Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 35 - Aubree (Part 1)

Aubree’s heart was pounding. She knew Stone had transformed. He may have gotten a head start, but the way he plowed through the forest without flinching at the branches that scratched against his arms and legs told her that he had entered a different state of mind. Nothing could harm him now, except maybe himself.

Still, she ran forward, wincing when her one bare foot scraped against the rough edge of a rock, or the sharp end of a twig, not knowing where she was going or if she was even headed in the right direction. The pull that compelled her forward was what drew her to him.

The rustle of branches on the right made her freeze and when Gavin tumbled out—butt naked—she barely had time to blink before his hands gripped her shoulders and he held her gaze with his firmly.

“You love him, don’t you?”

She blinked, still surprised to see him. “Yeah.”

“Then go to him. Speak your mind and be honest with him. Don’t hold back anything. Listen to your heart and follow it.”

He turned her in the direction he came before running off and disappearing into the trees and ferns that surrounded her.

‘Follow your heart,’ her father’s voice rumbled in her head.

She had been thirteen or fourteen at the time, crying over something she could no longer remember what.

He had put his arm around her shoulder as he sat next to her on her bed and pulled her close.

‘I know it feels like the end of the world right now, but it’s not. Life is going to knock you down over and over again, but you have to keep pulling yourself back up and not let it beat you down. But if you follow your heart, it will help you through it and make you stronger.’

She thought those were just words fathers told their daughters when they were kids, but as she grew up, she did what he told her and every time she thought her life was ending, she picked up her heart and carried on, remembering his words to never give up.

Now, her heart was pushing her forward toward a man she had been destined to meet, to love, and to share the rest of her life with. A man who wasn’t even human.

But she did love Stone. That much was certain.

Carefully, she made her way through the undergrowth, through the ferns and branches that reached for her and scratched at her exposed skin.

The force within her pulled and pushed her, growing stronger with each step she took. She knew she was getting closer and when she saw a dark shape looming ahead against a tree, her breath caught in her throat.

Pulling back behind a tree, she leaned against it as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding so hard, she didn’t know how she was going to get enough air into her lungs.

“Stone?” she called out.

There was no answer, but she could feel his presence. He was there, a few yards away.

Gathering air into her lungs, she clamped her eyes shut and stepped away from the tree. She held her hands out blindly before her. “Stone, show yourself. I know you’re there and I want to see you, but I want to touch you first.”

She tried to keep still, but she could feel the trembling of her outstretched hands, hoping, praying that he would come to her.

She needed to feel his touch, to feel that he was still in there regardless of his outward appearance. Would he feel soft to the touch like Whiskey, or rough and wiry like grandad’s whiskers?

“Please, Stone,” she begged in a faint whisper as a light breeze blew against her back.

She took a step forward when a twig snapped ahead. It couldn’t have been more than a few feet away, making her heart leap into her throat. She curled her fingers up as she inhaled a shaky breath before unfurling them as she slowly exhaled.

Her fingertips on her right hand brushed against fur.

She tried not to flinch, but it still caught her by surprise. She refused to pull back and instead stretched her grasp out until both hands gripped his arm.

Fear laced itself around her and she gasped at its intensity.

He was scared—just as scared as she was.

The hair was thick and coarse, yet thin and soft the closer it got to the skin. She could picture in her mind his claw-like hand, covered in thick fur with long, sharp nails as she slid her hands down his wrist. It felt identical to the first time she saw it when they were working on the garden, and the night before when they brought Gwen back from the brink of death. It was less scary to touch now.

A low rumble reverberated up his throat as her fingers slid down over his and over the top of his long claws. A warning, she understood, to be careful.

She turned his hand over and touched his leathery, yet rough palm. Rough, like the pads of Whiskey’s paws, and she smiled a little at the comparison. Pushing those warm feelings forth, she felt his muscles relax a little before she moved her hands up the long length of his arm to his shoulder.

Even though he stood an additional foot higher than normal, he was still hunched forward. She could barely reach him when he stepped back.

Hurt gripped her, but then she heard a huff as his hot breath blew in her face. His rough palms gently moved her outstretched hands in and her fingertips brushed against fur. Moving her hands together, she realized she was holding his head and she gasped in shock. His head was huge! Still, she refused to pull away, feeling a thread of fear slip through him to her.

