Heart of the Unknown Alpha (7 page)

              Aryana’s eyes swelled with tears. She had never known her mother  and this woman was so warm and seemed so kind.  She was what Aryana would have wanted as a mother if she had decided to stick around.

              “Thank you.” Aryana’s voice came out rough and scratchy even though her throat was feeling better. Looking down at herself she saw she was dressed in an oversized black t-shirt. At least she wasn’t naked in this afterlife. This WAS the afterlife right? “Where am I?”

Juliana gave her another of those gentle understanding looks. “I will let Darian explain things. He should be joining us any second.” Just as she said it there he was in the doorway.

              Dressed in a snug black t-shirt and dark jeans he looked rather imposing. The scowl on his face didn’t detract from his handsome looks though but rather added to it. “What the hell were you thinking?” his voice boomed out. Controlled anger lacing every word.

              Aryana jumped in the bed. The sudden movement gave her stomach a large roll as the room once again shifted one hundred eighty degrees. Her eyes widened in panic as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. It was no use, she was gonna be sick.

              Juliana grabbed a pan from beside the bed and rushed to her side. Holding the pan with one hand and holding back Aryana’s hair with the other, she murmured soothing words as the contents of Aryana’s stomach made a reappearance.

              Shooting her son a dirty look she helped Aryana to calm down from the heaving and lay back in the bed. Picking up a cool clothe she wiped down the girls face and neck. Juliana had not seen this kind of a reaction in a long time. Whatever had happened out there it had been very powerful and very magical to produce such an intense reaction. Though she hadn’t treated anyone who had drowned and come back before either.

Aryana lay back down on the pillows, her head swimming. She felt so ill. How could one be so sick if they were dead?  She closed her eyes in the hopes it would help calm the spinning room.  Juliana gathered up the basins and mug and left the room after making sure Aryana was comfortable, leaving her alone in the room with one seriously ticked off looking Darian.

              “What the hell were you doing out at that lake so late? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” Darian’s voice was low and controlled. He crossed the space and sat on the bed his jaw clenched “Do you have ANY IDEA just how lucky you are to be alive?”

              Aryana looked at him. Her head dully throbbing. She managed to croak out “You mean I’m not?”

              “No you’re not.” Darian narrowed his eyes, watching her. After long tense moments he continued “Just what do you remember?”

              Closing her eyes to concentrate and keep the room still Aryana searched her memory of what had happened. She remembered running into Scott at the restaurant, the ride home, crying herself to sleep. She remembered waking up  and feeling alone and shattered, as if her soul had died. She could remember sitting in her SUV at the lake but not how she got there nor anything after.

              “Not everything. Bits and pieces after you dropped me off.”

              Darian let out a deep sigh, this was going to be a tough one. She wasn’t feeling well after everything but also something else had changed. Somehow Lluna was involved. How and why he didn’t know but he did know it involved Aryana and if Lluna was involved it was pretty serious. “Aryana, last night you went to the lake. When I found you, you were under water. I don’t know how long you were down there and by the time I got you to the shore you weren’t breathing and your heart had stopped. Your lips were slightly blue too. It’s just damn lucky I was able to get to you.”

              Darian swallowed around the large knot in his throat. He didn’t think he would ever be able to erase the image of her laying on the bank, so still, her heart not beating. It had been the most terrifying experience in his life and he still had no clue why.  Looking deep into her eyes he probed further. “What exactly DO you remember after I dropped you off?”

              “ I remember you dropping me off and I went inside. I must have fallen asleep, because I remember waking up and it being really late.” She paused trying to search her memory for something between that and the lake. “I remember being in my SUV at the lake and staring at the moon.  Then I woke up here. So you mean I am not really dead and moved on to an afterlife?”

              “No you’re not dead, but you were.  Why were you at the lake Aryana? What possessed you to go there last night? Was it because of what happened at the restaurant?”

              Aryana thought back. What had made her go to the lake? “Yes and no. I mean what happened with Scott at the restaurant was part of it but it was much more than that.”

              Sensing that Aryana wasn’t telling him everything and wasn’t about to he let it go for the time being. He would get his answers in time. Looking outside he saw the sun was now low in the sky. “Get some rest, I will take you home in the morning.”

              Aryana woke in the middle of the night. Not sure what woke her she slowly sat up in the bed. Pleased she didn’t become ill she finally looked around. Her eyes froze on the windows of the room. There in the moonlight stood the barista from the coffee shop. Only this time she looked different, more ethereal.

              “Hello Aryana. I am glad to see you are recovering well.” Her voice was just as musical as Aryana remembered.

              “Who are you? I saw you at the coffee shop but you’re not a barista are you?”

              “No my child I am not. I am Lluna, your guardian. You called for me to help you last night and I have. Your life is going to change in ways you cannot imagine.”

