Ryder
"Okay kids, I want you all to behave yourself, no arguing and fighting, and especially no circumstance that any of you shift during or before dinner or even after. We will be kind and respectful today. Understood?" Said, Mom
"Yeah," everyone said softly
"I can't hear that, is that understood?"Said Mom again.
"Yes!" everyone said attentively.
"Good, now everyone can do whatever you want and be ready at 7 pm for dinner, scratch that, 6:30 pm. Wear your best evening wear and I do not mean Jeans and tank tops Brooklyn." Mom said to Brooklyn.
"Stella, you know you can relax, we are not entertaining the queen you know? It's our friends, we went and ate chili fries with them. Just calm down, they would not care if our kids seemed a bit hyper." Said Dad. Mom agreed but if I know her she is still worried. I understand her, she has so many kids.
"Mom, Dad. Can I talk to you?" I said while approaching them.
"Sure Ryder, come sit with us. Something has been on your mind, hasn't it?" said Dad while we sat on the couch
"You noticed?" I asked. They just nodded.
"What's wrong, is it because of Emily's boys? They won't dare to do anything to trigger Max. If I know Emily, she will shut their egos down!" said mom
"Well, It's not that, it is just something happening to Max when school started, he suddenly had a feeling of jumping, like he was waiting excitedly for someone," I said while standing up and pacing. "Then, we suddenly smelled something, there was a scent of rose in the air. No one was wearing perfumes that smelled like that, it made me dizzy, and then during the party." trying to catch my breath." Max mind mind-block me! How is that even possible?"
"Woah, Woah, Ryder sit down, please breathe and calm down. So let's begin from the top, you said Max was jumpy and excited, you started smelling flowers and his mind blocked you. I think I know what it is but I need more information when you were at school what happened after you smelled the scent of flowers?" said Mom.
"Yes, and even some sweet lemony scent too! suddenly Miss Lily asked me to get the attendance list and when I got there, it became stronger. I got the list and then Miss Watsons asked me to show Aurora and her brothers around, ''I said until mom stopped me.
"Wait Aurora and her brothers were there?"
"Yeah, they just started school on that day. Why?"
"Nothing, okay then during the party the Rossi kids were there with you?"
"No, I saw Aurora alone and scared so I asked her to follow me, we played a few party games and then somehow Max suddenly said something along the lines of "It can't be or it's impossible," I said still confused that I didn't ask Max about that, I was afraid he would block me again.
I looked at Mom and Dad. Mom looked shocked but happy while Dad just seemed calm and smiling. "oh my goodness, I am so happy for you! Well, it's not confirmed yet but maybe it is possible, I think it's possible" Mom looked at Dad. "Andy, is it possible?"
He just put his hand on Mom's leg. " We are just happy for you, that you finally found her at such a young age. Seems very rare," said Dad
"Quite early isn't it?" said mom
"Find who?" I said as I was still confused with the exchange between my parents.
"Your Mate!" said mom
"Your Mate!" Said, Dad
I looked at them shocked, I couldn't fathom what they said, it's like I heard what they said but I couldn't get it.
"Come again?" I said still in shock.
"Yeah, what you are experiencing is you and your feline have found your mate." Mom explained.
"Wait, that's impossible, who is my mate? Aurora? But she isn't a were person?" I told mom
"Well, it is possible, there are more and more that their mates aren't a wereperson and I never met anyone whose mate is not a wereperson, but I have heard of it and it just happens. But for now, I think we should just wait since it's an early stage. If the feelings do continue then it is confirmed." Mom said and Dad nodded.
"Well, if that is true then Brooklyn found her mate too since she had the same feeling that I had," I said to mom
Dad stopped nodding and turned to me. "Say what now!? Brooklyn?"
I nodded back when I realized I exposed her, I tried to change the subject. " Oh speaking of a feeling and Aurora. When we were at the Briar's Family Cafe, I had this sense around Aurora that seemed strange in a way," I said
"Strange? What do you mean by strange?" Mom asked
Dad interrupted "About Brooklyn's mate Ryder."
"Andy, not now we will talk about it with her later" Mom responded to Dad. "Now, Ryder, the strange sense?"
"Okay, my senses felt a familiar feeling around her, and when Sonia's mom, you know her." Mom nodded. "She felt something familiar with her too, she said that Aurora's Aura is nothing that we should be afraid of. Quote her mom "She is an Allied, not a threat. I asked
I looked at Mom and she looked uncomfortable and nervous "Well, I think we need to tell you something, Ryder, it's about Aurora's family. The reason we know them is that Emily, Aurora's mom.... She is ... she is" mom stuttered
Suddenly the doorbell rang. "Oh, it's 7 pm already? Well, I think we should talk about this later Ryder." Mom said while standing up as quickly as she could and walking towards the door.
"kids!!!! they are here, get down now!" Mom called and Everyone came down quickly and was standing in one spot together. I just sat down on the couch which Brooklyn did too. I was still trying to process and maybe understand what my mom was trying to say. Does she know something about Aurora? Is Aurora a Mythical Creature like me, like us? What is going on?
Mom went on to open the door and Aurora and her family were there and our parents hugged each other. Aurora's mom brought champagne. Josh and Alex were looking at me angrily and were giving me the eye. Her other brother Nick, on the other hand, was just acting normal.
I came nearer Aurora when I saw her, the smell and sense came back again, and she turned around. "Oh Ryder, your house is really big!" she said with amazement.
"Yeah, even if it is big, it still seems crowded since there are 7 of us, well soon to be 8 with the baby coming soon to the family," I said, I still felt her brothers staring at me like they were ready to punch me.
Mom asked us all to go to the dining table as dinner would be ready. I suddenly saw Brooklyn acting strange. She walks towards Nick.
