by Biance D'Arc
“Jane O’Hara, your males are right to protect you. I mean none of you any harm. I only seek to learn and, unlike those of my kind you’ve dealt with before, I do understand the emotional aspects of what my people have done to your kind and your planet. I am deeply ashamed and filled with sorrow at our actions that have caused such death and destruction.”
Jane reached forward and took both of his hands in hers, tugging to indicate he should stand. He did, looking down at her as he struggled for calm. It was a shock to be in the presence of beings who felt so deeply and understood him on an emotional level.
“I feel the truth of your words.” She put one arm around each of her male protectors’ waists in a reassuring gesture. “My love belongs to the O’Hara brothers, as theirs belongs to me,” she said formally in words he could easily understand so there would be no confusion. “But I can offer you friendship. I think you need a friend, Davin, and I think perhaps you might find a few of them here at our ranch.”
Davin met each of their gazes. “I know you have young living here. I want you to know I would never harm a child in any way.”
Jane merely nodded as if she knew that already, and he realized she could probably read every emotion that festered in his damned soul. It was an uncomfortable thought.
“We have a rather non-traditional family, considering human history, but it works for us.” Her smile was accepting and gracious. “Our children are curious and if you stay here for any length of time, they will no doubt plague you with questions.”
“Do any of them share your amazing gifts?” he couldn’t help but ask.
She nodded. “All of them have some amount of empathy, some stronger than others. But they share their fathers’ gifts as well, so beware of telekinetically sprung practical jokes.”
“The nosy little eavesdroppers are already listening in,” Mick said with mock disgust as he opened a door from the kitchen, revealing a small group of chagrinned children of various ages.
But Davin only had eyes for the tall female he’d seen frolicking with the infant horse in that green pasture. His mouth went dry and his insides flamed as he saw her features clearly for the first time. As delicate as her mother, but taller, probably owing to her father’s height. Davin wondered idly which one of the O’Hara men was her sire, but it really didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was here, and her innocent beauty inspired him to hope.
Jane came up beside him, her gaze moving from his dazed expression to where her oldest child stood, equally dazed in the doorway behind her younger siblings. The others were all making loud excuses to the two O’Hara men who teased them.
“I feel your fascination with my daughter, Callie,” she said in a low, almost worried voice. “She’s very young, Davin, and strongly empathic. Please make an effort to conceal your desire from her if you can. Mick might be able to show you how.”
Davin turned. “I would never harm her. You have my word of honor.”
“You don’t understand the empathic gift. You can literally make her feel your own desires and she’s too inexperienced to know whether her feelings are her own or merely reflections of yours. I wouldn’t want that for her, Davin. She’s too precious to my heart.”
The mother’s entreaty touched his emotions. “I will endeavor to comply, but I fear I’ll need further instruction in the control of my emotions.”
Dawning realization showed on her features. “This must be so new to you. I’m sorry, I didn’t consider it. I think subjecting you to the whole family at once might be rough.” She summoned Mick over, motioning Justin to keep the kids in the other part of the house for now.
Mick, Jane and Davin moved from the kitchen to the outbuilding that had been made into a combination laboratory, examining room and office for Mick’s medical work. Davin was surprised to learn that the youngest O’Hara brother had been training to be a veterinarian before the cataclysm, and now was the closest thing the family had to a doctor.
“Did you plan to stay in the area?” Jane asked once they were seated in Mick’s lab.
“I’ve been sleeping in a nearby cave for the past two nights. I stored my flyer within. Before departing, I told my subordinates I’d be gone for a week. They didn’t understand what I might want to do on my own in the Waste for a week, but they’re used to me being odd.”
Mick sat back in his chair. “Well, there’s an old human saying, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ You might as well stay here at the ranch than in a cave. It’s got to be more comfortable.”
“And you will know where I am,” Davin agreed, trying not to take insult from the man’s blatant distrust.
“There’s still the complication of Callie,” Jane said while Mick bristled.
“What about Callie?” Mick’s expression grew stern, the male’s protective instincts coming out as Davin watched with interest.
“Um,” Jane seemed hesitant, “Davin here is quite attracted to her. I was hoping you could show him how to hide it.” Jane addressed Davin. “You see, of all the brothers, only Mick ever mastered the ability to hide his emotions completely from me. Maybe he can show you how it’s done.”
“If he can’t hide it from her, we’ll have to keep them separate,” Mick said. Davin didn’t know if he was capable of the task, but it immediately became imperative to try. He didn’t want to be kept away from the girl. She was quickly becoming an obsession.
Jane made a rude noise. “Easier said than done, Mick. And I don’t want Justin to know. He’d go insane. It’s only for five days.” Jane turned to Davin. “Justin is Callie’s biological father and he’s extremely protective of her. Well,” she admitted with a small grin, “he’s protective of all the children, but he has a special need to protect the really empathic kids. He knows how I suffered with my gift and he wants to keep them from doing the same.”
“Justin was an officer in our military special forces before the cataclysm,” Mick warned. “He has skills the rest of us don’t even want to know about and is deadly when riled. We don’t want that kind of trouble here, Davin.”
