Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 30 - Aubree (Part 1)

The morning flew by in a blur of awkwardness for Aubree.

Stone took her to a high-rise downtown first, where she met Mr. Johnson (a fake name), who was one of the few humans who knew the truth about lycans, werewolves, and vampires. He was the man that handled all of their documentation, identifications, cover-up stories, and paid them for the vampires they killed. His assistant was a werewolf from the North Fang Pack, who doubled as a bodyguard for him.

Aubree discovered that over the last week, Stone and his family had taken out twenty-six vampires, which slightly angered Mr. Johnson because he couldn’t afford to pay him the usual amount.

“This is getting out of control, Alpha,” Mr. Johnson said through gritted teeth. “If you brought me Carina and ended this fucking war, I’d give you a hundred thousand just for her.”

It had been the only time he displayed anger and used profanity in front of Aubree during their meeting, but Stone seemed unfazed by it. He kept a calm composure and agreed to settle the amount for a thousand dollars a piece.

“Trust me,” Stone told him, “no one would be happier to have her taken out than me.”

Afterward, much to Aubree’s dismay, Stone insisted on using twenty-five thousand of the twenty-six to pay off her student debt.

“Consider it an advance on your new duties as Luna,” he said in an attempt to silence her repeated objections to it as their car pulled up to the bank.

Crossing her arms over her chest as he put the car in park, she huffed. “I just don’t feel right accepting it.”

Aubree had never been given anything in her life without having to work hard to earn it herself. She wouldn’t even let her father give her money for college when he offered. She couldn’t justify accepting something as huge as paying off her student debt—especially when that money came from killing vampires. Even though it was because of those vampires that brought her and Stone together in the first place.

What would have happened if that vampire had never attacked her? Would she have learned the truth about her and Stone? About his family? Would she have stayed with Dan?

After turning the car off, Stone touched her cheek. She felt his concern before she looked up and read it in his blue eyes.

“Aubree?” he asked, as if knowing that there was something else on her mind than money.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she asked, “If I had never gotten attacked by that vampire in Wisconsin, would we be where we are now?”

“You tell me.”

His response caught her by surprise. His cool eyes stared into hers calmly, as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

She remembered Gwen telling her that the matebond was rather persistent and probably would have brought them back together at some point, but would she have accepted him under different circumstances?

“I don’t know.”

He caught her chin with his thumb and forefinger and tilting her head toward him. “I do.”

Her breath hitched in her throat as she stared back into his eyes as her stomach flip-flopped.

“I would have discovered your return sooner or later. I would have been furious. I would have cornered you and demanded to know why you returned.” He paused, pressing his lips together and swallowing before continuing. “Seeing you again after such a lengthy absence would have pushed me to do something more drastic. I’m afraid, I would not have been gentle.”

He lowered his gaze. “It was hard letting you go that night we went to the pharmacy. I kept telling myself that it was for the best, that you were better off in Chicago. It broke my heart. My only consolation was in knowing that you would be safe. I believed that. If you had returned, it would have reopened the wound that I had been trying to convince was best.” Pain reflected in his eyes and touch as his gaze lifted her hers again. “I can handle another loss if it means you are safe. If you could live a life filled with joy without me, that was better than you not living at all.”

He released her chin and caressed her cheek with his rough knuckles, causing a ripple of pleasure to course through her. She knew he would sacrifice his own happiness for hers. She couldn’t imagine life without him now and an ache swelled within her at the thought of not being able to stand by his side.

How far we have come. She closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to relish his gentle touch.

“The money is meaningless, Aubree. Will you please let me do this for you so that it’s done and you don’t have to concern yourself with it again?” he asked.

She nodded. He was right. Her student debt was such a minor thing compared to the other more pressing matters. It was best to pay it off. One less thing to worry about.

After that was taken care of, they made a few more stops to pay Stone’s bills.

Once that was done, Aubree just shook her head in amusement. “You know, you can set it up to pay all these bills online, right?”

“Even the land claims?” Stone asked.

She shrugged. “Maybe? You’re billed on land claims?”

“Of course,” he said. “I imagine it’s similar to what humans call ‘property tax.’ We pay a hefty premium on ours, as well. That’s where the bulk of our money goes. The government pays us, then takes it away from us.”

Aubree smirked. “Just like everyone else.”

Stone pulled up to a café and parked the car. “Well, we have a bit of time before Hector comes to meet us.”

Aubree raised an eyebrow. “What are you suggesting?”

He smiled a little, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “A game.”

Her brows furrowed. That wasn’t what she was expecting him to say. “A game? What kind of game?”

“A guessing game.”

She stared at him. “You’re serious?”

His lips quirked up more, meeting his eyes now. “For a few minutes.”

She leaned her head back against the seat as he took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb along her index finger. “Sure. How does it work?”

“We guess certain things about each other. Like favorite color,” he said. “I guess that your favorite color is blue.”

She gaped at him like a fish. He was right. “How did you know?”

He grinned. “You wear a lot of blue and white. That, and it suits you.”

She arched a brow skeptically. “Let me guess, Adelaide’s favorite color was blue?”

He shook his head. “No, she liked purple, but a softer shade of purple, like the color of lilacs.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks heated up. She didn’t want to admit that she was glad that her favorite color was different from her soul’s previous body, nor did she want to admit that she was secretly pleased that he guessed right.

Catching her chin, he tipped it up and stared deeply into her eyes.

She felt that pull again that his gaze always had on her, drawing her in. Her heart warmed, skipping in delight as he gazed at her.

“What’s my favorite color, Röslein?” he asked, his voice soft and velvety.

Her skin prickled, as if his voice brushed over her flesh. She swallowed. “Green?”

He smirked at her, and she gasped. Was she wrong?

“Close. Green was my favorite as a pup. Then, it was brown when I met Adelaide. Now,” he said, tracing her eyebrow with his thumb from the center of her forehead out to her temple as he continued to gaze into her eyes, “now, my favorite color is hazel.”

Aubree struggled to fill her lungs with air. “Hazel’s not a color.”

“No, it’s better. It combines my two favorite colors together as one. Who I was a long time ago, who I became when I first found your soul, and who I am now, having found you again,” he said. He swallowed. “I dread the day that I can no longer gaze at my favorite color.”

“Stone,” she whispered as the air rushed out of her lungs.

He slipped his hand behind her head and she leaned forward as he pulled her to him.

His lips caressed hers tenderly, deeply, and she could feel the subtleness of his presence seeping through her. She reached for it, drawing it closer, and gasped as his heat filled her and his kisses became more demanding.

She wanted more of him. She wanted to feel that connection she had with him and Gavin when they brought Gwen back.

The more he kissed her, the deeper she felt drawn to him, and the higher the intensity of her desire mingled with his.

"Aubree...” he whispered huskily.

A gentle tapping on the window made them both jump. A growl ripped from Stone’s throat as he whipped his head around and glared at Hector.

Flushed, Aubree buried her head against Stone’s shoulder in an attempt to hide her embarrassment from the other lycan. Peeking up at him, she saw Hector grinning as Stone rolled the window down.

“Hurry up and mate already,” Hector said.

“Pretty sure we’d get arrested if we tried to do that here,” Stone grumbled before clearing his throat. Without skipping a beat, he changed the subject. “You’re early. Did you get enough sleep?”

“It was sufficient,” Hector replied.

Stone turned to Aubree, his eyes scanning over her heated face. He gave her a reassuring smile despite the hint of a blush on the back of his neck. “Do you need a few more minutes?”

She glanced up at Hector, still grinning like a devil. He shook his head lightly. “Alright, I got the message. See you both inside. Don’t steam up the windows now.”