ERIK

After the outing with Raven, we started spending more time together. Thanks to this, I learned more about him, his tastes, and other details from his life. I couldn't lie, but spending time with Raven was fun and fulfilling. It was probably the bond getting to me, but I liked to believe that Raven was easy to get along with. Even if our relationship wasn’t going to develop romantically, I could see myself being friends with him. Not only have I gotten closer to Raven, but I have also managed to get to know his sisters better. Some of them already gave up on the idea of trying to get in my pants and rather wanted to talk without bad intentions. Being alone in that big house and a pride that wasn’t mine, I was grateful to have more friends. Not only closer to my age, but also younger. A lot younger. 

“Mister Prince, are you listening to me?” Little Marlon said to me, breaking me away from my thoughts. He was looking at me with a frown while reading a kids' book to me. 

“Yes, of course,” I said lying. I looked down at the book, recognizing the orange character on the cover. “So what did the Lorax do?” 

“He saved the trees from the bad guy.” The kid said excitedly with a big smile, I smiled back. 

“I see. The Lorax did a good job.” I said with a smile and then looked over the room where Miles was reading another Dr Seuss book. “What are you reading there, pal?” 

“Cat in the Hat. My favorite.” Miles said with a smile, showing me the book cover, and I nodded. Roxanne, Raven’s older sister, invited me over to her house because Miles and Marlon kept asking about me. She also had an important appointment to go to and left me with the kids in the house, and that’s where I currently was. Babysitting the twins. “I just finished too.”

“That’s a good one too.” I said with a smile and then asked. “What do you guys want to do now?” 

“Can we go to the park?” Marlon asked curiously, but Miles answered before I could.

“Mama said we can’t go out.” Miles said to his brother, putting his book away. Marlon looked disappointed.

“We could go to the backyard.” I suggested. Roxanne gave me a tour of her house, and I remembered the backyard was fenced. “I think your mom would be fine with that.”

“Oh! I want to see you.” Marlon said excitedly, jumping up from the chair and grabbing my hand, pulling me.

“Me too, me too.” Miles followed his brother’s actions, taking my free hand and pulling me up. I stood up and started walking to the back door with the kids.

“See me?” I asked confused, wondering what the twins meant with that. 

“Your big cat.” The kids said in unison, and it clicked for me. They wanted to see my leopard. I laughed when Ed huffed in my mind at the mention of him being a big cat. 

“Sure, I can show you, but you have to show me yours too.” I said with a smile.

“Yes! Yes! Let’s go!” The kids said in unison.

We walked out the back door and into the backyard. As soon as we were out, the twins let go of my hand and ran into the yard, shifting into two little brown panther cubs. Ed chuckled in my mind as we watched the cubs as they played together for a moment. They looked adorable, and then their attention came back to me. Big green eyes looking at me. Waiting for me to shift with them. I let out a chuckle and walked up to them. I took a deep breath and shifted, I was a lot bigger than they were. Their eyes looked at me fascinated. 

I don't know who took the lead, but one of the cubs playfully jumped on me. His brother followed, and soon the three of us were playing in our animal forms in the yard. The last time I played in my animal form was with my nieces, Nina and May. Roxanne’s twins reminded me so much of them, adorable and playful. We played for a while until both cubs stepped away from me and then ran away to the door that led to the house. They waited, and then I heard steps. Was Roxanne back? I shifted, and then a sweet scent hit my nose.

‘Raven.’ Ed said in my mind. The door opened, and there he was with a smile, coming outside the house. The cubs jumped on him excited causing the omega to fall on his butt. 

“Yeah, I’m happy to see you too, boys.” Raven said, giving small pets to the cubs with a big smile.  

“What are you doing here?” I asked curiously, walking to them. 

“Roxy told me you were alone with the boys, so I came to help you.” He said with a smile while still petting the cubs. “She won’t be back for a while.”

“Oh, I see. We were just playing.” I said, signaling to the yard. 

“I can see that. I brought some snacks.” The omega said and then pointed back inside the house.

“Snacks?” Marlon and Miles asked in unison. I hadn’t even noticed they shifted back. I was focused on the omega.

“Yes, your favorite ones too.” Raven said with a smile to his nieces. “How about we watch a movie?”