Davin nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. “I didn’t come here to cause trouble. I’ll do what you ask to hide my emotions from her, if I can. But I tell you this now…” his eyes narrowed, “…if she has her own true feelings for me, they will not be denied. I came to the Waste knowing I could never find a true mate among my own kind. I came here with the idea of either finding my true mate among the Breeds or ending my existence before I follow the rest of my throwback brethren into madness.”
“Throwbacks go mad?” Jane asked quietly, and even Mick seemed curious. Davin realized the man was a scientist, after all. Davin had been studied his entire life for his oddities. It seemed nothing had changed, even among these strangers. Davin was the odd man out, the freak of nature to be studied and dissected. Still, these folk had more of a chance than his own people at understanding. He would give them an explanation, since of all the beings he had ever met, these Breeds might just hold the key to his salvation.
“I have studied my people’s histories closely over my lifetime, seeking answers,” Davin said shortly. “I’ve found evidence in early writings that when our people had strong emotions—before they were bred out by the geneticists—our males often spent years of their lives on mate quests. For each male, it was said, there was one female who resonated on his emotional wavelength. Males outnumbered females about two to one when our people bred naturally. If the male found his mate, they would join for the rest of their lives and breed the next generation. If he did not find her, he would most often put his energies into his work. Many would become warriors to focus their aggression and anger at not finding their mate. Ours was a very violent race and we would war amongst ourselves endlessly. The supply of young warriors was large and most would die in battle. It was deemed preferable to do so than go into old age and madness alone. Without a mate, most often, our males would go insane as they aged.” Davin ran a hand through
his hair in frustration. “I’m like them. I have the emotions the geneticists sought to remove from our race. Throwbacks like me almost always end in madness. Still, I have hope I might find my mate among your people and avoid that terrible end.”
“You think Callie…?” Jane breathed.
Davin shook his head. “I have no idea if Callie could be my resonance mate, but I would like to see if such could be the case. There are ancient tests our males performed to find their resonance mates.”
“What sort of tests?” Mick asked with suspicion.
Davin held up the hand of peace. “Nothing that could harm her in any way. The first stage is merely the Hum. If we are compatible, there are further tests.”
“The Hum?” Jane asked, “What’s that?”
Davin looked surprised. “You haven’t noticed it between you? The air fairly throbs with the Hum when you touch.”
Mick looked intrigued. “Is it a physical sound you hear?” At Davin’s nod, Mick turned to his big computer station and flicked the switches, warming up the machine. “Human hearing is probably not as good as yours. Can you tell me the frequency range you hear this Hum in?” Mick had auditory testing equipment on a low bench. He motioned Davin over and asked him to help him find the right frequencies. Adapting some of the computer equipment, Davin invited Jane to stand beside Mick in front of the auditory pickups.
“Touch her and you may have your answers,” Davin said softly, backing off to the other side of the room so as not to interfere in the experiment.
Mick held his hand up to Jane and she placed hers within it, starting when he squeezed as the monitor registered a jump in the frequencies the alien had shown him. He let go and the lines on the monitor stilled. He grasped her hand again and they jumped and he laughed outright as he tried it again and again in different ways.
“I’ll be damned,” Mick finally said, turning to the alien. “You can hear this?”
Davin nodded. “You may test the range of my hearing, if you wish.”
Mick smiled at the offer. “I would definitely like to do that. I’ve tested Harry, of course,” he said to the woman who still stood by his side, “but I had no idea!”
“Who is Harry?” Davin asked as they turned back to him.
Mick laughed. “If you think Caleb is protective of our daughter Callie, he’s got nothing on her brother Harry.”
Jane motioned for Davin to sit as she resumed her seat at Mick’s side. “Harry is the son of Justin and one of your scientists, Mara 12.”
Chapter Two
Jane felt Davin’s shock. “I’d heard rumors,” he said softly, “but I didn’t dare believe.”
Jane grew concerned. “Why is the existence of Hara DNA on Earth such a big deal to your people?”
“You are definitely of the line of Hara?” His breathing quickened in excitement.
“Not me,” she said, watching him carefully. “Caleb, Justin and Mick have the Hara DNA, as do our children.”
Davin slid into a chair as his emotions swelled in a way Jane felt he was unprepared to handle. Mick came over, ready to assist with his medical training, but Davin held up a hand to fend him off.
“I’m all right. Blessed Hara! I can’t believe it!”
“I think he’s just overwhelmed,” Jane said, battling to keep the alien man’s emotions from battering her. “This is really important to him, Mick. He felt a huge burst of hope when we started talking about Hara.” She moved beside him. “Why is this so important to you, Davin?”
He held her gaze as if it were a lifeline. “Hara was like me. He had emotions. He lived before the geneticists were able to completely rid our people of them. He and his explorers found ways to avoid the madness that is coming for me. He was the greatest of us and he was lost to us, but now…” He looked over at Mick. “Now he’s reborn in you and your family. It’s a miracle and a hope for the future that you cannot comprehend. I doubt even my people can understand what the reintroduction of Hara DNA will do to us.”
