Chapter 23

I'm so excited to finish SOULMATES and start a new one. Already have tons of idea. :P

But the updates gonna be super random and slow (╥_╥)

Anyway, I don't know what I wrote here huhu. But this is the longest chapter I have ever write before with 3830 words including the notes! Enjoy! ♥

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Third Person's POV

The rays light of the sun shining on the earth feel warm to the skin, the wind strong, slapping gently against her face, drifting the smell of the smoke of cars on the road away.

Ara wipes the blood liquid off of her black leather jacket before take it off and put it at the back seat of her car. The pungent smell of the blood cause her to slightly wrinkle her sensitive nose as she starts the engine of her black Mercedes. The soft humming of the engine soothes her mind and soul.

The ringing tone of her phone steals her attention as she rummages through her pants pockets.

"Hello."

"Ara!" Alaric's voice greeted her on the opposite end. "Are you done? Could you pick me and Alvaro up at his kindergarten? I didn't bring my car. Someone was tailing me earlier."

Ara perks up at the unexpected but unimpressive news. "What a coincidence. There is one here, too." She glances at a car parked a little behind her Mercedes. "Anyway, did you sort them out?"

"Yeah, all done. Just another small pest. Quickly finish your pest and pick us up."

She speeds up a little as she leans against the seat, one hand on the steering wheel and another supporting her head. "Alright, I'll pick you and Alvaro up. Wait up a little bit."

She hang up and casually glances at the side mirror, frowns a little when she noticed the same white Honda from half an hour ago tailing her from behind.

These pests never did learn.

She turn to a corner sharply like a professional, tires screeching ostentatiously as she speeds up to 160 km/h, skillfully dodging the vehicles on the road.

She glances at the side mirror again, chuckling in amusement when she saw the frantic way the white Honda driving and trying to avoid the cars and bikes to catch up to her.

She drives with one hand, the other rummage through the gloves compartment to get her favourite strawberry milk flavor lollipop.

"All right." Popping it in her mouth, she speeds up crazily, zooming through the city.

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A drive that supposedly took half an hour, she arrive at the destination in just about 10 minutes.

Screeching to a halt, Ara parked her car in front of the kindergarten in the neighbourhood.

The car door being open makes her turn her head toward the source. A soft purple mop of hair bouncing on the seat, his little hands clutching the seat to heave himself up before the kid adjust himself on the seat.

Ara chuckles in amusement, the kid turns to look up at her with innocent big grey eyes, hands entwine together on his lap.

"Ara!" She grabs him under his armpits to put on her lap, "What are doing, sitting there?" She kisses his chubby cheek. He giggles, before staring wide eyed at the lollipop in her mouth in want. "Ara, I want too..."

Seeing his drooling face staring with open mouth at her, she chuckles again, puts her half eaten lollipop in his mouth, "Take this one."

He beams with a full mouth, "Tank u! (Thank you!)"

She smiles, ruffling his hair in response.

"I thought you said you're done? What's with the disguise? Not gonna change?"

Ara glances at her blonde wig and brown contact lenses, before switches her sight to Alaric who is placing Alvaro's small backpack on the back seat, hand patting Alvaro that seems to be sleepy, with his head on her shoulder still sucking on the lollipop, eyes drooping low, "There seems to be extra pests today."

Alaric freeze his movement as he raises his brow in confusion, "I thought you dealt with them already?"

She hums. "I don't know. This one just popped up a minute ago." She glances at another white car parking near theirs through the side mirror.

Alaric follows her eyes, staring at the car for a moment. "Is it from the same nest?"

She took back the lollipop seeing that Alvaro falls asleep and gives him to Alaric to hold. "I don't know. Maybe." She huffs, gripping the steering wheel, "Hold tight. This is gonna be one hell of a ride."

She pulls out of the side road, shooting through the neighbourhood and into the main road. She drives at top speed and turn to a corner, as in a flash the car gone from sight the moment her eyes turn to the colour of a night sky, signalling her use of her Soulpower.

After a few turns, she takes back her power resulting the car to suddenly appear from thin air.

"Woah, Ara!" Alaric exclaims, eyes widen into saucers staring at her, "Since when did you become this amazing at controlling your Soulpower?!"

"Keep your voice down, Ric." She reprimanded, "Alvaro's sleeping."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." He pats their little brother's back gently to soothe him back to sleep, "Hey, don't change the subject. You're getting this skillful yet you don't even care enough to tell me?"

She just shrugs one shoulder before smirking. "Don't be like that, Ric. I showed you before. You just didn't notice, big bro."

He gave a stinky glare. "Eh, this little brat."

"Anyway Ric, wanna eat something? Where do you want to go?"

"Just go to our usual place. I'm craving their cupcakes."

