The mate finding spell business - book 1

OKSANA’S POV

She was astonished by the date Dima had prepared for her. He didn’t go with the classic bouquet of flowers, and instead, he offered her the animal of her dreams, the rooster Choninhas. She couldn’t have been happier, but he managed to prove her wrong when he took her out jogging. An activity she loved to do, but because of her declining health, she was unable to.

Dima truly was her breath of fresh air.

“I love you, my mate, even if too early to utter such words to humans’ standards. In your arms, I could die a happy bear, for your hugs, your kisses, and your simple presence fills a void inside of me that I never knew could be filled. Thank you for making me the happiest man in the world and giving me a chance.” Somehow Oksana wasn’t surprised by his little speech, but she couldn’t answer him. She knew she felt something strong for Dima, but she couldn’t be sure if it was love, so, instead of words, she pulled him down in an all-consuming kiss and enjoyed the feel of his lips on hers.

“I understand, my little mate. You don’t have to try to say it back. When you’re ready, it’ll come out naturally. Now, let us move to the next part of our date.” Dima said once their lips separated and wrapped an arm around Oksana’s waist, guiding her to the picnic zone.

They followed the path that lead them to the picnic zone, and before Oksana could take her head from Dima’s shoulder, Kaavy and Axton appeared in the distance, waving them towards a picnic basket beside a big tree.

“Thank you, guys.” Dima thanked them once they reached the two teens and gave them a twenty dollars bill behind Oksana’s back.

“Anything for our big sis.” The boys answered with a big grin and started leaving the couple.

“If it really was, ‘anything for your big sis’, you wouldn’t have taken the twenty dollars, Axton and Kaavy,” Oksana noted, having caught the exchange between her mate and her brothers from the corner of her eyes.

“Bye sis, see ya later!” The boys exclaimed and started running down the small hill, running away from Oksana before she made them give back the money to Dima.

“Really?” Oksana asked with an eye roll, watching her siblings run away with the bill while laughing exuberantly loud. “You guys act like toddlers!” She yelled at them and saw Kaavy stop to send her a flying kiss.

“You love us!” He yelled from afar and started to run back after Axton, who didn’t wait for him and left the park.

“Assholes,” Oksana mumbled. Dima laughed at her reaction, and she couldn’t help but smile at her mate’s deep chuckle.

Dima started setting their picnic blanket on the floor, and Oksana rushed to help him, wanting to at least do something useful to contribute to their date, since Dima was the one who planned and arranged the whole thing.

“Thank you, love. Please, sit down while I take the things from the basket.” She did as he asked her and watched him move around, telling her about everything he brought while taking the food from the basket.

“We have grilled courgette. Asparagus quiche with chicken, mushrooms, cabbage heart, and cheese; homemade pineapple mousse for dessert, home-squeezed orange juice, water, cherry tomato, and lettuce salad, and some fruit in case you don’t like the mousse.” Oksana’s eyes widened at the quantity of food displayed before her. Never has she seen so much food for only two people!

“Wow, Dima. Where did you get all that? It all looks so good, but this is a feast, not a picnic for two.” She laughed as her stomach interrupted her little scolding. Dima gave her a big smile, appreciating being able to provide and satiate his mate’s hunger with everything he cooked.

“I made all this. I didn’t want you to be unsatisfied or go home hungry, so I made enough to make sure your stomach will at least be cozy.”

“Cozy!? Honey, I’ll go home with my stomach bursting at the seams from eating so much. There’s no need to fear that I starve with an amazing mate like you, and your fantastic cooking skills, you’ll have me twenty kilos fatter by the end of the month! Your food is amazing, judging by the meat at lunch.” Dima blushed, and a deep contented rumble sounded from the pleased grizzly inside the man. Oksana giggled at the animal’s actions, and Dima’s blush turned darker with embarrassment.

“Thank you.” He mumbled shily. Trying to change the topic, Dima gestured to all the food around them and told Oksana to choose what she wanted to eat.

“Um... Alright, this is going to be hard, but I guess I want two pieces of grilled courgette and a slice of quiche, maybe a bit of salad as well. Gosh, I just hope to be able to eat all that.” Dima smiled at Oksana, and she gave him a shy smile back while watching him serve her a dish full.

