Predator

Chapter 39

“How are you doing today, Kyra?” Alex asked as she and Ronon materialized in her room.

“Holy shit!” The young woman startled in her bed. “You scared the hell out of me! Could you at least ring the bell or knock on the ceiling before you just pop in here?”

“Sorry about that, Kyra.” Alexandra covered her smile and tried to suppress her laughter. “I forgot that you are not use to my method of travel yet. I will endeavor to give you sufficient forewarning before I teleport into your room next time.”

“How would you do that?” She furrowed her brow in curiosity. “Are you really going to knock on the ceiling?”

“Not quite.” Alex smiled and walked closer to the bed. ‘I would probably inform you of my imminent arrival like this.’

“How did you do that? You spoke in my head.”

“Anything I can imagine, remember?” She glanced at her son seated beside the bed that kept his vigil over the young woman at his mother’s command for the past 4 days and never left her side. “Brandon, how is your young charge feeling?”

“Her strength returned enough the day after you left and we managed to tour the palace and the gardens. I had the servants supply her with a new wardrobe and any amenities that she wished for.” He bowed his head in reverence to his mother and laid his hand on Kyra’s forearm. “I have seen to her needs just as you instructed, Mother, but I have to say she is a handful.”

“You’re no saint yourself.” Kyra smiled up at Brandon and laughed when he tried to appear menacing. “Oh please, spare me the ‘I am a God’ thing. It is really starting to wear thin.”

Alex laughed hysterically and pointed at her outraged son. “She has you down pat, Brandon. I do believe you have been put in your place, Son.”

“No one puts me in my place, Mother.” She arched her eyebrow at her son and he quickly amended his words. “Well you and Father tell me what to do but no human can command a God.”

“Brandon, Kyra is correct. You are showing your ass, Son, and you know it.” His mouth dropped open and his cheeks blushed furiously as Kyra stifled her giggle when she saw the look on his face. “Your temper has been getting the best of you for weeks now and I think you need to reflect on why that is.” She sat beside the young woman and glanced up at her son. “I will take care of Kyra this afternoon so you can get some rest or have some free time to yourself. Please return here by nightfall to resume your watch over her.”

“Yes, Mother.” He bowed his head and moved his hand down to squeeze Kyra’s. “I will see you later, Hellcat.”

“Whatever you say, oh Mighty God of War.” She laughed at his smirk and he vanished from the room. “Riddick told me he was leaving to go see you. Did you meet up at Achilles?”

“No.” Alex fidgeted as she told a half-truth. “I guess we missed each other.”

“Uh huh.” Kyra looked at her skeptically. “You are hiding from him, aren’t you?”

“Not exactly.”

“Please. I know Riddick can be overbearing and intimidating sometimes but I’ve never seen him like this before.” She grabbed Alex’s hand in her own and the woman looked up to see concern reflected back at her in green eyes. “He misses you and it is killing him to be apart from you.”

“Me too.” Alex forced the whisper through a throat constricted with emotion. “Would you like to take a walk with Ronon and I? There is a very special place on the palace grounds that I would like to show you both.”

“I’m up for it.” Kyra pushed the blankets off her body and rose off the bed. “Just give me a minute to change and we can head out.” She yelled over her shoulder as she ran into the bathing room.

“She is an…impressive young woman, Mother.”

“You think so, Ronon?” She smiled up at her son who stood staring at the door that Kyra had just vanished through. “I’ll have you know that young woman has survived more than you could possibly imagine and she is stronger for it. Although I fear that she was deprived the simple things in life like happiness and a childhood because of the universe's cruelties on mortals and it hardened her into the woman we see today. I hope that we can allow her to experience some of those things here and regain some measure of what her life would have been like if she hadn’t faced so many hardships in the past.”

“I think if anyone can give that back to her it is you, Mother, and perhaps Riddick as well. She looks up to him like a sibling would and he has a great influence over her.” He looked back at Alex and his hazel eyes pierced her soul. “Of course the only thing on Riddick’s mind at this time is you so I guess Kyra will have to rely solely on you for direction until he unburdens his mind and heart.”