He seemed happy, so Jane figured he was no threat to any of the Hara descendants on the place. If she were any judge, in fact, she’d bet he would only redouble his efforts to protect them all now that he knew.
“And you say Harry is the son of your brother Justin and Mara 12?” He shook his head as if in disbelief. “Does he have emotions? Does he have your mental powers?”
Jane beamed, feeling the awe and respect in the other man. “Yes to both. Harry is…well, he’s just the greatest.”
“And he is brother to Callie. By the First Crystal! She is a descendant of Hara!” He seemed stunned by the realization. “If we Hum…” He trailed off, contemplating the enormity of his thoughts, Jane realized with some satisfaction. Here was a man who would value her daughter…as long as they “Hummed”.
“So after the Hum, what are the other tests?” Mick asked in a skeptical tone.
Davin started at the question. “Next there’s the Kiss.”
“I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” Mick said darkly.
“It’s not as intimate as it sounds. If your equipment is still on, I can show you.” Davin stood up and moved toward the computer, reaching into his pocket for a small crystal that he placed on the desk in front of the small microphone pickup. “Stand here.” He motioned to both of them and they complied with raised eyebrows. “Now raise your hands and let your palms kiss.” Immediately the Hum registered on the monitors. “Good, now bend your lips to hers,” he instructed Mick, who complied with a grin.
When Mick’s lips touched hers the familiar fire blossomed in her gut, even after the years they’d been free to explore their passion for each other. She responded to his kiss, losing herself in the moment until she heard a sigh of satisfaction from off to her side. She raised her eyelids to find Davin nodding at them with more than a bit of envy.
“The crystal glows, the Hum escalates. You are true mates, I am certain. But the next test will tell for sure.”
Jane looked down at the crystal, which indeed was glowing with an orangey red light from within, and the lines on the monitors had increased dramatically.
“What’s the next test?” Mick wanted to know, his breath a little bit ragged.
“The Embrace,” Davin said. Jane could feel he wasn’t unaffected by watching them, his envy vying with his yearning and his own lust as he educated them in the ancient ways of his people. “Take her in your arms, kiss her and fit your body to hers. This test is best done with as few clothes as possible between you, but you’ll get the idea, I think, when you see what the monitors and the crystal do.”
Mick didn’t need to be told twice, though Jane was a little shy around the Alvian. Still, she went willingly into Mick’s tight embrace, feeling his cock stir against the juncture of her thighs as he lifted her off her feet and kissed her deeply. The room was suddenly glowing with bright yellow light and Jane realized it was coming from the crystal. Mick broke the kiss long enough to check the monitors and she was able to see the lines waving crazily as the Hum increased exponentially.
She also felt the waves of lust coming from the alien man and it made her a little uncomfortable. He was undoubtedly older than both she and Mick, and had seen plenty in his lifetime as an interstellar traveler, but he’d never seen two beings with emotions behave so intimately in front of him, she would bet. And then she remembered he was showing them these things so he could try them out on her little girl.
“You’re not going to grab Callie like that, are you? She’s very innocent, Davin. You could scare her half to death. You’re so much older and worldlier than she is.”
Jane was touched by the immediate compassion she felt from him. “If we do not Hum, there’s no need for further tests, Jane. Don’t worry.”
“Is there more after the Embrace?” Mick asked.
Davin sighed. “Only the Joining. But that is a formality. If the crystal glows as the sun, then you are truly mates. The Joining will only make it shine with the light of a thousand sta
rs.”
Mick released Jane, allowing her to catch her breath. “What sort of crystal is it?”
Davin picked up the clear pointed object and handed it to Mick for inspection. “It’s quartz, but tuned. The fact that your planet had so much raw quartz made it ideal for us. It only needed the introduction of our home crystal to tune it to our needs. Now your Earth sings with our tones and your quartz is tuning all over your world to the new frequencies. It is something we need to survive and we use the tuned crystal in many diverse ways. It powers our cities and our machinery. It also heals us and renews us. I am a crystal engineer, by training and temperament. It is very satisfying work, but the thought of how we brought your planet’s crystal deposits to life pains me at every turn. Had I known our reports of primitive life on this planet were so very wrong, I never would have helped put the crystal seeding plan into action.”
Jane watched him, feeling his deep remorse. “We all have some guilt to bear in our lives,” she said softly, surprising him, she could tell. He’d probably expected nothing but condemnation for his admission about taking part in the destruction of their way of life and the deaths of millions of innocent people. “What’s important is that we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat or compound them.”
Davin nodded at her with respect. “You are wise indeed, Jane O’Hara.”
She smiled. “I hope you’ll still think so when I ask you to give my daughter Callie some space. She’s very young and innocent. And very empathic.”
“I’ll do my best not to let my emotions influence her. But you must realize that if we Hum, I will want to test her further to see if we are true mates or not. At that point, my emotions and her empathy will have little to do with what must be between us. For each male there is only one true mate, or so the legends say. If it is meant to be, then she will be mine.”
“Only one?” Jane asked, her face crumpling in a way that made Davin feel guilty.
“So it is written. Although there have been a few notable exceptions in our history.”
