Rayn placed his hand over his heart and spoke in the language that was strange to Maddie. “I swear by all that is sacred on Vesturon, you have not lost your mind. You are safe with me, and I will see to it that you are healed.” Then he translated for her.
He held her in his arms until she was feeling calm again. For whatever reason, she had faith and trust in this man.
“Okay, then, I guess I’m ready,” she said shakily.
Chapter 2
Rayn was holding Maddie in his arms when they teleported to the corridor of the medical facility on Vesturon. Her eyes were squeezed shut, a sure sign of how alarmed she was. He laughed to himself because this mode of transportation was something he took for granted as he had been doing it his entire life. How weird this must be for her!
“Maddie, you can open your eyes now. We have arrived,” he told her.
“Holy cow, don’t laugh. That was bizarre! I feel so wonky-headed. Rayn, I think I’m going to be sick.” Had she been standing on her own, she would have been frozen in place, stupefied from the sensation.
“Ah, remember what I told you. That is your body readjusting to everything. It won’t last long. Take slow, deep breaths.”
The transfer process was truly a jumbling of the molecules of the body, changing from mass to energy and back to mass again. When one wasn’t used to the feeling, it could be very disorienting. It quickly passed, but could leave one with a sense of motion sickness.
“I still am in shock over all of this though. This is real. I mean, you weren’t joking, were you? You know it’s not every day I go hurling through the universe as an energy beam or whatever! Are you sure I haven’t been smoking crack or something?” she emphasized.
“No crack, Maddie, I swear,” he said as he laughed at her.
“I hope I don’t give you a hernia or anything; I’m not exactly a lightweight here,” she remarked.
“Not a problem. And you are a lightweight…a very attractive one at that,” he quipped.
When they entered the Healer’s facility, he was there waiting.
“Rayn, my liege, what are you doing here?”
Julian and Rayn began their mind probing discussion. He was surprised by Rayn’s presence. Rayn finally had to order him to heal Maddie, as he was unwilling because she was human. Rayn wasn’t surprised at all by his reaction. It would have surprised him more if he hadn’t reacted this way.
“Everything will be fine soon,” Rayn whispered to her.
After Julian ran the appropriate scans and discovered where the severed cord was located, he began the process of mending it.
“Maddie, now that I know where the injury is, I am going to use a healing device on the area where the injury is. Initially you are going to feel some intense shooting pains that will be quite severe. They will, however, be very brief. You will then begin to feel something like electrical shocks starting in your back and then running down into your legs and feet. This is perfectly normal; it is your spinal cord fusing together and regenerating nerves, which will send electrical impulses that transmit feelings and sensations. It is what will give you your ability to walk again. Are you ready?”
Maddie nodded.
Julian looked at Rayn and suggested, “Rayn, grab her hands as she will need something to squeeze at first. Maddie, remember, this pain will be brief.”
Julian began to wave the mending device over Maddie’s spine until she felt a warmth and then it morphed into a burst of pain that was so gripping she screamed. It felt like she was being dosed with a thousand volts of electricity. However, as quickly as it had erupted and traveled down her legs, it eased up and turned into electrical shocks, like she was getting low grade impulses in every part of her lower extremities. Eventually that diminished, turning into pins and needles and ultimately fading away.
A few more moments passed, and she was up on her feet. Her first few steps were a bit shaky, so Julian used another device on her to return her strength to her lower body.
“Try to walk Maddie,” Julian instructed.
One, two, then three steps and Maddie was skipping around the room.
“Oh my God! I can’t believe this! This is incredible!” She ran to Julian and hugged him, thanking him. Then she spun around to Rayn. With tears spilling down her cheeks she threw herself at him and mumbled all sorts of things that he couldn’t understand.
Rayn lifted his eyes to Julian and thanked him telepathically. Julian nodded and left the room. Maddie clung to Rayn so tightly he felt his heart melting.
“Hey, Maddie.” He wrapped his arms around her and thought he had never felt anything better in his whole life.
“Oh Rayn, I never thought I would walk again. I had convinced myself it wasn’t important to me. But now, I’m just...” she sniffed.
“Shh, it is okay. I understand. I would feel the same way I am sure. That is the reason I wanted to bring you here.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“Maddie, I do not expect you to repay me. Besides, seeing you walk again is repayment enough.”
Maddie lifted her head and looked at him.
“Thank you.” She stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek.
Then he reached for Maddie’s hand saying, “Come, let us return to Earth.”
Chapter 3
They teleported to the front of the Guardians’ mountain Compound. Rayn turned to Maddie and explained, “This is going to be a bit difficult. I need to speak with my family alone, and when I have finished, I will come to you and answer all of your questions. I would ask you to trust me just a little longer and then we can talk.”
She nodded in agreement, and they went up the stone steps that lead to the front door. When they walked into the main living area, they were met with the stares of Rayn’s siblings. They weren’t just stares of curiosity. They knew exactly where he had taken Maddie and what had occurred. They were positively livid.
All five of them were standing around the living area, like vultures waiting for their next meal. Rayn could sense their anger, frustration, and disappointment, and from Therron, he sensed his empathy.
