Aubree hated that he lied. Hated that he wasn't normal. Hated that he was so old that she couldn't even wrap her head around it. Hated that she still wanted him in ways that made her blush despite it all.
Aubree couldn't speak. She stared at the glass of ice water Gwen put in front of her on the table in the kitchen. Her racing mind had come to a halt.
Who were these massive people?
She thought Stone's biceps were big, but Alistair, and especially Gunner, were even larger. Inhumanly larger.
And why the fuck were they all standing around shirtless?
Her mental scream forced her to close her eyes and bury her head in her arms on the table.
She had gotten out of the car, ready to give Stone a piece of her mind, until the big dark-haired guy scooped her up and swung her around like a kid.
Her screams really hurt her throat and effectively made her clamp down on her tongue. Not that she would have been able to say anything. The intimidating sight before her left her tongue-tied.
So, these were all the guys Gwen had mentioned? As the only woman in the house, they definitely needed her around.
Gwen's sigh broke the silence between them as she pushed the glass against Aubree's arm. The icy coldness of it made her jump back.
"Please," Gwen said. "You need more fluids. Heck, you need a meal, but I have my doubts that there's anything here you can eat."
Tentatively, Aubree picked up the glass and forced the ice-cold liquid down her inflamed throat. Her stomach turned with the shock, but it only added to the bundle of knots within her.
Despite the lack of food in her system, she was too tense, too upset, to even think about food. She knew that by not eating, she was only contributing to the problem, but how could she eat when she had so many shocks to her system in such a short period of time?
Gwen chewed on a nail as her eyes flicked to the window next to them.
Aubree set the half-empty glass down. She didn't like how worried Gwen looked. Didn't Gwen tell her that this was the safest place for her to be right now? Why was Gwen so stressed out when she looked out into the darkening sky?
As if sensing Aubree watching her, she withdrew the nail from her teeth and pulled her gaze from the trees to meet Aubree's. A small smile forced its way on her face.
"Don't mind any of them, especially Alistair," she said, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject. "He's ecstatic at the prospect of meeting the reincarnation of his sister. They were really close."
Aubree gathered that as soon as she realized she had been lifted off her feet and they were swinging out behind her.
What was stranger was that she felt his over-whelming joy flood over her as he spun her around in glee. It couldn't have been her own emotions because she had been pissed prior to that.
His joy, along with the rib-crushing display of affection, knocked the wind out of her. The whiplash of emotions left her completely and utterly stunned.
It was weird, but she felt somehow connected to Alistair. Even Gavin, she felt drawn to him and she was afraid of what it meant. She'd always felt connected to Gwen since the moment she met her in the coffee shop.
And Stone...
Well, Stone was a whole other world of deep-seated, intense feelings.
Now she knew why. Why she always felt so incredibly drawn to him.
She was destined to be with him. As crazy as it seemed to her, the reality of their connection was starting to weigh heavily on her.
His behavior over the last two weeks was starting to make sense. He always seemed drawn to her, yet hesitantly so, and he would push her away. To protect her or to protect him, she couldn't be sure but thought both reasons were valid. He'd had his heart broken once before. It was natural to feel scared of getting hurt a second time.
Gwen reached across the table and rested her hand on Aubree's. Warmth spread up her arm as a sense of calmness and peace enveloped her.
She didn't understand why she was so special to them. She wasn't even the same species, apparently, and yet, now she had entered their world and a feeling of love and acceptance welcomed her in it. It was as if she belonged there with all of them.
But what about Dan?
Pain struck her as tears prickled the back of her eyes.
She couldn't be a part of their world and Dan's at the same time. It wasn't possible.
Seeing Aubree suddenly become upset, Gwen got down on her knees in front of her, holding both of her hands in hers in Aubree's lap.
"Hey, hey," she said in a soothing voice. "I know you're overwhelmed, but it will get better. I promise you it will. We will take all the time you need to adjust, but right now, we need to ensure your safety."
Aubree could feel Gwen pouring her heart out through her touch, and it only heightened the guilt and pain that wracked her heart.
She felt terrible. She shouldn't have kissed Stone. She shouldn't have feelings for him. And as many times as she chided herself about it, she still couldn't stop thinking about him either.
Why wasn't it Dan's face, Dan's kiss, Dan's touch that filled her fantasies? Why was it this eight-hundred-year-old man that tormented every ounce of her being?
She'd never been unfaithful before, never so conflicted in her life, and she hated every moment of it. Hated herself for doing this to Dan.
Gwen's eyes softened. "It's because of Dan, isn't it?"
Nodding, Aubree gripped Gwen's hands in hers as her heart constricted. She knew she loved Dan but at the same time, her heart ached at the thought of leaving Stone.
She shouldn't be here with them. She should be at Dan's bedside at the hospital, taking care of him and whispering words of love to him. She should be holding his hand, kissing his lips, and attending to his needs as he recovered from his injuries in the accident.
And like a traitor, she was here instead of at his side.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she hung her head, her heartache a noose around her neck. She grappled at the fibers choking her, unable to release the emotions suffocating her.
Gwen closed her eyes as her forehead creased in pain. She inhaled and exhaled deeply as she pressed their hands to her forehead.
"I can't tell you what to do. That is yours to decide. But I can tell you that if you leave us, an emptiness will fill us once more like it has over the past century. But we—especially Papa—only want what's best for you. What makes you happy. Okay?"
Aubree nodded, sharing in the pain that now engulfed Gwen and trickled through to her.
The decision should be easy. She knew it should be, but she hardly knew Stone—soulmate or not. She couldn't just leave Dan, whom she loved dearly for the last three years without being absolutely sure that that was the best thing for her to do.
Gwen rolled back on her heels and stood up, but Aubree couldn't bring herself to raise her eyes.
"Can I get you anything to eat? We have spam and jerky in the safe room."
Aubree still didn't feel like eating, so she shook her head. She was too wound up to eat still. Her head ached, her stomach twisted and churned, and her heart felt like it was dangling by a thread, ripped off its hinges and struggling to keep her alive.
Why did this have to be so hard?
She appreciated them not forcing a decision on her right then and there, but she was torn. She couldn't abandon Dan. She still loved him despite the strong feelings she had towards Stone, not to mention choosing Stone would mean leaving behind the world she knew.
But her world had already changed. The moment she met Stone, before discovering the truth he kept from her, he changed her world. She could never go back to the life she had, to the life she knew and built with Dan. It wasn't possible.
Either way, whoever she chose to be with in the end, someone would get hurt. Dan would feel betrayed, and Stone would be crushed.
She couldn't dwell on either of their feelings. She had to do what was best for her. The more she thought about it, the more she knew who she had to choose.
"I'm tired," she murmured.
Gwen nodded and, with her hands still cupping Aubree's, urged her to get to her feet.
Relenting, Aubree let Gwen take her upstairs.
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Dedicated to Midnight_alternative
*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2015*