Forever (Fallen 3)

“You haven’t even seen the other one,” he stated.

“Ugh, fi

ne. Just hurry I want to get back to Jonathon.”

Christian pulled the dress out of a garment bag. I suddenly felt terrible for complaining. This dress was just as beautiful as the one I was wearing but in a completely different way. This dress was much more simple. It was elegant and vintage in design. It had tulle ties at the shoulder and a V-neck. It clung to my body like a second skin. It was a good thing I was slender. It had a white sash at the waist. Noticing my appreciation Christian flipped it so I could admire the back. Soft white buttons went down the back and then the dress trailed into a short but elegant train. This dress, true to word, would be much more manageable. Diana quickly finished buttoning it and turned me to face her.

“You look so beautiful,” she whispered.

“Thank you,” I hugged her. Pierre shooed her away and began plucking at my hair. He let it down and pulled it over so it all rested on my right shoulder. He left the diamond headband and added a peacock feather. I smiled.

“See? That didn’t take so long now did it?” asked Christian.

“No,” I replied. “Thank you so much for everything, Christian. You too Pierre. You’ve given me the most beautiful dresses and the most beautiful wedding. It really is a dream come true.”

Pierre pulled me into a hug. “You deserve it,” he said and then Christian hugged me.

“Now get back to your man,” Christian grinned.

“Diana, can you take me back to the gazebo? I’m afraid I might get lost otherwise.”

“Sure,” she stood. Her heels had to easily be five inches but she walked effortlessly. I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Once the gazebo was within sight she left me. I walked up the gazebo steps and found Jonathon where I had left him, but he was now joined by a man, and a woman. Both were obviously vampires.

“This is Raphael, a friend of mine for many years,” Jonathon pointed to the male vampire. Raphael was gorgeous, though in my opinion his looks couldn’t touch Jonathon, with dark hair almost to his shoulders and the same silver eyes that all vampires had. “And this is his soul mate, Evangeline,” he said, indicating the woman though she couldn’t be much older than me. And judging by her strained appearance she had been recently turned. She too, was beautiful. Her hair was long, almost halfway down her back, and darker than mine. Almost black.

“I actually prefer, Raph,” said the male vampire taking my hand. “I hope we’ll be good friends. I haven’t seen Jonathon much, because I was dealing with my own issues back in the States or else I would have been here to help you both with Selena. So, my apologies.”

“You have nothing to apologize for and I hope we can be friends too,” I said. Raph seemed very friendly, and like the Pulmer’s, mostly human. The woman on the other hand frightened me. I realized that Raph, like the Pulmer’s, was probably a very old vampire. And with age comes wisdom, or I guess, the ability to control your thirst. Most of the vampires, actually, all of the vampires except for my mom, that I had been around were older. Evangeline was obviously newly turned and struggling to control herself. I could tell that she was also upset by that fact.

I turned towards the female and took a step back into the arms of Jonathon who was now standing beside me. “And I prefer Evan,” she said, trying to smile; only it came out more like a grimace.

“Kylie,” I said to her giving her a reassuring smile. Raphael smiled and the two left. “They seem nice,” I said, turning to face Jonathon as he held me in his arms. Little lights were beginning to come on inside the gazebo and I could hear music in the distance.

“Raph has always been one of my best friends outside of my family. You would probably do well to talk to him. He’s always struggled with what he is, being a vampire and all, he’s actually searching for a cure.”

“A cure? Do you think that’s possible?”

“No,” said Jonathon, “I don’t.”

“But Raph does?”

“He does. He’s always been quite a dreamer,” Jonathon chuckled.

I leaned up and kissed his delectable lips. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he leaned his forehead against mine. “Dance with me, wife,” he bowed, holding out a hand for me.

“Of course, husband,” I breathed in the delicious scent of his breath. He took my hands and swung us around in an elegant waltz. He did all the moving, all I had to do was breathe. I loved the feel of his hand in mine and on my waist. He was my rock. The song ended but Jonathon continued to glide us around the gazebo. “We should probably join the others. They’re bound to be wondering where we are,” I said.

He pulled away but kept his hand on my waist. “You’re probably right and I’d hate for you to only remember this for your wedding memories.”

“What’s wrong with this?” I asked. “Everything’s perfect.”

He smiled, “You’re perfect.”

I blushed. We were married now and he still managed to make me blush. I had a feeling he’d always have that effect on me. I guess until I turned into a vampire. After that my reactions wouldn’t be the same. He took my hand and we glided through the ethereal garden. I felt like I was in a fairy tale. The smell of the fresh flowers was intoxicating. We entered the reception which had a dance floor and a live band set in the corner. Many were socializing and others were dancing. Wispy pieces of canvas created a ceiling. Small little lights sparkled everywhere and a few stars were starting to appear in the darkening sky. I saw Aiden and Viola dancing and Adam and Vivian sitting at a table talking. I was pleased that they were happy but I couldn’t shake my feeling of dread. Jonathon pulled me over to the table with food. The cake was in the center of it and looked stunning. I never knew cake could be a work of art but this was. It wouldn’t be long until we cut it, even though hardly any of the guests could even eat. I guessed it was more for show than anything. Jonathon shucked his tuxedo jacket onto a chair and rolled his shoulders around like he was stiff and then unbuttoned the top couple of buttons on his crisp white shirt. He picked up a plate and began filling it with food. I just followed along. There was a table reserved for us and that’s where he sat down. “Eat something,” he pushed the plate in front of me.

“I’m not hungry.”