Swallowing, she moved her hands up along the side of his head, feeling his ears extend up in soft, velvety points, like Whiskey’s ears. Short, soft fur covered his face as her fingers traveled down over the gentle slope of his forehead. Her fingertips traced over the ridge of his brows before tentatively moving down his long muzzle.

A rumble vibrated up through him and a hint of pleasure tickled her palms.

Smiling, she stroked his muzzle gently between her palms. “You like that?”

He pressed his nose into her palm before licking it, the way Whiskey always did. The familiarity of it made her giggle as her fears slipped away.

Opening her eyes, she gazed back into those deep blues she had come to love so much.

He was crouched before her on his knees and from this angle, he strongly resembled a very large wolf, but she knew he was anything but.

“Let me see you,” she whispered. “All of you.”

Closing his eyes, he pressed his cheek against her palm, as if savoring her touch a bit longer, or perhaps drawing strength from it, Aubree didn’t know. With a little huff, he pulled back a few yards. His eyes remained closed as he rose to his full height.

Her breath caught in her throat as she stared up at the beast.

He looked a lot like the creatures she had seen on the Internet but seeing one face-to-face, merely three yards away, was a whole other thing.

His sheer size was overwhelming, towering high over her. From the shoulders down, his body resembled a man covered in thick fur in shades of brown, gold, and blond. He must have been about eight feet tall, with arms and legs that were both four feet long and thick with muscle. His arms alone were as thick as her head.

Fear nibbled away at her as she took him in. A light breeze nipped at her skin, making it break out in goosebumps.

Heart pounding, she stepped closer.

His eyes were still closed. The one thing about him that had remained unchanged in the transformation, and the one thing she wanted to gaze into more than anything, to ground her in their reality. Yes, he was a beast, but he was her soulmate, and the one she had fallen in love with.

“I’m scared,” she said, as she took another step closer, “but not as scared as I thought I would be.”

His eyes opened at the sound of her voice, watching her as she slowly closed the distance between them.

She reached up with trembling hands and he lowered himself back down into a crouching position before her. Taking his head into her hands again, she looked into his eyes. Her heart was still banging against her ribs, but once she gazed into those deep ocean blues, warmth enveloped her.

He was still the stubbornly sweet soul inside.

“It’s scary,” she whispered as she lightly dug her fingers into his fur, “but you don’t have to hide anymore. No one has to hide anymore. It’s okay. I’ll be okay.”

He closed his eyes and Aubree could feel the muscles in his cheeks ripple under her touch before the crick, crack, pop of bones grinding together as his shape began to shift before her.

Her eyes locked on his face as it morphed into the one she had come to know so well, her hands refusing to budge from his cheeks as the fur receded into his skin and all that remained was the short stubble from before.

“It’s okay to be scared,” he said before reaching up to cup her hands against his cheeks. “It means that you see the real me. All of me. Both sides of who I am. The man and the beast.”

Opening his eyes, he looked up into hers from his knees. “I know my beast is frightening to you, and I’d rather you be honest with me than to spew crap about not being scared because you love me. Love is blind, yes, but love is also honest. Loving someone wholly and completely for who they are is scary as fuck, and you...” He inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. “Aubree, you terrify me. You never cease to terrify me.”

She pressed her forehead to his as he exhaled, his breath washing over her face. “Stone...”

He pressed a rough finger to her lips. “And it’s because I love you that I can’t shake this fear of never being able to gaze into your eyes, to see your face light up, to touch you, to kiss you, to be with you for the rest of your life. But I’m also scared of being the one that hurts you, who drives you away—”

“You can’t drive me away because I’m not going anywhere,” she interrupted, pulling his finger down from her lips. “I love you too. I belong with you. And for as long as I live, I will stand by you. I am yours.”

Reaching up, he brushed back her hair and wrapped his hand behind her slender neck. ”E ya eta temona,” he whispered with a haggard breath. “And I am yours. Always.”

Tilting his head up, his lips embraced hers, wrapping her up in absolute bliss.

“I love you,” he rasped between each breath. “I love you.”