After a few turns, they arrived at Clawsome Purradise, a cute cat café with brown coffee and white milk color as a theme. The decor of the cafe all with cat theme, the cutlery and even the paper cases of the cupcakes are decorated with cat cartoons and emojis.

The cafe is a joined group by the original cafe owner, Cat Paradise and a restaurant called Awesome Restaurant. After joining, they changed their name to Clawsome Purradise to attract more attention from people cute and friendly but worthwhile giving up your time for shop.

"Hello Alaric, little Alvaro and miss." The waitress, Hana smiled through her questioning gaze when she saw Ara. She seems to not recognise her with the disguise. "Ready to order?"

Alaric nods, "Give us our usual."

"Got it. So, two plates of pasta and one bowl of fried chicken, three cupcakes with different flavours, a glass of apple juice, one ice americano and one ice cappuccino. That's all?"

Alvaro urgently tugs Alaric's sleeve and whispers something in his ear. Alaric nods.

"Please add French fries with side salad."

The waitress nods in acknowledgement and repeat the orders before excusing herself.

"Brother Ricky, I want to play with kitty."

"Okay, go ahead." Alaric smiles at him, nodding his approval.

"Ugh, I'm starving." He plops his head on the table. "And tired."

Ara raises a brow, "What did you even do?"

He just grumbles, having no sassy remark.

The bell of the cafe door chimes softly, followed by murmurs and chatters from a large group of men. Ara glances at them, but then chokes on her saliva when she saw the familiar faces of her soulmates.

Her heart starts to beat wildly. Will they recognise her? But then she remember she is still in her disguise. And because of the contact lenses, their soul could not see hers as based on the saying, eyes are windows to the soul.

The whole bunch of guys move to a table near the open space room for cats.

Wow, they are all a lot taller than she thought. Even the shortest one of them, which is Ezra, is a head taller than her. And she is considered tall with nearly 170cm in height!

And they look a lot more hotter too since she can see them clearly now. All of them have bodies of a model, a couple of them especially Luciano, have more muscles than the rest. She could just see a tattoo peeking under Luciano's collar.

Ara glances at the corner of the cafe where Alvaro is playing at, checking him from time to time.

Since there are complaints about cats fur in food, they built a rather big pen at the corner of the cafe specially for cats to play in complete with toys for entertainment purposes.

She glances back at her soulmates as they sit down at their seats.

Her eyes automatically follow their every movement, she couldn't peel her eyes off of them. Every little movements of them catch her interest, they look so mesmerising and enthralling. Like how Luciano's dimple pops out whenever he smiles his sexy half smirk, or how blindingly beautiful Daniel looks when he laughs, or the random tapping of Kairo's fingers on the table as he listens to his best friends talk, or how bless her ears when those rare moments of Isaac deep melodic chuckles come, or the captivating twinkles in Zachary's emerald green eyes, or the enthusiastic way Raphael is talking, or the way sun shines on Ezra's dark blue hair or the way Valentino caress his lower lip as he listens to the conversation with crossed legs...

The sound of clapping in front of her face jolts her out of her appreciative moments. She looks at Alaric's probing gaze directed at her.

You are staring too much, Ara...

"What?"

"Who are you staring at?" He turns to look at the direction her eyes are still glancing at. Realizing something, he snaps his head so fast that she fears whiplash for him, "Is that...?"

Ara looks away, crossing her arms against her chest. "What?"

He leans further forward, asking slowly, "Are they who I think they are?"

"Who?"

"Come on, Ara! Don't play with me! They are your soulmates, right? I'm right, right?"

She nods hesitantly. "Yeah, they are."

"Woah, finally." "So, what are you waiting for? Go talk to them!"

"Are you nuts? How could I when I don't even know if they recognise me as their soulmate or not? Remember what I told you before?"

"Yes, your case is one among thousands. A mystery. But why don't you go try talk to them? Throw those contact lenses and stares at them straight in the eyes! I'm sure it would do the trick. That's the only way for them to recognise you. Eyes are the window of your soul, remember? Besides, when will this kind of opportunity come again?"

Ara sighs heavily, running her hand across her blonde wig in frustration, "I know, Ric. I know that. But can't you understand? I'm scared. This is not the ordinary cases of soulmates like yours. I have eight soulmates. Not one or two but eight. And I'm so freaking sure they don't know one thing about having a single soulmate for eight of them. Can you imagine how they will react? I'm terrified, Ric. Give me some more time." She pleads.

Alaric looks at his sister with sad eyes. How could he not know? After all she has been through, he understands where her fear and insecurity come from.

"Okay, then. Take your time. Either way, I'll support you till the end. Me and Alvaro both."

She throws a grateful smile, relieved. "Thank you, big bro."

A little commotion caught their attention, she looks at the table her soulmates sit at and saw a couple of them nudging Raphael, urging him to do something.

