4.

He didn't like the feelings she evoked in him. Feelings were wrong. Feelings were for the weak. A person like him was not supposed to have feelings.  

After I dressed and cleaned myself, I was deemed ready for the ceremony. Right after I walked through the other door in the room, I faced a girl that didn't look a day over eight years old. When I looked into her eyes, however, I saw intelligence and wisdom greater than I could imagine. There was no way this... girl, was only eight years old.

"You're right." She answered my unspoken question with a soft voice. "My name is Yha'aera, I'm a percipient, or a seer, as some prefer to call it, from the Ancient Era. By roaming through your mind and soul, I can feel in which pack quarter you belong. Do you understand this?"

I nodded, slightly nervous for what was about to come. I wanted to close my eyes, as if it would happen quicker or as if I could influence the outcome if I did. However I couldn't seem to close my eyes.

"I sense you have other questions you want to have answered first, and I will answer them. All you need to do, is speak up." The girl placed a short string of white hair behind her ears, after which it immediately fell back in front of her eyes. She shrugged it to the side, obviously annoyed at het own hair, that was as unruly as it could get. In some way, it suited her, although it made her seem more childish than I would have expected from a percipient of the Ancient Era.

"Well? I may be able to slow down the time in this castle, I can't do it for a long time... You need to hurry if you have questions, I still have tons of other people to see." Even though she sounded quite impatient, she smiled sweetly at me.

"I- I was wondering," I stuttered. "What exactly will you do? What will you look at? Why is it tradition to wear this dress to the ceremony? Who are you actually?" Once I spoke one question, they all came out like a water fall of words.

Yha'aera giggled at my curiosity. "Well, firstly, I am a percipient of the Ancient Era, the time before packs existed. Back then, the world was an unruly and chaotic place. Together with other percipients, we created packs to maintain order in this world, with an alpha and a luna as the leaders. Every pack has its own percipient to guide people to their right place. All packs do it in different ways. In the Emotion Pack, I divide people when they are your age, to place them on their own road to happiness. I believe that happens when you are in the right pack quarter. If your body is clear from distractions and in its natural form, I am able to see your soul clearer, so I can make a better decision for you. What I will do, is I will look into your soul – you wouldn't understand how that works if you are not a seer, it just works in a specific way – and I will feel where you belong." After her explanation she just looked at me expectantly, waiting for a reply. "Does that answer your questions, dear?" She asked when I didn't say anything.

I nodded slightly, still not able to form words.

"Great! Okay, so I'll start then."

I don't know what I expected, but I expected to feel something. I mean she looked into my thoughts, my being, by soul. A person would expect to feel anything at all when someone else got into your head, right? Well, I didn't. I didn't feel a thing. It was merely a second after she said she would start, when she talked again.

"Oh boy that was easy," she sighed. "I don't know why you worried so much where you would belong. You are, like the most obvious Amor I have ever met. I wonder who your mate is, you will probably be like the cutest couple ever."

I blushed, trying to hide my obvious relief. I was an Amor. I could go home after all this. I would see my parents again, I wouldn't have to meet hundreds of new people. I could just love my life, as I always did. And I would meet my mate. I couldn't wait for my new life to begin, my life without worrying where I would belong. My life with a mate who I would love so much my heart would burst.

"Do-do you know who it will be?"

She shook her head. "No, and if I did, I would never tell you. No one wants to stand between you and fate. You'll meet him, or her, whenever the time is ready. Maybe it will be soon, maybe it will only be in ten years. What I do know, is that you will love each other. Because that is the only thing that is certain. Two mates will always grow to love each other as much as they love themselves, or food, or living. No matter what, they always will. So don't worry about that either, Micara, worry is not a good emotion on you."

I sighed contently, before I realised something. "Wait, how do you know my name? I never told you."

Yha'aera giggled again, her hair dancing around her head. "I just looked into your soul, and you wonder how I know your name? You are a special person, Micara, very special."

I blushed. I guess that was kind of a stupid question. "Thank you, Yha'aera, for showing me my path," I said, thankful.

"No problem, Micara, your soul is... enlightening. I enjoyed seeing you. And besides, it is my job to guide you to your destiny. If you ever need me, I will find my way to you, remember that. Unless fate changes your path, and I need to guide you to it again, you will be able to find your happiness on your own."

I nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'll remember it."

"Now, off to your chambers, I have more people to see." At once, the young girl was gone, and in her eyes I could see she was one hundred percent serious again. I took at as my cue to leave, through another door than the one I came through. I almost bounced out of the room, like a bouncing ball, I was that happy, that relieved. Even though I had always known it, I now had confirmation. I was an Amor. I truly was an Amor. One of the most obvious Amors Yha'aera had ever met. And as she was very old, she probably had met thousands of Amors. This was all, just great! I, Micara, am officially an Amor, as I had expected.