Rachel was happy to see the children. She hugged them one after another.
"Look at you, Jasmine. Looking all big and grown" Rachel said when she hugged Jasmine.
"So happy to see you, Rachel" Jasmine cooed.
"Happy to see you, my little cutie" Rachel replied.
"Ariana, you look so beautiful in your red hair. You've finally become a red-haired witch" Rachel said when she hugged Ariana.
"It's good to see you, Rachel," Ariana said, hugging her tightly.
"Good to see you too" Rachel answered. Everyone one of them had one thing or the other to say when she hugged them.
"They have grown so big and stronger, Stella. I sense a stronger aura around them" Rachel said and Stella smiled. She couldn't agree less. She was standing beside Rachel and had been watching her talk to them for a while now.
"We did not do any task while coming here, Stella" Jasmine said to Stella
"I never said you were going to carry out any task. I only said there are a few tasks you might have to carry out. And you have to find your way to Rachel's home. Finding your way to her is your task" Stella replied.
Jasmine's eyes widened in shock. She was right. Their task was to find Rachel's home and that is all.
"I can sense two strangers here. I can sense a demon here. Is there a demon here?" Rachel asked and Stella nodded.
"Yes, a demon prince and the other is an alpha" Stella replied, pointing at Kelvin and Ryan who were standing afar off. Rachel stared at them.
"And what are their names?" She asked.
"Kelvin and Ryan. Demon prince and an alpha respectively" Jasmine replied.
Rachel gesture to them. "Kevin, Ryan. Do you want to keep standing over there?" She said and Kelvin could not hide his surprise.
How did she know their names?. Did Jasmine tell her their names?. Or she found out by her witch power. He was lost in thought when Ryan poked him, jolting him out of his thought. "I guess you want to keep standing here," Ryan said walking past him.
Without having a second thought, he followed Ryan from behind until he got to where the rest are standing. As they got closer to them, Rachel was taken into a trance.
She placed her hand on Kelvin's shoulder. "A demon prince mated to the white witch. Your blood is her salvation. With her help, you will become great too. You are like a pillar that can not be moved. You are born special"
Kelvin was short of words. The others were right. Rachel sees a vision and can tell people about their life.
"Your special powers are said to be a threat to the demons. They had been locked up for a while now but they will begin to manifest soon. They will resurface soon, stronger than they were before" Rachel continued and Kelvin batted his lashes.
How did she know that?. He meant how did she know about his powers?. No one knew about them except his parent and his two uncles. How did she know about them being a threat?.
He had begun to manifest those powers on his tenth birthday and a prophecy had come through his uncle that his newfound powers will be a threat to every demon and needed to be locked away for good?. It's been over ten years since they had been locked up and he had no hope of getting them back. He doesn't even want them. He doesn't want powers that will pose threat to his people.
"You do not want the powers right?. You are comfortable with them being locked up. But there are so many enemies surrounding you and the throne is been sought after. Your life might be in danger. And the throne might be taken away from you right before it gets to your hand. You will have to leave your realm for a while. Why do I sense death around you?. The death of a loved one?"
Kelvin could not understand what Rachel is talking about and needed a lot of clarification on them. "Can you..."
Jasmine touched his hand. "She is in a trance. She won't answer you"
"But I need clarifications on them"
"You can ask her when she comes out of it. Not so soon though. You have to learn to trust her first and speak to her when you get the chance. She might speak to you herself if she senses that you trust her" Jasmine said and he sighed. He will have to wait and do as Jasmine has said.
Rachel placed her hand on Ryan's shoulder. It was his turn to listen to his part of the prophecy, and he could feel his heart beating so fast. He isn't afraid to hear any truth about himself but is afraid she might talk about Jasmine. "An alpha of the Munar pack. You are atoning for your father's sin. You have a brighter future than your father's. You will make a better alpha and take your pack to a better place" Rachel said and Ryan sighed. He felt relief that she did not say anything about Jasmine.
Rachel moved closer to him and whispered. "You are In love with the white witch. You are in love with Jasmine, but she belongs to someone else. You can stop loving her now because your mate is closer to you than you can imagine. But your love for Jasmine is pushing her farther away from you. She is the jealous type and it will be detrimental to Jasmine"
Ryan sighed. Maybe Rachel is not bad after all, telling him this alone. Though he had decided to move on and stop loving Jasmine, he doubt that would be an easy task for him. She is his first love and he doesn't think he can love anyone else as he loves her. He could only wish the moon goddess will bless him with her as his mate. But he guessed he would have to move on as soon as possible.
As Jasmine watched Rachel speak to Ryan, she couldn't help but wondered what it could be. Maybe she is telling him about his mate?. Maybe she told him to stop loving her. She felt jealous thinking about Ryan having a mate. She wanted him as her mate too because she is in love with him too. But the moon goddess as played a trick on her. She knew sooner than later, they would have to stop loving each other but she doesn't know who will stop loving the other first.
Rachel was out of her trance a few seconds later. She had nothing to tell the rest. She had already spoken to them the last time they met.
"Can we go in, please?. I am famished" Jabal said. They were standing in front of a floating house which they all thought to be Rachel's house.
"Are there other humans here?. I mean do people live here with you?. I haven't seen any other person since we came" the curious Jamal said and Rachel smiled.
"Oh, I see. You will find out soon, Jamal" she replied and he sighed. Why are Rachel and Stella not talking to him about it?. Is there something they are hiding from him?.