              “ I don’t understand. Why would you help me? How are things going to change?”

              “Oh my darling daughter, how I wish I could tell you. You are at the beginning of an amazing journey and you cannot imagine what’s in store for you.”

              Aryana narrowed her gaze at the woman. Darian had said she had drowned last night. “Did you cause me to die last night? Was that you that put me in the lake to drown?”

              “Yes it was. I am sorry darling but it had to be done. For the good of your future you had to die and be brought back. It will not make sense now but soon it will.”

              Aryana watched as the woman shimmered and vanished into the moonlight. She wondered if drowning cause hallucinations or if she had just had a very real dream. Laying back down she pulled the covers up to her chin and soon fell into a deep slumber.

              Darian heard low voices coming from his guest room. He peeked in the door and his eyes widened. At the same time his wolf went from sleepy to wide awake and alert. What was Lluna doing with Aryana? He listened intently using his sensitive hearing to grasp the conversation. Lluna was Aryana’s guardian? How was that even possible? And WHY had Lluna put Aryana in the lake and caused her to drown? She said it had to be done but why? What was going on?

              Darian padded silently downstairs grabbing his cell phone from his room as he went. He tapped a couple of buttons and was immediately connected with his father. “dad I need some answers.”

              On the other end of the line the man sighed. “Son, things are a bit frantic here right now but I will do what I can.”

              Darian’s eyes narrowed. Things were only frantic at the Alpha House when something was wrong. “What’s wrong?”

              The rely was rather terse. “Are you ready to step up and claim Supreme Alpha?” At the answering silence the voice continued “I didn’t think so. Until you are ready to do your duty what happens here is none of your business. Now what are your questions?”

              Tamping down his frustrations at his father’s insistence on keeping him in the dark he focused on what he needed to know. “Why would Lluna be guardian to a human? And why would she drown her only to have her be saved?”

              “Son I don’t know. Lluna is only guardian to our people as far as I know. I guess it’s conceivable she was made guardian of a fae child but it’s not something I have heard of. As to why she would kill someone, she wouldn’t. Everything the books say about her show it is not in her nature to kill anyone. She is a
PROTECTOR
she cannot kill people. What’s going on son?”

              Darian churned and looked out over the moonlit back yard. Nothing made sense anymore.  “I don’t know dad. I met a human woman, she saved me when another wolf tried to kill me. Last night Lluna led her to a lake near here and drowned her. Yet she came to me and had me save her. I don’t get it dad, why would Lluna watch out over a human?”

              “I don’t know son, but I am sure Lluna has her reasons. Just don’t let this
human
female distract you. You are going to be Supreme Alpha one day whether you like it or not. You must marry pack to carry on the throne. The Lycan world will not be able to take another unmated Supreme Alpha dying without a blood heir.”

              “I don’t want to be Supreme Alpha, we both know this. Why can’t you just accept it? I will never accept the title or the position. If that means I can never return to Alpha House then so be it. I would rather live out the rest of my time as just pack anyway.”

              Darian heard his father’s sharp intake of breathe. No matter how much Darian protested that he did not want to become Supreme Alpha, no matter how badly they punished him, he just could not accept it. “I have to go. Bye Dad.”

              Snapping the phone shut he tossed it onto the couch and walked outside. The cool breeze didn’t even faze him, looking up at the moon he couldn’t help but ask out loud “what are you up to Lluna?”

Chapter 7 a new life

The next morning Aryana woke up bright and early. She was thrilled when she was able to swing her legs from the bed and stand without trouble. She was even more thrilled to find her clothing folded neatly on top of the dresser beside the bed.

              She smiled to herself, this had to have been how Darian had to feel waking up at her house. Was that only a few days ago? It felt like a lifetime had passed since then. Suddenly she smelled it, bacon eggs, and potatoes frying on a stove. She hurried and dressed and crept out into the hall. The stair case was at the end of the long hallway, a door across from her was standing open revealing the bathroom.

              After a quick detour Aryana found herself once again in the giant living room of Darian’s house. Following her nose she found the kitchen and stopped short at the site of a shirtless Darian at the stove cooking.  He was tanned and his muscles while well defined, were not overdone. She jumped about three feet in the air when he spoke without turning around.

              “Have a seat. Heard you moving around upstairs, there is coffee on the bar waiting for you.”

              Aryana slid onto one of the high backed stools at the marble counter in the eat-in kitchen. A steaming mug of coffee was sitting waiting. Next to it was a small pitcher of creamer and a sugar bowl and silverware rested on a napkin. “Everything smells really good.” Her stomach growled loudly at her first sip of coffee. Her cheeks pinked as she hoped Darian hadn’t heard the embarrassing sound. His quiet chuckle told her he had and her cheeks turned even pinker.

