Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

Their black car wound through the forest along the single dirt pathway—merely tire tracks that were hardly visible through the overgrowth—with the tips of the tree branches tapping against the windows.

Unwrapping the plastic from the popsicle, Aubree popped the tip of the frozen snack in her mouth and let her thoughts roam back to the events that took place. The cold liquid slid down her aching throat, easing it of all the strain it had been under only moments ago.

She didn’t know what to make of her emotions now. The bitter taste of guilt robbed her of the sugary sweetness from the popsicle, and she fought against tears at her betrayal to Dan.

Still chiding herself for kissing Stone, she didn’t know why she did it. How could she let him kiss her? How could she enjoy every moment of it? Even the mere memory of his lips caressing hers stirred the embers of the former fire in her stomach like the prodding of a campfire.

“Tell me everything you know,” Gwen demanded, interrupting Aubree’s thoughts. “What happened between you and Stone, and what did he tell you?”

They pulled out of the forest and onto a gravel side road, and while it was still bumpy and slow-going, at least it was a road and not some mysterious pathway through the woods.

Gwen eased up in the driver’s seat once they were clear of the brush, but she still seemed alert and on edge with her eyes flicking from one mirror to the next and scanning the forest that surrounded them.

Blushing, Aubree lowered her gaze to her hands in her lap. Hesitantly, she relayed everything she’d learned from Stone that evening in a soft voice and admitted at the end that they’d kissed.

She kept the details brief, omitting her feelings and reactions to Stone’s closeness, the way he cradled her face in his palms as he pressed his lips to hers, and the roaring fire that filled her as her need for him intensified.

“And?” Gwen prompted.

Aubree tensed up, fearing that Gwen was going to start digging deeper into what else happened with that kiss. Like her raging hormones, for instance? That wasn’t something she wanted to talk about with Gwen. Not when she was engaged to Dan and should be having those intense feelings towards him and not Stone.

Her face grew hot with both embarrassment and shame as her eyes shot up to look at Gwen. “What?”

“How was it?”

Oh god, she did want the nitty-gritty details!

If her face could get any hotter, it found a way to. She looked away, twisting the hem of her dress above her knees between her fingers. “Tha-That’s none of your business.”

“Of course it’s my business! You just kissed my fa—I mean, brother,” Gwen exclaimed, but Aubree didn’t miss the stumble in her words.

Now it was Aubree’s turn to gape at Gwen. Did she almost say what she thought she said?

But how?

Gwen avoided her gaze, keeping her attention locked on the road as her grip tightened on the wheel.

Aubree’s stomach churned as her thoughts circulated around the slip in speech. Her heartbeat quickened as she remembered what Gwen had said in the bathroom before she met Stone on the terrace.

“Stone’s not your brother, is he?” she asked in a slow, deliberate manner.

Gwen pursed her lips, but wouldn’t answer.

Aubree could feel her heartbeat ramming against her ribcage now. She gripped her seat with both hands as she fought for air, her lungs struggling to gather enough oxygen to meet the demands of her hammering heart.

Gwen’s lack of response only confirmed her suspicions.

Her eyes widened. Oh my god. I kissed an old guy!

With this revelation, Aubree’s stomach began to churn and she shifted in her seat. She couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t possible.

“H-How can he be your father?” she demanded, panic starting to bubble up inside her. The shrillness in her voice made her wince in pain. “He doesn’t look a day over thirty at the most!”

“Aubree, calm down,” Gwen said, her eyes still focused on the dirt road as her grip tightened on the steering wheel.

Aubree shook her head at Gwen’s stern and slightly commanding tone. How could she calm down? She kissed Stone! Stone was Gwen’s father! The old man was her soulmate and somehow she desired him in ways that suddenly made her want to vomit.

“No way! There’s no way he’s your dad!”

“He is,” Gwen snapped. “And you should feel fucking privileged to be his soulmate!”

Aubree pressed her hand to her face. This couldn’t be happening. In the last twenty-four hours, she was almost killed, found out vampires were real and that they wanted her dead because some freaky old man claimed she was his soulmate.

“Fuck my life. Like, seriously. Fuck. My. Life,” Aubree grumbled.

The tires skidded on the loose gravel as Gwen slammed on the brakes. Turning in her seat, she gave Aubree a hard look as she put the car into park.

Gwen’s nostrils flared. “Look, I know you don’t know the whole truth, and I’m not sure if I’m the one who should tell you, but I would kill to have what you have. No one would dare come between me and my soulmate, no matter how old or complicated he was. You have no fucking idea what I would give to have him!”

Aubree stared at Gwen with wide eyes. She never in a million years expected Gwen to stop the car and chew her out about Stone. If she had been witnessing such a spectacle, she’d be cheering along at Gwen’s side, but Aubree’s situation was different. She was engaged! She couldn’t help the fact that Stone was her soulmate, even if he was a million years old.

Aubree gritted her teeth, wishing she had the strength in her throat to give Gwen a piece of her mind, but she knew she didn’t and she didn’t even know what she would say. Thanks for giving me the gorgeous old guy as my soulmate? I appreciate his old wrinkly balls?

“Have you forgotten what I told you when we first met?” Gwen asked, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.

Aubree’s memory was vague, but she remembered coffee, telling her about Dan, and the topic of soulmates came up.

Her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat. “You knew? Back then, you knew he was my soulmate and you tried to hook us up, even though I told you all about Dan?”

Gwen’s eyes shot open as she turned to face Aubree again. “Because soulmates only come along once in a lifetime!”

Pain ebbed into Gwen’s voice as her eyes shadowed the emotions that now tugged on Aubree’s heart. Aubree tried not to let her feelings be swayed, but there were still some things that didn’t add up.

“You said your father had a soulmate. If soulmates come around ‘once in a lifetime’ then how can I be his soulmate, huh?”

Gwen pursed her lips, lowering her gaze to the dash. “We’re not sure exactly, but we think you’re the reincarnation of my mother.” Her voice softened as her gaze slowly returned to Aubree’s face. “Even I feel a connection to you, Aubree. It’s not just Papa. It’s different, not as intense, but it’s like the gentle glow of a candle. Warm, soothing, and all I want to do is shield you from the wind that might blow you out.”

Aubree couldn’t tear her eyes away from her. She understood how hard it must have been on Gwen to lose her mother, and Stone to lose his soulmate, but reincarnation? She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“What? But... How?” Her eyes slowly took in Gwen form, pausing finally on her young-looking face. “How old are you guys?”