Rylan's Heart

by Serena Simpson

  “Dante is sending Mick in a hover craft to pick us up. We can eat dinner with them.”

  “I’d like that. I’m not sure about this Rylan. I’ve never left her with anyone before. It almost feels like everything is spinning out of control and Mckayla is my heart.”

  “I know. If you’re not comfortable by the time we’re ready to leave we’ll think of something else.”

  She nodded agreement.

  *~*~*~*

  Selma meant an actual alien hover craft. Both Mckayla and Vick were trying to explore every inch of it while Mick, the male captaining it, answered every question. Mick was Dante’s brother and Dante was someone they all seemed to respect a lot.

  Rylan sat close to Aviana and kept an eye on Mckayla. Paige and Cal were wrapped up in their own world. Victor and Selma were staring out the view screen. Gabe had decided to stay home with Joaquin, another member at the bed and breakfast, who had returned tonight just before they left.

  “Mom, can I have one of these when I turn sixteen?” Mckayla looked at her with her bright eyes.

  “Why don’t we wait until you get sixteen, then we’ll talk about it.”

  “Mr. Mick, Aunt Selma told me about another girl named Amber. Is she nice?”

  “She is and you’ll love her.” Mckayla gave him a smile and went back to staring out the view screen with Vick.

  The hovercraft was set down not far from a house she could see. It was a wide, rambling two story house that took up a lot of the surrounding property.

  “We’re at Aran’s and his mate, Rena’s house.”

  They walked the short distance from the hovercraft to the back of the house.

  A tall man waited to greet them.

  “This is Aran.” Victor said before turning to them. “Aran, this is Aviana and her daughter, Mckayla.”

  He held out a hand and greeted them. “It is nice to meet you, Aviana. You as well, Mckayla.”

  “Vick,” Aran said, shaking his hand in hello. “Alexei and Amber are in the house.”

  “Let’s go, Mckayla.” Two excited kids ran into the house seeking the other children.

  “Come in. Everyone’s here. Dante is cooking and Rena is looking over his shoulder trying to pick up tips.

  Rylan took Aviana’s hand before saying hello to Aran. They walked into the warm house, the smell of good food welcomed them.

  She walked into controlled chaos and met the rest of Aran’s brothers as well as Mick’s. Finally, she entered the kitchen to meet Dante and Rena.

  Rena broke off and immediately came to hug her. “Aviana, I’m so glad to finally meet you and I hear you have an absolute doll for a child.”

  Dante gave a deep chuckle at the word doll.

  “No comment from you,” Rena said with a hug as she greeted Rylan. “So glad all of you could come. We don’t get to see you near enough.”

  “Hello,” Dante said, leaving the stove.

  He stared deeply into Aviana’s eyes before he looked into Rylan’s. Dante’s eyes flared wide, changing color, and Rylan fell into his arms. Aviana gave a shocked gasp and moved towards him.

  “He’s fine, don’t touch him.”

  Rena put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Trust Dante, he would never hurt him.”

  He laid Rylan on the floor and placed his hand over his heart. Rylan’s body arched up into his hand and convulsed. Dante did it again like he held a paddle over his chest shocking his heart back to life. Finally, he took his hands away, letting Rylan settle before he picked him up.

  “He needs sleep. Eat; he will be ready when it’s time to leave.”

  Paige walked in as Dante was leaving. “Nice to see you again, Girly,” he said in passing.

  Paige stopped making Cal run into her. “Did you hear that, Cal?”

  “I sort of suspected that the old man might have been Dante but I wasn’t sure.”

  Paige gave a rich peal of laughter before coming all the way into the kitchen. Glad it’s your turn at the trial, Aviana.”

  Aviana stared at the door and moved to follow Dante out, but Victor placed his hand on her arm.

  “I promise you he will be fine. I would never let anyone under me come to harm.” He looked her in her eyes as his dilated and she felt a warmth come over her.

  “Are you sure?”

  He gave her a swift hug. “I’m sure.”

  “Let’s get dinner on the table.” Rena started directing her guests, smiling as her dining room slowly increased its size to accommodate everyone. It was good to have a mate who knew other aliens.

  Chapter Nine

  Aviana looked out her window. It had been strange not having Mckayla around last night. She tossed and turned; this was the first time she ever trusted anyone with her care. Taking a deep breath, she reassured herself that she was fine.

  Mckayla had run with Vick, Alexei and Amber as if she had grown up with them. She would stop periodically, come back to her, and give her the newest update on what she learned, and then skip off to play again.

  Everything had gone well until Aviana asked her if she wanted to stay a few days and keep playing with them. Excitement had touched her brown eyes making them an eerie green that Aviana pretended not to notice. Rylan noticed; he pointed it out to Dante, asking him softly whispered questions that she couldn’t hear.

  She chewed on her bottom lip before she said she wanted to go home with her. Aviana could see the desire to stay on her face. After several minutes, Mckayla confessed to being worried about her.

  That’s when Rylan stepped in. “Mckayla, who protects your mom?”

  Her eerie green eyes looked into his, “You.”

