Predator

Chapter 2

“Excuse me?”

“I said are you looking for someone? You look as uncomfortable and out of place here as I do.”

“You are the ruler of this empire. I don’t see why you’d feel uncomfortable here.” He circled her and openly looked up and down the length of her body. “If you’ll forgive me for saying so, you hardly look out of place.”

She blushed at his comment and blatant perusal of her form. “Why the blush, your highness? You have to know you are a beautiful woman.” He stood behind her, leaned in close to her back, and whispered in her ear. “The dress pales in comparison to your beauty.”

She stiffened at his touch and the closeness of his mouth to her neck. “There are…a lot of things about me that are not beautiful.”

‘She’s serious.’ He cupped her cheek in his palm and turned her face to the side. His lips were barely touching her ear when he purred. “I don’t see it.”

Her eyes welled with tears and she trembled against him. “You don’t know me.” She said with finality. She got flustered by her emotional display to a stranger and stepped out of his grasp. “Excuse me please.”

His eyes followed her as she pushed through the crowd and exited onto a balcony. He observed the nod Ian gave to Duncan and saw him follow his wife. Riddick made his way out to the adjoining balcony and quietly watched the immortal approach her from behind.

“Baby, are you alright?” She turned and threw herself into his chest. She was sobbing so hard that he lowered them to the ground and cradled her in his lap. “Shh. It’s okay, love.”

“Duncan…”

“You don’t have to explain. We’ve been together for 378 years. I think I can read your every thought by now. You’re tired of living.” He caressed her hair and rocked her gently as she cried. “You know, I will always remember the day we crossed paths. When I found out what you were I thought it was a miracle to find and marry a woman I loved that I wouldn’t outlive.”

“Earth is a long way from here and life there was simpler.” She whispered brokenly.

“I know. I also know you hold on because of us.” He lifted her face and looked deep in her sad eyes. “I have lived over 4 centuries and even I was tempted to end it…until I met you. I know you have been around a lot longer than me and I know I’m being selfish but I don’t want to lose you.”

She touched his lips with her fingers and stopped his words. “Hush. You have every right to be selfish. I don’t want to lose you either but…I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”

“Hold on to this.” He kissed her trembling lips. “And this.” His mouth moved down to her neck and placed another kiss where it joined her shoulder. He unhooked her top exposing her breasts to the night air and leaned her back onto the marble floor.

“Duncan…”

“Shh, baby. Let this old man love you.” He took her nipple into his mouth and she clutched at his head while he sucked it to a hard peak.

Riddick stood in the shadows and watched Duncan remove his clothes. He watched him make love to his wife and saw the rapture on her face as she came. He felt a stab of jealousy run through him that was quickly replaced by concern when the immortal had to comfort his crying mate again.

“I’m sorry, Duncan. I don’t know where this is coming from.” She hugged him fiercely and whispered into his chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He held her until she calmed. “You okay to make a quick appearance and we can finish this in our room?”

“Not yet. You go ahead. I’ll be in shortly.” She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest.

“Are you sure?” She nodded her head. He got to his feet and dressed while she watched him with admiring eyes. “I’ll be waiting.” He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t let me get lonely.”

“Never.” She watched him walk back into the hall and picked up her top. Her hands were shaking so hard that she couldn’t fasten it behind her back. She held the jeweled bra in her lap and the tears fell silently.

“Do you need help with that?” He stepped towards her and froze in his tracks when her tear-filled eyes met his. He didn’t know what to expect from her when she was in this state. He wasn’t exactly sure why he even revealed his presence.

She stared at the man that had reduced her to this latest bout of emotion. She could read his strength in the way he carried himself but did not understand his concern. She stood and moved to stand in front of him. “I, um, can’t get this fastened.” She gave him such an imploring look that he lowered his eyes to her gem covered top and took it from her trembling hands.

“Turn around.” She took a deep breath and did as he said. He leaned forward against her back and arranged her top to cover her delicious breasts. He could not resist the urge to skim his fingers across the underside of them when he ran his hands around her sides to fasten the hooks in the center of her back. She swayed slightly and he pulled her back against his chest with his left arm around her midsection. His right hand rested on her bare shoulder and he buried his face in her hair. “You smell so good.”

“I don’t believe this was part of the arrangement.” She whispered.

“What arrangement?”

“You were hired to kill me not fuck me.”

His arm tightened around her waist and his hand went to her throat. “How?” He growled in her ear.