They started to eat in silence, exchanging shy looks with each other when Dima finally broke the quietness, startling Oksana mid bit.

“There’s one thing that’s been on my mind that I’ve been meaning to ask you, my Ana. You already know my age, but I don’t know yours.” Oksana was surprised, for a moment, watching her fidgeting mate while her mind processed his subtended question.

“Oh, I didn’t even notice. I’m twenty-three years old.” She answered him and saw Dima nod his head with a small smile.

“Don- Don’t you think the twelve years gap between us is too much?” He asked her, almost afraid of her answer.

“No!” Oksana quickly exclaimed. “I’m ok with the gap, Dima. Age is just a number. As long as we both want to be together, nothing else matters, do you hear me?” The bear-shifter smiled at her, and a low weird growling/purring mixed sound left his chest, showing her his bear’s contentment at being reassured of her acceptance of them.

“You know, one day, you have to let your bear out to pass some time with me.” She commented and moved from her side on the picnic blanket to join Dima, sitting right beside him with her head against his shoulder.

“Let’s keep asking questions to one another while we eat,” Oksana suggested after realizing that she knew almost nothing about her mate.

“Ok, love. What do you want to know?”

Oksana took another bite of her piece of quiche and had to hold back a moan as the rich flavors reached her taste buds. Dima truly knew how to get to a woman’s heart with his incredible cooking skills. “Um... Ok, I have one. How many siblings do you have, or do you have any siblings at all?” She asked him after swallowing that bite.

“Well, I don’t have any siblings, but I have three cousins with whom I was raised. They are like my siblings. We used to spend every summer together, but after my uncle tried to kill my middle cousin for being homosexual and disowned him, we stopped meeting as much. Keysha still comes to my mother’s house every summer, but Kojo, my oldest cousin, and Kato, the one my uncle disowned, don’t come around as much. Especially Kato. His father is still a bit bloodthirst, but he knows better than to try and attack my cousin if he comes around.” Oksana was shocked. How could a father try to kill his own son? And just because of something as insignificant as his sexuality. She did not want to meet that man. He was disgraceful and coldhearted if he could do something like that to his son.

“My uncle is very old-fashioned. He’s three-hundred-and-twenty-two years old and has lived through slavery. To him, my cousin openly admitting that he is gay is the biggest sin anyone can commit. He is very strict and believes in ‘white with white, black with black, women should only wear dresses and men are the head of the family.’ Stupid, I know, but thankfully my aunt doesn’t go with his crap. She is white like me, and from what my mother told me when they first met, my uncle immediately claimed my aunt and then made a big deal out of her being white. He treated her rather poorly, but my aunt always talked back until one day he took his words too far, and my aunt left him. My dad, being my aunt’s older brother, beat up my uncle and taught him some manners and since then, he’s a lot better than he used to be but, he still kept some of his old degenerated mentality.” The more he told her the more Oksana wanted to stay away from that man. He sounded like such a rude retrograde. Maybe that was why his kids always spent summer with Dima’s family, to be away from his suffocating behavior.

“Love, close your mouth. I know what I said shocked you, but don’t taunt me, please. You’ve enticed the beast enough with your little request earlier.” Oksana looked up at Dima’s face in surprise and, choked up on air at the sign of his liquid obsidian eyes, completely full of lust.

“Dirty-minded!” She accused him and drank a bit of orange juice to calm down her ever-reactive nerves.

“Ok, my turn. Where have you ever traveled to?” Dima asked Oksana after laughing at her reaction to his teasing.

“Umm... Ever since the incident with my egg donor, my dad has always been skipping towns with me. This is the first one we have ever taken roots in, you could say. I’ve been in Callium city, Cows town, Ever sun mountain valley, Tearstain town- that was actually where we meet mom, Jamila, Kaavy, and their grandparents. We’ve been through a lot of other villages and cities before Tearstain town, but that was the last town we traveled to before we settled down in Nebrura. We’ve been happy here ever since.” She confided and smiled, thinking about the sweet inhabitants of Nebrura. They were all good people who didn’t mind a bit of magic around them, unlike many of the other towns.

“And you? Where have you traveled to, Dima?” Oksana asked him while reaching for a bit of mousse.

