Predator

Chapter 20

“Tyr, I know you’re grieving and I can’t imagine what you are going through but I need you to get your shit together…for all our sakes.” The Nietzchean sat Indian-style on the floor with tears streaming down his face and appeared to be completely oblivious to outside stimulus. Riddick was getting nowhere trying to coax the man out of his shock and turned to his son. “Jesse, try to get through to him.”

“I’ll try, Riddick, but I don’t know if it will work. For a Nietzchean male, there is nothing more important than his mate and children. My mother is his whole life and she finally allowed him back into her life. Granting him a child from her body was the greatest gift he could ever receive.”

“I know that, son, but; if we don’t stop Tristan and he turns her completely evil; we will lose her too. I believe she is more important to him than the loss of one child and we need his help to get her back.” Riddick patted the boy’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. “I am sorry for your loss as well.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jesse’s lip trembled as his grief began to surface but, a look into the man’s eyes before him, told him now was not the time. He had a job to do and he turned his watery eyes to his desolate father. “Dad, I need your help. Mom is in danger and I don’t know what to do.” His father’s eyes blinked the tears that welled in them away and he began to rock slightly back and forth. “Father, if you don’t help her, mother will die and we will be her killers. We need you. Your family needs you!”

“I will do my part, my son.” Tyr whispered with a voice hoarse from screaming and crying. “All I ask is for a moment to grieve for my child.”

Riddick stood in front of Tyr and looked down at him. “I can’t give you that right now, Tyr.” The Nietzchean raised his head and looked into Riddick’s silver eyes. “If you don’t get up and help us, you will be grieving for your child AND your wife later.”

“No. I will not let that bastard take my mate from me too.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and rose to his feet. “She is mine.”

Riddick nodded his head and grinned at the resiliency of her fourth mate. “As long as it keeps you motivated, I’ll let you keep thinking that.” He watched as Tyr hugged Jesse to him. ‘Father and son grieving over a shared loss and torn by shared pain.’ He turned to his own son to find him running his hand over the bed where his mother had recently lain. He sat beside him and nudged his shoulder with his own. “How are you doing?”

“I don’t know.” Dorian spoke with a voice devoid of emotion.

“Hey.” Riddick lightly shook his son’s elbow to draw his gaze to him. “Don’t even go there with me. I know you are hurting.”

“Father, I am feeling so much more than hurt that I can’t even get a grip on all the emotions. I am angry that she sent me away from the room when I could have helped! I am saddened for Tyr’s loss of his child. And worst of all…” He took a shaky breath to steady himself and looked at his father with tears rolling down his face. “I am scared to death that I will lose the mother that I’ve known for a few hours.”

“Dorian, your mother is a remarkable being. Please remember that her primary function in life is to protect her family. She sent you away because she did not want to see any harm come to you. She was unaware of your powers.” Riddick encircled his son’s shoulders with his left arm and held him. “I won’t lie to you and say that what we are about to face is going to be easy. If she succumbs totally to her darker nature, we will be in for the fight of our lives and the lives of every living thing in existence. We have a good chance of bringing her back between Ian, Tyr, the Wielders, and me. I don’t believe – I won’t believe that we will lose her.”

His son looked around the room at the rest of his family and shook his head. “Dad, we are not ready for this. Look at everybody. Everyone is in pain and they all feel like we’ve already been defeated.”

“Dorian!” Ian appeared in the room and stood before Riddick and his son. “You and your father are new to this family so you don’t have the experience of knowing these men like I do.” His voice rose in volume and all of the occupants in the demolished suite listened to him. “You both read about them in the archives. Each one of them – fathers and sons – are special beings who are totally committed to Alexandra. We are taking a moment to deal with our conflicted emotions after a horrible tragedy but; when we make our move; you will see the very best of us come to the battle. We will get her back as she was or we will die trying.”

All the men in the room stood a little taller and seemed a little prouder after Ian’s speech. He sensed the determination and strength flowing through the veins of his family and nodded his head in recognition of the heroism that his wife inspired in her loved ones. He locked eyes with Dorian and they exchanged a smile.

“This is a fucking mess.” Logan grumbled as he stepped through the debris with Scott following close behind. “I guess this son of a bitch has a handle on using her powers.”

“Logan, we have a lot of territory to cover…”

The feral mutant let loose his claws and cleaved a large piece of rubble into pieces. “Ian, I know perfectly well why I am here and what is expected of me.” He sheathed his claws and ran his wild eyes over the men in the room. “You all better do EVERYTHING in your power to fix this because if the point of no return does come, Scott and I will do what she made us swear to do.”

Scott stepped forward with his arms crossed over his chest and spoke with as much conviction in his voice as his teammate. “Let me make this perfectly clear, gentlemen. Logan and I know how difficult this is for all of you because it is for us too but there will be nothing any of you can do to stop us once we start.”

Brandon stepped forward clearly outraged and practically bellowed. “If you think for one second that we will let you kill our mother at your own discretion you are sorely mistaken.”

Logan stalked right up into the young God’s face and growled. “Junior, all of you combined don’t have the power to stop us. So sit down, shut up, and get with a good fucking plan.”