Ara tilted her head in curiosity, straining her ears to hear their voices secretly.

"Are you really sure that kid is your soulmate?" Kairo inquires, face contorting with mixed emotions.

"I smell a really amazing smell from him." He sniffs the air deeply, "Jasmine and milk."

Isaac looks at him incredulously, "Wow, I never would have imagine that you are secretly a paedophile, Raph."

Zachary further teases him, "And I never know you have a different taste than us. A kid, and a male one at that."

"Paedophile, fucking disgusting." Luciano looks at him in fake disgust.

Raphael sends them a deathly glare, they would be beyond six feet under the ground if a glare could kill. "I am not."

"But your Soulhair is the same as his hair." Ezra pointed out.

Raphael's face distorted further.

"I like women, okay? A well developed species called women with big boobs and perky ass and a vagina!"

Daniel scrunched his face in distaste, "Now you sound like a pervert."

Raphael let out a growl in frustration. "I hate you guys."

Ara widen her eyes in surprise. A kid? Male? There's no little boy here except her younger brother playing with the cats at the corner of the shop.

She snorts. Are they serious? She purses her lips to prevent laughter from coming out of her mouth.

"Did you heard what I think I heard?" The absolute horror on Alaric's face do the deed, peals of laughter and snorts came out deep from her stomach, as she laughs merrily.

"I did not know your soulmates are this... creative with their assumptions." He looks disappointed and glances at them with an incredulous look. But then Alaric suddenly jumps to his feet in clear panic, "Oh, shit! They are heading toward Alvaro!"

Ara giggles to herself, her eyes gravitating back toward them and lock with a pair of turquoise eyes.

Her heart jumps in her chest, she seems to not be able to look away from the eye-contact.

Alaric's voice breaks the intense eye-contact. Ara looks at her siblings and gets up to go join them.

On the way, she could hear Alaric's accusing voice and Raphael's panic stricken one, "You thought my six year old little brother is your possible soulmate? Are you a paedophile or what?"

"No, bro. Listen to me, I can explain." Ara nearly burst out laughing when she heard those cliché line she heard on TV whenever a scene of a boyfriend caught cheating by her girlfriend playing.

"Who's your bro? I never had a brother who is a paedophile like you! Even if you are my brother's soulmate, I will never allow you crazy paedophile be with him!" He yelled.

Ara chuckles in amusement as she places her hand on his older brother's shoulder, "Relax your teasing, big bro. You are scaring the dude." She could feel numerous eyes glued on her the moment she is within their sight.

She then turns to look at Raphael, eyes sparkling with mischief, "He's just kidding. And I'm sure my little brother is not your soulmate."

"How would you know." Ezra interjected.

She shrugs, staring at him with a knowing eyes, "I would know."

"Yeah, maybe." Raphael agrees, eyes staring intensely—though with a complicated look— at Alaric's soft purple mop of hair.

Ara raise a brow, smirking as she glances between her brother's hair and Raphael's streak of the same colour hanging on his forehead. "Don't tell me you are now targeting my older brother?"

Alaric gasps dramatically. "You...! I have already found my soulmate! And she's beautiful! I would never cheat on her!"

Raphael scratches the back of his head awkwardly, looking elsewhere.

A face seeking hers in her peripheral vision makes her turned her head sideways, looking at Isaac. He stares straight into her eyes, as if searching for something he is not even sure what, "Have we met before?"

Ara stops to stare for a moment. What? Did he notice already who she is? Her heartbeats suddenly beating in an irregular pace for a second before she calm it down and replied with the most normal voice she could utter with, "No, why?"

For a second, she saw Ezra looking at her as if he realised something about her the others don't, before the look in his eyes changes to a puzzled one.

Isaac nodded, frowning in thought. "Nothing. It's just I think I have heard your voice before. It sounds familiar."

"Oh." This time it was she who feels awkward, hand holding the back of her neck before she saw the waitress with their meals heading to their table.

"Food has arrived!" She exclaims happily in a singsong voice, picking Alvaro up and hurries to the table to enjoy the meals.

Raphael's POV

The moment I step my feet on the floor through the see-through door of the cafe, a smell so mouthwatering teased my super sensitive nose.

Erasthai.

Heart beating loudly, I try to calm my heart beat with talking and chattering away with my best friends as my mind spin like a wheel trying to find the source of the smell.

There are no other customers in this cafe but a couple on the table a little further away and a toddler playing in the cats pen on the corner.

I steal a glance at the little boy, the smell is strong on him, though I could smell them on the couple too but barely. The woman is covered with the smell of blood, doing who knows what before coming here.

The idea of the little boy being my soulmate seems incredulous even to myself. I'm sure I am a straight guy and loves a well developed body of a woman.

I have to take a closer look, see if the boy has my hair as his Soulhair.