“You are your father’s son. There is no doubt about that in my mind.” She rose to her feet and walked up to take his large hands in hers. “I know what you are doing and it is working but you and Rhade are going to have to allow me the time to come to terms with all of it. These men are my life. All of you are my life but I made a mistake that cost me the trust of my loved ones and they in turn reacted in a way that cost them my trust. Right now your father and you are the only people I can relax my guard around. I’m okay with that.”

“No you’re not.” He lifted her quivering chin and gazed into the black depths of her eyes. “You are in agony without your mates and you won’t be complete until you have returned to their arms. I will stand by you until you are ready to make that step but if I see you descend further into despair and run yourself into the ground like you did yesterday I will carry you kicking and screaming back to them. I won’t allow you to injure yourself or endanger your child again. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Ronon.” She buried her face in his chest and cried as he enveloped her in his arms. “I love you, Ronon. I’m so sorry for not being there when you grew up. It pained me everyday to know I had a child out there that had never seen my true face and I never had a chance to take part in raising you.”

“You did raise me, Mother, through my Father. There wasn’t a single day that went by that he did not instruct me on your battle techniques or tell me of one of your adventures. I knew exactly who you were even though you weren’t present. You have nothing to apologize for and I love you as well.”

“Did I miss something?” Kyra re-entered the bedroom to find a teary Alex being comforted by her son and felt like she was intruding on a private moment. “I can leave if you wish.”

“Its okay, Kyra.” Alex extracted herself from Ronon’s embrace and turned to the girl wiping stray tears from her face. “We were just having a bonding moment. Why don’t we head out before anyone catches wind that I’m here? Brandon won’t tell anyone but there are others that can sense my presence and I’d rather we had the afternoon to ourselves.”

“Whatever you say, Alex. If you want to keep up the cloak and dagger routine with your husbands that is your decision and I’d rather we didn’t have a scene like the other night again. I thought you were going to kick their asses.”

“In a way I wanted to but their asses are just too fine to kick sometimes. Besides I knew I wasn’t acting right but I just couldn’t figure out why until Riddick told me.” Alex shook off that train of thought and smiled at the two young people by her sides. “Let’s get on with our little outing and we’ll worry about this heavy shit later.” She took each of their hands and teleported away just as Ian burst into the room.

He glanced around the suites only to find it empty. He could have sworn he sensed his mate. He thought his wish for it to be true was playing games with his mind until he scented the air and drew in her own unique fragrance. ‘She is here! I knew it. Now where has she gotten off to?’ He reached out further with his mind and found a blank spot in the surrounding area that he was probing. ‘She’s at the lake.’ He was about to teleport there when he suddenly stopped himself with a thought. ‘She will utterly kick my ass if I invade her lake. She’d do it if she wasn’t mad at me and now that she’s pissed…I’ll wait here until she brings the girl back.’

~*~

When they arrived at their destination, Alex heard both Ronon and Kyra gasp in surprise. She had made some changes to her private retreat over the years as her mood changed and this particular time she had turned it into a paradise of unrivaled beauty. There were orchids and lilies growing around the lake and some rose from the water itself. She had erected a waterfall on the right side of the lake that cascaded over some rocks that looked like it would provide a wonderful massage to tired muscles. A ‘natural’ hot spring fed a small pool on the left that acted as a hot tub of sorts. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever created next to her children.

“Well what do you think?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Kyra said in a hushed tone filled with awe. “Why didn’t Brandon bring me here when he was showing me around?”

“It isn’t allowed.” Ronon answered as he drew in a sense of peace from the surroundings. “This place is strictly for Alexandra’s use. I guess you could say it is her escape from her duties as Majestrix, Protector of Life, and Wife and Mother. This is her sanctuary.” He noticed his Mother looking at him in wonder from the corner of his eye. “Dad told me.”

