Ren was right behind her. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they left the classroom buildings behind and made their way toward the dormitories on the other side of campus. It was officially fall break and they were carefree! The mile-long walk felt exhilarating, and the two girls chatted excitedly about their plans.
Aylie purposely slowed their pace to prolong their time together, glancing sideways at Ren. “So…tell me about Eli.”
Ren blushed. “I don’t know much about him, really.”
“Well, you seemed to have quite a interest in him, unless I misunderstood the looks,” Aylie teased.
“I’ve only met him once before. He’s practically Derek’s best friend, though, so he’s going to be around a lot for holidays and things like that. I guess Switzerland’s too far to travel for short holidays.”
Aylie smiled. “Yeah, sounds like you’re really broken up about that.”
Ren’s brown eyes were practically glowing. “He’s SO handsome, Aylie.”
She chuckled. “I can’t disagree with you there.”
“How did he and your brother become close friends so quickly? They’ve only known each other for a little over two months, right?”
Ren’s expression changed slightly. “They’re in a lot of classes together, I think.”
Aylie’s powers of perception were tingling. “And?”
“And…they have similar interests.”
Aylie could sense her friend’s hesitation, which piqued her curiosity even more. She stopped, just before the dormitory came into view, forcing them to go their separate ways.
“Ren—you know I can sense when there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Ren looked around nervously. “I know.”
“So?” Aylie waited expectantly.
“They’re in the same…fraternity.”
“Why is that a secret? There are several on campus.”
“It’s kind of a secret fraternity—no one officially knows they exist, except the students who are chosen to join. It’s kind of an ancient tradition.”
Aylie frowned. “Are they involved in anything illegal?”
“Of course not!” Ren exclaimed. “Derek would never be part of something like that.”
Aylie couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious. “Of course.”
“Well, I should probably go inside,” Ren said, changing the subject as they approached the sidewalk leading to her dorm. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” She took the sidewalk and quickly disappeared from sight before Aylie could ask any more questions.
Aylie turned away from the dorms and found the main road, which eventually turned into the long gravel road that led out of the city limits. From that point, the Ranch was only a couple miles away. She hadn’t gotten very far when she saw something emerge from the edge of Silvervane Forest. It was definitely a person, which was a small relief.
Ryder. She recognized him instantly. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a solid gray t-shirt, and his jeans were wrinkled like he’d just picked them out of the dirty laundry pile. His dark hair was mussed and there was a shadow of stubble along the edges of his jawline. She felt silly when her heart skipped a beat and was glad he couldn’t read her mind. She was actually relieved to see him, but she wasn’t ready to admit it to herself or to him.
He waited for her, arms folded across his broad chest.
Aylie took a deep breath. I guess this is happening, she thought. Ready or not.
“Are you stalking me?” He asked, when she had finally caught up with him. A smirk was playing on the corners of his lips.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only stalker here.”
He chuckled and Aylie resumed her pace. She focused on the gravel beneath her feet, pretending not to care whether he followed or not. She didn’t want to seem too eager to talk to him.
He kept in step with her, glancing sideways. “How’s Silvervane Prep?”
“Great, now that exams are out of the way. Not that you’d know anything about that.” It was her turn to scrutinize. “Where have you been?”
His lips curved into a roguish grin. “Sounds like someone missed me.”
“I just wanted to make sure you were still alive, that’s all,” she replied defensively. “With your luck, you could’ve been buried under the floorboards days ago and no one would even know.” She regretted saying the words the moment they left her lips, but she couldn’t take them back now.
A flash of pain crossed his face before dissolving behind a smug rebuttal. “What does it matter to you?”
Aylie stopped and turned to face him. “I didn’t mean it like that, Ryder.”
“Sure you did.” He shot her a pointed glance. “Your friends are probably betting on whether or not I’m going make it to the end of Fall Break without handcuffs.”
“I don’t care what my friends are saying—I wouldn’t be talking to you if I did.”
He looked at her skeptically. “Why are you talking to me?”
Aylie bit her bottom lip. “I already told you…I was concerned about you.”
“Right, but you only care about whether I’m dead or alive?”
“Well that, and you still owe me an explanation for the little werewolf incident the other night.”
Ryder laughed out loud. “Werewolf incident?”
“Don’t you DARE pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Ryder Payne!” She exclaimed. “I’ll go straight to chief Blair if I have to.”
Ryder cocked an eyebrow. “Really? How do you think that conversation will go, Aylie? Do you honestly think he’ll believe anything you say?”
Aylie’s cheeks flushed and her heart was beginning to pound. “You owe me an explanation—I saved you from doing something stupid, remember?”
“That’s not what I remember.”
“Let me refresh your memory, then.” Aylie retorted, blood rising. “You started freaking out, thrashing like you were possessed by something…sound familiar?”
“Hmm,” he pretended to ponder. “Doesn’t ring a bell,” he said with maddening calmness. He picked up his pace, leaving her behind.
