“Thank you.” Aviana looked over to him.
“You’re welcome,” he replied with a smile.
“Uncle Rylan came to get us when Uncle Mick brought us back.”
Aviana laughed at her. “I think you have entirely too many uncles maybe we should take at least one off the list.
Mckayla’s eyes grew big and water stained them. “I don’t want to lose my uncles, Mom! I love them.”
Aviana watched her in that moment. She was so grown up, so sure what she wanted. A flash of the woman she would grow into caught her. She would be self-assured and able to take care of herself. No one would wonder where they stood when in her presence and yes, she would give orders left and right like she was born to do it.
“Well, my little princess, when you grow up maybe you will be able to give the orders, but right now I’m the queen so I will be giving the orders. Understand?”
“Yes, Mommy.” She tilted her head in agreement.
“Now let’s talk about Uncle Rylan.”
Aviana stood. They had been sitting in the doorway where Mckayla initially hugged her. She pulled her up and took her over to the couch settling her on her lap.
“Rylan, will you join us?”
She waited until he came to sit beside her before looking at Mckayla again.
“Sweetie, some things have changed between Rylan and me while you were gone.”
“Did you get married, Mom? I wanted to be there.”
“No, Baby, we didn’t get married. Not the kind where I wear a white dress and you’re the flower girl. If we ever do that you will be there.”
She nodded her head and looked at them with big eyes.
Aviana looked at Rylan not sure what to say or how to say it.
“Mckayla,” Rylan said, drawing her attention to him. “You know how you know things that other people don’t know? Different things that make you feel different?”
She nodded her head.
“Well, I know different things too, because I’m different.”
“You mean you’re not human like me and Mommy.”
“Right.”
“How do you know that, Honey?” Aviana asked
“Vick is different. He has a different kind of being in him. I haven’t seen him yet, but he told me all about it and then he told me that all the males had one except Joaquin. He’s different from everyone else.”
“Vick was right. Some things work differently for me because I’m different, and your mom, although she is human, is different too. Your mom and I, we married in the way my people do it.”
He sat back and ran his hands through his hair.
“Mom! You did get married.”
“Sort of Love, but differently like Rylan said.”
Mckayla bounced up and down on her mom’s lap for a minute before her smile turned into a frown.
“What’s wrong?” Aviana asked, feeling her heart speed up with the intense look of sadness on Mckayla’s face.
“Are you going to get rid of me now so you can have a baby together?” Tears seeped out of her eyes as she dropped her head and a frown marred her lips.
“Never!” Aviana wrapped her arms around her. “What made you think that, Baby? I will never get rid of you.”
“I had a dream. A bad man came to talk to me. He said you would fall in love with somebody else and get rid of me.”
“The bad man was wrong.” Aviana beat back tears as she put the happiest most loving smile she had on her face. Later she would cry for the pain her daughter suffered.
Who could have invaded her child’s dreams like that? She spared a moment to look at Rylan, the question in her eyes.
“Look at me, Kayla. Do you see this smile on my face and the brightness in my eyes? That’s all because of you and because I love you. Feel my arms around you, Baby. You’re not going anywhere unless I go with you. You’re mine, do you understand?”
She nodded her head and hugged her mom close.
“Mckayla, there’s a reason your mom doesn’t want you to call me uncle anymore.” He reached out and ruffled the hair on her head before tracing his finger down her cheek.
“I want to be your father. Maybe you want to call me stepfather, I’m ok with that too, or whatever you want to call me.”
She stopped and looked at him. Her little brown eyes searching his sea blue eyes.
“You want to be my father? As in you pick me to be your daughter?”
He nodded holding his breath not daring to say anything.
“I could call you dad and you wouldn’t be mad?”
“You could call me dad.” His voice came out rough as his throat tightened on the word dad.
A waterfall of tears came from her as she threw herself into his arms.
“I always wanted a dad. I prayed that it would be you.”
A suspicious wetness covered Rylan’s eyes as he hugged Mckayla. Aviana threw her arms around them both and didn’t care that she was crying enough for all three of them.
Family, it was something she lost all those years ago when she walked away from her parents only to find it in the little girl she carried in her arms. Now she would know what a new family felt like. For years her family of two had been all that mattered to her, but now she was a family of three. She cried even harder. Sometimes things just fell into place when you weren’t even looking for them.
She loved them. Both of them. Her life would be spent taking care of them and she was happy with her decisions.
“All right little girl, tomorrow is a school day and its past someone’s bed time.”
“Aww Mom.” She turned to look at Rylan. “Dad…Daddy?”
“Oh no, little one.” Rylan stood and threw her in the air before catching her causing her to giggle. “Didn’t you hear your mother declare herself as the queen earlier? You’re not getting me in trouble on the very first night I become your Daddy.”
Mckayla giggled harder and placed her arms around Rylan’s neck hugging him tight. “I’m glad you’re my Daddy.”