“I see.” She returned her son’s grin and looked back out at the water. “I guess there are no secrets in the House of Rhade.”

“Well aside from the big one that my mother wasn’t really my mother, no there wasn’t a thing that Father didn’t tell me.” He felt Alex tense beside him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t do it. It isn’t worth getting upset over anymore. We need to focus on our time together from here on. Okay?”

“Okay.” She stepped away from him and pulled her short dress over her head. “I don’t know about the two of you but I am going for a swim. I have not been able to do this in weeks and I miss it.” She dropped her garment to the sandy beach and ran out into the water. Within moments of swimming out to the center, she dove beneath the water and disappeared from sight.

Ronon and Kyra were left with their mouths hanging open back on the shore. “It looks like your Mom is pretty comfortable in the buff.”

“Uh yeah, I guess she is. I mean her and my father didn’t even wait for me to leave their quarters before he began to rip her clothes off of her body to mate her.”

“She definitely has the body for walking around nude. I mean I wouldn’t be uncomfortable if I looked like that.” Kyra bit her lip and glanced at Ronon. “Do we have to be naked to swim in her lake? Is it a rule or something? Will she get offended if we wear clothes in there?”

“You do realize that we are both rambling about the natural beauty of the human body?” He turned and smiled down at her. “I personally don’t think you have any cause to be uncomfortable in the nude. You are quite beautiful too.”

“Thank you.” She blushed furiously and lowered her head in embarrassment. “And just so we’re clear I don’t think there is a woman alive human or otherwise that can compare to your mother.”

Ronon reached out his hand and lifted Kyra’s chin to look into her emerald eyes. “I am not one of my mother’s mates. I do not expect you to compare yourself to her because there isn’t any other like her.” His brown-flecked green eyes bore into hers and his charming smile slid into place. “I expect you to be yourself. Whether that person is the young girl who was traumatized by her past to become the hardened woman before me or the one you could be by overcoming that past and allowing the safety and beauty of this world to heal your troubled soul. You will still be strong but you will also be complete.”

“Is that the mission Alex has assigned you, Ronon? Are you supposed to make me a perfect young lady that will be accepted by the upper echelon that the Royal Family rubs elbows with?”

“Kyra, I don’t even know this upper echelon that you speak of. I just found my Mother after being separated from her for years.” He grasped her shoulders and ducked down to look straight into her eyes. “I will tell you this though. I know for a fact that Alex has never expected any of us to change who we are just to satisfy the expectations of others. She doesn’t want to change you but she would like you to believe that you have your place in life and it is here among us if you so choose.”

“You call your mother Alex?” She grinned.

“I just started.” He smirked. “So do you feel up for a swim?” He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to join his mother’s dress on the ground. As he untied the fastenings of his pants, Kyra’s eyes ran over the expanse of his glorious tanned chest. She quickly averted her gaze when he pushed his leathers down his legs and stepped free of them. “Well, are you coming?”

“Okay. Just go into the water and keep your back turned. Give a girl some privacy, will ya?” He put his hands up in surrender and waded out into the water. When he was at waist level, he dove under to feel the cool water on his skin and emerged in chest high water where he stood facing the opposite shore. Kyra looked at him skeptically before she stripped off her shirt and shorts. She ran out into the water and dove beneath the surface. As she neared him under the water, she got a fantastic view of his impressive backside before she surfaced behind him. “Ronon, I can’t stand on the bottom here.”

“Hold on to my shoulders.” He turned around and grabbed her arms to pull her closer to him so she wouldn’t have to tread water to stay aloft. Her wet hands slipped from his damp shoulders and she began to slide under the water until he wrapped his arms around her waist and back to pull her flush against him. “Are you okay?”

