Sexting With A Vampire

Chapter 1

Stella

I don't have a pack.

Neither do I have any friends.

I'm bullied daily, and I hate it so much. There is a constant jarring in my chest and it won't go away. I'm lonely. Afraid, and there is nothing I can do to change my life.

Have you ever wished that you could switch places with someone else?

Because I do. I wish to wake up like someone else every single day. I see other teenagers with fewer problems than me, and I want their life. Their smiles and how they laugh when a brother, parent, or sister picks them up from school.

Why can't I have that?

A normal life without bullying and with people who love me. I would kill to have that.

Instead, I'm living in hell.

There are bruises on my arms, legs, and back. Other students laugh at me and say, "Gingers have no souls!" and steal my textbooks like it's funny. Sometimes they take my glasses and try them on.

It doesn't make me laugh.

It makes me want to die.

When I'm bullied at school, hurt, and spit on, I pray I could make a deal with fate.

If she could show me that the future is bright, I would keep trying and fight harder to survive...

"Please don't hurt me," I meet Ashley's cold gaze and hope to reach her soul. My heart is crying. "I didn't mean to hand in your assignment too late! I promise!"

Julia and Whitney exchange glances and laugh. They already know that Ashley won't forgive me. Instead, she might choose to hurt me again, and no one will hear me if I scream.

We are standing outside our school among tall oak trees when we should be in class. The sun is shining, yet everything feels hopeless. We are entirely alone out here, causing a cold sweat to run down my back.

"You shouldn't have been late with that assignment. I'm your master, Stella," Ashley backs me up against an oak tree. She is a beautiful blonde vampire, but she reminds me of a fallen angel. Her face is evil, her expression unholy. "You remember that, right?"

"Y-Yes..."

"You knew there would be consequences."

I gulp. "Yes..."

"And yet you failed me."

Ashley narrows her gaze. She is dressed in a white t-shirt underneath a jeans jacket, and there are shades on her head. But regardless of her cute clothes, Ashley is frightening when she crosses her arms over her chest.

She is a powerful vampire.

"I-I know... That's why I said sorry—"

Ashley steps forward. She grabs my face and presses her pink nails into my cheeks. The pain makes tears prickle behind my eyelids, and blood trickles down my chin. It stings. She is hurting me, yet Ashley's face is emotionless.

"Don't speak back to me, mutt."

My only response is to blink, and Ashley continues talking.

"You don't have a pack of your own, Stella. You're a lone wolf, and my family took you in. We are the reason you're breathing, so you better be of use to me. Do you understand?"

I nod, knowing I got no other choice. Ashley would punish me later in the basement if I spoke back to her. Injuring me is her hobby. I'm a werewolf, so I will recover quickly.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Ashley glares at me.

My voice is weak. "I understand."

Ashley releases me, yet my heart is still thumping faster than thunder. There is no telling what she might do to me later. Hurting me is in her blood, and she always draws entertainment from it.

"Good," Ashley says and sizes me up, scowling when she sees my scar hidden underneath my sleeve. I'm wearing an old jeans jacket, and it doesn't cover it up nicely. "You should hide your bruises. We don't want the teachers to know you're being abused at home."

"You're right," I fake a smile despite the pain felt on my face. "I'm sorry."

"I'm always right," Ashley sends me an unfriendly smile. "Try not to make more mistakes, Stella. It would be such a shame if you suffered the same fate as your mother. She died because she was stupid enough to challenge my father."

Despite the pain, I say nothing. Conceal, and don't let the vampires know you're afraid or sad—that's my motto to survive in this city where the vampires rule.

There is only one werewolf pack living here, but I'm not one of them, so they can't save me.

I'm the ginger with glasses and nobody to call my friend. My life revolves around Ashley, and the nightmare never ends. No one can save me from her clutches...

"Oh-my-god, Ashley? Isn't that your boyfriend?" Whitney fixes her mousy hair and smiles at a black Ford Mustang from 1969—I've heard Ashley brag about that car for a year.

"You're right!" Julia smiles from ear to ear. "You're so lucky to be marrying the vampire prince. Evan is so hot..."

Ashley turns around, and her calm, evil demeanor turns into a shy and slightly embarrassed teenage girl. The transformation is shocking: she is crushing hard on the vampire prince.

"Evan..." Ashley is beaming. "I didn't think he had any classes today? What is he doing here?"

Whitney smiles at her friend. "Maybe he is here to see his future wife?"

"No," Ashley dismisses her speculation. "Evan and I don't hang out. Our parents don't want us interacting before the wedding."

"Well, here he comes," Julia winks at Ashley. "Your future man is stepping out of his car."

