Worlds Apart 4: Ryan's Hope

by Bonnie Rose Leigh

  When Eve began to recite his mate’s education, at first Ryan felt nothing but pride that she’d accomplished so much when being near people at all was an almost unbearable trial. But as the degree of her intelligence sunk in, his stomach grew tense, uneasy. What would she want with a mate who’d not even completed his high school education? He was so not worthy of her, of her love. How could the Goddess Alana whom the Chantreans revered so much, match him with her? There must have been some sort of mistake. Liana could never be happy with him in the long-term.

  Ryan wanted to whimper when the sense of loss washed through him. She’d never be happy with him.

  Ryan, you make me immensely happy. I want no one but you. I’ll accept no one but you. You complete me. You, and you alone, make me feel safe and cherished. How could I want anyone else when you give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of just by feeling about me the way you do?

  Leaning down, Ryan pressed a kiss to her forehead. I don’t deserve you, but by the Goddess, I’m not going to give you up either.

  Like I would have let you. Liana cleared her throat. “Should I bow or shake hands? How does one greet Manruvian Royalty?” she asked.

  No regrets. Actually, he did have one regret—that he hadn’t had time to make love to her before leaving the ship, thoroughly ravish her so she wouldn’t remember what it felt like not to have him deep inside her, all around her. He wanted to show her how much he cherished and adored her just as she was so she’d never doubt her appeal again, never feel like an unlovable Omega again—just as she felt when she thought about how isolated she’d been as a child genius. Again, he could practically see her childhood behind his eyes, feel the very emotions she felt growing up.

  Dammit! You’re going to make me cry. No one’s cared how I felt being an Empath, and I can’t handle that now on top of my nervous stomach. Focus, moyo.

  Lost in his morose thoughts, he’d expected to be called out for staring off into space, but only a mere second or two must have lapsed because Mikel and Maryann and the others didn’t seem to notice they weren’t paying attention.

  Mikel and Maryann shook their heads and chuckled. “I put my pants on the same as Hunter and Taliff do. If you can find a way to thwart that bitch, Haeda—otherwise known as the Black Rose—and find a cure for our fertility problems you can greet me any way you’d like,” he admitted. “That’s a solemn vow.” When she let out another soft chuckle, he knew they’d pass their first crisis—together.

  “Good. Then let’s try and figure out just what’s going on,” she murmured.

  Right that moment, he fell in love. He knew how frightened she’d been earlier and how terrified she remained as they went up against the known universe’s most ruthless criminal. Her willingness to discuss her near-death experience and then to jump right back into the muck that nearly killed her, sent him hurling over the precipice he’d been walking along, tumbling head long into love. A great wave of it washed through him, making his heart stutter in his chest for just a moment before kick starting into a steady gallop. What surprised him most wasn’t that he’d love his mate, but that loving her didn’t scare him to death. It felt perfectly right to love her.

  Startled brown-gold colored-eyes stared into his. Liana must have felt the moment as clearly as he did. Hmm…her empathic ability could be convenient when finding the words that were harder to come by and nearly impossible to do so when expressing his feelings. Though he knew she’d need to hear the words, too, but this wasn’t the time for that.

  You’re right. Not the best moment for such an epiphany. How are we supposed to get anything done when you’re giving us both heart attacks? she teased. Sensing he also needed the words, she put all the feeling she could behind them. How could I not love you when despite what you’ve suffered, what you’ve surely earned, you’ve not only survived but have chosen to rescue those that need it most despite the bounty on your head? You are more than worthy of my love, and whoever doubts that will have to go through me until they’re set right. Together, together we’ll get through everything thrown at us. Now let’s make some plans so that we can officially join our lives together this rising, my love.

  * * * *

  Hunter watched the arrival of the newly matched pair as they entered the Officer’s Lounge—better known as Strategic Command Central—of the Allied Base headquarters. They were deep within the bowels of the moon, and surface scans would show nothing but dense, nearly impenetrable rock, which satellites could not even breach. In reality, the base on Glendor had been operational for nearly five years, since shortly after Ryan’s own escape from the Black Rose. He’d been instrumental in not only gathering their army of volunteers but in the planning and rescue of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men and women used to breed more broodmare slaves.

  Just in the few hours since they’d met, Liana’d had such a profound and positive effect on his friend. Before, Hunter swore one could see Ryan’s soul turn cold at each meeting. More and more of what made Ryan who he was, a defender of those weaker than himself, a man with his own demons looking for penance by helping others, had been lost over the years of battling the Black Rose. Now, he had a reason to live besides guilt, and she stood just up to Ryan’s chest. And when the pair shared a warm intimate smile like those Hunter and his mate, Amy, shared, he knew that Ryan would be all right with the little doctor at his side.

  Deciding it was time, Hunter cleared his throat. At once, he had everyone’s attention. “I’m sure we’d all like to know just what happened today. If war is coming again, we need to prepare our peoples.” His stark voice seemed to echo in the silent chamber as if the room itself waited to hear what they’d say.