“Uh yeah.” She averted her eyes when her breasts brushed against his chest and her nipples tightened from the feeling. Her head swam in a sea of sensation between the sensitive tips of her nipples rubbing against his chest hair and the barest touch of his hardening shaft against her mound. She shook her head to clear the fog of lust and her eyes focused on his smug smile for a moment before she looked around for their fellow swimmer. “Where is Alex?”

Ronon turned a full circle in the water with Kyra held securely in his arms. “I don’t know.” His eyes moved swiftly over the expanse of the lake and the surrounding beach but could not spot his mother anywhere. “I don’t remember seeing her surface since she dove under the surface.”

“Alex!” Kyra yelled out in concern for her new friend. “Where is she?” This woman had brought her back from the dead, reversed the brainwashing that the Necromongers had submitted her to, and gave her a new life devoid of the pain and desolation she had grown accustomed to. She couldn’t bear to lose her now. She dug down into the core of her being and mentally screamed at the top of her lungs. ‘ALEX!’

“Well don’t you two look cozy?” They spun around to find that Alex broke the surface directly behind them. Her long hair was floating all around her and the water ran down her glistening tanned skin. “You didn’t think I drowned did you? I have the lung capacity of any and all creatures of the sea. It is almost as natural of an environment to me as walking on land or breathing in the vacuum of space.”

“I was not aware of that, Alex.” Ronon gave her a hard glare that made her feel like she was the child and he the adult. “Father did tell me that you can survive the vacuum of space but he never mentioned your obvious talent of adapting to an aquatic habitat.”

“Well, listen to that snide tone. You appear to have adapted the ability to channel your father.” She smirked at his scowl and swam circles around the couple. “It wasn’t my intention to frighten either one of you. I apologize for doing so but I love to explore the bottom of the lake.”

“Well you scared the shit out of me and an apology just doesn’t cut it sometimes!” Alex’s eyes went wide at Kyra’s outburst and she looked closely at the girl as she teetered somewhere between anger and bursting into tears. “I am new to everything about you and I don’t know what to expect from one minute to the next so if you could spare me the consideration of telling me what the fuck you’re up to I would appreciate it.”

“I’m sorry, Kyra. I didn’t realize that my actions scared you. I am use to everyone around me knowing the extent of my abilities.” She put her hand on the girl’s head and sent her a wave of comfort. “When we are done with our swim I think it might be prudent for the both of you to visit the Phoenix archives.”

“What are the Phoenix archives?”

“It is a temple that houses the somewhat complete history of her past and explains her power.” Kyra looked at Ronon as he answered her question while holding his mother’s gaze with a smile on his face. “The Phoenix archives chronicle my mother’s interactions with mortals and tells the tale of how she met and bonded with her husbands. I’ve been anxious to read it since I learned of its existence.”

“I guess your wait is over, Ronon. I’m going to sun on the rocks by the waterfall. Would you like to join me, Kyra?”

“Uh sure.” She glanced back into Ronon’s glittering eyes and asked. “What is he going to be doing while we are lying naked in the sun?”

“Ronon has superior lung capacity that comes from being a Nietzchean.” She grabbed Kyra’s hand and gently pulled her free of Ronon’s grasp. “He can go explore the bottom of the lake as well and see why I love it so much. Right, honey?”

“As you wish, Alexandra.” He slid his gaze back to Kyra and smiled coolly. “I’ll see you soon, ladies.” He swam off in the opposite direction and dove beneath the surface while the women headed towards the waterfall.

Alex grabbed the edge of a large flat stone and effortlessly pulled herself up with her arm strength until she could slip a knee on the rock. She climbed out of the water and turned to offer a hand to Kyra. “Are you sure Ronon can’t see us over here?”

“You don’t strike me as the shy type, Kyra.” She raised her eyebrow in amusement and the girl frowned in response.

“I’m not shy. I’m just not use to running around naked for the world to see.”

