Beta's Bride [ShadowPack #2]

After meeting Xavier for the first time last night, Stella cannot find herself to sleep after she hit the sack. Of course, the brunette and grey eyes were to blame when it kept popping behind her retina when she was about to fall asleep but Stella managed to catch a few hours before she was ready to explore the small town again.

She was getting dressed and she was ready to hit the café again before she was thinking about other locals café that might be offering her much more food, authentic Greek food that was known by the locals here. Stella was making her way to the next local-owned restaurant before she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I am not looking where I was going," she said before she was looking at the woman that was in front of her. She was lean and muscular but she was like a model as well. Stella was blinking her eyes when she was staring at the familiar grey orbs that reminded her of someone that she wished to meet today.

"No, it's my fault. I don't even watch where I was going. I am so new at this," the feminine voice that belonged to her was hitting Stella's eardrums. It was melancholic and sweet. Stella wished she had a voice like her.

"I did not mean to do it, I swear," she said before Stella was staring at her. she smiled.

"No, it's fine. We all make mistakes but it's okay. No harm was done," she said before the beautiful woman was looking at her. then, she was smiling.

"You're not from here, are you?" she asked her before Stella was blinking her eyes at her. then, she laughed slowly.

"Yes, well. Not many people have blonde hair and blue eyes," she said before she smiled at the stranger. She smiled.

"There's only one person that I met that has the same physique as you. I bet she's the only one in my community," she said before Stella was furrowing her eyebrows as she smiled.

"Community?" she asked before the stranger was waving her hand dismissively.

"My neighborhood where I grew up. But it's fine. I think I have to settle for this town now," she said before Stella did not sure how to continue the conversation. Then, she just introduced herself since she did not even know this woman at all.

"I'm Stella, by the way. I am visiting from Italy," she said as she extended her hand to the woman. She smiled before she took it, shaking it in a firm grip.

"Diana. Nice to meet you, Stella. Italy, you say? Do you care to tell me more about that?" she asked before Stella was smiling at her. I don't have anything planned anyway, so might as well make friends, she mused before she was getting to know Diana as they made their way into the restaurant.

It was a small local restaurant that went back for generations. It served authentic Greek Cyprus food and Stella was thankful that Diana was there to help her to translate the words. Then, they were ordering, and from now onward, they were getting closer as much as friends would.

They talked about themselves before Diana was asking Stella about something that was peculiar and making her wonder why her new friend trusts her to tell her this situation that she was currently in.

"Do you ever fell in love, Stella?" she asked Stella as she was sipping on her morning tea. Stella almost dropped the cup before she was blinking her eyes at Diana.

"Excuse me?"

"I was asking you if you ever felt like you loved someone and you knew that he was the one for you but you're afraid to go for it. Afraid that your family will not accept him and afraid that you are never good enough," Diana whispered before Stella was easing her cup on the table again.

Stella did not know how to answer it since she never felt anything like that as well. but she knew the feeling of not being worthy enough for the man that she started to fall in love with.

"Well, we can never know if that person loves us as much as we do to them. But we can only tell them what they make us feel without having to feel the rejection later on," Stella threaded carefully as she did not want the woman to think that she did not know how that feeling involved. She sighed before she was staring at the cup.

"I did feel that way to someone before when I was younger," Stella said before she was looking at the tea. She did not want to see how Diana's face would react when she was telling her anecdote. She gripped the cup tighter.

"What do you mean? I thought you did not feel that feeling before," she said before Stella looked at Diana. She looked young, maybe a few years from Stella before she cleared her throat and stared at the young woman.

"Love is something that you can never expect to come into your heart in full force. It came without a knock, sometimes you wished that you would be prepared for what was coming to you but right now, it did not matter for you already fell for it. You always wanted to meet them and talked to them even if you have a million things to do," Stella said before she sighed, knowing that by giving someone her love, she would have to deal with it when it did not reciprocate.

"But of course, they would feel the same way with you but most of the time, they would be afraid," she said as she gripped the teacup. Then, she turned to look at Diana in the eyes before she was looking at the familiar orbs that Xavier would have on him. But she smiled since it was Diana who was seeking advice, not her.

"But it will be worth it for you to know that you have feelings and that makes you human. Of course, we might feel heartbreak for a moment but in the end, we move on and we can prepare for our next moment of love. It might not be like the first but somehow, it will be worth it for the person that will reciprocate it like you want to," Stella ended with a sip of her tea before she was ending her advice, knowing some part of it was true for she had gone through it and was determined not to be rejected again like last time.

Diana was in deep thoughts as Stella can see the motors in her head were turning and she was smiling when she turned to look at her. She was shining as her eyes were not clouded by something that Stella did not recognize before. But right now, her eyes were gleaming and she was happy to see that her new friend was happy because of her advice.

"Thank you," Diana said as she gripped Stella's hand before she squeezed it.

"No, thank you for listening to my rambling," she said before Diana was laughing lowly in the restaurant then she was looking outside the window. She was smiling and before Stella can see what she was staring at, Diana was pulling her into another conversation until they were burning the hours. Stella did not even realize that she was halfway through the day.

"So, I was wondering if you know about the Folk Festival that the town organized every month. You should totally come," she said as Stella and Diana were walking out of the restaurant after hefty meals.

"Hmm, do I have to dress up for the occasion cause I don't have nice clothes to wear if I have to," Stella said before Diana was shaking her head.

"It's a casual thing. You can wear whatever you want. it was to mingle with the locals and tourists so that they would not have to dress up," Diana said as she smirked at her. Stella arched her eyebrow.

"Unless you want to impress someone then maybe you want to up your game," she added before Stella was shaking her head.

"I swear you're bad—"

"Diana, what are you doing here?" the familiar voice that Stella knows too well when she was turning to look behind them. Diana did the same thing before Stella was looking at a very red-face Xavier. And he was looking at Diana.

She ought to know that Xavier and Diana might be together for she was blushing right now. Stella's heart ached before Xavier was taking Diana from her and they were walking away, leaving Stella alone at the center of the town, concluding that Xavier already has a girlfriend.

*****

'Can you not make a scene? This so overdramatic, even by you, brother,' Diana said in their mind link as Xavier was gripping her by the hand and he was fuming too much as he cannot think straight.

'I'd be dramatic as much as I wanted to,' he retorted before Diana was rolling her eyes and scoffed.

'Yeah, right. I think you're overreacting a little bit. Mama knows where I am and she permitted me to go out and explore,' his sister said that made Xavier wanted to fucking kick someone. Maybe his own mother but he would not raise a hand on a woman, especially his mother. She had enough in her life to remember it.

"Why are you in town anyway? Coming to look at the humans, I see," his sister said before Xavier was turning to look at her. Diana smirked before he shook his head.

"You watched too many dramas," he said before Diana snorted.

"Right and you're not running away from my new friend," Diana said which made Xavier gripped her arm even more.

"And by the looks of it, she was thinking about us in a different way than I would say as siblings," she said before Xavier turned to look at Stella and she was still there, frozen to the spot as she was looking at his hand on Diana.

Oh, shit!

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Diana whispered before he saw the blondie was running away from the town square as she made her way to the café that Xavier and her made their first date there.

Was it a date? He asked himself and the answer was severe.

It was a no.

"You go home now and I will catch you later. If you try to run, well, you know I will always find you," he said to his sister before Diana patted his shoulder.

"Good luck," she said and with that, Xavier was after the only thing that was attracting him to be with the humans much longer than he wanted to.