He joined Alistair, Gavin, and Gunner in the living room as they waited for Gwen and Aubree's arrival.
Their pack house was small in comparison to Vincent's extravagant palace. Unlike Vincent, Stone and his pack were less flashy and materialistic. The pack house was for sleeping, showering, and doing the necessary paperwork required for every pack. They all lived outdoors. He would have been content to still live in a den deep in the earth like they had hundreds of years ago.
The rise of technology and increase in human interaction was what forced him to build the pack house in the first place. There certainly was more paperwork now than ever before. The rise of technology had made their lives anything but easier.
The pack house consisted of three floors and a basement. The main floor had all the basic necessities of every home. At the back of the house was a large eat-in kitchen (not that they did a lot of eating in there) with oak cabinets, a small round table that could barely seat four with a red and white checkered tablecloth. It had a cozy cottage feeling and the warmth carried to the rest of the main level. An enclosed dining room that could seat a dozen was next to the kitchen for those rare occurrences when they had company over for a meal. On the other side of the dining room was a long, narrow, enclosed sunroom with potted herbs, ferns, orchids, and violets sitting along the floor-to-ceiling windows. A wicker rocking chair and loveseat with fluffy seat cushions, along with a couple of folding chairs tucked away in a corner were the only pieces of furniture in there.
Gwen insisted on having the sunroom, and it continued to be her favorite space in the house. Stone could always find her sitting in there and reading a book—like her mother would have.
The small hallway that led to the sunroom was what separated the conference room from the dining room. The living room was the main space with the staircase leading to the second level along the wall opposite the conference room. The foyer was at the bottom of the stairs with the second set of stairs going into the basement and a door leading to the adjoined garage. Two large, plush, leather sofas faced each other, separated by a glass coffee table in the center of the space, and reclining leather chairs at both ends of the couches. A powder room was located under the staircase to the second floor, next to the kitchen, though it was rarely ever used.
The second level had all the bedrooms and two bathrooms, minus Stone's room.
The third level had Stone's room, a private bathroom, his office, a library, and a small L-shaped balcony overlooking the back of the property. That was his space to go and decompress.
Large windows let natural light into the living room and as he sat in one of the reclining chairs—to keep himself from pacing anxiously back and forth with the setting of the sun—he forced himself to stare at the coffee table to keep from looking out the window, waiting for their car pull in.
He knew he'd hear them come before he saw them anyway, but the reddening sky with darkness quickly encroaching was making him more and more anxious.
Gavin sat on one couch, leaning forward on his knees, his thumbs tapping together in front of his chest as his eyes stared out the window.
Alistair kept getting up from the other chair and going to the window to peer out for a minute before returning to his seat.
Sitting on the other sofa facing Gavin with the window behind him, Gunner had his nose in a book. While it would look odd to anyone seeing a man with hulking muscles like his, Gunner enjoyed reading. Even more curious was Gunner's peaked eyebrow and when Stone glanced at the title, Hausfrau, even he couldn't help peaking an eyebrow.
While Stone wasn't a reader, and had no idea what the book was about, he couldn't help but wonder why Gunner was reading a book entitled the German word for "housewife."
Looking up from the book, Gunner caught Stone's eye and shrugged. [It's interesting,] was all he would say before returning to the book.
Stone wasn't sure he wanted to know, so he left it.
After another ten excruciating minutes, the sound of the car pulling up the gravel driveway met their ears and they all sat upright in their seats. Gunner tucked the book behind him, while Alistair jumped up and ran to the door to greet them.
Heaving a sigh, Stone got to his feet to follow Alistair out and hopefully prevent him from making a fool of himself.
As soon as he stepped outside, he got a whiff of Aubree's scent—peppered with anger.
He stood next to Alistair as Gunner and Gavin trickled out of the house behind him. Crossing his arms over his bare, broad chest, he drew himself up and forced a nonchalant mask in an attempt to not let her anger get the best of him.
The moment she made eye contact with him, he could feel her fury boiling over.
What was she so upset about? He was the one who should be upset with her. His soulmate was engaged to another male!
Withholding a growl at that last thought, he watched as she climbed out of the car, slammed the door shut, and started marching toward him with her fists clenched at her side.
Before she could stomp ten paces, Alistair pounced. Swooping in like a hawk, he scooped her up in his arms and spun her around like a rag doll, laughing like a child.
