RAVEN

Our pride was full of traditions, and one of them was the long-awaited Sun Festival. It happened once a year, and today was the big day. The Sun Festival was a day filled with activities around the Pride grounds. There were food stalls at the plaza, as well as trinket stalls that sold sun-based items. Around the forest, there were other activities to enjoy, such as painting, running, and various competitions. It was what you could call a big carnival, games and all. 

‘And also the perfect place to go out on a date.’ Rion said in my mind, making me blush.

‘I told you, it’s not a date. We are just going to introduce Erik to the festival.’ I said, making sure he understood the real reason for our outing. ‘It’s his first time after all.’

‘I wonder how our first time will be. Since he is straight, we probably will have to take the lead.’ Rion purred in my mind. I blushed at the memory of the dream I had with Erik. 

‘You perverted feline. Don’t think about that.’ I scolded him, embarrassed to bring up those memories. Because it hadn’t happened just once, Erik continued to visit me in my dreams every night.

‘I’m just saying.’ Rion giggled mischievously. 

‘Well, shut it.’ 

At that moment, Erik arrived at Roxanne’s to pick me up. I decided to meet here, as the plaza was going to be crowded with people. After all, the Sun Festival was an event open to other Bramville townsfolk, too. 

“Hey, you ready?” Erik asked with a smile.

“Yes, are you excited?” I nodded and smiled back at him.

“I am a bit nervous.” He admitted.

“You are going to love the Sun Festival. There’s so much to do, and at night there’s a concert.” I explained and then pointed at myself with a cheeky smile. “Of course, yours truly is going to play with his band.”

“Cool. I can’t wait.” He said, winking at me. Making me blush a little.

“Let’s get going then.” I said, walking on the way to the plaza.

On the way there, Erik and I talked about some things. He mentioned how my dad asked him for some help with a legal matter and how excited he was about it. It made me realize he had been staying with us for almost a month and had no work. He must be bored, so Dad asking him for advice was a good thing. I wondered how much longer he was planning to stay in Bramville. What if he left and I didn’t see him again? No. Just thinking about that made my chest hurt, and I didn’t want to be hurt today. Today I was going to enjoy our date.

‘So you admit it is one.’ Rion said. And that’s when I realized my thoughts, blushing softly.

‘Fuck.’

‘I win.’ Rion said.

As expected, the plaza was full of people, and most stalls were busy with lines, but we managed to find one not as busy. An antique shop whose owner I recognized. Elyon Winfyr, a beta elf wizard in town. When he was old enough, he took over his family's antique shop and sold spells for the people who needed them. Elyon never missed out on the Sun Festival because the antiques he owns are the most beautiful and unique ones. And we had gone to school together, so I considered him a friend.

“Hi Elyon.” I said with a gentle smile.

“Raven, hi.” He smiled at me and then looked curiously at Erik, and then back at me. A look that I started to get used to because once people saw me with Erik, all they did was that. As of now, I already knew the rumor had spread that Erik was my fated mate. At first, I had feared people finding out, but now I was just grateful they didn’t mention or say anything inappropriate to us.

“This is Erik. Erik, this is Elyon Winfyr. Our town's wizard and antiques specialist.” I said, introducing them.

“Oh please, the specialist is my dad. I just take care of the store.” Elyon said with a chuckle and then looked at the alpha. “It’s nice to meet you, Erik.”

“Nice to meet you too, Elyon.” Erik said with a gentle smile and then asked something that was probably bothering him. “You are a…beta?”

“Erik!” I said scolding him for asking that, but I guess his intrusive thoughts won, and I didn’t blame him. I always thought Elyon was an omega, but he didn’t have a scent or wear a collar. I had memories of him having a scent in school, but thinking about it now, it was probably perfume.

“I am, yes.” He said with a smile. 

“Huh. Sorry for being rude.” Erik said with an apologetic smile and then explained. “It’s just you don’t look like a beta.”

“It’s okay. I get that a lot. My mom’s elven genes are strong in me.” Elyon explained.

“Makes sense.” Erik said and then looked down at the table spread in front of us. 

“Anything caught your eye?” I asked the alpha, also looking down at the spread on the table.

“I was thinking of buying something for my nieces and my nephew.” Erik mentioned.

“How old are they?” Elyon asked curiously.

“The girls are 9 and Milo is 5.” The alpha answered looking at the beta. 

“I have some kid-friendly items for you.” Elyon said, grabbing a box from under the table and then showing us its contents—colorful rope bracelets and necklaces with sun charms. 

“Wow. These are so cute.” Erik mentioned grabbing some of them and showing them to me. “Maybe I should get some for Marlon and Miles.”

“That’s a great idea, Erik. Their birthday is in a few days.” I mentioned and he looked at me with surprise.

“Really? That’s great timing.” He said with a chuckle, turning down to look at more of the bracelets. Grabbing a few of them and then showing them to Elyon. “I will take these.” 

“Thank you for your purchase, Erik,” Elyon said, taking them and placing them in a small paper bag. “I hope your nieces and nephew love them.”

“I’m sure they will.” Erik said with a smile, paying for everything.

After saying goodbye to Elyon, we continued to check out the other stalls. I even bought presents for my nephews too. Spending time with Erik was fun, and our date—Yes, I said it— was going perfectly. At one point, I unconsciously grabbed his hand, and I blushed when I realized.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” I said, letting go of his hand quickly. To my surprise, Erik grabbed it back.

“It’s okay. There are a lot of people, and I don’t want to lose you.” He said with a gentle smile that made my cheeks burn harder. My heart was jumping like crazy in my chest, and butterflies filled my stomach. 

