Predator

Chapter 11

Alexandra hurried into the bath after returning to her rooms. She mentally informed her insistent mate that she would be along shortly and asked for his patience. She submerged her tired body in the warm water and soaked for a moment before she cleansed her skin of Riddick’s scent.

All of her mates had enhanced senses and none of them tolerated the smell of another man on her person. She laughed at the absurdity of their behavior considering the situation they lived in. Each of them knew that she had sex with the others but refused to face evidence of it. They were jealous of each other.

Her mental summons came again and she was forced to apologize for the delay. He reminded her that; despite the fact she was the ruler of the known universe; she was still subservient to her mates in the matters of their access to her sexually and in regards to their children.

She quickly toweled off, slipped into a robe, and appeared in the War God’s chambers. “What took you so long?” He lay sprawled across the furs on his bed wearing his leather pants but had removed his vest.

Her breath caught in her throat. He was magnificent to behold. “Ares, this was my bonding night with Riddick.”

“The sun came up, baby. He gets to wait his turn just like the rest of us now.” He patted the bed beside him. “Now come here, love. I’ve missed your company.”

She moved to the bed, laid beside him, and snuggled into his waiting embrace. “I have missed you too. So much has happened these past couple of days and I just don’t know if I can keep up.”

“I know Tyr being here is only making matters worse.”

His tone implied how he felt about her estranged husband’s return and she sighed heavily knowing she was about to get another earful. “Please, Ares, not you too. I just got read the riot act from Riddick about this.”

“So the killer is on our side? If he is against you being with Tyr then I definitely like him and he’s right.” He tilted up her chin and gazed into her wary eyes. “Nothing good can come from your union with Tyr.”

“Jesse came from my union with Tyr!” She pulled her chin from his grasp and faced the God of War with a fury he couldn’t hope to match. “Are you saying my son is a mistake?”

“No! That isn’t what I meant. I’m just saying that you don’t see clearly when it comes to Tyr. He is a liability to our family!”

She moved away from his touch, sat up, and glared at the man she spent over 6000 years of her life with. “I know how to defend my family against aggressors and Tyr is not one of them! I refuse to debate this issue with you any longer!”

“I have every right to question your decisions when he placed Brennan’s life in danger!” He rose up to sit facing her and grabbed her arm. “My sons are my responsibility too and I almost lost one yesterday!”

“Bullshit! I’d never let anything happen to Brandon or Brennan. You’re just fucking jealous!” She ripped her arm from his hand and backed off the bed. “You can bitch and complain as much as you want but in the end he will still have his place in my life!” She spun on her heel and headed for the door.

“Alexandra, stop right there!” When she failed to follow his command, he materialized in front of her and cut off her escape route. “I summoned you here for a reason.”

“I have NO interest in sharing your bed at this particular moment.” She grated out of clenched teeth.

“We share an oath!” He cupped her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. “You have no choice.”

A small smile traced her lips just before her eyes turned red. “Oh, I think I do.”

The grin disappeared from his face the instant before her fist impacted with it. His body crashed through his door and two walls before he finally fell to the ground at Riddick’s feet.

Riddick saw his wife make her way towards them through the debris and glanced back to Ares. “Was it something you said?” He extended his hand and held back his laughter.

“Heh. You could say that.” He accepted the help to his feet and steadied himself. “You could say that I’m having a disagreement with our woman.”

“Tyr.”

“Riddick, you could make her…”

“Ares!” They both looked up at their angry wife; who closed the distance in an instant when she heard their uttered words. “This is your last warning.” Another punch sent him flying again.

“Alex!” Riddick reached out to touch her arm but stopped when he saw the fire had returned to her eyes.

“Don’t.”

“Baby, you need to calm the fuck down.”

“Love, you need to stay the fuck out of this.” Her voice was deadly calm which shocked him more than if she had yelled. She barely registered the hurt expression on his face before she stalked after Ares.

A low level energy ball struck her chest and staggered her back a couple of feet. “You didn’t think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you?” She glared at Ares before a second blast hit her and sent her sailing through a wall. “Come on, baby. Let’s play.”

Riddick started forward; driven by his instinct to protect his mate; but stopped suddenly when Ian appeared and grabbed his arm. “Do not interfere.”

“She is beyond fucking pissed! She could kill him!”

A shy grin crossed Ian’s face and Riddick could have sworn he saw the man blush. “I assure you that she will not kill him. In fact, this fight is something like…”

“Like what?”

“This is foreplay to them.”

“This is foreplay?” He watched Ares move some rubble, pull his wife to her feet, and deliver an uppercut to her chin that sent her flying once again. “You have got to be fucking with me.”

“Riddick.” Ian drew her new mate’s attention to him with a hand to his shoulder. “They have done this particular dance for several millennia. Your senses have enhanced further since you mated with her.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Can you not scent her arousal, as I can?”

Riddick turned to his wife; who was trading blows with Ares; sniffed the air and detected the sweet scent that was uniquely Alex. His blood fired in his veins and a low growl erupted from his throat.

Ian smiled; recognizing his reaction from personal experience. It was a combination of lust and jealousy that Ian still felt to this very day when he scented her. “Riddick, you are going to have to control that impulse. Believe me when I say I still feel that way every single time I am around her but I learned to control it for her sake.”

“What do you mean – for her sake?”

“We all know the circumstances we live under. We are married to a woman with multiple husbands. We accepted that before we bonded with her; at least the four of you did; and yet we still get jealous.”

“So.”