“I have been to some places too, like Amsterdam, Madrid, Sevilha, Sant Petersburg, and eventually, when I was 17 we moved to the Den of the Weird, a town full of shifters and other supernatural creatures. The Den is like a big protected community, everyone has their own space, but we’re all together if anyone needs help.” He explained and showed her some pictures of his town with his tablet.

“Oh, your town is very pretty! And this mousse is amazing!” Her compliments made the bear beam with pride.

“Thank you.” He said and kissed her cheek, making Oksana blush.

“What odd talent do you have?” Dima asked her after taking a big bite out of a huge slice of quiche. “For example, I can move my ears.” He said and demonstrated, moving his ears back and forth, shocking Oksana.

“Wow! I had heard about people being able to do that, but I had never seen anyone doing it. It’s so weird. But funny, I like your odd talent, Didi.” Oksana moved her legs to sit on her knees and softly caressed his ears with childish wonderment. Dima moved his ears while she was caressing them, catching her off guard, and making her giggle from the small scare she got from first seeing them move.

“I used to, accidentally, hypnotize people with my singing when I was younger. Singing also helped me connect with the animals and allowed me to read their minds. I used to have great chats with birds. They have good stories to tell from traveling so much.” Relinquishing those memories made her miss the old times. The older Oksana got, the sicker she became, so at the age of 10, she stopped singing completely and that gift of hers was lost with time.

“What do you like to do in your free time?” Dima asked her, bringing her back from her thoughts.

“Hey! That’s two questions in a row. The next two are mine.” She declared with a playful glare and her hands on her hips.

“Ok, love. I’m sorry.” Dima chuckled and kissed her puffed cheeks.

“And to answer your question, every little bit of free time I have I pass it with my family. Before you came, we never knew how long I had to live, so while I wasn’t sick, we made our time count. Friday’s are usually cinema nights. We turn the living room into an authentic cinema. On Sundays, we bake and make pizza, and the rest of the days, we do different things, but those two days are always stable, even while I’m sick. They always bring me baked goods, or we all watch the movies in my room.” Oksana loves those family days. Her mom and dad work a lot to keep the family safe and going. The four youngest are always at school, or Kaavy and Axton are out with friends while Dana and Akir stay with their grandpas. And Jamily is a social butterfly and a college student studying prosthetics. Between all that and her constant illness, Oksana barely sees them. While she’s healthy Akir and Dana stay with her after school until Angus finishes his errands working on the light company or Zainab gets home from the clinic she works as a nutritionist, Oksana usually makes the kids a snack and then helps them with their homework, playing with them the whole afternoon afterward, and that’s how her free time goes.

“Alright, my next question to you is, what is the strangest way you have become friends with someone?” Oksana watched as Dima’s eyes lighted up, and a huge smile split his face while he chuckled.

“Believe it or not, it was my boss. It was back in the time I was in college, and we were at a pub. A fight broke out, and I was sitting on a stool drinking when suddenly a beer bottle crashed on my head. I turned around to see what was happening and saw an eagle shifter behind me blushing. I don’t know what happened next, but I was so drunk that I started laughing, and we became friends just like that.” Oksana couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She laughed a deep belly laugh while imagining a drunk Dima, minding his own business, when suddenly someone hits him with a beer bottle and he, instead of getting hangry at his attacker starts laughing in the man’s face and becomes friends with him.

What a weird mate I have, Oksana thought while laughing.

Dima joined her on the laughing, and every time one stopped laughing, a look at the other trigered them, and they started laughing all over again. Oksana was sure they looked and sounded like crazy people, but she couldn’t stop! Her sides were already cramping from the laughter, and she was having a hard time breathing, but she couldn’t seem to be able to calm down. Never had she ever gotten a laughing attack as bad as this one.

“Wow, love, calm down, calm down.” Dima tried to help her, but her whizzing for air got worse. He had to lie her down on the blanket and lie beside her to let her feel his heartbeat. Oksana felt calmer lying down with Dima’s arms encasing her and his heartbeat under her palm. Sudden bursts of weird lack of air and things of the gender were common for Oksana with her condition but they always scared her, even more now that she thought nothing would happen with Dima by her side.

“Shh, love, I’m here. I won’t leave you, just close your eyes, take a deep breath and let the mate bond help me do the rest.” Dima pleaded with her, and Oksana let herself comply. A few minutes later, she was ok, but besides some worry from Dima, they acted as if nothing happened, and went back to asking questions.