She wiggled down from his grip and looked at her mom with pleading eyes. “Mom, can I go tell Vick?”
“Kayla.”
“Please mom, I’ll be real quick I promise.”
“Oh, all right. You have five minutes young lady.” Her voice followed Mckayla out the room.
“Do you really think she’ll be back in five minutes?”
“Of course not, but she still has forty-five minutes before bed time.”
“You tricked her!”
“Nope, I just started the bed time process. This smart mom knows that it takes about an hour to get her wound down enough to sleep. When she comes back, I will put her in the tub, wash her up, and start telling her a story. If I were you, I would start thinking of a bed time story. Unless I miss my guess, she will want her daddy to tell her a story.”
“Will that be ok with you?”
“Yeah, it will be. Although I feel the need to give you some pointers.”
“Ok, did I do something wrong?”
“No silly, but I saw what you were thinking. There will be no greeting her dates in your Matra form with your claws out.”
“You take the joy out of fatherhood.”
“There will be no threats to skin them alive then use their skin as a rug while you drink out of their skulls if they hurt you little girl.”
“A father has to have some fun.”
“Last but not least, you will not threaten to hunt them down like prey and hang then up by their balls for all the other males to see what happens to one if they hurt your little girl.”
“Umph, you take that fun out of life; besides, I think the last one is perfectly reasonable as no one dies and everyone understands the consequences of messing with my daughter.”
Aviana threw her arms around him. “I knew you would make a fine father.”
“Mom! Don’t hurt him, I just got him.” Mckayla placed her little hand on her hip.
“Yeah, don’t hurt me.” Rylan
choked on his laughter.
“I told Vick, Mom. He’s so excited that we ran around and told everybody else. I told them now that Rylan was my Daddy they had to be nice to him. Then I talked to Uncle Gabe. Do you know what he told me, Mom?” Her excitement was off the chart as she bounced on her heels and waited for her mother’s reply.
“Tell me what he said.”
“He said now that his brother was my real dad, that made him my real uncle and that he loved me, Mom and would always protect me. Me, Mom, he loves me. We have a real big family now, Mom. Not just me and you against the world anymore.”
“You’re right, Baby. We have a big family now. It’s time get ready for a bath. I’ll be in soon.”
“Ok. Will you kiss me goodnight after my bath, Daddy and tell me a story?” her voice came out hesitantly.
“I have the best story to tell you.”
“Yay.” She ran to him giving him a quick hug before running into her room.
“You realize this is our life now. Kayla is a fire cracker, all about keeping me on my toes and now your toes.”
“This is our life now. I couldn’t imagine a better life. All those years in captivity, I thought a mate was out of the question for me. Children were something I never even let myself dream about. I know this sounds silly but I want to go out and conquer the world for her and stop by a toy store on my way home.”
“You’re going to spoil her.”
“Every chance I get.” She gave him a beautiful smile before disappearing into Mckayla’s room.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The morning stared almost like any other. Aviana crawled out of bed making sure not to wake her mate. He was lying there in such abandon it made her heart trip. With a smile on her face, she went to Mckayla’s room to wake her for her first day back to school.
Mckayla picked out an outfit only a six-year-old would dare to wear and then proceeded to tell her mother the merits of the outfit. Aviana gave in as usual, wanting her daughter to express herself even if it was with mismatched clothes. As long as they kept her safe from the cold or whatever elements were outside, she was happy.
She was about to send Kayla down to breakfast when she felt it. The heaviness in the air. It crushed her wind pipe making it hard to breath. Mckayla clung to her looking for safety. She took them both down to the floor before she felt Rylan in her mind showing her how to breathe through it and telling her what to do for Mckayla while he built a shield.
She hugged Mckayla close and calmed her enough to encourage her to breathe. She took small breaths and Mckayla imitated her. Before long she was breathing normally.
“What happened?” Mckayla looked at her with worried eyes.
“I don’t know, but we are going to wait here for Rylan. He will know.”
Rylan walked in the room after several minutes. He was wearing a pair of sweat pants slung low on his hips. No shirt and bare feet. He joined them on the floor pulling them into his embrace making sure they were all right.
“What’s happening?” Aviana asked him.
“We’re under siege.”
“What? You’re kidding right? How can we be under siege? This is America.”
“Would that be the land of the free or the land of the aliens from space? Aviana, I’m not kidding. We are under siege and nobody is going anywhere.”
She nodded wrapping her head around what he told her. They would survive. She refused to die just when happiness decided to pay her a visit.
“Ok, what do we do?”
“We fight but first let’s go down stairs and speak with the others. This way we can get Mckayla breakfast.”
She wanted to argue, to just get it done with already even though she knew it wouldn’t be that easy. She gave a nod of agreement then took Mckayla’s hand going to the door. There was no way she was letting her out of her sight.
She looked from Kayla to Rylan and back again. Her family, the one she just put together and she wouldn’t be losing them because someone lost there ever loving mind and came after them.