  He watched Ryan squeeze his mate’s hand, then whisper that she had the floor. Sitting back, Hunter forced himself to listen. If the Black Rose had something else up her sleeves for his people, she’d not find an eager audience inside this chamber. In that, he felt absolute positive.

  Chapter Seven

  “For the last five years, I’ve made it my mission to try to find not only the root cause of the fertility problems but find a cure for these fertility problems as well. I believe I’ve come close to solving the mystery—possibly closer than I imagined. I discovered today that my lab assistant has been falsifying my recent lab tests, planting false test results so that my research had seemingly gone nowhere. Before discovering his treachery, I received visitors. Four visitors, three determined to make my mate kill me, or at least appear that he killed me. The Black Rose is cleaning up loose ends and the only reason I can see she’s doing it now is because I was close to a solution, without realizing it.”

  “If you believe you’ve come close to solving the mystery, then what do you believe caused the change? Is this something natural, are we evolving into something, or was this decline in female births manmade. And if so, who would do such a thing?”

  “First of all, I believe the root cause of this illness is manmade, or should I say, alien made. As you know, five years ago, I took a blood sample from everyone willing to give me one, trying to isolate the gene that is diseased. I completed the final test the subject’s DNA sequencing two days ago.”

  Liana grimaced then ran a hand through her hair. She was so weary and the tests had been conclusive as to how long ago Chantreans were infected. Too long ago for the Chantreans themselves to be solely responsible. “Two generations ago, one pair of chromosomes on every Chantrean alive—who agreed to the testing—mutated. There is nothing natural that could or would cause this to happen to every living being on a planet, simultaneously.

  “As far as why?” Liana shrugged. It hadn’t taken her long to come up with her reasoning but would the others agree with her? There was only one way to find out. “Why go to war with a planet if you can take it over without ever stepping foot on the planet? If you can poison them, ensuring that you can bloodlessly claim a planet, its technology, its cities, without firing a single weapon, why wouldn’t you? As the creators of the—I’m callin
g it poison for now—they’d know exactly how long it would be after its initial infection before the planet would be safe for habitation. Or more than likely the virus that altered our genes is something these conquerors would have in excess, and have some sort of immunity to.

  “Who would do this? That I don’t have the answer to…yet. But I’ve been going through several Ally species and their histories looking for other planets, other peoples that have simply died out much too quickly to be normal. If the Black Rose could profit from of your people’s miseries and help destroy several planets at the same time, well, she’d do it. And if she’d somehow discovered for herself who did this to Chantrea, to Earth, to Manruvia and others, then she’d make a deal with the devil herself if it would allow her to live while everyone else died.”

  Shocked gasps around the table turned into cries of outrage as understanding dawned. They had another enemy out there. A faceless one who’d declared war nearly a century ago. “But the question remains—what happened nearly one hundred years ago that affected every living thing on the planets?” Eve Shi’Lan, Taliff’s mate, mused aloud, her thoughts running along the same vein as everyone else’s.

  When Ryan reached over and held Liana’s hand in full view of everyone, silently offering his support, something in her chest eased. She wasn’t sure how the others would react to her news, but she shouldn’t have worried. The princes and their mates wouldn’t bully her, just because they didn’t like to hear something. She should have had more faith.

  “Well, now that we know what to look for, or I should say when, that gives the rest of us something to focus on. We’ll begin searching for planets like you described, as well as try to figure out what happened on our own planets that would be considered a global event,” Mikel offered.

  Beside him, Maryann leaned her head against her mate’s shoulder. “While we’re looking through long lost histories, Liana, will you be working on a cure, now that you have a general idea what happened?”

  “Yes. I’m going to see what I can do to synthesize a type of gene replacement therapy. Now that I know which genes are affected, I’m hoping that a single antidote will be all it takes to cure our people and all peoples affected. But that won’t rid us of the problem all together.”

  “The ones that created this insidious people-killer are still out there, their identities masked, their home world hidden from us,” Taliff answered as if by saying it aloud it might make the news more palatable. “They’re biding their time, but they’ll show up soon and we don’t have a clue what they look like.”

  “For all we know, they could already be here, waiting for their chance as they watch the political unrest, or they could be helping the Black Rose with her abductions from within,” Amy speculated.

  “Let us all get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll meet again in the morning to determine the best immediate course of action,” Ryan suggested. As one, they all stood, preparing to leave for their prospective ships. “If it’s alright with you, Prince Mikel, I’d like to cloak my shop and leave it orbiting the planet.”

  “Absolutely. You can stay here as long as you need for your mate to run her experiments, if it comes to that. She won’t be undefended while she works, you have my word on that, whether she works aboard your ship, or another,” Mikel vowed.

  Ryan nodded, then turned toward Hunter and Amy, before asking his next favor, this one from his brother-in-law. “Would it be alright if we stayed aboard your ship tonight, Hunter? We’d like to visit the Mating Chamber on the Vengeance. We don’t want to waste any of our time together.”

  Amy smiled, then stepped forward and wrapped Liana in her arms. “Welcome to the family, sister.”