“What difference does it make? No one knows besides me.” She remained pliant in his grasp and her next whispered statement infuriated him further. “You can do whatever you want to me and I won’t stop you if you promise me that I won’t come back this time.”

“What kind of fucking game are you playing?” He released his hold on her waist and walked her back into the shadows with her neck firmly in his grasp. Her eyes flashed to his face when he slammed her back against the wall.

“I’m not playing with you. Take what you want but promise me this will be the end.”

She was resigned to her fate at his hands. ‘She’s begging for it.’ He ripped his glasses from his face and stared at the glow of energy that surrounded her form. Even her tears radiated power. “Why me? Why would you give this to me?”

She felt the twin silver orbs rake over her. “You think you’re unworthy.” She chuckled lightly. “You are wrong about yourself. Believe me when I say that there are bigger evils
out there than you.” His eyes widened when hers turned completely red. “You cannot even imagine the death that I’ve delivered.”

Her head snapped to the right as if her attention was focused on some unseen thing and she ignored the man who had her throat in a death-like grip. Just as he was about to speak, an explosion rocked the lower level of the palace. Riddick lost his balance and fell to the marble as the quake rumbled beneath them.

The balcony crumbled beneath him and he began to fall until his descent was halted abruptly. He looked up at a hand wrapped securely around his wrist and his eyes traveled up to met hers. She looked at him curiously before she lifted him effortlessly to the edge. “Why did you…”

“Save you?” He nodded his head. “You don’t think you’re worth saving either, huh?” Screams and gunfire erupted from the hall and her voice went ice cold. “You have a job to do but it will have to wait for a moment.”

It was chaotic inside as the dignitaries ran for shelter. Ian was tearing a path through the invaders making his way to his son. “Where is mom?” Jarod ducked a punch and Ian quickly dispatched his assailant by snapping his neck.

“Outside.”

Duncan and Dean appeared by their side and the four of them fought back a wave of adversaries. “We need mom.” Dean punched a man who rushed him and sent him sailing across the room.

“No!” Duncan snapped angrily. “Your mother needs to stay out of this!”

Ares and Brandon came up behind the group attacking the 4 of them and fought through them until they all met in the middle. “Was that fun or what?” The God of War asked with a grin.

“Ares, this isn’t a game!” Ian yelled as he kicked another man in the throat and crushed his windpipe. “Where is Brennan?”

“We have him.”

They turned to see four men holding Alex’s youngest son captive. The spark of electricity faded from his palms as they snapped a restraining collar around his neck to suppress his power. They also had several of the visiting ambassadors held as prisoners. Ares’ hand came up and Duncan stopped him with a grip on his upper arm.

“So tell me who I killed to piss you off.” All eyes turned to Alex as she stood confidently in the broken doorway with a large man behind her.

“Does it matter? You are a butcher!”

Her red eyes literally exuded flame when the speaker struck Brennan and he dropped to his knees. “It’s an interesting thing really. I never kill indiscriminately unless someone is stupid enough to touch my children or my husbands. Which you just did.” She closed her eyes, cocked her head to the side and smiled. “Everyone you know just died.”

Her eyes snapped open when she felt the bullet rip through her side. “Fuck that hurts.” She stumbled back into Riddick’s arms and held her hand over her bloody wound. “Get to the others. You’ll be safe.”

His surprise registered on his face and he watched her walk back to face her enemies seemingly unarmed. She held her right hand behind her back until he saw a white ball of energy form. Her eyes caught Brennan’s and he nodded his head.

“Alexandra! No!!” She ignored Duncan and threw the sphere at the invaders…and the ambassadors. The resulting explosion decimated over half of the people in the room. The eighteen men that remained were distracted by the carnage for a second. That was long enough for her to close within striking distance.

She swiftly cut a swath through the men with a bright glowing sword that seemed to just appear in her hand. The wounds she inflicted were all instantly fatal. She received two more bullet wounds from one of the two men left standing and flinched from the impact before she decapitated him.

“Mom, get this thing off of me!” Her attention went to Brennan instantly and she ignored the speaker as he looked on his dead teammates in shock.

“Hold on, baby.” She gripped the metal collar and felt her strength fade for a moment before she snapped the lock. “Are you okay?”

“It burnt my skin.”

She pulled back his shirt and touched the burn marks lightly. “I’ll fix it, honey.” The pain left his face when a cool sensation swept through his neck. “Almost done.” When the redness faded and his unblemished skin appeared, she removed her touch. “All better?”