“Brandon.” Ian put a stop to his tirade when he saw him open his mouth. “The Wielders are correct. She has endowed them with the ability to neutralize her when she becomes a threat to existence. No one can stop them from doing their appointed duty.”

“So let’s stop throwing around threats and get with a good fucking plan.” Riddick stood up and faced Logan. “So these men won’t be forced to kill the woman we all love.”

~*~

Alexandra lay curled up on her side shaking from the onslaught of dark impulses that coursed through her body. The death of her unborn child brought about a deep sorrow within her. She failed her primary mission in life since she took a mortal form and a mate. One of her loved ones was killed and she didn’t stop it from happening.

“You are being so brave, baby.”

She was furious with herself that she fell right into Tristan’s trap. When she fought him for control of her body by refusing to terminate the fetus, he did it himself knowing perfectly well that it would release her rage. As soon as her warlike nature came to the foreground, he took his given control over her.

“You’re putting up a hell of a fight.”

The fury she felt was a tangible thing in the air around her. The atmosphere seemed charged with an electrical current on the precipice of igniting and searing everything it touches. She could feel it spreading throughout the whole planet and; on some level deep within her, she was frightened. She wanted to maim. She wanted to torture. She wanted to kill. The primary object of her bloodlust was obviously Tristan but; with his power over her; she was incapable of lifting a finger against him.

“I can’t believe you’ve held out this long.”

The bastard was sitting across from her watching her struggle to fight his influence over her. She was holding on with every ounce of strength to keep the darkness under control. It wasn’t in her nature to let the murder of a member of her family go without exacting her revenge. The anger was impossible to push back. The break in her resolve was the knowledge that Tyr’s child was in Kortoth. “The Phoenix kills everything.”

“What was that, Alex?”

She uncurled her body and rose up on her hands and knees. “I said I kill everything.” The fire burned in her eyes and her voice was totally bereft of human emotion. She looked at the blond haired man sitting nearby and turned her head slightly to the side as if she was studying him. “I want to kill you.”

“I’m sure you do.” He smiled at her while he leaned back against the wall of the cave. “Too bad for you I won’t let you. I have an idea though.”

She sat on her legs with her hands on her knees and narrowed her blazing eyes at him. “What would that be?”

“I want you back in my bed.”

“Too bad for you I won’t let you.” He frowned and opened his mouth to speak when she began to laugh. “Oh please, did you really think that I would allow you to mate me after you set me free? You have power over me, Tristan, but that power does not include the ability to make me fuck you.”

“I did not go through all of this to end up without you! You are my mate and I am entitled…”

“To what I gave you.” She glanced down at her body and in an instant she was clothed in a full leather bodysuit with black boots. “I gave you the ability to control my darkness and nothing else. You lost your rights to my body when I broke our bond.” She rose to her feet, walked towards him, and glared down into his eyes. “Besides, I do believe you took advantage of my state of unconsciousness earlier and this whore isn’t prepared to spread her legs for you if she has a choice!”

“You heard that, huh?” He chuckled and seemed slightly nervous of the anger radiating off of her. “That was a dig at Riddick, baby. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Don’t go losing your nerve now, Tristan. You orchestrated this whole thing.” She slowly walked around the cave with her hands clasped behind her back and glanced over the old texts that were lining bookshelves along the walls. “You hired Riddick to assassinate me. You probably read through these old volumes and discovered how to steal my reserve power. You killed Ares while allowing me to watch knowing perfectly well I would enter Kortoth to save him.”

She whipped around to face him and her voice continued to rise in volume. “Through the power you stole, you knew I had conceived a child with Riddick and would not allow myself to die in battle so my strength could regenerate. In my weakened condition, you knew I couldn’t defend my family or myself and took the opportunity to attack. You raped me while I was unconscious! You killed my child!” She threw her hands up and flames erupted from her palms. “You released the Destroyer of Worlds! Now…what do you want to do?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“You are pathetic.” She chuckled and pointed at his confused look. “No wonder she threw you away like a piece of unwanted trash.”

“What do you mean she?”

“Humans are really inept, aren’t they? I could never understand her interest in your pitiful race.” She crouched down in front of him and smirked at his unease. “I am talking about Alexandra.”

“You are Alexandra.”

“Alexandra is this shell.” She gestured towards her body with open palms. “I created this shell several millennia ago when I wanted to observe your race from a closer perspective. An unfortunate side effect of inhabiting a human shell was humanity. You should’ve read the texts a little closer, Tristan. I used to be the Protector of Life. A pure cosmic being that safeguarded existence. Only after I took human form and developed human emotions did I become the Destroyer of Worlds.”

She saw clarity enter his eyes and slowly nodded her head before the words escaped his mouth. “You mean it is our fault. You became a killer because of your interaction with humans.”

“Exactly. Alexandra has been fighting a losing battle for a very long time but she managed to suppress me with the aid of her mates. You freed me by pushing her beyond reason when you killed the child. You destroyed the woman you profess to love. However, you still possess the part of me that she gave you when you mated and it acts independently of the whole. It loves you and obeys your wishes. So I repeat…what do you want to do?”