              Soon the food was done and Darian loaded up two plates. He set one in front of her before seating himself and digging in. Aryana for her part started to nibble since she hadn’t really been able to eat much anyway lately but soon found herself loading forkful after forkful of food into her mouth. Before she knew it the entire plate overflowing with food was gone. But strangely she didn’t feel overstuffed. Quite the contrary she felt comfortably full. Shrugging it off as her appetite returning she picked up her dishes and took them to the sink.

Darian watched Aryana as she cleaned up. She seemed fine today. As sick as she had been yesterday he expected her to feel worse but she seemed better then she had been before the lake incident actually. Finishing up his own food he followed Aryana’s example and took his stuff to the sink.  He watched silently as she went into the living room and stood in front of the windows, lost in thought. She seemed different but he couldn’t place how. His wolf however was prancing around happily in the back of his head at the knowledge Aryana was alive and seemed to be much better then when he had dropped her off at his house. Damned dog was become a major annoyance.

Aryana stared out the window not really seeing the view beyond. Just a few days ago she had felt so alone, so shattered, so desolate and so sure her soul had been completely destroyed. Now after dying and being brought back she felt calmer, a bit more self-assured and not quite so broken. It was as if dying and coming back she had been reborn.  It felt as if dying had freed her of the pain of her past, distancing her from it and healing her at the same time. 

              After months of feeling so broken, feeling mostly whole again was a new and strange sensation for her. She wasn’t sure how to react to it or even how to feel about it if she was honest. For now she was just going to count her blessings and  just to be happy she no longer carried so much pain inside of her anymore.

              She turned when Darian put his hand on her shoulder telling her it was time to go. She nodded her understanding and followed him outside to his SUV and was surprised at his insistence to help her climb inside.

              Aryana used the time during the drive back to take stock of her life. She had a good career working freelance. It allowed her to work her own hours and to do as she pleased which many people would die to have. She had Tony, her best friend in the entire world, who would stick by her no matter what. She had a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Granted it wasn’t anything spectacular but it was hers. She was healthy, well as healthy as you could be after dying and then being sick as all hell the next day. She didn’t really have many friends. She frowned. Maybe she could get a cat or dog or something to help break up the loneliness, yeah that is what she would do. Get a furry little ball of love to cuddle up to at night and help keep her company. But a pet would put a crimp in her doing any traveling, not that she really did any but still if she wanted to. And having a pet wouldn’t give her a husband or children either now would it? Oh she liked her life such as it was but she had just never seen herself without a husband or children in her future. Hmm, maybe a pet wasn’t that great of an idea after all.

Chapter 8 First kiss

              Aryana was so lost in thought she was startled when Darian pulled up in front of her house and parked. She watched silently as he came around and opened the passenger door for her. Smiling as she slid out her eyes widened as she looked past him.

              “What the?” She looked up at him the question in her eyes. She pointed in the direction of her drive “How did..?”

              Darian followed the line of her finger to where her SUV sat. He shrugged. “I had one of my friends drive it back here for you. I didn’t think it was the safest thing leaving it sitting in the middle of the woods.”

              Aryana blinked “Oh, well. Thank you. I actually hadn’t thought about my car to be honest. “

              Darian gave her a heart stopping smile and a slight breeze brought his scent to her nose. Funny she had never noticed him HAVING a scent before. Woodsy and earthy  like the forest and then something else that was just him. How had she never noticed that before? She looked into Darian’s eyes and saw they weren’t just a bright green but had shades of emerald and jade shot with specks of silver and topaz too. Strange she had never even really noticed his eye color since their first meeting but now she was fascinated by it.

              Aryana forced herself to look away and started up the walk to her house. Everything seemed to be brighter today even though it was overcast. Brushing it off she paused at the door to her house. Where had she left her keys?  Taking a guess she turned the knob and pushed. The door swung open. Had she not locked it? It wasn’t like her, she always locked her doors when she left, though nothing had been normal the last few days had it?

              Looking around her she saw everything was as she had left it the night she had left but now she noticed the dust that had settled on the wood surfaces and the mantle over the fireplace. She also noticed how the fabric on her sofa was starting to show wear. She hadn’t ever noticed before and now it bothered her. More importantly were where her keys?

Darian followed her into the house and watched as she looked around the living space. He wondered what was going on in her head. She had been quiet the entire way here except for asking about how her vehicle had gotten back to her house. He watched as she crossed over into the kitchen still looking around her like she was seeing everything for the first time. Granted he didn’t know how people WERE supposed to act after surviving being drowned maybe this was all normal.

Aryana smelled the flowers the instant she set foot into the kitchen. A small smile tilted the corners of her mouth as she remembered how Darian holding such a humongous bouquet. Aside from scaring her half to death he had looked a little silly. Looking around her warm kitchen she noticed other things she had failed to even see before a small grease spot on the back of the stove top, the fading of the metal finish on the cupboard knobs and the shabby paint job on the once beautiful wood cupboards courtesy of Scott.

