Capítulo 7: Aris(2) - (Storm's POV)
I smiled at her. "I like you. Can we be friends?"
I was so excited to tell Makai about Aris. She seemed like someone who would appreciate him. Maybe they could be friends too.
My mother exhales in shock, and my father shakes his head in disbelief.
"You can't be friends with the Seer, Storm," Quinn says softly.
I frowned, casting a glance at my new friend, who is staring at me with wide eyes.
"Why not?"
My father sighed. "Because she's the Seer. You can't just befriend a divine being."
"But everyone needs friends," I countered. "It must be lonely to live for centuries seeing people come and go."
I glanced at Aris. "Do you have any friends?"
She gives me a strange look and shakes her head slowly, then stops abruptly as if remembering something or someone.
"There's this...witch... I suppose she qualifies as a friend. She is the only person who has treated me normally. Until you."
If my family was surprised that the oldest werewolf's only friend was a witch, they don't show it.
I give her a friendly smile. "Then can we also be friends?"
She beams at me, and a warm feeling of joy fills the room, touching everyone and eliciting smiles.
"Of course, Storm. We could be friends. Thank you for your interest in becoming my friend."
I smile triumphantly at my family and stand to hug my new friend. She looks surprised at first, but then warmly embraces me.
When we separate, she shakes her head in awe. "Thank you, Storm. I haven't had a hug in decades."
My family looks at me with disbelief, as if they can't believe I just hugged the Divine Seer.
I can't imagine going a day without a hug, let alone decades. Thinking about it makes me sad, and I feel a wave of sympathy for the beautiful woman.
She takes a deep breath and then her face becomes solemn. "Now, for the main reason I'm here. When you sent word about Storm, I arrived as soon as I could. I've been looking forward to this for years. I was aware that a Raai had been born, but I had no idea where he or she was."
"That's strange. We informed the council as soon as we discovered he possessed magical abilities years ago. We had no idea what he was or why he possessed magic. It was the council who revealed to us that he is a Raai, a werewolf born with magical abilities."
"Yes, and I should have been notified as soon as you reported Storm's abilities, but there was an oversight, and the council member who responded to you decided to be incompetent. There is no record of your communication at all. They know to notify me if anything unusual occurs, and any Council Member worth their salt understands that Raais are very special, and the fact that one has been born now is monumental."
In her anger, her eyes turn amber, and I almost feel sorry for the Council Member who had wronged her.
She had appeared to be a beautiful, strong queen before, but now I could see the power oozing from her, and for the first time since I'd seen her, I see the divine priestess, and finally understand why my parents and Quinn had been horrified by my casual relationship with her.
"I didn't realize I was that special," I say, attempting to alleviate some of the tension in the room caused by the outburst.
When Aris smiles at me, I feel rewarded. "Storm, you're truly special. Even your parents don't realize how unique you are. As we speak, you're the only Raai in the world."
I glance at my parents in shock, who were looking at me proudly.
"Being a Raai is one of the reasons you're so friendly," Aris continues. "A Raai is a gift to any pack because you brighten their lives and encourage them to be better. Your presence helps the pack to thrive. They want to please you, so any words of praise or encouragement from you motivate them to go above and beyond to make you happy."
Quinn reaches over to ruffle my hair affectionately while Dad nods in agreement.
"Hey! Hands off the hair!"
"This is exactly what happens. Everyone just wants Storm to be happy." Mom confirms with a smile.
Aris nods and continues, "You expected to be able to sense your mate the way alpha families do, but that wouldn't work for you because Raais don't find their mates that way."
"What?"
The room fills with relief, and my mother's eyes fill. "Thank you, Goddess. I was terrified that something had happened to his mate, which was why he couldn't smell him or her."
I am taken aback by how much relief I feel from my family. I had no idea they were so concerned about my unmated status.
Quinn pats my cheek, sensing my surprise. "We didn't want you to see how concerned we were, but we were all extremely worried."
I feel a wave of guilt. While I had been mostly content to stay in my unrequited love with Makai, my family had been deeply worried about me.
"How does a Raai find his mate then?" Dad inquired, asking the question that has been on everyone's mind since she had said Raais find their mates differently.
"Simple, really. A Raai finds his or her mate through touch. Or more accurately, you become aware of each other as mates the moment you touch."
My eyes widened, and I notice my parents' surprised expressions. Quinn bursts out laughing. "Is that why the runt is so touchy-feely? All this while he's been subconsciously searching for his mate?"
I elbow at him for using the irritating childhood nickname, but he simply laughs harder.
