and noticed a couple walking their kid in the park. I was surprised by the mixed couple. They were a wolf and a merman, their kid a wolf pup. ‘Fascinating.’ I remembered the mental note I made back at Piper’s and turned to look back at Raven.

“You know, I noticed there’s a lot of supernaturals around town.” I started saying, getting the omega’s attention. “Piper is a snake, right? And there’s also a nymph at the flower store.”

“Yeah, we are all mostly supes. You could say it’s a safe haven of some sort. Bramville is a small town, it doesn’t get too much attention.” Raven explained to me with a smile. “We also are surrounded by a forest so we can let our animals run freely.”

“That’s nice. It’s the opposite in the city. Too many people, humans, noise. It’s hard to find good places to shift too.” I mentioned, remembering how awful it was to live there. If it wasn’t for the covered backyard I had in my house, I knew Ed would suffer from not being allowed to shift. It was a nightmare compared to Bramville. I took a bite of another bread.

“You have always lived in the city?” Raven asked curiously, picking up another bread.  

“Yeah, I have, but my family has a cabin in the woods. We used to spend our vacations over there. Let our animals free.” I explained, and Raven nodded. 

“What’s his name?” The omega asked, and his question took me by surprise.

“Whose?” I asked showing my confusion, before taking a bite of the bread in my hand.

“Your animal.” He said with curious eyes. I saw a glimmer pass through his blue eyes. 

“Oh, it’s Ed. What’s yours?” I said with a smile and curiosity filled me too. Ed waited patiently in my mind for Piper’s answer.

“Rion.” Raven said and then took a bite of his chocolate pastry. ‘Beautiful name. I can’t wait to meet my mate.’ Ed said in my mind, but I ignored the second part.

“I hope I get to meet him someday,” I said with a smile. Raven looked into my eyes, and then his attention went back to his pastry.

“Maybe.” He said, and then looked back at me. “So what do you do for work?”

“I work at my family's company, we have a law firm.” I said with a smile, and he looked shocked.

“So you are a lawyer?” He asked and I shook my head.

“My brothers are, but I’m not one. I just work as an assistant; I majored in Economics. Sometimes I help as a consultant in cases where money is involved, like taxes and that stuff.” I explained and Raven nodded understanding.“What about you?”

“I majored in graphic design. I work as a freelancer, I just take jobs when I can.” He explained to me and I nodded. “My real passion is music.”

“Music? Oh, you play the guitar, right?” I asked, remembering the first time we met, he had a guitar case with him. 

“Yes, I do. I have a band with some friends.” He said with a smile and I looked at him fascinated.

“Really? I would love to see you perform one day.” I said with smile, and his smile grew wider, a soft pink hue appeared on his cheeks.

“I will make sure to invite you to our next performance.” He said, and I nodded.

We continued talking and eating until everything we had bought was gone. It was getting late, so it was time to head back home. We threw away the trash from the baked goods and then walked back to the cinema where we had left the car parked. Once we got inside the car—me in the driver’s seat again— I broke the silence between us.

“Thank you, it was nice hanging out with you today.” I said with a smile, looking at the omega. “Also that tour was helpful.”

“No worries, it’s just what friends do.” He said with a smile and a soft blush on his cheeks. I smiled back at him and then drove back to the house.