  “Then I won’t let you down. Your mom has to do something and she needs to know you’re safe while she’s doing it. Can you stay here and have a good time while she fights for what’s right?”

  “I can.”

  “I’m so proud of your strength, Mckayla.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on.

  Aviana blinked back tears. Rylan would make a great father. With a last hug for her daughter they left. They decided to get started in the morning, now all she had to do was wait for Selma and Victor.

  She had questioned him about what would happen, but he simply turned confused eyes to her. His mouth opened and closed several times before he admitted he wasn’t sure.

  *~*~*~*

  She was wearing a pair of comfortable shorts and a loose top. She paced in front of the fireplace, her heart in her stomach and she had no idea where her stomach was. Selma told her not to eat in the morning. That was appreciated—if she ate she might be losing her food right about now.

  The knock on the door caused her to jump. It was her last chance to call this thing off. She didn’t love Rylan or at least she thought she didn’t. His body definitely turned her on. His story made her heart ache, but there should be more to love. She enjoyed his company. He made her laugh with his weird sense of humor. Then there was that feeling deep in her chest she refused to name. Could that mean something?

  So she didn’t love him, but she couldn’t let him go. The thought of living without him made her ache inside. Just the image of something happening to him ripped her apart. She didn’t know what this was, but whatever it was she was going to hold it close.

  “Come in.” She crossed to the door and let them in.

  Rylan walked in with a smile on his face. He backed her up against the wall as she tried to retreat from him. Then he pulled her into his arms. She really needed that. The strength and the warmth of him began to settle her nerves. What was it that made being held by him feel so right?

  She lifted her head to look up. Victor and Selma were standing in the room, big grins on their faces. No one else came in.

  “It’ll just be the two of us watching over your body as you go through the trial.”

  She shivered. The need to have someone watch over her body amazed her. How come they couldn’t just go to city hall like the rest of us? Alien. Right. Duh. Still, where
was the human part of this pairing? Advanced human. Right. Duh.

  Hugging Rylan tighter, she tried to bury her fears. Nope, wasn’t happening. She looked up at him meeting those sky blue eyes that seemed so peaceful.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” Nodding, she pulled back a little.

  “Can we go over the ground rules one more time to make sure I have them?” She hoped her voice sounded strong and confident to them. It sounded a little weak to her.

  “Sure,” Selma said with a smile. “Let’s get you situated and we’ll tell you both what to expect.”

  Victor and Selma led them into Aviana’s bedroom. They were instructed to lie on their backs and hold hands after they got comfortable. The holding of the hands should help their connection on the other side.

  “You’re going to a different plane outside both your body and your mind,” Victor said, directing their attention to him. “It exists and what happens there affects you here also.”

  “So if I die there?” Aviana asked.

  “Don’t die there,” Selma said, with no room for discussion on her face.

  Aviana nodded, feeling her stomach jump up into her throat. Did she really want to do this? It was the warm hand holding hers that calmed her down. She couldn’t explain this crazy feeling in her heart even if you asked her to, but she needed to be with Rylan. It felt like a compulsion, something she could not walk away from.

  “What happens when you leave here is different for every couple. What and who you see will be tailored to your needs. One of you could be tested or both of you. You will go into this unknowing and when the trial is over you will come out either bonded or not.” Selma’s soft voice finished the instruction.

  “That doesn’t tell me much,” Aviana said looking at them but concentrating on the warmth of Rylan’s hand.

  “It’s all we can tell you. Now you choose to enter or run.” Victor’s strong voice challenged her.

  Aviana tightened her grip on Rylan and closed her eyes with a big yawn. Her mind slowly crept away as sleep took her.

  *~*~*~*

  As far as dreams went this one sucked. She was in a room that was pitch black except for a tiny shaft of light that really didn’t illuminate anything. She heard someone call her name as she tried walking around the room looking for a door, but she kept hitting her shins on things she couldn’t see. Finally, she sat down and refused to go any further.

  “Aviana!” There was her name again. Who kept calling her and why?

  She ignored the call. There was no way she was getting up again to keep hitting herself in the dark. It hurt. She would wait until she woke up to analyze this dream.

  “Aviana!”

  There was that voice again. It went over her like a blanket keeping her warm in the coldest winter. Her body trembled. She wanted to, no needed to find that voice. Something about it touched a memory she couldn’t access.

  Without thought she stood, determined to brave the mine field that was this room. She’d do anything for a chance to bask in that voice. She moved slowly as her shins came into contact with razor sharp wires. Blood poured down her legs in little rivulets but she couldn’t stop.

  She stumbled into the wall and gave a cry of relief, part one of the plan was accomplished—find the wall. Now that she found it, she could follow it until she found a door and was able to release herself from the room.

  “Aviana,” the voice called again fueling her desire to find it.

  Finding the door wasn’t easy. After the first time of walking the room, her heart sped up, the beat making her chest hurt. Fear was a nasty taste in her mouth as her thoughts told her to stop trying, all was lost. Nothing but sheer determination made her walk the room again. By the time she walked the wall the second time, she knew were every trap was. On the third time she avoided every one of them making her feel a little better and on the fourth time around, she finally found the door she was positive had not been there the first three times.