“Sharra, please take Maddie upstairs to my room.”
Sharra insolently objected, “Oh, no, you don’t. We require an explanation. We have waited long enough, and we are not waiting anymore.” Her defiance was shocking, but Rayn should have expected it.
“Sharra,” Rayn growled with grim determination. “This is not a request. As your liege, I order you to escort Maddie to my room, and as the Leader of the Guardians, I expect this order to be obeyed. Until my rank is stripped from me, you will follow my orders. Is that clear? Now. Take. Maddie. Up. To. My. Room!”
“Yes, my liege,” Sharra hissed. She grabbed Maddie’s arm and literally dragged her from the room.
“Sharra,” Rayn growled, “drop the impertinence. It really does not suit you.” In a deadly calm voice he continued, “This female,” he gestured toward Maddie, “is to be treated with the utmost respect. You do not touch her unless she initiates it or wills it. Do you understand me?”
Rayn deplored using his rank as a power tool. He correctly surmised it was upsetting to Maddie; he had brought her into a hornet’s nest. However, he knew he had to make an example for all. They needed to understand Maddie’s place with him; and as Leader, he had to command their respect.
“Yes, my liege.”
After Sharra gracefully bowed to Maddie and requested politely that she follow her, Rayn continued with his brothers. “I will give you an explanation of what has happened when Sharra returns so that I don’t have to tell of this more than once.”
“Rayn, I would rather stay here, as this involves me as much as you,” Maddie declared.
All eyes were on her, resentment exploding from most of them. With a slight dip of his head, Rayn nodded his agreement.
Rayn gave them a brief explanation and words immediately erupted from everyone.
“Are y
ou out of your mind?”
“What are you thinking?”
“Father is going to exile you.”
“This is absolutely the worst situation.”
“What are you planning next?”
“When Father commits you, what are you going to do?”
“Have you even thought for a moment what will happen to her?”
The words whirled around Rayn and Maddie with dizzying madness. Rayn held up his hand, palm facing them and sternly said, “One at a time please. Better yet, let me provide more details of my story. Okay?”
The tension in the room was as thick as a blanket, and it was suffocating. They nodded in agreement, so he began the painstaking process of telling them their story.
“I was having constant, agonizing mental debates with myself. I tried to leave and to stay away from her, but it was without success. I was inexplicably drawn to her. It was as if forces kept pulling us inexorably closer. I don’t know how else to describe it. I eventually called upon our Deity for help.”
Well, you’d have thought he dropped a bomb when he said that. They all said at the same time, “You did what?”
“Yes, you heard me correctly. I had to for the sake of self-preservation.”
Rayn carelessly raked his hand through his hair. It’s a miracle he had any hair left at all at this point.
“I was so confused it was tearing me apart. I started visiting Maddie and found our dreams had merged. Everything between us defied all explanation. But yes, that’s what I did, and the Divine Being told me that Maddie is my fate and destiny, as I am hers. Therron, would you mind filling them in?”
That created another shockwave. They were aghast that Therron had been in his confidence, so that also required explaining. Rayn plopped into a nearby chair. His head was swimming, throbbing, and it was killing him. He rubbed his eyes, his neck, and his temples.
Thankfully, Therron filled in the gaps while Rayn collapsed into the chair and continued to massage his temples. All the stress that he had experienced was beginning to take its toll. The trouble was, it had only begun.
“So, brother, what are your plans now?” Rykerian asked. “Are you going to wait for Father to arrive and haul you back to Vesturon?”
Xarrid bitterly asked, “What were you thinking when you went home? Did you not stop to think you forfeited your birthright by doing that? Or that Father and Mother would just die of disappointment? Or that the Council of Elders would strip you of everything, or worse yet, imprison you? Rayn, you have given up your rights and maybe even your life for this stranger, someone you know absolutely nothing about. Did you at least stop to think how it would tear up our family?”
From behind him, Rayn heard a gasp.
Maddie’s mouth dropped open and she locked on to his eyes. “Rayn, what in God’s name have you done?” she whispered painfully.
Chapter 4
Rayn steadfastly returned her gaze and saw the pain in her eyes. It was an uncomfortable moment for everyone, one for which he had no other words. He arose swiftly, and retorted, “Thank you, Xarrid. For once, could you not keep your blistering thoughts to yourself?” He sighed deeply. This had become quite awkward.
To Rayn’s surprise, Sharra interrupted and said, “Maddie, Rayn, I think the two of you need some time alone. Come, my brothers, let us give them some space.”
“Wait, all of you stay. Maddie come with me please.” Rayn grabbed Maddie’s arm and marched her up to his room.
“What did he mean by ‘you forfeited your birthright’ and all that other stuff? Have I caused all of this?”
“Maddie, I chose this. You caused nothing. I would do it all again in a minute, too. Come with me,” he said grabbing her arm.
“Where are we going?”
They entered his bedroom and he pulled her to him as they sat together on a sofa in front of the fire.