Aylie was furious. You’re not getting off the hook this easily. She reached for his arm, catching him by the wrist. The moment she touched him she felt a jolt of electric current shoot through her veins, nearly knocking her to the ground. She stumbled backwards and dropped his wrist, staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief.
“What was that?” She exclaimed.
He held his wrist as if he’d been burned, but tried to keep his composure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You electrocuted me!” She said, drawing in a ragged breath. “Did you do that on purpose?”
“No, of course not.” He spat on the ground. She could see a trace of blood in his saliva as it seeped into the gravel at his feet.
“Ryder, what is going on? Do you need help?”
He glared at her. “No. I just need to stay away from you.”
Aylie ignored the stinging remark. “Well I’m not leaving Silvervane, so you’re just going to have to pick up your Mansion and move somewhere else.”
“Actually, I’ve decided to leave that behind,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I might even burn it down.”
Aylie stared at him. He looked entirely sincere. “I can’t tell whether you’re joking or not.”
“I’m being completely serious.”
“You’re leaving Silvervane?” The thought filled her with unexpected sadness. Or maybe it was more like disappointment. She wasn’t sure what she felt. She’d only met him a couple of weeks ago but it seemed like she’d known him for years.
Ryder nodded. “You won’t have to worry about me or my haunted castle anymore.”
“When?” She asked quietly, forgetting how angry she’d been only moments before.
“As soon as I graduate.”
The news was like a punch in the gut. Sure, she’d been angry enough to slap
him a moment ago, but she hadn’t really wanted him to leave Silvervane forever. In that moment, Aylie realized she didn’t want him to leave, and the revelation overwhelmed her. With an irrational burst of emotion, she started walking away blindly, putting one foot in front of the other without thinking about what she was doing. She didn’t know why those words had affected her so strongly, but an odd sense of loss had gripped her and she wanted to get away from Ryder Payne as quickly as possible.
The wind picked up suddenly, blowing her hair every which way and biting at the exposed skin at her throat. She’d draped her scarf haphazardly around her shoulders when she’d walked out of the school and the breeze violently ripped it from her neck, tossing it to the ground several feet away.
Ryder had been following slowly behind and the scarf landed at his feet. He retrieved it and caught up with her, stopping silently in front of her. She reached out to take it from him, but he ignored her outstretched hand and moved closer to put it around her neck himself. Wordlessly, he proceeded to even out the lengths of both sides so that they were matching, and then twisted it once, pulling the ends through the knot he had created. He was concentrating intently, his fingers gently brushing the skin on her neck as he did it.
Aylie felt a slight tingling sensation where he’d touched her. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. She tried not to look into his face—that would only make things worse.
He finished and turned away, looking off into the distance. “I can see your ranch from here,” he murmured.
Aylie nodded, dumbfounded. Ryder Payne was a paradox…cold as ice one moment and excruciatingly gentle the next.
“Do you mind if I walk you home?” He asked.
Aylie shook her head. “No, thanks—it’s not that far from here.”
Ryder looked into her eyes with solemn determination. “My asking was a formality. I’m going to walk you home whether you want me to or not.”
They continued on in silence for several minutes, until the Ranch came into full view. Aylie could see the dark, paneled siding of her house in the distance; the chimneys were sending up smoke and ash, the bright afternoon sunlight beating down on the light colored solar-paneled roof and dormers. Shafts of sunlight glistened off of the bright, fall-colored leaves that were still clinging to the trees along the edge of the property, and the mountains beyond it were breathtaking in their rocky, rugged expanse.
The puffy white clouds and patches of blue sky overhead were a stark contrast to the deep green of the pastureland beneath their feet. The horses were grazing contentedly, scattered across the acres of farmland that spread out in all directions in front of them. Once they cut through the acre of tall grass leading to the pasture gate, Aylie would be home and their walk would be officially over. She tried not to let her disappointment show. She kept her eyes on the foot-worn path in front of her, trying not to be aware of how closely Ryder was following behind her. She could feel the intensity of his eyes on her and it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation.
Ryder unlatched the metal gate, holding it open for her to pass through. Aylie thanked him timidly, as she took a step into the tall pasture grass and then hesitated. She looked over
her shoulder at him. “Thank you for walking me home.”
“No problem.”
He looked off into the distance, waiting for her to pass through the gate, but Aylie allowed herself to linger for a moment. She found herself longing to say something that would make him change his mind about leaving Silvervane, but refrained, feeling a little ashamed of how attached she’d become to him in such a short period of time. I wish you weren’t moving. She thought wistfully. I wish I had met you sooner, before things got so complicated.
Ryder’s eyes snapped to her face, like he was suddenly intrigued by something written on her forehead. He narrowed his chocolate eyes, studying her so hard that she started to squirm under the intensity of his gaze.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around?”
Ryder’s full lips slowly spread into a grin. “You certainly will.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
A ylie hardly ate anything at dinner. She had no appetite and couldn’t force herself to eat another bite of her mom’s spaghetti. She told her parents that she wasn’t feeling well and went straight to her room. She didn’t need to think about what was bothering her. She knew why she wasn’t hungry and was thoroughly annoyed with herself for it. She should never have let herself get attached to Ryder in the first place and she inwardly chided herself for being so careless with her heart.
