"The entire house is secure, and I'll be keeping watch outside all night. Even if five vampires tried to distract me and break in, I'll be able to take them all down before they can even scratch the windows," Gwen said as she led Aubree up the stairs to the third level.
Aubree nodded, glad that Stone wasn't around as she followed Gwen. She wasn't ready to face him yet. She wasn't sure what to say or how she'd react when she saw him again. She almost wished she could forget everything. Forget meeting him, Gwen, and the others. But if he was her soulmate, wouldn't that mean that some force of nature would bring them together eventually?
"Gwen?" Aubree asked in a small voice at the top of the stairs. "What are the possibilities of meeting you if I never met you at the coffee shop?"
"Well, that would depend," she replied, thinking about her answer for a moment. "If we never picked up your scent on the road that night you moved in, then it could have taken a few weeks for us to pick up on it in the city."
"Wait," Aubree paused, thinking back on that night, and how she almost hit something on the road. "You guys were there? Did I almost hit you with my car?"
Gwen looked back at her with her head tilted. "We were there, but you almost hit Carina, the vampire we believe responsible for the threat against your life."
The blood rushed from Aubree's head at her words. The vampire threat really did go all the way back to when she moved in with Dan.
"Did she know that I was... that I am Stone's..."
Gwen shook her head. "I don't think so. She was long gone before you even continued on your way. She probably never got a chance to pick up your scent. We had to remain hidden in the trees along the road until you left. Even though your scent was contained within the car, we were still able to pick it up."
Aubree swallowed. "So, even if none of that happened, we were all bound to meet eventually, is what you're saying?"
Gwen shrugged. "Most likely. The matebond is pretty persistent."
Aubree pressed a hand to her face in hopes of easing some of the pain in her temples. "Matebond?"
"That's the, uh, chemistry? I guess you could call it that," Gwen said. "It's the bond that is shared between soulmates. It's that 'pull' you feel that compels you to be drawn to Papa. Try as you might to fight against it, it will only get stronger over time."
That explained a lot.
Aubree heaved a sigh. "Resistance is futile, huh?"
"Afraid so. Usually, there is no resistance but you're a special case," Gwen said as she went to one of the closed doors and turned the knob to open it. "Since you're human and have a boyfriend—"
"Fiancé," Aubree corrected, the word sounding forced, almost harsh on her tongue.
As she followed Gwen to the door, Gwen pursed her lips as she pushed it open. "Right. Anyway, there are complications with you being a human. That's why Papa didn't try to claim you right away. Not only do you know nothing about us, soulmates, or the matebond for that matter, but our society has strict rules regarding lycans and humans, um, interbreeding, if you will."
"Never mind," Aubree muttered, her exhaustion, mental, and physical strain finally getting the best of her. She didn't even want to think about getting pregnant and having children with Stone right now. "Sorry I asked."
Gwen flicked the light-switch on and Aubree peered into a simple bedroom with a King-sized bed in the middle of the room, dresser and wardrobe along one wall, bookshelf along another with a sitting chair, and a large dark-stained oak chest at the foot of the bed. All of the wooden furniture was stained the same dark shade and looked to be custom-made by hand. There was an adjoining private bathroom and heavy curtains drawn over a big window.
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)
Werewolf[COMPLETE] Some bonds can't be broken, even in death. -- He couldn't endure another heartbreak. "Accepting her would be a mistake," he said. "She's a human. I can't afford to have her blood on my hands." Gwen looked away, and he knew she saw the ima...
