Predator

Chapter 38

Rhade and his son watched with growing concern as Alex worked nonstop for 3 days straight while she reversed the conversion of the Necromongers. By the time she had finished and directed Vaako to return some of them to their homes, she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. “How many worlds are still intact that these people can be returned to?” She asked the Commander in a weary tone.

“I have been able to track down 13 planets that still have a small populace that escaped being converted.” He kept his eyes downcast and tensed when he saw her flinch in his peripheral vision. “I have arranged transport for the people amongst us that are citizens of those worlds and they will be leaving within the hour.”

“Thirteen worlds.” She whispered. “Alright, Vaako, make sure they are set down just outside of the populated areas of those planets and they can make their own way to the settlements after your ships depart orbit. I don’t want a panic amongst the survivors of the Necromonger invasions if they happen to see your ships again.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Vaako, have you decided whether or not you want me to return you to normal?”

“To be completely honest, my Lady, I cannot remember what it was like to be normal. I was converted when I was very young.” He glanced up at her for a second and quickly returned to his submissive stance. “I have been like this for so long I do not know any other way of life.”

“You are still young enough to learn how to live, Vaako. You can find happiness, a purpose and possibly real love out there amongst the stars.” She lifted his head with a finger under his chin but his eyes would not meet hers. “It isn’t too late for you.”

“What about you, my Lady?”

“What about me?”

“Are you happy? Did you find true love out there amongst the stars because I can’t help but notice that Lord Riddick is not by your side?” She removed her touch from his chin as if she had been burned. “Forgive me. I am sorry if I spoke out of place. It was not my intention to hurt or anger you.”

“It’s okay, Vaako.” She said shakily. “Make no mistake that I love Riddick beyond measure but human emotion is a fickle thing. You can be happy one moment and absolutely miserable the next but that is all a part of living. There are no guarantees that you will be perfectly content with your new life if you chose for me to return it to you but at least you will feel again. The choice is yours, Vaako. I will not force humanity on you when it was stolen from you against your will.”

She spun on her heel and walked away from him leaving him deep in thought. He was torn between what he knew and what he had forgotten. He watched her work with a passion for days now to free the hearts and souls of his fellow converted and he had to admit he was curious about what drove this powerful entity to save the people she had sworn to destroy during the war. She made him question his current state of being and that was something he never thought he was capable of.

~*~

As she made her way to her mate and son, her exhaustion caught up to her and she pitched forward as her legs gave out on her. “Alex!” Rhade ran forward and caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground. Her head lulled forward as he cradled her limp body against his chest. When Ronon tilted her head back and pushed her hair from her face, they could see her eyes had rolled back in her head. “Ronon, get us to our ship!”

Ronon placed his hand on his father’s shoulder and transported them to their ship that was orbiting Achilles. “It is a good thing mom amplified my power or we’d be waiting for a shuttle to get us up here.” He ran beside his father as he hustled down a corridor and entered her quarters. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know.” He placed her in the center of the bed and lifted her eyelids to look at her pupils. “She is unconscious but I don’t know if it is from exhaustion or something else.” He pulled out a med-kit and ran an analyzer over her form. As the machine beeped its results, Rhade let out a sigh of relief. “It is exhaustion. I knew we should have made her stop and get some rest but no. She had to bust her ass to save those damn people and now look at her.”

“You know there is no way she would have listened to us.” Ronon sat beside his mother and stroked her hair from her cheek. “She is as stubborn as you always told me she was.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, Ronon.” He put the med analyzer away and lay down on the other side of his mate. “I guarantee you will see some pretty outrageous shit the longer you’re around her.”

“She seemed quite content torturing her mates when we visited the palace yesterday. You wouldn’t believe how much she made them squirm.” Ronon’s green eyes sparkled in delight when he looked up at his father. “They were absolutely miserable.”

“I can imagine. It is very difficult to be in love with Alexandra and be separated from her. I know for a fact that those men are suffering greatly due to her absence.” Rhade looked lovingly at Alex’s face and wrapped an arm around her waist. “The thing that worries me the most is how she is dealing with her separation from them.”