"What the hell?" she screamed over his laughter.
[Put her down. Now,] Stone mentally commanded his beta as he struggled to maintain his emotionless façade.
Aubree was demanding the same thing, which only made Alistair laugh even more, but he did as he was commanded and put her down. A grin was plastered on his face as his crinkled eyes took her in.
Flustered, Aubree shot him a glare before her eyes grew wide and swept over Alistair's body. She took a step back before her eyes took in the rest of them. She was so easy to read, Stone could almost hear her saying, Holy shit, in his mind.
Alistair shot Stone a quick, mischievous look. [See? Was that so bad? She's not pissed at you anymore. You owe me.]
Stone snorted as Gwen came up next to Aubree's frozen form and began to make the introductions. "Aubree, this is my uncle, Alistair. He was my mother's brother."
"Been waiting weeks to finally meet you," he said, holding out both of his hands, palms up, in their formal greeting.
Of course, Aubree was oblivious to their customs and didn't notice the gesture. She gaped at him before her wide eyes shifted to Gunner and bugged out even more.
"That's Gunner, another cousin of my father's but on his mother's side, although much older than Hector, and the oldest in our pack," Gwen said.
Gunner merely nodded, his face calm and collected as usual.
Aubree's gaze shifted to Gavin, a less threatening looking guy with his leaner figure in comparison to Alistair and Gunner.
"And that's my twin brother, Gavin."
He reached out with his right hand and gave Aubree a warm smile. "Sorry if I startled you last week on your balcony. I was keeping watch and didn't notice you there. It's great to finally meet you."
Aubree just stared at him, not even acknowledging his outstretched hand. She took another step back as her gaze flitted over them again. Her hands reached up to her throat as her heartbeat accelerated.
The movement caught the males' attention and they stiffened when they saw the bruises around her neck.
A chorus of mental curses filled Stone's mind and he fought the urge to walk up to her and wrap her in his arms.
She looked so small in the group. So vulnerable. Her five foot four slender frame made her look like a dainty pixie next to the men, all over six feet tall and rippling with muscles. Even Gwen was five inches taller than her, and she usually looked out-of-place next to the males.
The desire to reassure Aubree struck Stone, and even though he didn't budge from his stance, he looked down at the young woman and said, "You have nothing to fear here. This is the safest place you can be. All of us will protect you. All of us will give our lives for you."
Her eyes met his as he spoke, filling him with hope until she cringed once he said his last sentence.
"Come on," Gwen said, touching Aubree's shoulder. "Let's get you inside."
Aubree flinched, pulling away from Gwen, and lowering her gaze to the ground.
Pain struck Gwen's face at the rejection. She looked up to meet Stone's eyes. [I told her everything, or at least as much as she would let me before she shut me out.]
Stone sighed, running his hand through his hair. [Take her inside and get her a drink of water.]
Gwen gave him a curt nod. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile on her face. "Come on," she tried again with a little more energy. "If you don't come with me, I'm sure Alistair will be more than happy to carry you in."
Aubree's eyes shot open wide again as she looked up at Alistair as another one of his classic grins broke out on his face.
He cracked his knuckles. "With pleasure."
A growl rumbled up through Stone's throat. If anyone was going to carry her, it ought to be him.
It did the trick though, and Aubree hastily followed Gwen into the house without another peep.
He exhaled in relief once she was inside. He didn't like how her scent still lingered in the air. He sent the Goddess a silent prayer to pick the wind up so that it would scatter her scent until it was gone. As usual, his prayer went unheard as the leaves on the trees barely twitched in the still air.
"She'll come around," Alistair said again as he placed a hand on Stone's shoulder.
Stone pinched the bridge of his nose as he inhaled and exhaled once more.
He hoped so. He hoped she would forgive him and accept him. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't, and he couldn't bear the thought of it.
---- Author's Note ----
See our pack males in the attached photo? Gunner is quite the intimidating sight (a bodybuilder named Chris Smith). All the more reason why I find it hilarious that he would be reading a controversial book like "Hausfrau" (described as "Anna Karenina goes Fifty Shades with a side of Madame Bovary" and having read it myself, I honestly don't see the connection to Fifty Shades, but whatever). He thought it was a German book and picked it up without knowing that it's kind of naughty, yet very heavy and psychological at the same time.
Dedicated to SeSmith_
*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2015*