"Exactly. Raais are very affectionate, which is due in part to the fact that they can only recognize their mate through physical contact."
Wow. That was not what I had expected.
But something didn't feel right.
"So, if his mate is in another country and they never meet, he won't be able to find him? because if they have to touch first, what if he never gets the chance?" Dad asks, voicing out my concern before I could.
Aris sighs and shakes her head. "That's not going to happen. A Raai's mate, known as a Rekan, can never be too far away from his Raai, even if they're unmated and unaware of what they are to each other."
"What is a Rekan?" I'd never heard of a Rekan before.
"There's a lot I need to explain, but it'll be better if we wait until we find your mate because he needs to hear everything as well. You two are special. He is, however, unquestionably a member of this pack."
Huh
"A Rekan will always be close to his Raai's home. Even if you travel elsewhere without him, he will stay because this is your home and he knows you'll return. He won't do it on purpose, but he won't be able to stay anywhere else but where you call home."
"He? So his mate is a man?" Mom inquires.
"Definitely. A Raai can be female, but a Rekan is always male."
I scoff at how happy the news makes them. My family and the pack both seem to think I need a keeper, and I know they were all hoping for a male mate for me. I had hoped for a male mate as well, but for different reasons. I stifle a laugh as I imagine how horrified they'd be if Makai had turned out to be my mate.
My internal laughter stops abruptly as a thought occurs to me.
Wait. Wait a second. Makai.
I turn back to Aris, who was staring at me with an incomprehensible expression on her face. Trying to remain calm, I asked neutrally,
"You said I had to touch my mate to recognize them as such, correct?"
"That's what she just said," Dad confirms with a frown, probably perplexed as to why I was asking such an obvious question.
I barely spare him a glance. My attention is completely focused on Aris, who nods with a slight smile on her face.
"Does that also mean that my mate wouldn't know I'm his unless we touch?"
She nods again.
"So it's possible we've interacted before without realizing we're mates."
I say it as a statement rather than a question, but she understands the question and nods once more. "In fact, it's more likely to be someone you already care deeply about. A friend, or someone you've been interacting with for a while," she adds. She appeared to be about to say something, but then she glanced at my family and stopped.
Quinn snorted. "He hugs everybody. It's difficult for me to believe that Storm has been friends with someone for ten minutes and hasn't hugged them yet. I don't think there is any person who can resist the hugs."
But there is. There is a gorgeous, infuriating man in my life whom I had never been given the chance to touch. The only person I cared about that I never hug or touch in any way.
Was it possible...?
As hope begins to bloom, my heart thumps wildly against my chest.
"Quinn is correct. Storm gives everyone a hug. I mean, he hugged a divine priestess no alpha would even consider touching minutes after meeting you," Dad adds doubtfully.
But there's this ridiculously stubborn man who refuses to let me hug him, I think inwardly, but don't say anything.
Mom appears to be thinking as well, no doubt sifting through her mental records of all the eligible young men in my circle.
"Goddess, please let it be him," I chant in my head, afraid to even mention his name for fear of jinxing it. The Goddess was well aware of who I was referring to. She's heard this prayer a thousand times before.
My eyes widen slightly when Aris suddenly stares at me with a smile, her eyes glowing blue. Why was she gazing at me in that way? Had I said it out loud?
A quick glance at my family proves that I had not. When I return my gaze to Aris, she has a knowing smile on her face.
"You said earlier that you had a celebration tomorrow, right?" she asks my dad, her gaze still fixed on me.
"We do, indeed. We plan to celebrate Quinn and Storm's return. There will even be a Pit fight that was added at the last minute by Paul. Paul is my Beta." He adds the last bit when he realizes that Aris wouldn't know who Paul was.
She nods with a quick glance at him, then returns her gaze to mine.
"Will everyone be there?"
"Yes, as with every pack, free food draws out the masses. And with the addition of the Pit we're hosting, even our neighbors won't be able to miss it," Quinn responds, and Aris nods again, but she is still looking at me as if waiting for something.
When I realize what the silent question is, my eyes widen. She wasn't actually asking about everyone. She wanted to know about the presence of a particular person.
My suspicion is confirmed when she smiles broadly after I give her a barely noticeable nod. She then turns to face my family. "Excellent! I know exactly what will draw him out and give us a touching moment!"
I grinned, excitement building and spreading quickly throughout my frame.
My family feels my excitement, and my mother gets up from her seat to hug me."Oh, my darling! I can feel your joy. I'm so happy for you. Are you nervous?"
Resting my head on her bosom, I hug her back with a huge smile on my face.
"I'm excited. I can't wait to meet my mate."
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