Her mom had always emphasized the importance of protecting her heart and her emotions when it came to the boys she allowed herself to like. She knew better than to let feelings based on shallow attraction and hormones cloud her judgment—that’s how most girls ended up with broken hearts and a trail of short-lived, emotionally damaging relationships. But she hadn’t meant to develop feelings for Ryder…she hadn’t even realized it was happening until this afternoon.
She tried to figure out when it had started. Was she feeling this way about him because she felt sorry for him? Was she drawn to him because he was mysterious and rebellious, or was there something more? She tried to sort through all of the confusing new emotions by writing in her journal. Sometimes getting everything out on paper was the best way for her to figure out what she was feeling and why she was feeling it. This seemed like a much safer option than confiding in Lacey or Ren. They were her closest friends and she trusted them, but she didn’t want to be teased about this right now.
Besides, Ryder was leaving town in a few months. There was no happy ending to this story. She needed to get over this little infatuation and move on before things got out of hand. She couldn’t lose her head over a boy and let her feelings run away with her. It would be a recipe for disaster. She wrote until her eyes burned and fell asleep with the journal on her lap.
When Aylie awoke, she was standing in the middle of Silvervane Forest. The moon was standing high in the sky, casting its light in a wide pool all around her. There was snow covering the ground beneath her bare feet, but she didn’t feel the cold. The stars were sparkling like crystals in the midnight sky overhead and she was enthralled by the beauty surrounding her. She had no idea how she’d gotten there or what time it was. She knew instinctively that she should be afraid of the forest at night, but she felt fearless. Safe. Protected. She glanced around at the snow-kissed fur trees and saw something moving among the branches. It was large and white, and it was coming toward her. She watched its every move—not in fear, but in anticipation. She wanted it to come closer.
When the animal finally emerged from the shadows, Aylie gasped. She wasn’t sure what she had expected—a fox or a wolf, perhaps, but never this. A great, white lion was approaching her, its piercing blue eyes fixed on hers. Its fur was brighter than snow and it glistened in the moonlight. Its eyes were the most striking blue she’d ever seen, but they were burning like flames of fire. She was completely transfixed and utterly unafraid. She had never seen anything so magnificent. It stopped right in front of her, straightening to its fullest height—only then did Aylie feel fear. It wasn’t the kind of fear that most humans experience when they are in danger, but the kind that fills you with awe and makes you aware of your own fragile humanness.
Are you ready? It asked her.
The animal had not opened its mouth, but Aylie understood what it was thinking.
“Ready for what?” She asked. She longed to reach out and stroke the lion’s regal head, but she held herself in check.
It is time. The lion said.
“Time for what?” She looked into its eyes imploringly.
It is time for you to take back what belongs to you.
“What do you mean? What belongs to me?” She asked, wanting desperately to understand. “What do you want me to do?
Find me.
The lion looked deeply into her eyes and Aylie felt she might melt unde
r their fiery gaze. Suddenly, the creature began to vanish right before her eyes, fading away into the darkness, piece by piece.
“Don’t go!” She shouted.
Suddenly, Aylie awoke with a start and realized it had been a dream. She was breathing hard and her comforter was lying on the floor next to her bed. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, but she couldn’t move a hand to wipe them away because her body felt somehow paralyzed from the intensity of the dream.
It was several minutes before she could finally summon the strength to sit up. Then she reached for her journal, trying to capture every detail of the dream. She didn’t understand it at all, but she felt innately sure that it was somehow significant. After she had finished, she set the journal back down on the nightstand and slowly crawled out of bed. She tiptoed quietly over to the window, careful to avoid the loose floorboards that sometimes creaked, betraying the fact that she was awake.
She gazed out of her second story window at the snowy landscape below and up into the night sky glittering with stars. The moon was full and at its peak, just as it had been in her dream. She glanced toward the forest, almost expecting to see the snowy, white lion of her dream emerge from it. To her astonishment, she saw—not the magical lion, but the shadowy figure of Ryder Payne making his way through the tree line. He was trudging through the freshly fallen snow as if it were broad daylight. He was too far away to see her yet, but she could tell that he was headed toward the ranch even from a mile away.
Aylie spun on her heal to see what time it was. The alarm clock revealed that it was only a little after midnight. She turned back to the window and watched him draw closer with alarming speed. Then she hurried to get dressed. She wasn’t sure whether he intended to make her aware of his presence or not, but she was determined to find out why he was here, regardless. She ripped off her nightshirt and pulled on her silk thermals, jeans, and a hoodie, grabbing a pair of wool socks from her drawer before tiptoeing down the stairs. She paused by the backdoor to put on her barn boots and carefully pushed it open, closing it again quietly behind her.
WAKENED (The Silvervane Chronicles Book 1) Page 7