“Oh! Oh! Can we watch The Little Mermaid?” Marlon asked excitedly, standing up and pulling away from the omega.

“No! I want to watch Lilo and Stitch. We always watch The Little Mermaid.” Miles pouted while crossing his arms. Marlon glared at him, and Miles glared back. 

“Uhm…” Was all I could say, I didn’t know what to do in this situation, and it looked like a fight was about to go down.

“How about we watch something in between? Moana maybe?” Raven said to the rescue. Both kids turned to look a his uncle and gave it a thought. 

“Oh, I like Maui.” Marlon said, nodding with a smile.

“Chee Hooo!” Miles said while running inside the house, his brother followed, leaving me alone with Raven. I offered him a hand to help him up. 

“Thanks.” Raven said with a smile, standing up from the floor with my help. He let go of my hand and fixed his clothes. 

“No, thank you. I thought they were going to start a fight.” I sighed, and the omega shook his head, letting out a chuckle.

“I’m used to them being like this. We always have to find common ground.” He explained, and I nodded understanding. I would keep that in mind for the future.

“I didn’t think you liked kids.” I mentioned. 

“Well, your assumptions were wrong. I love kids.” Raven said with a smile. “Especially those two.”

“Would you like to have kids then?” I asked curiously. 

“Of course, but I don’t have plans of having them anytime soon. I want to focus on my band.” He explained, gave it a thought, and then said. “And it’s not like I have someone to have them with.”

I tried to hide my surprise at his last statement, but I guessed I failed because a sudden blush appeared on Raven’s cheeks. He walked inside the house without saying anything else. I was left speechless and with no idea how to react. Was he insinuating something to me? Or was that just a coincidence?

‘I would gladly give Raven some cubs. It would be lovely to see him round with them.’ Ed said happily in my mind, this time provoking me to blush at that image. I shook my head. 

‘Shut up, Ed.’ I said to my animal self as I walked inside the house, ready to watch a movie with Raven and the kids. 

Despite what happened outside, the afternoon went by smoothly. The twins were happy eating their snacks while watching Moana. Everyone was focused on the movie, and I had to silence Ed in my mind because of the obscenities he kept saying. Once the movie was over, the twins were both sleepy. We put them to bed, and then it was just us two in the living room. The silence was awkward; I didn’t know how to break the ice. The front door came to our rescue as it opened, and Roxanne walked in with a man behind her. 

“We are back!” The man said with a melodious tone, walking into the living room and locking eyes with me. “Oh! You must be Erik.”

“Honey, tone it down. You are going to scare him.” Roxanne said, and I assumed that was her husband. I could understand where the kids got their brown hair and green eyes from. 

“And the boys are sleeping.” Raven mentioned. The man rolled his eyes and walked closer to the sofa where I was sitting. I immediately stood up.

“Like brother, like sister, both bossy.” He sighed and then extended his hand to me. “Anyways, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Loui.” 

“Nice to meet you too, sir.” I shook his hand with a gentle smile and then let go.

“No need to be so stiff, we are family. When you bond with Raven that is.” He said with a big smile giving soft pats on my shoulder. I froze at his word.

“Uhmm…” Was all that came out of my mouth. 

“Loui! Don’t say that.” Roxanne scolded her husband. Loui looked at her confused, and then at us.

“Why not? Are you not planning on bonding? You are fated mates.” The man said, staring at me. I didn’t know what to answer.

“We are fated mates, but that doesn’t mean we are forming a bond.” Raven said in a serious tone.

“But why?” The alpha asked, still confused.

“It’s complicated, okay?” Raven said, annoyed, but also upset and…sad? He sighed. “Whatever. You are here now, we can leave. Have a good night.” 

“It was nice to meet you. Say bye to the kids for me.” I said to the couple with a gentle but awkward smile. “Good night.” 

As I walked to the door, I heard Roxanne scolding her husband for his big mouth. When I got out of the house, Raven was nowhere to be seen. I sighed and walked the way home alone. On the way, I couldn’t stop thinking about Raven’s reaction. He looked upset, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. Because I was the problem, and I didn’t know how to solve it. Just like Raven had said, it’s complicated.