He batted his lashes. Maybe his task is the reason they are not saying anything to him. Jasmine had told him his task might involve his mate. Maybe his mate is here and he would have to find her, himself. But how?. He doesn't even know what it feels like to meet your mate and what his reaction should be. He doesn't know what she looks like but he can remember her body size and shape. But that won't do. That won't help him recognize her.
Rachel raised her hand. "Enough of the chats. Let's go in and have some food"
Jabal chuckled. Just exactly what he wants. Food!!. They had expected Rachel to raise her hand and stairs will appear or maybe she will say some enchantment and they will all disappear but surprisingly, she only spoke to them. "Follow, me," she said and they did as they were told. She walked straight into the house and they did the same. And instead of meeting themselves in maybe a living room, they met themselves in a village filled with people. Normal houses were being seen and people were moving about their daily business.
"W-what is going on here?" Jamal stuttered slightly and Rachel smiled.
"I told you, you're going to find out soon. I welcome you all to Alaska Arias" Rachel said and every one of them batted their lashes in surprise.
"I-isn't that suppose to be Alaska Arias?" Jasmine asked pointing to the direction they came from and Rachel nodded.
"It is. But that is the mirage of Alaska Arias. It is the spiritual realm of Alaska itself" Rachel explained but they still were not getting it. They were getting more confused the more she tries to explain it. She sighed. "Why don't we go to the house, so you can all take your bath, eat some food and have some rest?" She said.
"What about our reason for coming here?" Jasmine asked.
"We can talk about that tomorrow. You need some rest from your journey" Rachel said and they nodded in agreement.
They needed all the things she had said, considering the kind of stress they had passed through getting the pass and coming over to this place. They walked together with Rachel and Stella, passing through some women in their late thirties.
"Rachel" they cooed and she waved at them. The children were surprised to see them speak. They had thought it might be like Alaska where the first village they met was a mirage. Jamal wondered how he is supposed to carry out his task. Unlike the others who had done their tasks and is resting, he was restless.
Jasmine patted him on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Jamal. You will carry out your task well, just like the rest of us" she assured him.
He smiled. Jasmine seems to be the only one who remembered he is to finish up his task here. "Thanks, sis. You're the best" he cooed. And walking hand in hand, they followed the rest. Jamal sees this as an opportunity to ask Jasmine about the sign he sees or how he will feel when he sees his mate.
"Jasmine" he called and she stared at him. "How did you know Kelvin was your mate?. Or rather how were you sure Kelvin was your mate?. There was a feeling right?" He asked and Jasmine nodded.
"Yes. There is always a tingling feeling. You will feel your wolf trying to jump out of you. And there will be sparkles. That's the little I can remember. There might the more. But trust me, you will know when you see her" Jasmine said and Jamal smiled. That is all he needed. Just something to prepare him for that.
Soon, they were all standing in front of Rachel's house. It was a very big house painted in cream. It has a red roof which gave it a nice look. The door matched with the roof and so are the windows. Flowers were planted around the house, giving it a flora and fauna look.
Unlike Stella's house, which was a cave and changes its caves and location, every time they visited, they were sure this house will remain as it is. They love Rachel's sense of fashion. They also wondered if other people especially witches get to visit this place.
Every other person thought if they would be a person or people that had visited here, it would be the twins' mom or Ariana's mom. But to Ariana, she doubted if her mother had been here before. If she had been here, she would have spoken about it to others and she would have heard it. She decided to ask Rachel.
"Rachel, has any other person visited here aside from us and Stella?" She asked and everyone focused their attention to hear Rachel's answer.
"Yes," she replied. "Emerald. She is the only one who knew about the existence of this place and now you all knew about it" Rachel answered and Ariana sighed. She was right. Her mother knew nothing about this place.
The door opened, and a young lady in her late twenties came out. "Oh, Rachel, you are back. And who are they?" She said.
"Gabrielle, the prophecy" Rachel replied and the lady's eyes brightened up.
"It's good to have you all in Alaska Arias. Please do come in. Oh, Stella, it's been a while" Gabrielle said, ushering them in. They were welcomed by a sweet aroma. "You came just in time, kids. Food is almost ready. I will show you to your rooms so you can have your bath and come downstairs to eat when you are done" she said.
Rachel and Stella, sat down to talk while the kids followed Gabrielle up the stairs. One after the other, she showed them their room, with each of their names, written on the doors.
"You must be Jasmine, the white witch. Your hair color said it all. This is your room" Gabrielle said to Jasmine. "Oh, you're Jabal, the demon bear. Your hair color is just like the eyes of a demon bear. You must be Jasmine's twin. You both look, alike" she said to Jabal who scoffed. Jasmine scoffed too. She doesn't like the fact that she looks like her twin.
"You're Ariana, right?. A red-haired witch. Your hair is red like theirs. That is your room beside Jasmine's" Gabrielle continued, ignoring the growling from the twins. "And you must be Jamal, you carry a strange power from your mother's lineage. And you are Ryan, you carry the aura of an alpha. You're a demon right?. You must be Kelvin then. Those are your rooms over there"
They entered their rooms to take their bath and then change into the clothes that had been prepared for them. They could tell Rachel knew they were coming. They joined Rachel and Stella in the living room. After eating some food, they all retired to bed, knowing that tomorrow is going to be a busy day.
**
After their breakfast, the kids decided to take a walk around the village. With the permission of Rachel, they set out on their journey. Just a few distances away from Rachel's house, Jamal bumped into someone. He suddenly began to feel the tingling. She stopped moving and stared at him. He could feel the happiness of his wolf, and he felt it might jump out of his body soon. They were both lost staring at each other and he could bet he saw sparkles in her eyes. Jasmine blinked. Jamal has finally met his mate.