“Okay.” Was all I said, deciding not to fight him and just go along with him. If before people were staring at us for walking together, now I could feel more stares on us and even murmurs that were probably about us. Not letting it bother me, I decided to just own it and enjoy the warm hand of Erik in mine. 

‘Imagine how his hand would feel in other parts of us.’ Rion said in my mind, and I quickly scolded him. ‘Shut it, you pervert.’ I tried my best not to think of it and continued taking Erik around.

ERIK

Spending my day with Raven at the festival had been great so far. I was fascinated with all the goodies being sold, so I even bought some gifts for my family. We finished at the plaza and went to the carnival and game sections, playing together and against each other. Our versus-counter wins were similar, as we both took wins in some of them. We even made our way to the part of the games that had prizes, those big plushies kids wanted all the time. I considered myself lucky and decided to try one, but Raven made his doubt in me clear.

“There is no way you are going to win this game,” Raven said looking at all the balloons on the wall and the darts you were supposed to throw at them. “They are made so you lose every time.”

“So you have never won one?” I asked with a smirk. Raven blushed, and I took that as an answer, not holding back my laugh.

“What if I haven’t? They are made to make you lose. It’s a scam, Erik.” Raven said, frowning at me. 

“Raven, Raven, Raven. Just because you are bad, it doesn’t mean the game is rigged.” I explained. 

“Well, since you are so full of yourself and confident…” Raven said with a frown, looking at the prizes and then back at me. With his hand pointing at the big prize.  “Then get me that big leopard plush.” 

“You sure about that?” I asked, looking at the plush and then back at him.

“What? You are chickening out, aren’t you? You can’t actually win it.” He said with a smirk, and I wanted to erase that smile off his face.

“Challenge accepted.” I said, taking out a dollar and buying the darts.

The face Raven had when I handed him the plush I won for him was gold. He really doubted I could win it, but I had skills, great aim, and I knew how to win a game like that, so it was easy for me to get the big prize. Now we walked around the festival with our joined hands and a big leopard plush. The looks on us made me realize that to many, we looked like a happy couple on a date, and the idea didn't bother me. After all the events from previous days, I started to realize the bond was just there, and what I was feeling for Raven had nothing to do with it. If this were a date, then I would treat it like one.

Once we were both hungry, we bought some snacks at a food stall and sat on a free bench near the area. We sat sideways, looking at each other as we ate. The leopard plush on Raven’s lap. It was cute seeing him with it, and I could tell he liked it.

“So you like leopards, huh?” I asked mischievously.

“What? The plush, yeah. It’s cute.” He said looking at it with a smile.

“No, I meant in general.” I said with a smile. His eyes locked with mine. “I’m a leopard, remember.”

“Huh? What? No, no.” Raven said flustered and blushing. 

“Should I play again and get the black panther one? We could match that way.” I said jokingly.

“Why would you get that?” He asked confused.

“Because I like black panthers, duh.” I said, waiting to see his reaction. Was I flirting with Raven? Yes. Did I regret it? No.

“So you like me?” Raven asked with a curious look. 

“Maybe.” I said taking a sip of my drink. Raven looked at me, and something in his eyes changed. I gulped and decided to change the topic; I didn’t want to talk about feelings yet. Feelings I didn’t have clear. 

After a quick chat, Raven said he was going to get some ice cream at a stall. I offered to go with him, but he said to stay and take care of our leopard plush. Orders were orders, so I waited, looking at the plush next to me. I realized its pattern was similar to mine, and even the eyes were green. Ed roared proudly, knowing that Raven had something that looked like us. Maybe I should get that black panther plush. Ed approved. Raven came back to me, holding two cones of ice cream, offering one to me and taking back his seat at the bench.

“Erik.” Raven said, and I turned to him.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Give me your free hand.” I did as he asked and felt something soft in my palm. I looked at it. It was a keychain with a black panther plush. “For you. To thank you for getting me the leopard.”

“Raven, you didn’t have to.” I said out of politeness, but I was happy he did it. My heart fluttered and I wished Raven couldn’t hear how loud it was. “Thank you. I really like it.”

We ate our ice creams in silence, and then I had a sudden uneasy feeling. I felt eyes on me, as if I was being watched. Discreetly, I looked around to see if I noticed anything strange, but I didn't. Everyone present was just enjoying the festival. I shook the feeling away and continued to enjoy the rest of my date with Raven. 

By the time the sky got dark and the festival came to an end, Raven had to go up on stage with his friends. I took a great spot near the stage, and when the show started, I was once again hypnotized by Raven’s stage presence. You could tell how much he loved it, and I wanted him and his band to be successful someday. My eyes went to the crowd to see their reaction; everyone was enjoying the music. Amongst the crowd, I noticed Elyon. Unlike the others, he was just staring at the stage with a melancholic look. I decided to follow his gaze until it locked on Liam. My eyes went back to Elyon again, and I noticed something else in his gaze. Want. Yearn. Did he have feelings for Liam? 

My curiosity was killing me. I had a feeling the elf was hiding something. He presented himself as a beta, but I felt like there was more to it than that. But it was a mystery I shouldn’t solve. I went back to staring at Raven play. At one point, our eyes met, the omega smiled and winked at me. My stomach filled with butterflies, and my chest burned with want. I wanted Raven. No. I needed him. I took a deep breath, realizing my feelings. 

I like Raven.

I want him to be mine.

My omega.

My fated mate.

‘I win.’ Ed’s mischievous voice said in my mind.