His eyes grew cold and met her fiery gaze. “I want to kill everything she loves.”

“Fair enough.”

~*~

The general populace of the planet had already boarded every available ship and departed the surface of Ariana. All of the servants, soldiers, and bodyguards had been evacuated to the far side of Ariana awaiting transport off world for their own protection. It was a wasted effort and everyone knew it. If the situation was as dire as they all thought it wouldn’t matter where they went in the universe that they would survive what was to come.

The Royal Family and the Wielders formed their battle plans in the main foyer of the palace. None of them could stomach the pain they all felt when in Tyr’s rooms. Death and grief took residence there now. Riddick and Ian kept a close watch on the Nietzchean to gauge whether he could be counted on during the upcoming battle. So far Tyr had been instrumental in the evacuation of the civilians; including Tamerlane and his caregiver. He even came up with a defensive strategy against Alexandra if Tristan brought her into play. He said he couldn’t share that information with the rest of them now in case she read their thoughts but if it was needed Riddick and Ian would be the first to know.

They trusted his judgment and didn’t press the issue for now. Tyr knew his wife’s body, instincts, and motivations better than anyone from the power she gave him to control it. He was crucial in their plans to defeat Tristan and regain possession of their mate. He spent his time now instructing Jesse what he needed him to do when the inevitable came. He wanted to send him away with Tamerlane. He did not want to lose another child; especially the one that his mate gave him; but Jesse would be an asset in the war. He was a very capable warrior. His mother trained him.

Ares conferred with Brandon and Brennan and passed on the strategy that the mates came up with. He knew his first-born was falling prey to his warrior’s bloodlust and Ares encouraged it at this point. He needed his boys to be on their best game and holding back was not an option.

The War God was worried about his children’s part in this confrontation. He and the others had become accustomed to Alexandra protecting her sons from danger and now she was the one they needed protection against. His boys were the offspring of two warriors and he knew they were capable but the odds were not in their favor. Ares heard Ian and Riddick say they would get their wife back but the War God had his doubts.

Duncan kept quiet throughout the entire briefing. He was a liability in this fight. Despite the fact that he is an Immortal, he was still just a human with no super human strength or power of his own. His son was amongst the strongest present. Dean could fly, his strength was superior, and his body was indestructible.

Duncan felt inadequate in the presence of these men. They surpassed him on every level including pleasuring his wife. He hurt her. The last thing he did and said brought pain to her. If she died his last words to her would be the ones that broke her heart and the thought of that was more than he could bear. He was not given a large part in the battle to come but he would do everything in his ability to make things right with her.

Logan sat in solitude with his head hung low in despair. Scott stood close by and watched his friend tear himself apart with the knowledge that he would bring about the death of the first woman he ever loved. She was the only person who ever understood and accepted Logan’s dark side because she had one of her own. Alexandra tamed the Wolverine and the Wolverine considered her his mate even though they could never be bonded in her world.

He and Scott had devised a plan to help her mates in their efforts to bring her back and Logan prayed for the first time that he could remember that it would be enough. He could not afford to lose her. If the Phoenix did eradicate Alex from her psyche and they were forced to kill her, Logan could only hope that he would die with her.

Ian, Ioan, Riddick, and Dorian sat together on the bottom of the staircase in silence. It was decided that Ian and Ioan would engage Alexandra at the onset of her involvement. They were of her and would be best suited to fight her. Ian carried more of the Phoenix force within him than his mate. Her power is divided between each member of her family and the portion that Tristan stole. Power to power, Ian has more than she does but he doesn’t have her experience in wielding it.

Riddick and the others would devote their attention and power to destroying Tristan and removing every last trace of the Phoenix force from his dead body. Riddick would be the one to house the errant portion of her power and would gain dominion over her dark side if everything went according to plan.

“Why the sad faces, guys?” Each one of the Royal Family rose to their feet and looked at the man who was destroying their lives. “It isn’t that I stole the center of your world, is it?” He was standing in the open entrance of the palace leaning against the doorjamb. “It worked too except for one little wrinkle. I was not aware that this plan of mine would destroy Alexandra. I wanted her for myself and I’m stuck with the Phoenix. I guess that will have to do.”

“Liar! You could not have broken my mother so easily!” Brandon’s hands erupted in flames and he hurled two fireballs at Tristan knocking him down the palace steps. They all ran outside after Brandon who was on Tristan in a heartbeat. “My mother is stronger than you.” He slammed a fist into the side of his face. “She is stronger than that!”

“What she isn’t stronger than is her anger, boy.” He threw Brandon aside and regained his feet. “And I own that!”

“You forget yourself, human.” All eyes went to the sky above and saw the firebird approach. It hovered ten feet above their heads and her form appeared within the flames. “I own my anger. You just play with it.”

“Alex.” Riddick stepped forward and read her energy signature. It was higher than the last time he saw it. “Alex, we can help you…”

“Riddick, Alex doesn’t live here anymore and I don’t need your help.”

He clenched his eyes at her words. ‘She called me Riddick.’