“What do you mean?”

“She has cut them off from her not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. This is probably the first time in recorded history that she has been alone in her mind.” He glanced at his son’s confused face and shook his head. “Forgive me, Ronon. I forget sometimes that you don’t have all the knowledge about her that her other sons have. If we go back to Ariana someday, you will have to visit the archives and read about her history. Then you will understand the complexities of your mother’s life.”

“Did you even love Andrea?” Ronon whispered.

“It is hard to explain my feelings for Andrea.” Rhade looked at his son’s waiting expression and reflected on his answer for a moment. “I was madly in love with your mother, Ronon, and that love never dimmed in the slightest while we were apart.”

“She explained to me the importance of your place in her future and made me promise to keep you safe. We both knew she had to return to her husbands and that she could not take us with her. If her mates discovered what she had planned for you, they might have tried to destroy you and she could not allow it.”

“Alex planned her return home and the pain of being parted tore our hearts asunder. She knew I would not be satisfied with any other woman and since she couldn’t stay she created a Nietzchean version of herself. I know she meant for me to use Andrea as a substitute since she was made in her image but I knew she wasn’t the real thing.”

“Every once in a while I could pretend that Andrea was Alexandra like when one of the Pride questioned my decisions and her temper would kick in until she beat the hell out of whoever incurred her wrath. Alex made a point to give her a little of her inner fire and it was fun to watch but inevitably I would remember that she was not my lost love.”

“So you didn’t care about her at all?”

“Ronon, I cared about Andrea. She was a gift to me from your mother. She was a part of her being that she left for me to love and try to forget my heartache with but I just couldn’t give my heart to someone else when it belonged to Alex. I know that might sound cold to you, son, but how could I forget your mother when the very image of her was right in front of my face every day? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t allow myself to find physical pleasure with her when I knew I’d be betraying Alex.”

“I didn’t know that was how you felt, Telemachus.” She said as she opened her eyes and looked up into Rhade’s. “All this time I thought I was doing you a favor when in actuality I made you more miserable. I’m sorry, Telemachus.” Tears formed in her eyes and threatened to spill. “I didn’t know.”

“Hush, my love.” He kissed her forehead and caught her tears on his fingertips as they traced over her cheeks. “You are not to blame. You were thinking of Ronon’s welfare and tried to keep me from getting lonely. It worked too, Alex. Our son had someone to raise him when I was busy with Pride business and I had a companion to keep me company.”

“I thought you would find comfort in her.” She sniffled. “I didn’t want you to be alone and I selfishly did not want you to find another. I could handle you making love to a copy of me but I think I would’ve gone mad if you found another mate.”

“Hey, I told you there was only room in my life for one love and that was always you.” He glanced at his son’s smiling face as he pulled Alex’s sobbing form into his chest and held her securely to his body. “You’re exhausted, Alexandra. Get some sleep, baby. You’ll need all the rest you can get.”

“Don’t leave me!” She cried and frantically grasped on to his vest. “Telemachus, I’ve never felt so alone and incomplete in my life. Every time I have a thought it echoes in my head and the dead silence is so loud I feel like my head is going to explode.”

“Is this because you have blocked your mates’ ability to read your thoughts?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you let them back in? It would make you feel better and it would probably satisfy their fear over your absence. Those men must be climbing the walls worried sick about you.”

“I can’t…not yet. Their anger is so great that it makes me reel from it.” She shuddered against him and he tightened his hold. “They must hate me to send such unbridled anger into my head.”

“Alex, they do not hate you. By the Progenitor, those men love you more than life itself. They are hurting, my love, but they could never hate you. Baby, you unleashed a bomb on them earlier. They just found out how much power you used during the battle and then you spring the news of our relationship and the existence of Ronon. Don’t even get me started on the shock seeing Andrea must have been to them. You didn’t give them time to adjust to all of that before you told them what part Ronon plays in your future. How did you expect them to react?”

