Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)

I. Chapter 23 | Part 1 - Stone

Song: "In the End" by Linkin Park

----

The moment Stone turned and saw Aubree standing there on the terrace in a knee-length shimmery blue dress with Adelaide's pearls around her neck, she took his breath away.

He knew Gwen had planned something out for them. She mentally explained to him when she brought in the popsicles. He'd been annoyed at the time because he had finally managed to gear himself up for it, but she was right once he'd cooled down afterward.

If he wanted to win Aubree's heart, it wasn't going to be in Vincent's infirmary.

He had no choice now but to earn her trust, obtain her affections, and claim her heart. His soul yearned for hers and it was getting harder and harder to fight against it.

Her vanilla-rose scent drew him toward her. His eyes lingered along the purplish-blue ring around her neck and the adorning pearl necklace that he'd given to Adelaide long ago.

The necklace had been a gift after the birth of their firstborn son. He had searched and gathered the pearls himself in secret over the course of her pregnancy and then presented her the necklace after the birth.

Seeing it on Aubree, merely inches away from the bruises on her neck, only reminded him of how close he came to losing his soulmate again.

He couldn't bear to see the marks on her body before, but now he forced himself to look at them. To etch them into his memory so that he would be reminded of them whenever he did something foolish to risk her life again.

He held her hands in his. Her life was in his hands. He had to protect it and he hoped that one day, he would love it as much as he loved Adelaide's life.

But nothing could prepare him for the blow when she uttered those dreadful words.

"I'm engaged to Dan."

At first, he wasn't sure he had heard her right. He was still reeling from the sensation of her lips on his, the electricity that zapped his mind, and the fire that roared to life from his loins and through his bloodstream as her scent of arousal drowned him into a state of oblivion and desire.

He stared at her back as her words sunk in.

She was engaged.

Her slender shoulders trembled as she to sobbed into her hands. She looked so small and fragile, delicate like a rose, which was so unlike her. Where was her air of confidence? Her spunk? Her stubborn will and sharp tongue to put him in his place when he needed her to?

She was breaking before him, like soft rose petals breaking from a wilting stem and falling one by one, slipping through his fingertips.

Like blood on his hands. Blood that he would continue to spill because it was his nature to kill.

He stared at his palms as pain ripped through his heart. Curling his fingers up and into fists, he knew he'd made a mistake.

In his moment of weakness, the moment he let the matebond take hold of his will, he offered himself to her and took away her will.

It wasn't right. It went against the ritual.

But what were his rituals to her? She didn't know them. He knew that but it still didn't make it right to him.

And as much as he wanted to deny the possibility of her untimely end, he knew her blood would one day color his hands as well. She was a human. Her death was inevitable. Now, any length of time that he dreamed he could have with her, was ripped away from him. She was engaged, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He clutched his chest as pain ripped through him.

[Gwen!] He called out to her as he heard and felt his bones beginning to shift and crack.

Stepping back, away from Aubree, heat rushed over him as his skin broke out in fur in shades of brown, gold, and white. Behind the agony of his broken heart, he could feel his angry wolf rising up, wanting to claim his mate at all cost.

A low rumble emitted from his throat as his hip hit the rock railing at the edge of the terrace. His hands—now enormous claws with nails as long as human fingers—clutched the edge, digging into the rocks and breaking off chips. His nasal cavity began to elongate as he fought for control. Through his growing fangs, a furious snarl slipped out.

Gwen flew through the door as his knees buckled. He looked up to catch the alarm in her eyes before he looked away over the edge of the railing.

It was too late to stop the transformation now.

With Aubree's back still facing him, he threw himself over the railing and dropped to the earth twenty feet down, completing his shift quickly by allowing the beast full reign.

Rage and fury surged through him, and he took off into the trees at full speed.

[Take her home,] he commanded Gwen before he blocked her and everyone else out of his mind.

He needed to be alone right now. He didn't know what to do with the pain in his heart, and the anger he held, but he knew he needed to stay away from her. He should have stayed away in the first place. This was why lycans and humans didn't mix. It was too dangerous.

He told himself nothing could come of their union but pain and suffering. Why didn't he listen? Why did he let his heart hope for anything different? A second chance? Maybe in fairy tales and happily-ever-after stories, but not in his world.

After several miles of running, he rammed his left shoulder into a tree, the trunk cracking and splitting upon impact. Pain ripped through him again but it was only physical pain, a pain that he needed to take his mind off his emotions.

With his mind now distracted, he paused in his tracks as he popped his shoulder back into its socket before rolling it and feeling the muscles tighten and heal. The pain subsided as he huffed, clenching and unclenching his left hand.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled the rich scent of pine, earth, and moss as he tried to push the conflicting memories from his mind.

He had kissed Aubree with as much fervor as he had the first time he kissed Adelaide, only this time it was the first time he felt fear.

He hated how weak and vulnerable she made him feel. He never had to explain himself to Adelaide. She knew because she was a lycan like him. He never had to put his heart out on the line. It was simpler. He gave himself freely to her with confidence, knowing that she would not turn him away, and likewise, he wouldn't turn her away.

Aubree was different. She knew nothing of him and his world, not to mention that she had a mind of her own. He didn't know how she'd react. Would she accept him, or not?

Leaning against a tree, he dug his claws into the rough, uneven bark and broke off pieces in an attempt to release more of his pent up emotions.

Despite the strong feelings he got from her, he could feel the pull of his soul toward her, and he could tell she was feeling it too. She may be engaged to Dan but could she ignore the calling of her heart? Could she fight against the bond that drew them towards each other?

I want you, he admitted to himself. But not if it means forcing you against your will to be with me.

----

Dedicated to JuliaBattles

*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2015*