  Turning the knob, she entered a room that was so bright she had to shield her eyes from the light. Even after closing them, she could still feel the rays of light like shards of glass.

  “Aviana!” Thick arms wrapped around her. A remembered masculine smell tickled her senses. Peace invaded her body.

  “Rylan!” Happiness warred with desperation and desolation. She had been so alone in the black room and scared although she refused to acknowledge it.

  “Where are we?”

  “It’s a way station in your mind. Turn down the light, Aviana.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can. Act like there’s a dimmer switch on the wall and turn down the lights.”

  She pictured the bright room looking at each wall until she saw one with the desired switch on it. She walked over to it in her mind and turned it, causing the light to burn even brighter. With fumbling fingers, she turned it in the other direction.

  Her shoulders slumped in relief when the bright light stopped attacking her eyes. Cautiously she opened her eyes to peer around the room.

  “We’re in my mind?” She turned around in his arms so she could see his face. He nodded.

  “How can that be?”

  “This is the start of our mental connection that will be cemented if we pass the trial and bond.”

  “Have there ever been any failures?”

  “A few I’ve heard whispers about. No one shouts out a failure when it comes to soul-bonding.

  She moved out of his arms and turned to look around. They were in one of her mental rooms. This was one of the places she tried to push deep into the dark recesses of her memory. There was a huge desk on one wall with a picture of a beautiful waterfall that spilled into a river.

  A small laugh left her as she looked at the desk and waterfall. It was so her. The Aviana she no longer showed the world. There was a wall of bookshelves lined with textbooks and a few books that were simply pleasure reads. She no longer had time for either kind of book.

  “Why did you pick this room?”

  “I didn’t, you picked it. When I asked for permission to enter, you directed where I would go.”

  “So what’s in the dark room that I was in?”

  “It’s your mind, Aviana. Go have a look for yourself.”

  She moved away from him and found the door she used to enter her study room as she was now calling it. Her stomach tightened before she placed her hand on the knob and turned.

  The room was still darker than night. The only thing she could do was slide her hand along the wall where the door opened to see if there was a light switch. Touching an object her fingers played with it to turn on the lights.

  The blackness faded some as a weak light cast the room in shadows. Her throat worked as if she wanted to talk and breathe but was unable to do either. Every fear she ever encountered, and a few that were waiting to grab her, were locked up in this room.

  One reared up at her like a deadly snake about to attack. She stumbled back and closed the door with no time to spare. The fear hit the door with a loud thud hissing it would be back.

  “Can I eject that room from my mind?”

  “No, eventually you will have to face your fears. Is this the place you would come to in your mind when you were studying?”

  “Yes, it seems so weird, but I guess it makes sense. I always heard the phrase I have to get ready to do something…like go to the store or watch the kids, etc.…I always thought of it more like getting physically ready. It makes sense to me now; in my mind I have a place to go that got me ready to study. It’s like a room for my brain. I bet I have more rooms in here.”

  “I know you do. Are you ready to see them?”

  “I am, but I think it’s only fair to tell you when I wake up, I’m going to think this was all a dream.

  “We shall see. Let’s go.” She took his hand.

  Chapter Ten

  This wasn’t what she expected. The landscape was beautiful, wide meadows filled with flowers. There we
re rolling hills in the background. It was the perfect place for a picnic and not one bee in sight. This was someplace she could stay.

  The only thing breaking up the beauty of the scene was an ancient door that was so tall she couldn’t see the top of it. It was cast in black metal that shone in the sun.

  Shaking her head, she walked around it. It was just a door standing there in the middle of the meadow. It made no sense.

  “Why is there a door here?”

  “It must be the entrance to the trials. Calix mentioned he and Paige went through a door.”

  She guessed it made sense, or at least as much sense as anything else made.

  “How do we get in?”

  “We wait for it to open.” Rylan reached out to touch the door that turned out to be cold. “There isn’t a handle. We wait.”

  There was a loud noise breaking up the peace and quiet. It came closer.

  “Is that a motorcycle?”

  The bike stopped and one of the largest men Aviana had ever seen hit the heel of his boot against the kickstand, allowing it to rest as he climbed off the bike.

  Aviana hid behind Rylan, unpleasant memories coming back to haunt her.

  The man was close to seven feet with tattoos down both arms. His long black hair was clipped at the nape of his neck with a piece of leather. His intense gaze was ruby red. He wore a leather vest minus the shirt. His pants were leather too. They stretched over him showing off every well-defined muscle he possessed.

  She shivered against Rylan as the personality from their unexpected guest wrapped around her, stroking the fear she felt.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “We are here for the bonding trials.” Rylan told the stranger who hovered over him by almost a foot.

  Aviana felt Rylan’s body hardened as he prepared to defend her. He wanted to keep her safe from the man who reminded her of that dark night in the alley. She shivered as the memories came back in a rush.

  The man laughed. “Do you really think you can take me?”