I’m more than a prophecy!

No buts

Kristina’s POV

I woke up to a splitting headache and Rafael gently shaking me awake.

“You need to eat darling, it’s late and you’ve not eaten since breakfast. Come on, at least a little bit. Shifting takes energy, especially the first time.” Rafael’s voice is laced with concern and care, but the word shifting gets me awake.

I sat up straight and my head immediately started spinning. I’ve tried to steady myself by grabbing onto Rafael, image after image flooding through my head.

“Yup, I’m real. It’s time you accepted we’re extraordinary.” The annoying voice in my head says.

“Oi! I’m not annoying, I’m part of you!” Part I didn’t ask for that is…

Rafael giggles in front of me, “talking with your wol, I mean cat? She’s impressive by way.”

“Mate likes us”, Kleo starts purring in my head.

“Apparently so,” I say, rubbing my temples. “I wish she would shut up, my head is crowded enough with just my thoughts, I don’t need adding any more in.” I’m whining like a baby and I know it. But I’m so not ready for this. Kleo gets offended and hides in the back of my mind.

Rafael gently holds my hand, looking me in the eyes with so much love and understanding, it makes my heart swell and helps me calm down a little.

“Can I ask you something?” He is almost whispering while caressing my hand. “Feel free to tell me to f**k off. But you let me mark you, being fully aware you might get a wolf. So why is Kleo different? She’s beautiful, majestic and witty just like you,” he smiles tenderly.

I was about to argue with him, but the last sentence disarmed me.

“You are both so special and you are the prophecy…” a shiver runs through me as he says that.

“Can we please not talk about this? It freaks me out.” Rafael nods and I sigh with relief. After a couple of minutes, I burst out laughing.

“I cussed at the goddess! f**k she was so cross!” I slam my hands over my face, half laughing have upset in disbelief.

Rafael is staring at me blankly. “Is she, I mean, did you see her before we did?”

I consider my answer for a second, trying to remember, but my main memory consists of boiling anger.

“No, I didn’t see her. She was hiding in the bright light and I got really, really pissed off. I didn’t think she was real, I thought Alex had drugged me with something and she was a hallucination. I refused to talk to her, so she decided to speak to the whole clearing instead…” my voice trails off and I’m wondering why did I bring us back to the subject I really don’t want to talk or think about. I’m not a prophecy, I’m Kristina. I’m a teacher and I’m goddam good at my job, I don’t need any supernatural bullshit on top of it.

Rafael is watching me for a few minutes, the mischievous grin in his gorgeous eyes has long gone and is now replaced with sentiment.

“I thought Alex was going to kill you. How the hell did you withstand his aura? It’s physically impossible for a wolf to disobey a direct order from an alpha, and he used his full force too. It’s enough to kill most humans.”

“He tried to kill me?” I’m getting angry again, great.

“Now, he was annoyed and tried to assert dominance. He’s not cruel though, not unless you deserve it. The worst he would have done is get you unconscious to teach you a lesson.”

I snort, disgusted by what he’s saying. “That’s all, is it? Knocking women unconscious a lot?” I see the hurt in Rafael’s eyes and try to calm myself down. It’s not Rafael I’m annoyed with, so I shouldn’t be taking it out on him.

“Sorry,” I mutter quietly. “There’s just so much change and I don’t cope with change. It freaks me out. I shouldn’t have shouted at you, you’re not the one who almost pushed me to a breaking point. I was so scared and angry there and I guess those feelings don’t just disappear over night.”

Rafael didn’t let me finish my apology and instead pressed his lips onto mine. His kiss full of love and reassurance, sending fire and calm through both of us. God I love that man. I snuggle into his chest, trying to let his scent to calm me down completely.

“We didn’t get to see your parents,” I suddenly remember, looking up.

“It’s ok, they know what happened.” Rafael once again reassured me, stroking my hair. “Dad helped me get you back to the car safely, you were in a pretty bad shape.”

“Passing put generally does that to someone,” I try to laugh it off, but Rafael looks at me, his expression grave.

“Kristina, you didn’t just pass out. You were shaking and seizing for nearly 4 hours. The pack doctor said to not take you to hospital unless you have a fever, but I was still terrified I was going to lose you. There’s a good reason lots of humans don’t survive mating to shifters.” Rafael hangs his head, as if he was ashamed of marking me. After a few seconds, he however continues deep in thought.

“But then, if you were meant to be the prophecy, you must have been meant to be a shifter? Maybe it was hard on your body, because of the amount of stress you’ve been through today. Alex is researching all of the old archives to find out what there is about the prophecy, as he’s convinced he’s heard it somewhere. He’s desperate to…”

I raise my finger over Rafael’s lips, kissing his forehead. “I don’t want to talk about Alex, or the prophecy. As far as I’m concerned I’m not changing who I am to fit someone else’s expectations.”

“But…”

“No buts. I have enough on my plate with all of the current changes going on, I can’t cope with anything else. I am my own person, I’m more than just a prophecy. Can we please talk about what’s happening at Hartley Well? Last I know the press found out, but that was yesterday morning. What’s going on? Is everyone holding up?

Rafael sighs at my stubbornness, but knows me well enough to know there is no point arguing, so instead he fills me in on everything that has been reported to him over the weekend. As he talks I gulp on the soup he has made - just a simple root vegetable soup, but damn it is delicious. I could get used to him treating me so well all the time. I’m going to have to make sure to show him just how much I appreciate him, but not tonight. As I’ve finished my soup, I barely managed to put my bowl down, before my eyes started drooping again.

“Wake me up for work tomorrow, please,” is all I managed to say before falling back into uneasy dreams full off bright lights and loud noises.