Ian shook his head with frustration that none of them understood the obvious. “She can feel our unrest and it hurts her deeply.” When he had Riddick’s full attention, he continued to explain. “Whatever dominion that she gave you over her, hurts when she feels your negative thoughts or feelings. For example, Duncan has possession of her heart and his jealousy is breaking it. Do you understand now how delicate she really is?”

He sighed heavily and nodded his head in defeat. “It won’t be easy for me, Ian. It’s not in my nature to share.”

“Riddick, take a look around you. It isn’t in any of our nature’s to share. She married the God of War, who has been with her for thousands of years. The immortal, Duncan, has been with her for centuries. I have been her mate since the beginning of time. Then we have a Nietzchean and a Furyan, whose cultures dictate possessiveness.”

Riddick’s eyes flashed dangerously to Ian’s and he ground out in utter in disgust. “I hate that fucking Nietzchean.”

“We all do but that won’t change the fact that they are bound…deeply. If you try to force her to let him go, it will cause her great pain.”

“She’ll get over it!” Riddick turned back to his wife and saw her receive a vicious blow to her sternum. The air rushed from her lungs and she sank to her knees. “She can beat his ass with one punch. Why is she fighting at his strength level and risking defeat?”

“She doesn’t want to win. You know first hand that she likes to be conquered. It makes her feel more human.” They watched Ares pick her up, sling her defeated body over his shoulder, and carry his prize to his chambers. “We won’t be seeing her again for the rest of the day.”

“Great. So we sit around for the entire day knowing another man is fucking our wife.”

“At least you are referring to her as ‘our wife’ now. If you want to occupy your time, there is a temple on the other side of her lake. Only members of the Royal Family can enter with their lives intact.”

“What’s in it?”

“After the Greek Gods were created, they began to chronicle her life. Everything she has done is recorded in there.” He slapped him on the shoulder and turned to leave. “Knock yourself out.”

“Ian, I don’t think I can deal with Tyr being a part of her life.”

“Go to the temple, Riddick. Maybe it will give you some insight to their connection.”

“Where are you going?”

Ian continued towards the door and threw his parting words over his shoulder. “I’m going to my room to jerk off. Her scent has always driven me mad.” With that said, he was gone.

Riddick stood for a moment looking at the rubble left behind from Ares and Alex’s fight and reflected on the reason for it. ‘Tyr.’ He was accepting Ian’s advice and tamping down his jealousy over his wife’s sexual activities with her other mates but Tyr was a different matter. When it was the Nietzchean’s turn to ‘spend time’ with Alex, Riddick was positive that he would go insane.

He left the palace in search of the temple. The thought of learning her history in the archives intrigued him and knowing it was recorded by the Gods was astonishing.

‘I cased the whole damn lake before she arrived here and I didn’t see a fucking building in sight.’ Riddick groused as he skirted the woods and passed his stakeout position from the day of their first contact. ‘Ian must be losing his fucking mind in his old age.’

When he reached the back side of the lake, he came upon a clearing that was not there during his previous excursion. The closer he got to the empty space; a vision appeared before his eyes and began to solidify. ‘Holy shit.’

Within seconds, the ancient Greek temple stood gloriously before him. He scaled the marble steps and searched for a mechanism to open the door. ‘How in the hell do you get into this joint?’

At his mental inquiry, a woman in long, flowing robes materialized before him. Her emerald green eyes pierced his and she regarded him in a lowly manner. “State your purpose for being here.”

His brow furrowed at her commanding tone and the tension of this day could be heard in his response. “Who the fuck is asking?”

“I am Athena, the Goddess of War and Wisdom. The creator appointed me guardian of the Phoenix archives. I repeat my question. State your purpose for being here.”

“Just so we’re clear, it wasn’t a question. It was an order and I only take orders from my mate. To answer your so-called question, I came here to learn.”

Athena sized up the man before her and smiled. “You are her last mate. She chose well but; then again; she always does.”

“Are all of your kind so arrogant and annoying? Your brother is just as big of a pompous ass as you are.”

“We are gods.”

Riddick arched his brow and lowered his head to stare in her eyes. “You still aren’t shit compared to her. Now, you gonna let me in?”

Athena bristled visibly from Riddick’s disrespectful words but quickly remembered her place or; more importantly; his place. “Of course.” She bowed her head and the marble slab door slid to the side with a wave of her hand. “Please enter as is your right.”

He walked into the building and stared in awe of its beauty. There were marble statues of the Royal Family; including one of him; in the alcoves along the walls. A large statue of Alex stood in the center of the room with a fiery image of the Phoenix enveloping it. He stepped closer to the likeness of his wife and his eyes registered the unique power signature. “This is her.”

Athena stood next to him and looked upon the statue of her creator. “You are correct, my lord. Alexandra left a significant portion of her power here in hopes of stabilizing her human shell. To diminish her further, she gives all of her mates and children a part of the force as well.”

“What level is she running at now?”

“Half.”

“Half!” He turned to the goddess so abruptly, he startled her. “She destroyed an entire galaxy at half power?”

“She did.” Athena looked uncomfortable with the conversation and cast her eyes back to the statue. “My part here is to assist you in accessing the archives not to give you answers directly, my lord.”

“What is this ‘my lord’ crap, Athena?”

“You are the creator’s mate. Most importantly, you are her last mate. The one. You and Ian are the 2 most sacred beings in her life. It is only proper to show you the respect your position grants you.”

He took in that information and nodded his head. “Show me the books.”

“The journals are in the back chamber but all the data has been transferred to flexis. The terminal is in there.” She indicated the large antechamber with a nod of head. “Call out for me if you need anything.”