Alternate Ending Extended Edition

Chapter 2

Aphrodite

"What the-" Aphrodite gasped so loud she barely heard the door slam behind her. Bumpkin was sucking from birdboy's neck. They both appeared to be enjoying themselves a little too much. Wait, screw that. Leeching off of a Raven Mocker's neck should not be enjoyable at all. She glared wide-eyed at Stevie Rae. "You and Him?"

"Aphrodite I can explain-" Stevie Rae had began to say, clutching Rephaim's hand tightly. Ugh. Aphrodite could not unsee that.

"Yes Bumpkin you should!" Rephaim turned to leave, but Stevie Rae used her other hand to grab his arm. He nor she flinched at the touch. They were used to it.

"Ages ago, before Z went loopy," Loopy was a way to describe Zoey, but that could describe her from the moment she was born, hell it could describe Stevie Rae right now. "When we had to check Tulsa for remaining Raven mockers, I found Rephaim and couldn't find it in my heart to kill him-"

"So you decided to drain his blood dry instead?" Aphrodite saw birdboy flinch.

"No! And stop interrupting me!" Stevie Rae pleaded, glaring at Aphrodite for the joke.

"Fine."

"Then he owed a life debt to me, so when I nearly got burnt up, Rephaim helped me and let me drink his blood, which is when our imprint broke and-"

"You're imprinted with that?" Stevie Rae flinched.

"Yes, I am imprinted with him." She emphasized the word, "Anyway, so then afterwards when I invoked the dang white bull, because you forgot to dang tell me that it was evil." Woops. "He came and saved me, making me owe him a life debt, so I called up the dang black bull which saved us both. And here we are." Wow. Long story.

Aphrodite was still staring at her, wide-eyed.

"So this is the him then?" Aphrodite said, making a point of stepping back and looking him up and down as if he wasn't already present in her nightmares. "Dang Bumpkin, doesn't his blood smell wrong? How can you drink that?"

"I need it-"

"More like you want it," She made sure Stevie Rae heard the ring at the end of her sentence, there was a pause in the air before anyone spoke.

"Please, do not tell anyone." The Raven mocker said aloud, his voice was too human. Too human for who he was. It gave Aphrodite the hibee-jibees.

"What 'bout bumpkin and you, birdboy?" She looked back at Stevie Rae. "Let's go save unattractive birdboy so bumpkin can live unhappily ever after." She sneered.

"Yeah, but take both uns out of that sentence." Stevie Rae stared at her. She looked back o Rephaim and gazed at him, before letting go of both his arm and hand. She sighed and looked down. Aphrodite rolled her eyes as Rephaim whispered a mere 'goodbye' and took off, his wings haunting the red dawn sky.

"I won't tell." It looked as though worried Stevie Rae turned around to ask again, but Aphrodite took the opportunity to answer. Aphrodite wasn't telling for several reasons the main being the scene she just witnessed, Rephaim's departure. It disgusted her that Stevie Rae had been drinking from him, a sexual pleasure supposed to be shared between a Vampyre and a human, but a Fledging and a Raven Mocker? However, seeing the look of sadness, but love the two shared before Rephaim left, gave Aphrodite a sick feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She wouldn't be the one to break them up. "I came to say the Dark Daughter's meeting is tomorrow. Be there." She spat and with that, she turned and left. The door closing behind her, leaving her to len against it and properly think. Rephaim, she thought, she's imprinted with Kalona's favourite son, the biggest baddie of all Raven Mockers, REPHAIM! She made a long way upstairs to the room she shared with Darius. Out the window a black figure moving across the sky swiftly caught her eye, she shook her head and turned away.

"I heard a door slam, I thought it was you. What's wrong?" Darius immediately questioned as soon as Aphrodite walked in. She stared at him cold. She'd never lie to her consort. She could trust Darius also, he'd understand that they couldn't break them up. If Stevie Rae was becoming evil because of Rephaim, why hadn't she asked about visions? Why hadn't she analysed poems further? Why hadn't she convinced them Neferet was good or something?

She knew she had no option but to let it all out. No one person could keep this to themself. "I saw Stevie Rae, but you cannot tell anyone..."

Stevie Rae

Stevie Rae woke up feeling refreshed. "It's 'cause his blood's in me," She said aloud. Stevie Rae sighed. She needed him; he needed her. Like gravity almost. She felt it in their imprint. Their imprint. That's when Stevie Rae realised there was a chance she might be in love with Rephaim, the enemy. Enemy? No, he wasn't the enemy anymore. If he was, he'd abuse her powers, he'd have taken her to his father, left her to die when the sun was burning her or killed her when he got his strength back.

Stevie Rae was so deep in thought by now, she jumped when she heard the door knock. "Come in!" She shouted loud enough to distract her thoughts from him. Not that it matters, she thought, I'll think about him again later. Z and the gang walked in. Aphrodite's accusing gaze forced Stevie Rae to look away. Part of her was relieved someone knew, but another part of her was annoyed the someone was Aphrodite.

"We decided to hold the dark daughters meeting here," Z sighed, grabbing a chair and moving it close to where her best friend lay. Stevie Rae offered her a weak smile, knowing full well she probably had better health than Zoey did at the moment because of Rephaim.

"Thanks that's real sweet of y'all to think of me like that," Aphrodite stared at her like she'd just admitted to stealing some new collection from a fashion store.

"Actually it was my idea," Aphrodite confessed, "I just thought of how weak and vulnerable you might be bumpkin," To everyone else it was the casual Aphrodite's self. But Stevie Rae felt the secret message behind it. Actually it was my idea, I just wanted you to feel bad because your leg isn't not broken anymore is it? Stevie Rae sighed; yes she was fully healed thanks to the immortal power of Rephaim's blood.

And that's when Lenobia rushed in.

"Oh good, you're all here. There's something you should know!" Lenobia quickly said, that Stevie Rae had to repeat the words she'd heard to make sure she didn't miss anything. "Kalona and his Raven Mockers are back, including Rephaim." Stevie Rae felt her blood go cold. No! She weeped inside, why were they all here?

"That explains why I saw Rephaim last night," Aphrodite said, making everyone, but Stevie Rae, gasp. Stevie Rae also noted Darius didn't look shocked either, "Course he was alone...I think." She stared at Stevie Rae, who nodded suttly. "Anyway, the reason why he was here never came into context."

"All students and professors of the House Of Night to the hall please," The voice came on the overhead 'd recognise that voice anywhere. Rephaim. The thought shuddered through her as her friends made a quick plan on how they were going to use Rephaim against Kalona. To use him would break Stevie Rae's heart. However, for the truth to come out about him and Stevie Rae, would break everyone she knew – especially Dragon's – heart.