  “I guess there’s your answer, brother. We’d be happy to have you aboard the Vengeance. We’ll even arrange a suite for you to sleep in, just in case someone tracks your ship to Glendor. If something happened to it, you wouldn’t be there. No reason to make it too easy on your enemies. They know what ship you call your own, so they’ll be prepared for your eventual escape. You always have before.”

  “That’s a worry for tomorrow. Tonight’s my mating night and it’s time to celebrate our happiness.”

  “Once we’re past this and things are settled, Amy and I would be honored if you’d allow us to throw you a reception.”

  Liana smiled, then leaned forward and gave her new brother-in-law a hug. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy, despite the shit-storm she could feel getting ready to head their way. Tonight though, tonight was for them and the memories they were going to make. “That would be wonderful, especially if chocolate cake is involved.”

  Chapter Eight

  No sooner had they transported aboard the Vengeance, than Ryan snatched her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a conquest. She wanted to laugh aloud with the sheer joy that infused her very soul. Even though they could be attacked by their enemies at any time, she wouldn’t change one thing that had led her to this minute, with this man.

  With her heart and mind completely awash in happiness, she relaxed into her mate’s hold and laid her head against his back as he carted her off to the Mating Chamber. Are we there yet?

  His chuckle sent waves of heat and desire rippling through her. She could feel his desire as if it were her own. Her need fed his, which in turn ramped hers up even higher. Somehow, they’d established a feedback loop, enhancing what the other felt and sensed, making the trip down the corridors and lifts an extended session of foreplay. She’d never survive it.

  Draped over his shoulder, she could feel the rapid pounding of his heart against her tummy, could smell his musky male scent wafting from his skin. His scent made her think of sin and sex, of hot sweaty nights spent on cool satin sheets and a lover that wanted nothing more than her pleasure. She couldn’t wait to take a bite out of him.

  Without missing a step, he pulled her off his shoulder and cradled her against his chest. With her head pressed against his heart and his arms wrapped securely around her, she knew that she’d be able to get through anything with him by her side. Anything at all. When his lips pressed a tender kiss against the top of her head, her heart rate sped up, seem to flutter as fast as a hummingbird’s wings. And when his breath bathed her temple, she shivered in reaction. Everything felt so much more intense than she’d imagined it would. Apparently, with the right person, Empathic ability could make lovemaking even better. Who knew?

  When Ryan’s thumb flicked across her pebble-hard nipple, Liana gasped, arched her back in his embrace, and shivered as a pulse of heat winged its way from her nipple straight to her clit. Her thoughts scattered.

  When Ryan’s nostrils flared and his hold tightened, Liana could feel the heat in her cheeks as her blush spread across her face and down her neck. Obviously he could smell her pussy, the slick cream that even now coated her inner thighs, proof of her desire and desperation to claim her mate.

  “There’s no need to be embarrassed. I love the scent of your arousal. It’s intoxicating.”

  “Gah! What do I say when you say stuff like that to me?”

  His breath teased her ear as he chuckled. “I will try my best not to embarrass you, Liana. But I can’t help but tell you how much you turn me on.”

  “Ugh… Okay, time for the kitty to change the subject, please?”

  “Anything for you, moya, especially today.”

  Are you going to explain how this ritual works, Ryan? Even though I’ve been living in Chantrea for years, this isn’t something I’ve ever studied or asked about. It seemed too personal to broach with any of my mated colleagues, or even with your sister, Amy.

  “The mating bonds will unite our souls. What you feel, so will I. When you’re worried or unhappy, sad or lonely, I’ll always know it. In that way, our people can strive to give each other what they need to remain happy. They’ll also tie our life forces together. When one dies, the other will follow. Their souls are forever joined as one.”

  After a few minutes of tens
ion-filled silence, Liana looked up and met Ryan’s heated stare. She swallowed when she saw the desperate need there. He wasn’t trying to hide it from her, and that in itself made her pulse beat faster, her blood thicken and pool. Her nipples grew even harder, rasping against her shirt sending shards of pleasure-pain straight to her aching clit.

  She hadn’t even realized they’d stopped, as lost as she was in just feeling, until Ryan spoke. “Here we are!”

  “And where exactly are we?”

  His chest vibrated beneath her ear and she knew he was trying not to laugh at her impatience. Even she could hear how desperate she’d become. “You’re so impatient, Liana.”

  Before she could come up with a suitable reply, he pressed his security code into the keypad and allowed the facial recognition program to scan the iris of his eyes. The door whooshed open almost immediately. She gasped, shocked surprise bringing a spontaneous smile to her face.

  “Do you like it?”

  “It’s stunning. But what is this place?”

  “It’s the conservatory. Others call it the Mating Garden or Mating Chamber. When the Chantrean Space Exploration and Defense Agency deploys ships for any length of time, homesickness sets in, and with it, morale lowers. Having low morale while in deep space is not a good idea. The scientists discovered—quite by accident—a chemical compound excreted by the native Chantrean plants into the soil that created a sense of well-being amongst our people. By putting an indoor garden on all our battleships and deep space explorers, our soldiers and scientists don’t forget the paradise they left behind. Instead, they get to take a bit of home with them wherever they are sent.”