PIPER

When I walked into my room, I went straight to the big box lying on top. Opening it and watching what it contained made me more curious about where we were going for our date. Inside the box, there was a suit, olive green with some details of darker olive. I loved it, especially since green was one of my favorite colors—Donovan remembered it and that made me feel happy and special.

Not wanting to make him wait I took a shower and got ready. The suit fitted me perfectly and I would have to thank Donovan for buying it for me. He has gifted me many things over the past weeks, and I decided whenever I get the chance, I will buy him something special. I reached for my phone as I heard it constantly ringing, I sighed and got nervous as I saw the name on the screen: Oakley, my best friend—A nymph who owned the flower shop/nursery that was close to my shop. We met the first day I got to Bramville and instantly matched. I realized that I had been so distracted and hadn’t texted him in a while. He was probably upset because he was not used to calling me. He hated phone calls. 

‘Priya, what do we do now? What should we tell him?’ I asked anxious to my serpent self. ‘You could just tell him the truth.’ Priya said uninterested. 

‘But what if he reacts badly? You know how dramatic he is sometimes.’ I said unsure. ‘Just do it. You don’t lose anything. He will find out eventually.’ Priya said and I sighed, gathering the courage to take the call, prepared for what was coming. Hitting the green button and instantly regretting it.

“Where the fuck have you been Piper Decker? Did you forget you have a friend who worries about you if you don’t show a sign you are alive?” I heard my friend's voice from the speaker of my phone. Yup, he was angry. “Also why are you not in your house and why is your shop closed? Yes, I went to look for you.”

“Hi, Oak. I’m so sorry, it’s a long story.” I said awkwardly sitting on my bed.

“Well, I’m listening. I have time.” He said in a serious tone. ‘You might, but we don’t. Donovan is waiting.’ Priya said in the back of my mind and he was right. I decided to be honest with my friend.

“Uhm…I don’t. I have a date.” I answered waiting to see his reaction. The line went quiet for a moment until I heard a scream.

“A what?! Since when have you been going on dates?” Oakley said confused.  

“I told you it’s a long story. I will call you back and tell you everything, okay?” I said trying to make him call down a bit.

“Okay fine. I’ll take it. But it’s unfair that Ezra found out first that you were taking a vacation.” He said and by the tone of his voice, I knew he was upset about that. 

“I had to let him know that I wouldn’t be able to supply for the cafe,” I explained to him. Ezra was another one of my friends, he owned one of the most popular cafes in town and I often supplied sweets and bread for him. 

“Fine, fine. At least tell me your date is hot.” Oakley sighed. The image of Donovan came to my mind and I smiled.

“He is. In fact, he is my fated mate.” I said and then covered my mouth realizing I had told him about our bond. Something I didn’t want to tell him yet.

“Your what?!” My friend screamed again. 

“Oops. Sorry…I can’t…hear…” I said cutting between words to make him think I was losing the signal and as I heard him scream my name I hung up. 

‘He is going to kill me.’

DONOVAN

I felt grateful to Richard for the outfit he had chosen for Piper, just seeing him dressed in that outfit made me feel hypnotized by his beauty. Green really was his color. And the fit was perfect for the restaurant. ‘Il Trionfo’ was one of the best and fanciest restaurants in town, a perfect place for a date. Richard had even made a reservation in one of the restaurant's private rooms, something I was also grateful for since the moment we walked inside the restaurant, the people present kept giving us curious looks. Not only at me, but also at Piper, and that made me feel a bit jealous.

“This restaurant is really nice, I’ve always seen it from outside,” Piper said taking me away from my thoughts. 

“I’m glad it is to your liking,” I said with a smile and decided it was time to compliment his looks. “You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you, you also look handsome today,” Piper said with a smile and a soft blush on his cheeks.

“I should because I wanted to impress you,” I said with a smirk.

“Well, I’m impressed.” His giggle made me smile. “Thank you for the suit by the way. You remembered my favorite color is green.”

“Of course I remembered, it’s about you,” I said smiling and was starting to feel a bit thirsty. “Would you like some wine?”

“Yes, wine would be nice,” Piper said nodding.

Calling for the waiter, he brought us the menus and I ordered a bottle of good red wine for us. He left us to decide what food we wanted while looking for the wine and cups. I went through the menu and then gave Piper a look. His eyebrows were frowned and he was biting his lower lip softly. Something was wrong.

“Is something wrong?” I asked worried, our eyes met and Piper nodded.

“It’s just…this food is so expensive. Is it really okay for us to spend this much?” Piper said still with his brows furrowed. 

“Oh, don’t worry. You can order whatever you want. The price is not a problem.” I said reassuring him there was no problem with prices. 

“Are you sure?” Piper asked still unsure.

“Yes, order what you want. I want to pamper you a lot.” I said with a smile. 

“Okay.” Piper said blushing and looking down at the menu again.

The waiter came back inside the room placing wine glasses for both of us at the table and then opening a brand new bottle of red wine. I recognized the brand and approved of the waiter’s choice. I looked down at the menu finally choosing a dish that was to my liking, immediately telling the waiter and Piper did the same. The man left the room leaving us alone once again.

“So…any news on the auction people?” Piper asked biting his lip.

At that moment I felt bad, I didn’t know what to do. Should I tell him about them or not? Should I lie? Tell the truth? I was taking my time to answer and Piper was giving me some confused looks at my reaction. ‘Tell him the truth. It’s not good to lie to your mate.’ Dorian said in the back of my mind. I sighed, deciding what I was doing.

