Aubree stared at the space between her and him. "I'm sorry, Dan. I wish it didn't have to end like this. I-I wish—"
Head in his hands, Dan sobbed and it nearly tore her in two. On one hand, she knew she had to leave, and on the other, she felt inclined to stay and comfort him.
How could she do this to him?
Turning to walk away took every ounce of strength she had. One step forward, and then another.
"How?"
His voice made her pause, gripping her purse tightly to her chest.
"I waited for you," he said. "How could you do this to us?"
His voice was hoarse and strained. The sound of it broke her resolve and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears sprang to her eyes and she squeezed them shut as she locked her jaw.
"How could you—"
She cut him off as she whirled back to face him. "I didn't ask for this!"
The tears were flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks now and as much as she wanted to hold herself together, she couldn't.
Dan sprang to his feet and glared down at her. "Then why, Bree? Why would you do this? You agreed to marry me even though there was already someone else?"
I didn't have a choice! She wanted to scream, but all she could do was sob loudly and hold herself. She couldn't tell him that she did it because she loved him. How could he understand that?
I did it to save you. To protect you.
I love you enough to let you go.
"Because," she began as Dan stepped in front of her, "I won't be happy without him."
It was true, or at least partially true. She was sure that over time, Stone, and only Stone, would be the one capable of making her truly happy. That was their bond, was it not?
"Really?" he asked, an inkling of doubt evident in his voice. "Then why are you crying, Bree? If you love him and not me, then why are you crying?"
She couldn't answer him, but she knew she had to get out of there immediately before she lost her nerve.
Suddenly, her face was in his hands and his lips on hers. Shock rendered her immobile as his lips moved over hers in desperation.
He pulled away when she didn't kiss him back and hung his head, his hair falling in his eyes. "I know you still love me."
Her feet picked her up and carried her out of there before she could even fathom what had happened.
Dan loved her. He would have given her the world and anything she had asked for.
Stone wouldn't give her the family she had always dreamed of. He could barely even touch her.
As the night wore on, Aubree's mind replayed the scenes of her break-up with Dan over and over again. She couldn't help questioning whether or not she'd made a mistake.
She had loved him. A small part of her still loved him.
Her body wracked with sobs for an hour until she was so exhausted and her stomach was bunched up in so many knots that she couldn't take it any longer. She drew herself a bath to relax her muscles before returning to bed and falling asleep for a few more hours.
When she woke up, early morning sunlight was streaming through the window, but she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed. She didn't want to see anyone—especially Stone.
Soon, an hour passed and still no sign of him.
Despite the gnawing of anxiety in her stomach, Aubree couldn't stave off her hunger any longer. She was glad Stone hadn't come up to bed, and she couldn't help wondering if he came home at all—not that she wanted to see him. The fact that he didn't want to have children with her stung. She understood, but it was still painful to accept.
Hunger growled as the pain in her heart lessened to a dull ache. She couldn't ignore her body's need for sustenance any longer.
Creeping down the stairs as silently as she could, she didn't want to wake anyone with super-sensitive hearing to come and check up on her. She wanted to slip into the kitchen, find something to eat, and slink back into Stone's room to be alone again.
When she reached the main level, she looked around and listened, but could hear nothing and there was no one in sight.
Where was everybody?
She went into the kitchen and started making herself some coffee. As the coffee brewed, she grabbed a muffin from the store-bought plastic tray on the counter and headed to the sunroom.
She liked the sunroom and the openness it had, especially in the morning since it faced the east and the morning rays shone in and made it bright, warm, and cozy.
With the muffin in hand, she walked in and stopped in her tracks.
Squished together on the wicker loveseat was Stone sleeping between Gwen and Gavin. Gwen was sleeping with her chin tucked in and her head resting on his left shoulder, while Gavin slept on his right shoulder. Stone's head was resting on top of Gwen's, their faces reflecting the peaceful state of sleep.
Her heart squeezed at the intimate sight. Her thoughts flitted to what Stone told her about losing his previous soulmate and firstborn son at the same time. Her heart twisted at the bittersweet scene before her.
These were his babies. They were all he had left in this world. He loved them so much and it couldn't be more obvious. He may not want to have children with her, but he still had children that she could love as her own, even though they were three hundred years old. He was still their father and always would be for as long as they lived.
As she took in the scene before her, her eyes prickling with tears, Gavin opened his own deep blue ones. A knowing sadness reflected in his gaze as he stared back at her with a small, reassuring smile.
He looked so much like his father. His hair was slightly darker and cut short, but his eyes startled her with their brightness. They had seen so much and yet were still kind.
Blushing, she felt like an outsider intruding in on something private that she shouldn't have witnessed. Carefully, she backed out and returned to the kitchen. The smell of brewing coffee welcomed her, but she couldn't get the image out of her memory as she sat down at the table and looked out the sliding glass door. Her muffin sat before her, forgotten.
A few seconds later, Gavin tip-toed in, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes danced around her. "Hey."
She saw Stone in Gavin's awkwardly bashful stance, and she couldn't help the heat that rushed to her face again as she lowered her gaze. "Sorry if I woke you."
He shook his head. "It's okay. I wasn't asleep anyway. I slept all night and should be hunting in the city, but Papa called a family meeting last night."
"Oh."
Squirming a little in her seat, she wondered if something happened last night that warranted a meeting. They told her little about what happened during the nights. All she knew was that they hunted vampires and killed them. She couldn't help but feel uneasy about it all, not only with her aversion of them killing, but also concern about them getting hurt in the process.