While the three vampires ogle Evan, I stare down at the ground.

Evan is gorgeous, and sometimes when Ashley speaks about her arranged wedding, I get jealous. It makes little sense. I shouldn't want my future husband picked for me, but...

When Ashley tries on wedding dresses and dances around inside the mansion. There is so much excitement on her face. It makes me want to steal that moment from her and exchange the experience.

If I could just be Ashley for one day, I would be so happy. Instead of being beaten and forced to be a modern Cinderella, I could text with Evan and leaf through pages of wedding magazines.

For once, I could be an almost-ordinary teenage girl. No ropes, chains, or people calling me a mutt. This loneliness and uncertainty of the future which haunts me would disappear.

And I would smile without having to fake it.

"Aaaand he doesn't even look at me!" Ashley complains. "Isn't that cold of him? We are supposed to get married!"

Whitney laughs. "Maybe he is in a bad mood?"

Evan didn't even look at Ashley?

I have never talked to or gotten a good look at him. But what kind of man doesn't let their eyes go on a joyride when they see Ashley?

Curiosity makes me slowly lift my gaze, and Even, I assume, glances up from his phone.

He is tall, built, and muscular—at least judging by how his jacket hugs his broad shoulders—with handsome features and a good jawline. Dark hair and pale skin.

I'm snared by those ocean-blue eyes beneath expressive dark brows before forcing myself to turn away. My heart is thudding from being caught in the act.

I'm humiliated and shut my eyes. Evan must be grossed out by my stare since he would never look at a werewolf girl like me.

His kind hates werewolves and favors tall, thin vampires with the perfect bone structure. And I should hate Evan. I might not know him, but he is the vampire prince, making him my enemy.

"Stella?" Ashley glares at me, snapping me back to reality. "Are you coming, or what? Hurry up and carry my bag."

"Coming."

I stumble forward and almost trip over my feet. Luckily I regain my balance.

Whitney sizes me up. "Are you sure that you're a werewolf? How do you keep making a fool out of yourself?"

Ashley answers that question. "Because Stella is a useless nerd. All she ever does is read and be pathetic. I bet her mate won't end up wanting her either—she isn't even pretty."

Whitney laughs. "Is she turning twenty soon?"

Ashley sighs. "Yes, Stella is approaching twenty. But I don't expect her to find anyone willing to accept her as their mate."

Julia snorts in amusement. "True, Stella got nothing going for her. She is a werewolf with zero reflexes, and her freckles look like corns of dirt sprinkled over her entire face.

Ashley cracks up. "You're right!"

There is a jarring pain inside my chest when Ashley, Julia, and Whitney laugh at me. I fight hot tears and avert my gaze as we walk toward the school gates.

Eventually, Ashley calms down. "You know what sucks, though?"

Julia looks up at her. "What?"

"Evan wishes to get to know me before the wedding. My parents don't want us hanging out, so we have to bond through texting."

"And what is the problem with that?" Whitney asks, lifting her eyebrows quizzically. "I text with Ryker all the time."

Ashley sighs. "How do you keep a conversation going?"

Whitney shrugs. "I don't know? Just ask him stuff?"

Ashley growls in frustration. "I do, but he always stops replying!"

Julia laughs in mischief. "Perhaps you're boring?"

Ashley glares at her. "I'm not boring! But Evan talks about stuff that I'm not interested in at all..." her eyes travel to mine. "Hey, maybe you could text Evan for me?"

I widen my eyes, and Whitney gasps. "Stella? Are you crazy? Why would you tell her to text Evan?"

"I don't know?" Ashley shrugs. "Stella is smart—she will figure out how to win Evan over and make him like me."

"By pretending to be you?" Whitney questions. "Uh, Stella? I don't think this is a good idea—"

"Nonsense!" Ashley dismisses Whitney's worries with her hand. "It's an excellent idea! The best one I've had in ages!"

Julia nods and sizes me up. "I agree. The little mutt is smart and could probably think of a way to hold a conversation."

"Great!" Ashley fishes up her phone from her pocket and gives it to me before narrowing her eyes. "I will buy myself a new phone tomorrow while you use this one. It's logged into everything. You can speak with Evan with it, but if I catch you doing anything else, you're dead."

I gulp with my heart hammering inside my chest. "I understand."

"Excellent," Ashley smiles. "You should start texting him today."

Today?

I'm not mentally prepared!

My eyes travel to Evan down the corridor. He stretches like a cat. I watch, spellbound, as his t-shirt rides up his abs. My throat immediately clogs up, and my breaths turn labored.

Evan isn't a boy but a big ass man, and I'm supposed to win him over? He is the son of the vampire king too! How do I do this?