"Hi there, what's your name stranger?" she said
*Stranger?*
Nick smiled at her " Hi, My name is Nick, I am in the same class as your brother over there" he said pointing at me.
"Oh really? Well, he never mentioned you before? But that's okay, my name is Brooklyn. I'm 14 and going to be 15 soon." she said while twirling her hair.
"Nice to meet you, Brooklyn," Nick said with a smile. Brooklyn started to blush.
*If it is true about the mate sense, that means..... Brooklyn's mate is Nick? Wow, talking about siblings are alike.*
We all went to sit down, I sat in front of Aurora because her brothers might be upset with me if I sat next to her. But their mom made them sit somewhere further. Brooklyn insisted that she sit in front of Nick and Dad didn't notice and I was glad he didn't.
Everything went fine, all went well and our parents started their conversation.
"I can't believe you had 7 kids, I mean going to 8 kids soon. You and Andy have been busy. So I forgot to introduce my kids, you know Aurora, that over there sitting next to your daughter is Nick.'' Suddenly she mumbled. "The 2 that are glaring at your son are my older ones, Josh and Alex."
"Oh well, since you already met Ryder, the one in front of your son is Brooklyn, there are the twins Kayla and Mia. Beside them is Gracie and then Adrien and finally little Carol.'' Suddenly Carol with her mouth full smiled widely. Being her cute self.
After dinner, Alex and Josh were playing with my siblings because if I knew my siblings they would annoy them until they did. They get bored easily. Nick and Brooklyn started talking and it turns out they had something in common like nature and outdoor things Aurora told me that, even though he prefers being indoors, he does like camping. Our parents continued to talk about the old times and Aurora and I were just having our conversation about school until.
"Who are you?" Said Carol.
"Well, My name is Aurora, what is your name?" Aurora said while squatting down to her level.
"My name is Carol, are you Aurora, like the pwincess? You don't look like the pwincess. But you are pwetty, you can be a pwincess" she said
"Well, thank you, Carol, you're pretty too," said Aurora. I just looked at them, she fits so well with my family and I see Aurora having fun like she is not as nervous or as scared as she was at the party. She seems happier. Her smile shines in the room.
Max *Speaking of all this, I am glad she is more comfortable with us now"
Ryder * And where have you been?*
Max *On a break to think*
Ryder *Well you heard what mom said, is it true, is Aurora our mate? Is that why?*
Max *Not sure, there is something strange with her, the senses are cutting a lot of signals, but I think she is our mate*
Ryder * yup, wow we finally agreed on something. That's good.*
"Look what I found!" shouted Mom and we all looked at her. She was waving around a photo album. Everyone went to her and huddled up to see what was in it.
Mom opened the photo album. "Mommy what is that?" said Adrien trying to look inside the album.
"Well, this is a photo album, it holds a lot of pictures and memories in it, this was before the thumb drive and the cloud.." Mom said as she flipped the pages. On those pages, there were lots of photos of our family, our relatives and our friends. But at the back, there were continuous photos of teens who I did not seem familiar with.
"Wow isn't that a blast from the past, remember that when you were in the squad and me and Izzy were cheering you on. How ironic was that," said Emily. Mom turned a page where she was with a photo of her with a bunch of other teens around her.
"Mom, are those your friends?" said Brooklyn suddenly joining in.
"Yup, that is me and your father, Emily, James, those are also our friends, Aiko and Kei, and finally Toni and Izzy," said Mom
Aurora looked at the photo and pointed at one of the men, Toni. "That man looks familiar," Aurora said
Emily and James were about to say something but got cut off by Mom. "Well, he should. That's your uncle Toni." All the Rossi kids were confused
"Oh yeah, Uncle Toni!, we haven't seen him since what the 5th grade?" said Josh
"Yeah, he bought us a lot of cool presents mom won't let us play outside," said Alex looking at Emily who shot a look back.
"And who is the girl beside him?" Aurora asked
All of our parents seem reluctant to answer. "That...... She is your uncle Toni's late wife, Izzy. Short for Isabella and she was my best friend" replied Emily
"Well, She looks really beautiful" Aurora smiled
Emily teared up "Oh Aurora, I wish you could have met her, she would have loved you and spoiled you. You know sometimes you kind of remind me of her, the way you smile, the way you act."
"Hey Mom, who is that man beside you?" asked Kayla
Mom looked at it and was nervous and anxious. She looked at me and quickly closed the book. "No one, sweetie," Mom said with a very forceful smile.
Max *Why does mom look scared?*
Ryder *I don't know.*
The night went from Awkward to pleasant and then went completely emotional and cranked up to strange after seeing Mom's reaction to that photo.
Everyone went back home and I slept well that night. School was normal, homework, quizzes, PE, etc. Until another strange thing happened when I passed the school's swimming pool. I heard people shouting and screaming, I also picked up the scent of a few people I knew inside. Mikayla, Kimiko, Liam and Aurora? I could also feel panic and fear.
A bunch of girls ran out and I heard them going to the nurse's office for help, I rushed into the swimming pool and I saw everyone was huddled up. I squeezed in to see what was going and then I was shocked again. My heart suddenly felt pressured and felt Max feeling sad yet angry and so was I. With sight, we saw.......
Aurora was lying on the floor with her eyes closed and Liam was there going near to her. The feeling is I was worried about Aurora but yet somehow I felt jealous. Angry? The pressure in my chest was the first I had ever felt.
Was my mom right? Do I have feelings for Aurora and part of the mate bond? Is this why Max was acting crazy?
All the questions in my head started spinning but one question in particular that pops up in my mind in that moment.
*Is Aurora my mate?*