“Aa, um, ok. Do you ever thought about having kids?” Oksana whispered the question, her face betroth red.

“I have, yes. I would love to have children, but we will only have them if you want. We could even adopt.” Oksana loves children. She wanted to have a big family since she was part of one, but to know that Dima wished for children as well, extinguished all her hidden fears, and sent a thrill of adrenalin down her spine. She couldn’t wait for the day they would welcome their first child. A perfect little shifter like their daddy.

Dima drank the rest of his orange juice and observed Oksana’s face trying to decode the dreamy look in her eyes while at the same time coming up with a weird question to ask her. “Alright, last question. What sports would be funniest if the athletes had to be drunk while playing?”

“Jees, Dima, that’s a hard one.” Who asks something like that? She internally panicked but soon started thinking about it, like really thinking and imagining every sport possible and what would happen if the athletes were drunk, and she came to the conclusion that baseball would be it. “I think it would be baseball. It would be hilarious to see them try to run after a ball or use a bat to hit the ball while drunk! Just imagine all the disasters that could happen!” She started laughing, imagining the situation, and Dima joined, laughing from joy at the glee he felt from her through the mate bond.

A frisbee hitting Oksana’s shoulder stopped their fun. Dima almost lost control over his bear at seeing the plastic object hitting his mate but Oksana, feeling those murderous vibes coming from Dima, managed to calm him down and sent the frisbee back to its apologetic owners.

“I’m ok, Didi, don’t let something as small as that ruin our date.” She whispered in his ear while hugging him from behind, and kissed his cheek.

“I won’t, my love, thank you,” Dima mumbled back and drew her in for a kiss, pulling her down onto his lap by surprise. Oksana didn’t even complain at the sneaky move, only pulling him more toward her to deepen their kiss.

They pulled away from each other breathless, and Oksana watched confused as Dima picked up his tablet and handed it to her.

“I have one last thing planned for this date, love.” He quickly messed with some things on the device and then showed her what he had opened. “Before I came here, I had a been handed a project. I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but I’m a home designer. I design both house structures and interiors, and my boss will finish a house within the next two weeks whose owner asked me to design the interior, but he asked me to add feminine touches to the whole place, and I’m not good at those. I was wondering if you could help me with that.” Oksana was dumbstruck at his request. Her, helping him design a house and him being a designer left her shocked. She would never imagine Dima as a designer but then, again, she was always told to never judge a book by its cover.

“But, Dima, what if I mess it up? I’ve never done any of that.” She wanted to help her mate, but she didn’t want to accidentally mess up his work and put his job on the line.

“No sense, love. You could never mess it up. Just design a house like you would your dream house. You just need to do it within the structure provided. Other than that, you could change anything you want and make a house to your image.” She still held some reservations at first, but Dima kept on encouraging her and after showing her how things worked on that app, she finally did what he asked her and designed her dream house with the structure provided.

They spent a couple more hours in the park, messing around on Dima’s tablet with him showing her some of his work, talking, goofing around, and simply enjoying each other’s company for a bit.

It was eight p.m when they started to leave the park, and Oksana called her sister to see if they wanted them to bring anything home while they were on their way. Oksana knew that dinner probably wasn’t ready yet with it being summer, the kids always got them distracted, and only when the sun started to set did anyone notice the time so they might still be on time to take take-out home.

Finally, when Oksana was about to hang up, Jamily answered.

“Hey Jam, we’re about to go home. Do y’all want us to bring dinner on our way?” Oksana asked and waited for the loud speaking and bickering on Jamily’s background to clear up a bit. A few moments later, Jamila answered her.

“Yeah, mom says to bring some dumplings, sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, and-”

“So, it’s the usual from Mrs. Wu Yang’s restaurant then.”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, got it, we’ll be there soon,” Oksana answered and hang up, starting to guide Dima through town to pass by Mrs. Wu Yang’s restaurant to pick up dinner.

“I hope you like Chinese,” Oksana said to Dima while they walked hand in hand under the sunset’s light.

“Don’t worry, love, I’m not that picky.” He answered her and kissed her knuckles.

Question: What sports do you think would be the funniest if the athletes had to be drunk while playing?

Author’s answer: Personally, I think something like softball or American football would be very comical to watch.