              Aryana frowned. The paint job hadn’t been something she had asked him to do and hadn’t even been anything she had wanted frankly. Scott had done it himself saying that plain wood cupboards were old fashioned and as stupid and high maintenance as it came. After failing to talk her into installing more modern melamine or metal cabinets with glass fronts he had taken it upon himself to paint them a hideous shade of pale gray thinking it would force her to his way of thinking. She HATED painted cabinets but because he had done them and she loved him she loved them.

              Scott had also taken to having had the kitchen painted too. He had surprised her with them one day after sending her and a few friends to a day spa. She had come home to an expensive catered meal and her wonderful soft yellow walls gone replaced by three stark white walls and one charcoal gray wall. She had been livid but held her tongue trying to keep the peace, reminding herself that relationships involved compromise and that at least he hadn’t gotten rid of her beloved wooden table and chairs or the lovely counter tops she had spent six months saving and searching for.

              Looking around her now she felt anger. Anger at herself for never standing up to Scott and anger at Scott for trying to strip away everything that had made her her.  Aryana felt her blood start to course through her veins. She wasn’t going to tolerate it anymore. Scott was not going to infest another inch of her space. As she turned to leave she spied her keys on the kitchen table. She never put her keys on the table. She guessed the person who brought her car back had left them there.

              She looked up and spied Darian in the kitchen doorway. She gave him a bright smile even as a plan formed in the back of her mind. This was her house and she was taking it back starting first thing in the morning. “Hey, thanks for the ride back and for saving my life. I really appreciate it.”

              “Aryana about what happened at the lake,…”

              “I honestly don’t know what happened at the lake Darian. I don’t even remember how I got there.” She cut him off. “Can we please just skip it and move on? I honestly don’t want to talk about it anymore then you want to talk about the night I found you.” Darian frowned at her. He didn’t get it. Some stuff just wasn’t worth talking about.

              Suddenly Aryana found herself wrapped up in Darian’s big muscular arms. He was holding her tightly but not so tight she couldn’t breathe. He had buried his face into her neck and it seemed as if he wasn’t about to let go anytime soon. Strangely enough she didn’t want him to let go either. It felt good, right, to be wrapped up in his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder closing her eyes. It felt good jut to be held like this. She felt safe, secure, like she belonged right there.

              “You have no idea how terrified I was when I saw you at the bottom of that lake” Darian mumbled into her neck. “I was terrified you were gone for good when I got you onto the bank and you weren’t breathing. I don’t know why but I couldn’t stand the thought of it.” He shifted his hands so they fisted in her hair on both sides of her head. His green eyes were fierce as they pierced her blue ones. “I don’t know who the hell you are or why I feel like your so damned important but I am going to find out.”

              Aryana’s heart thudded in her chest. She swallowed and nodded mutely around the lump in her throat not knowing what to say. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, causing him to wrap his arms around her again, more gently this time. Something silent passed between them. Something neither understood but both felt. 

              How long they stood like that neither knew but finally Darian was the one to pull away.  Regret and boyish hopefulness showing in his face. “I have to go take care of something. Business. Can I take you out to dinner again? Make up for the disaster of the last one?”

              She blushed and stared at his chest. Giving him a shy smile she nodded quickly. He was already looking forward to it. He gave her a shy grin in return. He pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to her wrapping her fingers around the slip of paper. “Here. It’s my number. Feel free to call me day or night. It doesn’t matter why your calling or how silly you think it is, just call. Okay?”

              Aryana gave him another shy smile and nodded again gazing dreamily up into his eyes. Slowly Darian’ head descended until his soft lips touched hers. He wasn’t forceful or rough. In fact he was incredibly gentle. It was the sweetest kiss she had ever gotten in her life and she never wanted it to end.

              Darian couldn’t believe it! He was kissing Aryana, a girl he hadn’t even known existed a week ago. He was gentle, not wanting to scare her or rush her into anything so soon. His heart thundered in his head, his blood rushed in his ears and his damn wolf was pushing at him to go farther. The longer the kiss went the more insistent the overgrown dog became.  He began to struggle to keep the damn thing back and had to pull away.  He closed his eyes to try and savor the feel of her on his lips just a few moments longer. He had to get out of there fast before his wolf became too pushy and he couldn’t hold him back.

              Aryana followed him to the door and watched as he walked back to his SUV and drive away.  Closing the door she looked around her and took stock of her home. Feeling a huge rush of energy she grabbed her purse and scooped the keys from the kitchen table, glaring at the charcoal wall. Scott was no longer welcome in her life and she would be damned if he would be allowed to continue to live in even one square inch of her house either.

              Climbing into the SUV she backed out her drive and headed off to the local hardware store. Change was a good thing and a LOT of things were about to change.