"Yeah. He does that from time to time. He gets so busy, especially these last few weeks," he said, looking at the coffee machine and smiling. "I think he needs it more than we do."
She wiped the mist from her eyes. She hated how emotional she got when she thought about Stone, especially when he was the reason for her being upset. It had to be because of that bond thingy. Or maybe she was emotional because of her period. Stupid hormones.
"It must be hard on him."
"Yeah." His gaze turned to the sliding door behind her. "We started doing it when we moved here. The move was hard on all of us, especially him. Mamaw thought these meetings would help. We were all involved in it until Mamaw's death—then it was just the three of us. We still have pack meetings from time to time, but they're less intimate."
"I bet."
She was curious about what they talked about but didn't want to intrude too much. Some things were not meant for outside ears to hear. It wasn't as though she needed specific details. "What was the meeting about?"
Shrugging, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "Relatively the same as they always are. Just touching base with us."
Nodding in understanding, she felt embarrassed for asking. She thought they would have discussed her, though it wouldn't have surprised her. It couldn't have been a common occurrence for a lycan to find the reincarnation of his soulmate and their mother.
"Um, do you mind if I have some?" he asked, gesturing to the coffee machine.
She shook her head. "No, go ahead. Guess I should have made more than I did. I wasn't expecting anyone to join me."
He walked over to the coffeemaker and pulled down two mugs from the cupboard overhead. He set them down next to the machine. "How do you take it?"
Rising from her seat, she went to the fridge to pull out the cream before joining him at the counter. "I like cream and sugar in my coffee."
He smirked as he reached for the sugar in the cupboard next to the one that held the mugs and set it down in front of her. "Somehow, I expected you to say that."
"How about you?"
Pulling out a spoon from the utensil drawer, he scooped out a dab of sugar to put in his half-full cup of coffee. "Just a bit of sugar. Like Papa."
He handed the spoon to her. She scooped up a teaspoon's worth. "I like mine a little sweeter." She added the sugar to her half-cup and followed it with some cream before stirring it together.
He smirked. "Like Gwen, only she prefers tea with milk and sugar over coffee."
"I know," Aubree said, remembering the first time she met Gwen at the café. It had seemed like ages ago when in fact it had only been a few weeks.
"So, um," he stumbled, running his hand through his hair while he stared down at the cup of coffee in his other hand. "Are you... okay?"
She frowned. "Yeah. Why?"
"Well, you're, um..." He looked so awkward it was cute. "You're bleeding, right?"
She couldn't help but laugh. "You're such a guy! Of course, I'm fine."
Grimacing, he turned and leaned back against the counter. "How am I supposed to know?" he mumbled, taking a sip of his coffee.
"You don't get out much, do you?" Her lips tugged up a bit.
There was something innocent about him—even though he probably killed dozens of vampires in his life.
"Papa and Gwen handle most things in the city." He gave a half shrug. "Usually, there's no need for the rest of us to go there. Since you moved here, and there's been an increase in vampire threats, we've all had to step up our game and get reacquainted with the city."
Shuffling footsteps behind her made her turn and see Stone entering the kitchen, rubbing sleeping from his watery eyes.
"You're bleeding." It wasn't a question, but rather a statement.
Swallowing before locking her eyes on his, she said, "Yeah, that will happen when I'm not pregnant."
Tension settled in like a thick fog. Heavy air made it difficult to breathe, as she realized that they all knew. It made her stomach roil knowing that they had purposely kept this from her even though she deserved to have been told sooner.
What difference did it make now?
As if Gavin couldn't get more uncomfortable standing there, he shifted his weight from one foot to the next before muttering that he'd go and relieve Alistair in the city.
Silence engulfed Stone and Aubree at his departure.
She took a shaky breath as she looked down at her coffee. "I guess... You'll just have to get used to it."
He froze as her words sunk in. It seemed to take him a minute to realize what exactly she was saying. He took a tentative step forward. "You mean..." Another step. "You're not angry?"
Her chest tightened. "Of course I'm angry. But I'm more hurt than angry. You kept this from me when you should have told me sooner."
His face twisted in regret. He looked down at the floor before cautiously lifting his head once more, but his eyes would not meet hers. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. Not Rosemary."
Aubree shook her head. "No. I'm glad it was Rose who told me." She looked away. "I wouldn't have taken it as well from you."
His forehead creased in pain. He took a hesitant step toward her. "Please, understand—"
"No," she interrupted, pressing her lips together as she regarded his slow and cautious movements toward her.
He stopped a few feet away from her.
"I understand why," she said in a low voice. "It just hurts. And it will hurt for a while." She couldn't raise her head and stared at the floor.
"If I could make your every wish come true, I would. But this... I can't risk it. I pray for your forgiveness in time."
Chewing on her bottom lip, she declined to say anything to that and instead looked down at her coffee before taking a sip.
Giving in, he heaved a sigh. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to take a quick shower, and then hold you until I fall asleep."
She looked up at him and wiggled her eyebrows. "Oh, you are, are you?"
He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her gently against him. He rubbed his nose against her head and sighed again. "I sleep better with you beside me. Even if you are angry with me and bleeding."
---- AUTHOR'S NOTE ----
This isn't the last we've heard of this issue. Giving up on your hopes and dreams is no easy feat.
Dedicated to RemedyGreen
*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2016*
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