“I was about to come and knock on your door,” Gabe said as they walked into the dining room.
Mckayla went to sit by Vick so they could laugh and listen to what the adults had to say. Aviana and Rylan took their usual seats.
Aviana had to shake her head because they acted like one big family. They each knew where to sit and who would be beside them and what to say. Nobody felt embarrassed by talking over the table or the person next to them. One big different family and she was part of it. She’d almost give into misty eyes but they were under siege. Really how did that happen and why weren’t they more concerned?
“The Urom have us under siege,” Victor said, throwing Cal and Paige a calculating look. “They want Mckayla. I already have their demands.”
“No!” Aviana growled, half standing.
“Sit, Aviana,” Victor said quietly. “Rylan made it clear to me last night that Mckayla was his. This makes her a very unique child. She is human, Urom, and Arbrin/Matra. I have explained to the Urom that she is protected by who she is and I don’t turn my citizens over, ever. That has led us to this standoff.”
“A siege means we can’t leave the house?” Aviana asked turning to look at Rylan.
All the adults answered, “Yes.”
“Then we fight?” Aviana asked.
“Yes we fight, or you and Rylan fight. As her guardians you have a right to defend her. We will take up the flank and the rear. If anyone tries to breach our sanctuary without going through the two of you, we will join the fight.”
“Aviana, leave Mckayla with me. I will make sure she’s taken care of,” Selma told her.
Cal and Paige stood, tossed them a smile, and walked out. Gabe got up leaving his dishes and followed them through the door. Joaquin gave them a bow before heading out.
Aviana looked at the table and then to the door. “Where are they headed?”
“Just because we can’t fight at first doesn’t mean I’m not setting up sentry. They try one thing and you’ll have more help than you need.”
Aviana gave him a big smile and a murmured “thanks,” before she hugged Mckayla and told her to mind Selma and Victor.
“Mom?”
“It will be fine, don’t worry.”
She turned worried eyes to Rylan. “Dad?”
“Remember I told you I’ll take care of you and your mother?” She nodded. “That’s what I’m doing now. Go play with Vick.”
She got up and went to the front room to watch cartoons with Vick.
Rylan and Aviana went upstairs silently holding hands.
“Are you alright?”
“I am,” Aviana gave him a small smile. “I was just thinking this poor room has seen a lot from mate trials to actual mating and now off to war we go.”
“Amazing what can happen in one room.” He closed the door behind them and walked over to her
“Do we lie down?”
“Might as well get comfortable.”
She slid her hand across the bed until her fingers were entangled with his and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what was going to happen but she trusted Rylan.
Immediately she was someplace she had never been before. The night sky beckoned to her. It was a dark blue filled with silver stars and two moons that glowed making everything around them shimmery.
“Where are we?” she asked Rylan.
“I’m not sure but if I had to guess I would say this is the Urom home world.”
“You have something that belongs to us and we want it back.” A voice came out of the darkness.
“Sorry, you’ll have to be more specific than that. As far as I know, nothing I have belongs to you.”
“You have a Urom, the one you stole.”
“Are you talking about my child? The one I birthed. Believe me she’s mine.”
A blast came at them moving faster than her eyes could track. Rylan raised a shield causing it to harmlessly slide off.
Two b
lasts followed next, the shield Rylan raised sparked from the hit.
“Come on, we need protection.” Rylan pointed over to what looked like a hillside and directed her to move there as he stayed behind her covering her back.
They made it to a large rock formation just as another blast came their way. Moving carefully around the rock formation, they looked for a weakness in the defenses of the Urom.
Can you tell how many of them are over there?
“I am sensing five,” Rylan said softly.
“Five against two, not great odds unless we can draw them out one by one.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I figure the real person they want is me. So if you take off they will send one after you and the rest will come after me. As long as I stay back here, I can fend them off until you get back and then it will be four against two better odds.”
“Aviana.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“No.”
“It will work.”
He nodded his head lowering his voice even further as he whispered instructions in her ear. With a gruff “stay well,” he moved behind her allowing the Urom to catch the tail end of his retreat.
“Stay well,” she mumbled as she fired a blast off at a head that peaked over the rocks.
She could keep then occupied until Rylan got rid of the one following him. Shooting off another fire bomb, she looked for a way to actually hit something as opposed to shooting in what felt like a vacuum.
“It won’t work.” The voice of the first Urom spoke again. Divide and Conquer, is that what you were thinking? We simply capture him and force him to take us to the girl. You could end this by simply giving her up. Saving both his life and yours.”
“What about Mckayla’s life?”
“She will be sacrificed for the greater good.”
She had his greater good. She sent a stake his way concentrating on nothing but the sound of his voice to direct it. The grunt of pain let her know she hit something. Hopefully it was her intended target.
A hail storm of rocks came from overhead and she hastily raised a shield to deflect as many as possible. She hadn’t known that could be done so she returned the favor.
Rylan's Heart Page 17