“I don’t know. I’m not thinking clearly right now and I don’t know why.”

“Maybe it is as Riddick said, Mom. It might be possible that the baby is affecting your thoughts and feelings.”

“That very well might be, Ronon, but if it is I need to make your little sister behave. I’m tired.” She felt her son start to rise from the bed and she reached behind her to grab his hand. “Don’t go.”

“I thought the two of you might want to be alone.”

“Ronon, you and your father are all I have right now and I don’t want either of you out of my sight.” She pulled him down behind her and pulled his arm over her waist. “Lay down with us. I want you by my side or I won’t be able to sleep.”

“It’s alright, mother. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

~*~

A few hours later, Alex was drawn back to consciousness by voices speaking in a whisper out in the corridor. She slowly opened her tired eyes and looked around her to find both Rhade and Ronon gone. The conversation in the hall ended and the door slid open. “I have some news from planet-side for you.” Rhade said as he entered their quarters with Ronon in tow.

“What would that be?” She asked as she sat up in bed.

“Vaako wanted me to deliver the message that the formerly converted have been returned to their homes.” He sat beside her and took her hand in his to brush a kiss over her knuckles. “He also said that Riddick has arrived in the system and is on his way to Achilles.”

“Really?” Her hand gripped his when her tension mounted but she managed to keep her voice neutral. “I guess he decided to follow me here after I told Kyra that I would be working on reversing the conversions.”

“I guess so.” Telemachus kept his tone light in an effort to alleviate her anxiety. “We are finished with your work on the planet for now. When he arrives and finds you are not there he will undoubtedly come here looking for you. Is it your wish to see him?”

“I don’t know.”

“You cannot run from them forever, Alexandra. You belong with them and your children.” He placed his free hand on her cheek and she nuzzled into his touch. “Riddick deserves to have his mate with him while his child grows in your belly. You are being unfair to him and denying his rights as a father.”

“You’re right, of course, but I can’t help the fact that I’m scared to death to face him. Rhade, he was hired to kill me.” She glanced up into his shocked eyes and gave him a grim smile. “That was how we met but something happened to him after he bedded me and he…fell in love with me.”

“Who doesn’t fall in love with you after they experience your sensual prowess in bed?”

“Funny.” She swatted his arm and shot him a stern look. “What I am trying to tell you is Riddick’s original mission was to ensure my death. Now I just told him that his child that I carry within me will be the end of me after she grows up and inherits my power. Don’t you see, he more than likely thinks that in the end he is going to be the cause of my death through his baby and his guilt is eating me alive.”

“I have some of that guilt running through me as well, Alexandra. After all it is my son that will pull the Phoenix from your body and pass it on to your daughter. So don’t think for a second that Riddick has the market on guilt.”

“I understand.” She said softly and ran her fingers over his bearded cheek. A soft growl rumbled through his chest and his eyes closed at the sensation of her touch. “I sense you are a little excited, Telemachus. Would you care to explain?”

“Damn it, woman! I haven’t known your touch in years and I can’t control myself for another minute.” His eyes snapped open and pinned her with an almost savage glare. “Ronon, leave us please. Your mother and I have some things to deal with and we need to get reacquainted.”

“Yes, father.” Their son smiled as his father pinned his mother beneath his body and proceeded to tear her clothes off of her. He backed out of the door just as he heard his mother take a deep intake of air and his father let out a loud groan.

Rhade clenched his eyes at the glorious heat of her body that surrounded his shaft and had to keep still for a moment to get his wits about him. “You feel as heavenly as I remember.” He slipped his arms underneath hers and grabbed on to her shoulders. When he began to pump into her quivering body, his bone blades dug into the mattress and gave him extra leverage.