“No, the police are still looking for them. It will probably take more time to find them.” I ended up lying to him and Dorian disapproved. ‘You will regret this Donovan.’ Dorian said sighing. ‘I know.’

“Oh, okay. Make sure to tell me when there’s any news.” Piper said with a soft smile and I nodded.

“I will. I’m sure they will be found soon.” I said with a soft smile and then drank some of my wine. ‘I’m sorry, Piper.’

“I have something else to ask you,” Piper said after taking a sip of his wine.

“Ask away,” I said with a smile, curious about what he wanted to know.

“Is it okay if I tell my best friend about what happened?” He said and then continued to explain. “He called me earlier and I had completely forgotten to text him where I was and he was upset about that.”

“Yes, of course. I don’t have any problem with you telling him about all that happened. About us.” I said with a smile. I didn’t want him to keep me a secret, I wanted everyone to know that we were fated mates.

“Thank you. He can be dramatic sometimes, but he is my best friend.” Piper said with a smile, it made me feel jealous but I shook the feeling away.

“He must really care about you. He sounds like a good friend.” I said and Piper giggled—my favorite sound as of lately. 

“He is, he is one of my dearest friends,” Piper said, and then his eyes filled with a glimmer of curiosity. “What about you? Do you have any close friends?”

“I do actually,” I answered with a smile. I had many ‘friends’ but there was only one person that I actually cared for. “His name is Conrad. We grew up together, he is Richard and Genevith’s son.”

“Oh. I didn’t know they had a son. I’ve never seen him.” Piper said, confusion in his face.

“He doesn’t live with us. He lives in another city, he is a cop.” I explained to him and Piper nodded, understanding.

“You must miss him then.” My omega mentioned and I wouldn’t lie to him about this. I did miss spending time with Conrad but the job he had over in that city was important for him and I always supported his decisions.

“We do, but he calls us regularly. But it’s been a while since we spoke, I hadn’t told him about you.” I said with a bit of melancholy.

“You should call him then. I need to call Oakley and tell him everything too.” Piper giggled drinking a bit of wine from his glass.

“I hope I can meet him one day.” I mentioned and Piper smiled widely.

“I know you will. When everything is better.” He said and I nodded. “I hope I can also meet Conrad.”

“I hope you can too.” I smiled back.

We continued to talk until our food was brought to us. Both of our dishes looked amazing and we even shared them. Talking and spending time with Piper felt nice but deep down I was feeling bad about telling him the news about the auction people. Just for now, I wouldn’t tell him, but one day I would have to.

~oOoOo~

Dinner ended great and we decided to go out for a walk. Since it was a weekday, it was calm, and not many people were around. It made it look peaceful. I looked down at Piper who was walking beside me, he was smiling and that made me feel complete. I should let him out more often, he must be bored from staying in our flock’s ground all the time. I felt a sudden warmth against my hand and felt the brush of fingers closing in on mine. He held my hand, intertwining our fingers together as we walked down the street. I smiled and suddenly a street full of shops came into view, my eyes wandered until I saw one particular shop. 

Piper’s Delights. 

I looked at Piper again, he was staring at his shop with melancholy. I felt my heart shrink just seeing his expression and realizing how bad of a person I was for keeping him away from his happiness. Maybe I should let him go back to work soon. Without realizing we stood right outside the shop.

“Can we…go in?” Piper asked gaining my attention. He was looking at me with puppy eyes and I couldn’t reject him.

“Yes, let’s go in,” I said with a soft smile.

Piper’s expression changed from gloomy to bright. He smiled at me, letting go of my hand, and walked around the entrance of the shop until he picked up something. A key. 

“I always keep a key hidden in case I forget mine.” He explained and opened the door letting us inside. 

I looked around the store as Piper turned on the lights. It was a nice and cozy interior, with some tables, bread displays, and the counter. Decorations and even some plants on the walls.

“This is a nice place,” I mentioned looking around.

“Thank you, I took my time choosing all the decorations,” Piper said proud of the job he had done.

“So you manage this place on your own?” I asked curious, even if I already knew the answer.

“Yes, I do.” He said puffing his chest. “I’m a man that can do many things.”

“Isn’t it too much work?” I asked looking at him.

“Sometimes yes, but I’ve been thinking of hiring a part-timer,” Piper said smiling. “Well, once I get back to working.”

Piper kept talking about the shop. Telling me all about how he opened it, about the decor, and fun facts about everything. Seeing him talk that way, with so much emotion about his store, made me feel worse and worse. He deserved better, he deserved his happiness and I was holding him back.

“Is something wrong Donovan?” Piper asked bringing me back to reality. He was standing in front of me, really close to me. 

“N-no, everything is okay,” I said stuttering. 

“Are you sure? You look upset.” Piper said with a worried look, I felt the warmth of his hand against my cheek. 

“It’s just…I feel bad for not letting you work.” I admitted to him.

“Oh, Donovan. It’s okay.” He said caressing my cheek. “Once those people are captured I can go back to working and I needed a vacation anyway.” 

“Are you sure?” I asked him unsure if I was doing the correct thing.

“Yes, and I love spending time with you and with the others back at the mansion too.” He said with a soft smile.

“You do?” I said softly blushing.

“Yes. I like you, Donovan.” Piper said, my heart wanting to jump out from my chest from the proximity between us. My eyes wandered down to his lips, I wanted to touch them. 

And we kissed. Our first kiss. The first one of many more.