Sexting With A Vampire
Chapter 29

Stella No...

Dread circles around my throat and takes a vise grip that threatens to choke me. I'm barely even breathing, too shocked.

It can't be real.

This must be a bad dream.

The face down in the water must be wrong because I'm staring straight down at alpha Raphael. Blonde hair, muscular build. He is dressed in a black tuxedo, and the scene changes from focusing on him to a more plump version of myself. She seems so happy...

Would Raphael make me smile like that?

I stare harder.

Red hair reaches down to my collar bones, and I'm wearing a beautiful white wedding dress.

Raphael and I are smiling at each other, about to get married at some church. There is a severe bump on my stomach.

I must be pregnant...

"Are you saying I will get married to Raphael?"

There is no answer.

"I hope you're wrong," I say, hoping the voice inside my head will hear and reply to me. "This can't be right. I don't want to be with alpha Raphael at all. I know that we are both werewolves, but... He doesn't make me feel special or loved. Isn't that the point of being mates?"

No matter my disdain, I'm met with more silence.

Damn.

Perhaps I'm being selfish to ask for another mate?

I should be happy that I have a mate so near, someone that I can replace and be satisfied with.

Alpha Raphael-many ladies would kill to be with him. He is handsome and alpha, but my heart doesn't belong to him.

Thinking about marrying Raphael and carrying that man's children awakens more unhappiness.

"Why couldn't it be Evan..." I whisper.

There isn't an answer.

I look around the trees. Tears are clawing behind my eyelids, and my lips are quivering. My heart is beating a little too fast, and my chest feels a little too tight.

I don't want to marry Raphael. Neither do I want to become his luna or marry him-I don't want his children!

"Hey?! Are you there?!" I call out into the magical forest. My voice is broken from the news I've received. "Please tell me this is a bad joke. Tell me that you're not serious! I don't want that man!"

Fireflies surround me, and I stare down into the pond again, shuddering once that melodic voice returns.

'Aren't you happy with Raphael as your mate?'

I inhale. "No."

'Why?'

"I can't explain why..."

'Alpha Raphael is a werewolf just like you, Stella. You would give birth to wonderful children-more silver wolves. And you would rule by his side, eventually, become his luna. The mate-bond would make him eventually see you as an equal.' "But there is someone who already treats me with respect... Most of the time, well... He is trying..."

The moon goddess grows quiet.

A single tear drips down on the water, creating more ripples. I stare down at the future and shut my eyes.

"I'm already deeply, madly in love with him. I can't stop thinking about him. It's like he is a disease, a spreading infection that is taking over more and more of my thoughts and dreams. He is just there... All the time! And there is nothing I can do to stop thinking about his eyes, smile, and that mischievous laugh... Even when he is mean, I just want to hug him. Am I crazy? Because I feel crazy!"

The moon goddess is quiet for a while.

The winds shift and turn, and the water grows turbulent. More ripples form, disrupting the picture from earlier until the water is entirely blank.

Eventually, the moon goddess can be heard sighing. Her voice sounds broken as if my confession hurt her.

'If you would have met Raphael first, would you have loved him?'

"Um..." I hesitate.

My mind travels to memories of Ashley and her parents beating me. To the many sleepover parties that I wasn't invited to. I was barely given any food to eat, but... Raphael fed me.

He wasn't the nicest but kept me cared for. He was violent after replaceing me with Evan. Never before then, though.

"I probably would have fallen in love with him, yes..." I admit and blink away a few sad tears. "Even if I always had a crush on Evan, I probably would have forgotten about him..."

'And yet you want the vampire? Even with this knowledge?'

I don't even need to think twice about the answer.

"Yes... I can't explain why, but I want Evan."

'It's risky being with a vampire... You never know whether they love you or only want your blood. They compel and destroy!'

"I don't think all vampires are evil."

'You don't?'

"No..."

'There is another problem too.'

"And what is that?"

'The vampires... I can't see their future. I'm not their goddess; they don't pray in my name. With a werewolf, I can see whether or not you will be happy. Sometimes rejections happen, but I often choose the right partner for everyone involved.

My heart cracks a little before I speak. "I'm in love with Evan. You can try to talk me into choosing Raphael all you want, but my heart will always know the truth; that I was in love with the vampire first. The mate-bond might try to change me, break me, but... Before the mate-bond crashes over me, it was Evan who I wanted."

As I say those words, more ripples appear on the water, and the moon goddess inhales deeply.

The water is moving again, quicker this time, and I think the moon goddess isn't in control of what is happening. Every tree is swaying from side to side, and the grass blows around my feet. Something is happening.

I stare down at the water, and the moon goddess speaks again.

'The future is being rewritten... I can no longer see the outcome. I'm not sure what will happen, but you chose this path.'

I'm about to ask her what she means but freeze upon seeing Evan's face staring back at me in another scene on the water. But alpha Raphael is also there?

"Wait..." I furrow my eyebrow and glance between the two images in the water, beyond confused. "Why am I seeing both of them?" 'Two mates...

"Two?"

I glance around the forest glade, but there isn't an answer. The scene disappears, and the winds suddenly blow in through the trees. My hair fans around my face before I return to the carnival. Suddenly the forest is gone. I'm back with Raphael. He is still holding me dangerously close to the fire.