Heart of Stone (Part III)

III. Chapter 42 | Aubree

Instrumental music: "Everdream" by Epic Soul Factory

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The pack spent the remainder of the night disposing of the vampire bodies littering the valley and forest and hunting down the remains of the Rosmi Maana warriors that had been scattered about. They gathered the charred bones, knowing that the mates of the males were already suffering back in Arizona from the loss.

When the sun rose and all the remaining vampires had disappeared into their hiding places for the day, a fresh breeze swept through the forest, cleansing it of the lingering odors of burnt vampire flesh, blood, and blackened tree stumps. A large portion of the forest had been damaged, but nature had a way of recovering from such disasters. It simply required time.

After spending several hours in her lycan form now, Aubree had gotten a little accustomed to the minute sounds and smells she never noticed before as a human. The slightest rustle of leaves startled her at first. The slimy trail that snails left behind had a peculiar scent to her curious nose.

But the best part was the feeling she got when she ran with her pack around her.

Even though everyone was exhausted, the pack could not contain their enthusiasm for their first run together.

The exhilarating sense of freedom was unlike anything she had experienced as a human before. She finally understood why Stone loved it so much. The wind through her fur and the pounding of her paws against the earth released the pent up emotions that wound her muscles into knots. If it weren't for the fact that she was still a pup by their standards of stamina, she would have been content to run for hours.

After pausing by a stream for a drink and to catch her breath, she stared at her rippling reflection in a calm curve of the running water. Fully lycan like the others with a wolf's head that was white under her chin before blending into a tan color on her muzzle and hazel eyes before a mixture of gold and copper twined between her brows and up over her head. On all fours, she couldn't make out her humanoid body very well as she was half-submerged in water, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to see it yet. It was still hard for her to believe that the creature looking back at her was her, just in another form.

Stone nipped playfully at her long pointed ears, surprising her and making her yelp before poking him in the eye with her nose.

He barked a laugh—at least, it sounded like a laugh to her—before he licked her maw.

[You're beautiful.]

Her tail swished a little before leaning into him and licking him back.

He was larger than her and she liked the way her body curved into his. He was strong and protective, a feeling that gave her comfort and pride.

Eventually, the time came for her to shift back into her human form—which took twice as long as the first time. She had to focus on the act herself, morphing each muscle, bone, and ligament on her own without the aid of the moon.

She was so exhausted by the end of it all that she slept for thirteen hours straight.

The Council left the next day, apologizing for everything and expressing that they would like to meet again in a decade to check up, see how things were doing, and welcome their new pup—for surely they would have one by then. The next lunar eclipse was another year and a half away and the Midwest was projected to get the best view that night.

Amora stayed behind, not ready to return to Europe yet.

"I think I'll spend some time with packs on this continent," she had said. "I am overdue for a visit."