“Rhade…” His mouth enveloped one of her nipples and she lost the ability to speak as he ravaged her breasts. He moved into her with fast, sharp strokes that drove her wild with sensation. His grunts of exertion mixed into a beautiful symphony with her cries of pleasure until she felt a pull deep within her as her climax moved in on her. “Telemachus…”

He felt her pussy begin to quiver around his cock and knew she was close. “I’m right with you, baby.” He lost all self-control and pounded into her welcoming channel until he felt his testicles tighten up. “Alex!” He thrust into her as his seed flooded into her and her scream of ecstasy joined his when she went over the edge. He rolled over and pulled her on to his chest as he tried to regain his senses. “Are you okay, baby?”

“Mmm.” She snuggled into his warmth as she felt his softening member still twitching within her. “I feel like sheer bliss.” She relaxed into his arms and spoke quietly into his chest. “I’d rather not be here when Riddick comes looking for me, Telemachus.”

“That is your choice. Where do you plan to go to avoid him?”

“I want to check on Kyra.” She rose up on her forearms and looked down into his contented face. “I think I’ll take Ronon and teleport back to Ariana for a visit.”

“So you want me to wait here and face him when he comes calling?”

“If you don’t mind?” She gazed at him with a lost, little girl look and he couldn’t help but smile at her insecurity. “Do you think I’m a coward?”

“Not at all.” He kissed her forehead and slid his hands up her back in a gesture of comfort and support. “You are the strongest, bravest woman I’ve ever known. If you want to wait to see him that is your decision but remember you cannot put it off for long. You will have to return soon and if you don’t do it on your own, I will take you there myself. Do you understand me?”

“Yes.” She laid her head back down on his chest and released a heavy sigh. “When did you become so pushy?”

“When you ran away from your home and deprived 2 men of their children.” He slapped her on her behind and she yelped in surprise. “Now get some rest before your trip.”

“Yes, my Lord Telemachus. Anything you desire, my Lord.”

“You better stop. I’m starting to like the sound of that.”

~*~

Five hours later, Riddick had received permission to come aboard Rhade’s command ship. Upon landing his slipfighter, he immediately sought out his mate on the bridge only to be told by the officer in charge that the last he heard she was resting in her quarters.

He left command and hurried down the corridors towards her room. ‘She is resting? Vaako told me she passed out on the surface after healing the converted for 3 days. Please let her and the baby be okay. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to them.’ The door slid open and he rushed in to find Rhade alone in the room. He picked up her scent in the air and jealousy flooded him when he glanced at the gouges in the bed.

“Riddick.” Rhade nodded at him in greeting.

“Where is she?” He didn’t bother with the pleasantries of a greeting when the smell of sex assaulted his senses. He craved his wife’s body for days now and all this time Rhade had been enjoying it. “I can smell her. She’s been here. Now where is she?”

“She left with Ronon to visit your young friend, Kyra.” He walked up to the angry Furyan before him and smirked. “Whether you know it or not, I’ve just done you a favor.”

“What the hell would that be? Fucking my mate while she is pregnant with my daughter is not a fucking favor.”

“Riddick, if she was home she would still be at the disposal of her other mates. It doesn’t matter to them if she is with child or not. They have their expectations of her and demands from her body. Don’t think for an instant that they will wait until she has given birth before they want to bed her. And just for the record, I am one of her mates too. Today is the first time I have touched her in years and I could’ve died that moment a very happy man.”

“Fine!” Riddick paced back and forth for a moment to get himself under control. “What favor did you do for me?”

“I believe I have talked some sense into her.” He waited for the large man to stop pacing and smiled when he did. “I told her if she does not return home to the rest of you soon and stay there that I would take her myself.”

“You did?”

“She knows she isn’t acting like herself and that it is most likely the baby that is causing it but most of all she feels guilty for making you feel guilty.” He walked up to Riddick and nudged his arm. “You better get home. Don’t try to hunt her down. She doesn’t respond well to being cornered. I will make sure she returns to you.”

“Okay.” Riddick said stunned for a moment and headed to the door. “Hey Rhade.”

“Yeah.”

“Is it possible for you to try to refrain from fucking my wife?”

Rhade smiled and shook his head. “Not a chance in Tartarus. I just got that body back and I won’t waste any more time finding pleasure in it. Now get out.”

~*~