Stone stormed back into the conference room, where Hector, Rosemary, and Gwen were gathered. Clenching and unclenching his hands at his sides, he tried not to think about the pain Aubree must be in, both physically and emotionally. It wasn't an everyday occurrence that a human encountered a vampire and lived to tell the tale.
The subject of Aubree's boyfriend's well-being jabbed him in the heart as well. He'd overheard them talking about her boyfriend, and he could feel the worry roll off of her in waves from the hallway. He told himself not to get jealous over her concern for Dan, but he couldn't help it.
He had gone in there, planning to tell her the truth, but the moment he felt her eyes on him, he balked.
She wasn't ready.
But then, neither was he.
"Well, that was certainly brief," Hector said from the chair he'd occupied only five minutes ago.
Gwen rolled her eyes at her father as she leaned against the conference table. "Papa, we bought you time. We told her not to speak so you could explain things to her without arguing with her. Why are you making this harder than it has to be?"
"Because she is a human," he growled. "Everything will be harder than it has to be."
Hector smirked at his mate and she swatted him with the back of her hand despite the stoic expression on her face.
Stone gritted his teeth at his cousin. "Not in a sexual way, Hector."
"But you have to admit," Hector said pointedly, an amused grin on his face, "Sex with a human will be more of a delicate matter."
Both of the females exchanged looks before rolling their eyes in unison.
"Seriously Papa, you need to talk to her," Gwen said. "Especially now that we know the vampires are after her. She won't be safe anywhere. She'll figure it out and it's better to tell her now than to have her run into one of them and figure it out the hard way."
"Gwen's right," Rose said. "From what she's told me, the female can handle the truth. And if she is your mate, all the more reason to tell her the truth. Her life has been thrown upside down now. Nothing will ever be the same."
Stone pinched the bridge of his nose as he inhaled and exhaled slowly.
"You all forget that we are forbidden to have relations with humans," Stone grunted.
Groans erupted around him.
"The Council doesn't have to know," Hector said.
"They may make an exception because she is your mate," Rosemary said.
"I'd wait until they found out before approaching them yourself," Hector added.
"Then what? Give her up after building a life with her?" Stone growled, running his fingers through his hair. His stomach knotted, debating about the repercussions of keeping her a secret from the Council or informing them about her.
"Papa," Gwen said in a tone meant to be calming and reassuring as she stepped toward him, "As much as I love hearing you talk about building a life with Aubree, I think you're being too pessimistic."
She rested a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and scowled at her. "I'm not pessimistic. I'm realistic."
Gwen rolled her eyes at him again and turned to resume her stance at the edge of the table. "The sooner you two mate, the better."
Pressing his palm to his face, he recalled the bruises he'd seen all over her arms. How many more were under her clothes? "I can't even think about that right now."
"Well, we need to get the story right so we know what to tell the female. I have no doubt that she's bursting with questions," Hector said.
Gwen nodded in agreement. "I think we've protected her from the truth long enough. It's time that she knows the threat is real."
"You mean, tell her that vampires exist and want to have her killed?" Rosemary asked for clarification.
Gwen nodded and was about to comment further when Stone cut in.
"That would mean telling her everything about us."
Looking up at her father with a stern expression and determination in her brown eyes, she said, "Of course. Not just the vampires, the matebond, and our existence, but our history as well."
Stone looked away, his eyes trailing along the intricate carvings in the wooden conference table. It was handmade, no doubt, and even with the restaining a few years prior, he could still faintly smell the centuries-old wood underneath.
As much as he agreed with Gwen, as everything she said was arguably the best solution, he fought against his emotions, his need to protect Aubree and shield her from danger, even if that meant keeping the truth from her. However, was keeping the truth from her out of the best interests for her or for himself?
No one said anything as they waited for him to respond. Their quiet, judgmental eyes made him swallow his pride and heave a sigh in defeat. "It shall be done."
Relieved, Gwen closed her eyes and raised her face up toward the ceiling. "Praise the Goddess."
Rosemary and Hector echoed her as Stone ran his hand through his hair again.
"But I will be the one to tell her," Stone added. "And in small doses, so as not to overwhelm her."
There was a series of head nods around him, while Gwen smiled. "Of course, Papa."
A faint noise overhead caught their attention.
Worry creased Stone's brows as he raised his head up to the ceiling. "What is she doing?"
Gwen shrugged. "She's probably going to the bathroom."
"She shouldn't be left alone," Rosemary said. Her eyes turned to Stone. "Someone should keep her company."
Seized by fear, pain, and guilt, Stone swallowed. His mind immediately jumped back to the image of her lying unconscious in bed, covered in bruises. How vulnerable she looked. How close he came to losing her to vampires like he had Adelaide.
Adelaide...
"I'll go," Gwen said, shooting Stone a knowing, but sad, look. "She likes me more, anyway."
Hector and Rose raised their eyebrows at Stone as Gwen left the room. Rose cleared her throat as Stone struggled to push thoughts of Adelaide from his mind and regain his composure.
"Stone, I understand this must be hard for you, but you need to open yourself up to the girl. You will lose her if you don't and I don't think you can afford to do that now. You clearly care enough about her to not only come here for her, but you also asked us to have one of our pack members keep an eye on her at all times while she was in Chicago."
Stone's eyes returned to the carvings on the table. "You think I would take chances on my soulmate's life?" he asked, as if the answer should be obvious.
"Of course not. I wouldn't expect anyone to because no one would turn away a blessing from the Goddess."
"I couldn't..." Unable to finish his sentence, he pressed fingers to the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve the pressure in his head. Exhaustion and stress were finally catching up to him. When was the last time he had any rest?
"We understand," Hector said. "I honestly don't know how you made it this long without Adelaide. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to Rose."
As Rosemary and Hector exchanged looks of affection at each other, Stone brushed his hand through his hair again.
If Vincent's nephew hadn't gotten to Aubree as soon as he did, Stone didn't want to even think about what could have happened. The thought of finding Aubree lifeless would have crushed him. Worse, if he found her bitten. How could he live knowing that his soulmate had been ripped away and turned into a vampire? Even the members of his pack wouldn't be able to bring themselves to kill her.
He couldn't risk something happening to her again.
Sitting down in one of the chairs, he buried his face in his hands.
He had to tell her the truth soon. Every gritty detail of it.
----
Dedicated to MarbaniangIbashisha
*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2015*