“I have wanted to tell you the whole truth since first we met. I am the son of the Great Leader of Vesturon. My name is Rayn, but my full name is Alexyon Rayn Devvan Rowan Yarrister. As you now know, Vesturon is a planet located in another galaxy. I am also the Firstborn, so that means one day I will succeed as Great Leader, or that was the plan anyway. Part of Vesturon’s laws, which we call our Covenants, is that no human is allowed on Vesturon for any reason. This Covenant was put in place to prevent us from changing the Earth’s future. We are so much more technologically advanced than the human race is; just think about what would happen if our technology would be shared with humans. It would alter the future course of events. Our goal is not to do that—not to interfere at all. However, I needed to get you to Vesturon for your spinal cord fusion, and the only way to do that was to break our Covenant. That is what my family was referring to.”
“What are the implications of all this? And please be honest.”
“Maddie, I will never be anything less than honest with you. The reason I could not tell you the truth earlier was if you had chosen to return to your former life, then you wouldn’t have needed to know everything. We are sworn to keep the secret, so to speak. I did not have a choice, and for that, I am sorry.”
“No, I understand. I was so confused by everything. Nothing made sense to me, and when you wouldn’t give me any clear answers, I would get so frustrated.”
“I know,” he took her hands in his. “There has been a lot that has frustrated me as well, and we will get to all of that. There are physical differences between us as well. Do you remember how you kept asking me how I could ease your worries?”
Maddie nodded.
“That is one of the differences. We are also much stronger than humans and faster. We live longer. We have telepathic abilities and some of us are able to use telekinesis as well. I can wipe away memories, like my brothers did to you when they left you in the hospital. Vesturions have different Powers.”
He briefly paused and then picked up a lock of her hair. “Maddie, some way, somehow, we connected when we met. Have you felt that?”
“Yes, I have, but I couldn’t define it. I had so many dreams of you. When days would go by that I didn’t see you, I would dream of you.”
“Precisely and it seems that we have dream walked together. I cannot explain this because humans are incapable of dream walking.”
Rayn stood, stretched his legs and leaned up against the fireplace.
“I visited you when you were asleep, and I entered your thoughts. It should have ended there, but for some reason our souls connected. It felt like our souls were attached by this invisible band that was pulling me in toward you. I tried to walk away, to leave, but I just could not do it.”
Rayn turned to face her. He felt awkward telling her this. He was so drawn in by her; she nearly took his breath away. Her mouth was slightly open inviting him to kiss her and never let her go.
Instead, he placed his hand on her arm and said, “Maddie, I have been tormented by my feelings for you. I am not telling you this to cause you distress, but for you to understand where my heart lies.” Rayn took a deep breath and took the plunge. “I am connected to you in a very deep way. This is not supposed to happen between humans and Vesturions. You have penetrated my very soul, Maddie. I—”
“Rayn, stop.” She reached out and took his hands in hers. “I don’t know what this is, but I feel the same. I didn’t understand it at first either. I thought it was the strangest thing. Whenever you came near me, all my troubles faded; it was kind of euphoric for me. When you were away from me, all I could think of was you, every waking moment, and then in my dreams too. The oddest thing, too, is that every time I’m near you, I smell evergreen trees. I kept thinking it was your cologne or maybe your shower gel.”
“Is the scent pleasing to you?”
“Yes! I love that smell. It is the scent of a pine forest, when all is dampened after a rain. It’s one of my favorite scents! I thought at first I was imagining it, but it kept happening.”
“Maddie, it is an impossibility that you can detect
that scent. That is what happens to Vesturion males when they are near females to which they are bonded. The females cause the males to release a scent that only that particular female can detect. It is usually the favorite scent of that female. No one else can smell it, Maddie, but you. It is completely extraordinary that a human can detect that.”
“How bizarre. But it’s exactly the right scent. It is my absolute favorite, and it reminds me of Christmas trees. Not to change the subject, but what precisely have you done? I don’t know if I can live with knowing that I am the cause of your alienation from your family. And what about your birthright? Why didn’t you tell me? It was not your responsibility to take me on as your burden. I’m so sorry you have done this. It was stupid and crazy of you. I think your brothers are right about this. What were you thinking?”
Rayn grabbed her and held her close, resting his chin on her head. “I would take you back to Vesturon in a second if I thought you needed something else. Maddie, you have become extremely important to me. Do you understand?”
When she nodded, he continued, “You are my life now, and I would gladly sacrifice any birthright for you. It would be a very small price to pay to see you mended and healthy.” Rayn desperately wanted to put his lips on hers, but he was afraid of frightening her. She looked up at him and put her hand on his cheek.
“Rayn, there are some things you do for people and some things you just have to let go. You can’t control everything all the time. This was a truly harebrained scheme, one that you obviously didn’t put much thought into.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying you are absolutely nuts! You have a responsibility to your people, not to me. I am appreciative of what you have done, don’t get me wrong. But Rayn, there are many people that rely on you for many things. I am of no consequence to them. You have completely disregarded all of that. And if I am correct in my assessment of things, the position you are to assume one day is of great responsibility, one in which you would need to make crucial decisions every day. The judgment you have displayed here is sorely lacking in sound reason. I am, well, I don’t quite know what to say.”