Ezra seems to be catching my not so subtle glances towards the boy. He throws a questioning gaze towards me.

"What are you doing, dude? Glancing there... Wanna play with the cats?"

I shake my head. "I smell my erasthai on him."

"Are you really sure that kid is your soulmate?" Kairo interrupted as he seems to hear in the conversation too, face contorting with mixed emotions.

"I smell a really amazing smell from him." I take a deep breath of the air deeply, "Jasmine and milk."

Isaac turned to look at me from his seat incredulously, "Wow, I never would have imagine that you are secretly a paedophile, Raph."

Zachary further adds oil on the fire, "And I never know you have a different taste than us. A kid, and a male one at that."

"Paedophile, fucking disgusting." Luciano looks at me with disgusted face.

Some sworn brothers, they are.

I send them my most deathly glare as I gnash my teeth in warning. "I am not." I stressed out.

"But your soulhair is the same as his hair." Ezra pointed out. Thanks for pointing the obvious, Ezra.

My face distorted even further.

"I like women, okay? A well developed species called women with big boobs and perky ass and a vagina!"

Daniel scrunched his face in distaste, "Now you sound like a pervert."

They burst out laughing when they saw the bitter look on my face at their teasing. They seem to enjoy irk me since I'm the youngest of them all, with ten years younger than Isaac.

But that doesn't mean they could treat me like baby.

All be damned on these fvking creatures.

I let out a growl in frustration and decided, "I hate you guys."

Zachary pats my shoulder, "Go check it out, if the boy have your hair."

"Yeah, go." As if choreographed, they nudge me at the same time, urging me to go to the kid.

I nod, preparing myself to approach him as I walk closer to the boy. He looks so cute crouching and patting the sleeping cat's fur.

A presence nearing alerting me as I turn to look at the man from the couple earlier rushing here like a bullet.

Oh, is this his kid?

As soon as he is within one meter of the kid, he fired me with questions and accusations that make my head dizzy and puzzled with the sudden unexpected shots, my brain seems to not be able to relate all of this accusations he fired with me.

I am certainly not a paedophile!

I try to explain it to him, but it seems my effort is just a fvcking waste of a time.

Can't he just stops and listen for a moment?

A melodic voice abruptly cut in the conversation as the woman I smell blood on calm down her older brother. Oh, they are siblings!

At the moment, I could not hear anything but her voice, and stare at nothing but her face. She is beautiful. Otherworldly, devastatingly divine of a beauty. I certainly wouldn't mind if she is the one supposed to be my soulmate.

I look back at the man, and seem to only notice it now, the man has a soft purple hair too! Like his younger brother!

"Don't tell me you are now targeting my older brother now?" Her inquiry startled me out of my staring as I try to deny.

The rest of the conversation seem like air to me as the gorgeous blonde and her siblings return to their seat to enjoy their meal.

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Just to remind you :

Soulcolor(Daniel > Incubus, violet eyes brown hair)

This person will only see no colors but grey in their life until they look into their soulmate's eyes.

Soulsing(Isaac > Siren, blue eyes, platinum blond hair)

This person can hear their soulmate's voice singing with the unlimited distance as if their soulmate is singing beside his/her ear.

Soulart(Ezra > Vampire, black/red eyes, dark blue hair)

Whenever their soulmate write or draw something on their skin, that word or drawing will pop out on this person's skin in the exact same place.

Soulmeet(Luciano > Fallen angel, honey blond hair, amber eyes)

On this person's 18th birthday, a set of number will appear on the inside of this person's wrist as a countdown until they meet their soulmate.

Soulpain(Zachary > Elf, ginger hair, emerald green eyes)

This person will expriences (half less worse) every pain, bruises or wounds of their soulmate.

Soulhair(Raphael > Lycan, pitch black hair, golden eyes)

This person and their soulmate will have a streak hair of their soulmate's hair. Whenever their significant other dye their hair, that streak will change according to their soulmate's hair (color and texture).

Soulties(Valentino > Demigod, bright red hair, turquoise eyes)

This person have a red thread or string ties around their pinky finger that bound them to their soulmate and it is only visible to them and their soulmate.

Soul Exchange(Arabella > Human, soft purple dyed hair, silver eyes)

At 12 pm sharp, the day of this person's 18th birthday, this person's soul will be exchange with their soul mate's. However, if this person's soulmate still not reach age 18, the souls exchange will not happen until this person's soulmate reach maturity (age 18).

How long will this exchange of souls last? Not sure, its in random pattern.

It's raining heavily here. But there's no storm! I like it d(>_< )

P/s : I didn't realize this before that I was confusing Zachary for a fae. I meant to create him as an elf, not a fae. He IS an elf, not a fae. There are differences, people. Sorry for the mistake.

Some random question, which one do you prefer, summer or winter?