Song: "Dark on Demand" by Extreme Music
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Aubree's heart was pounding. She knew Stone had transformed. He may have gotten a head start, but the way he plowed through the forest without flinching at the branches that scratched against his arms and legs told her that he had entered a different state of mind. Nothing could harm him now, except maybe himself.
Still, she ran forward, wincing when her one bare foot scraped against the rough edge of a rock, or the sharp end of a twig, not knowing where she was going or if she was even headed in the right direction. The pull that compelled her forward was what drew her to him.
The rustle of branches on the right made her freeze and when Gavin tumbled out—butt naked—she barely had time to blink before his hands gripped her shoulders and he held her gaze with his firmly.
"You love him, don't you?"
She blinked, still surprised to see him. "Yeah."
"Then go to him. Speak your mind and be honest with him. Don't hold back anything. Listen to your heart and follow it."
He turned her in the direction he came before running off and disappearing into the trees and ferns that surrounded her.
'Follow your heart,' her father's voice rumbled in her head.
She had been thirteen or fourteen at the time, crying over something she could no longer remember what.
He had put his arm around her shoulder as he sat next to her on her bed and pulled her close.
'I know it feels like the end of the world right now, but it's not. Life is going to knock you down over and over again, but you have to keep pulling yourself back up and not let it beat you down. But if you follow your heart, it will help you through it and make you stronger.'
She thought those were just words fathers told their daughters when they were kids, but as she grew up, she did what he told her and every time she thought her life was ending, she picked up her heart and carried on, remembering his words to never give up.
Now, her heart was pushing her forward toward a man she had been destined to meet, to love, and to share the rest of her life with. A man who wasn't even human.
But she did love Stone. That much was certain.
Carefully, she made her way through the undergrowth, through the ferns and branches that reached for her and scratched at her exposed skin.
The force within her pulled and pushed her, growing stronger with each step she took. She knew she was getting closer and when she saw a dark shape looming ahead against a tree, her breath caught in her throat.
Pulling back behind a tree, she leaned against it as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding so hard, she didn't know how she was going to get enough air into her lungs.
"Stone?" she called out.
There was no answer, but she could feel his presence. He was there, a few yards away.
Gathering air into her lungs, she clamped her eyes shut and stepped away from the tree. She held her hands out blindly before her. "Stone, show yourself. I know you're there and I want to see you, but I want to touch you first."
She tried to keep still, but she could feel the trembling of her outstretched hands, hoping, praying that he would come to her.
She needed to feel his touch, to feel that he was still in there regardless of his outward appearance. Would he feel soft to the touch like Whiskey, or rough and wiry like grandad's whiskers?
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)
Werewolf[COMPLETE] Some bonds can't be broken, even in death. -- He couldn't endure another heartbreak. "Accepting her would be a mistake," he said. "She's a human. I can't afford to have her blood on my hands." Gwen looked away, and he knew she saw the ima...