“Yeah.” He saw through the blood of the slain that covered her body and panicked when he spotted her wounds. “Mom…”

“Go to your father now.” She watched Brennan obey her demand and turned to regard his captor. His eyes focused on her, turned murderous, and began to raise his gun. She jerked her head to the left and the weapon flew from his grasp. She brought up her right hand and an unseen force closed around his throat. “You made me kill a lot of innocent people today. Do you want to know why?” She narrowed her eyes and spoke through clenched teeth. “I kill everyone you know so that there is nobody left who gives a shit about you to avenge your death. Bye now.” She flicked her wrist to the right and 10 feet away a neck snapped.

She numbly turned to her family and her eyes fell on Riddick. She felt drawn to his silver eyes and before she knew it she was standing in front of him. “Does the dress still pale in comparison?” She looked down at her blood stained skin. “Am I still beautiful?” She collapsed forward into his arms and he lowered her to the floor cradling her on his lap. She gasped for breath and he could hear her heartbeat begin to slow. “Remember our deal?” He nodded. “Stay close. I’ll be right back.”

“My lady.”

“Ian, keep him safe until I return.”

“As you wish but let me…”

“No. Just…watch him.”

“Who is he, love?”

Her eyes began to flutter as her hand caressed Riddick’s cheek and she whispered. “He’s…my destiny. My…killer.” Her hand fell away from his flesh and her eyes closed. When her heart stopped, Riddick saw the glow of energy that surrounded her fade to black.

He heard Ian tell her sons to brace themselves and his head snapped up when they cried out in pain. The aura of power that once emanated from her surrounded her children. “What the fuck is going on here?”

Ares turned away from his boys after he steadied them and rushed to stand over Riddick. “That is none of your fucking business, assassin!” His hands began to glow red and his chest heaved when he looked down at Alex’s bloody body. “Get your hands off of my wife!”

“Make me.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Ares!” Ian stood between the two men and placed his hand on the War God’s shoulder. “She has made her will known.”

Riddick peered around Ian and smirked at Ares. “Yeah. Back the fuck off, god boy.”

Ian spun around and Riddick could see the rise in power around his form. “You are not helping matters in the least by provoking him. Is what she said true? Are you here to kill her?”

A quiet strength and profound sadness shone in Ian’s eyes as he waited for an answer and Riddick felt compelled to avert his gaze in shame. “Yeah. It’s true.” He held her body a little tighter when Ian asked his next question.

“What deal did she make with you?”

“She said I can do or take whatever I want from her if I can find a way to ensure she doesn’t come back.” As the words left his mouth, a measure of regret filled him. Regret and shame did not sit well with Riddick. He had only felt it once before now.

A pair of hands drug him to his feet and her body fell from his grasp to the floor. “You will not touch my wife in ANY way!” Riddick ignored Duncan’s threat as he looked on her form sprawled out amidst the rubble.

Anger surged through him when none of her family moved to hold her. “I know what kills you, immortal.” His eyes bore through her husband. “You aren’t my mark but I’ll make an exception if you touch me again.” When he didn’t back away, Riddick’s shiv appeared at Duncan’s throat in a flash of an eye.

Ares fired a blast at the ground and threw them off balance. He moved in and threw Riddick against the wall. “You have a lot of nerve throwing threats around here. If you weren’t here to kill my wife, I’d probably have liked you.”

“Let…him…go.” They turned to see her struggle to get to her feet. Her wounds had healed but she swayed on legs that were unsteady from the pain that still coursed through her body. Ian moved to her side but didn’t make a move to touch her. “Ares, stand down now.”

“But…”

“I said now!” He submitted to her and slowly backed away. “Ian, my love.”

“Yes, milady?”

“Clean me up and bring him to me.” Her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed into Ian’s waiting arms.

He picked her up, cradled her unconscious form to his chest, and blinked unshed tears from his eyes. He, above everyone else, knew the torment she was going through and the reasoning behind her decision to see it end. “He has safe quarter.”

“Ian, you have to be kidding! We can’t…”

“Ares, she has spoken. If she wakes and finds that we disobeyed her, she will exact her revenge. Even we are not safe if she thinks we betrayed her. You have seen her do it before!” Ian turned to carry his beloved away and paused to stare at Riddick. His brown eyes turned amber and he spoke with barely contained rage. “I’ll come for you when she’s ready.”