“Well that little insecurity of yours will swiftly disappear the longer you live here. I hardly wear clothing at all and on occasion you will see my mates letting it all hang out so to speak.” She offered her hand again and this time Kyra accepted it. Alex pulled her out of the water like she weighed nothing and settled her on the stone beside her. “Is it being naked in general or are you concerned about being nude in Ronon’s presence?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well I just picked up the feeling of a little attraction going on earlier…on both your parts.” Alex situated herself on the stone and stretched out on her back letting the sun’s rays bathe her body. The waterfall behind them cast a cool mist in the air that washed over their skin to keep them from getting too hot. “I thought maybe you might be interested in him but did not want to expose too much of yourself just yet.”

“I have to admit all of your sons are a wet dream come true but I have found myself drawn to Ronon since the moment I opened my eyes after you healed me and saw his eyes and smile.” Kyra laid down beside Alex to worship the sun and got caught up in her feelings for Ronon. “He was a way of looking at you that makes you feel warm inside. I really can’t explain it more than that.”

“You don’t have to.” Alex smiled as she lifted her arms over her head and arched her back in a lazy stretch. “I feel that way every time his father looks at me. Attraction is a difficult thing to explain and it is hard to even analyze it. That is why I stopped trying a long time ago.”

“What about Riddick? How did you meet him?”

“I actually met him here.” Alex smiled as she recalled the memory. “He was stalking me.”

“Why was he stalking you?”

“Oh he was contracted to kill me and he thought this would be a good place to ambush me.”

“What?” Kyra leaned up on her elbow and looked down at Alex’s calm face. “You ended up marrying a man who was hired to ghost you?”

“Kyra, have you seen Riddick? He is the hottest thing on two legs. I couldn’t resist his animal magnetism.”

“Did he even make an attempt to kill you?”

“He didn’t get the chance before we were attacked by some enemies of mine. I am a Phoenix, Kyra. I rise from the ashes after death to live again. I have died more times than you can imagine but I don’t stay dead. I was tired of living, Kyra, and I wanted it all to end.” She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at the girl who had her full attention. “I gave him the chance to fulfill his contract if he could figure out a way to do it so that I wouldn’t come back. As an added incentive to discover my weakness, I gave him full access to me sexually and I don’t need to tell you that he took full advantage of that. I don’t really know what changed in him but after we had sex he began to act strangely possessive over me.”

“He fell for you.” Kyra practically glowed when she smiled at Alex. “When I first met Riddick he was as primal as you can get. His life as a hunted con for crimes he originally did not commit drove him to become the killer he is today. He was in the service and his team followed orders to eradicate some civilians as a training mission. Riddick didn’t agree to the slaughter of innocents and killed his team while he tried to save the people. The company pinned all the murders on him and that started his run of being the most notorious killer of the universe.”

“I never delved that far into his memory to find that out.” A look of sympathy crossed her face and she suddenly began to feel guilty for not learning all she could about her mate. “You met him on T2.”

“He saved my life twice. Aside from anger the only emotion I’ve ever seen Riddick express was a small amount of guarded sadness after Carolyn died when she went back for him. He isn’t big on the soft stuff.” She glanced into Alex’s black tear-filled eyes and smiled. “That is until he met you. I have never seen Riddick this happy before. He came to see me yesterday and even though he was absolutely miserable he lit up when he talked about you, Dorian, and the baby. You gave him his life back too, ya know? I think he is more lost now without you then he ever was when he was in a slam or on the run from mercs.”

“I feel the same way.” Alex sobbed quietly and Kyra took her into her arms. “I really fucked things up, didn’t I?”

“No. You are just out of sorts because you are carrying a very unique baby inside your body for the first time ever.” Kyra pulled back slightly and rubbed her knuckles on top of Alexandra’s scalp. “That little one is just fucking with your head and hormones. You’ll get it under control and then you will make everything right with them again.”

“You are entirely too smart for a woman your age.”

“So I’ve been told.” They laughed and released the emotions that were pent up within them until they eventually calmed with a smile on their faces. “So are you okay?”

“No but I will be.” She smiled at Kyra and they both laid back down to sun on the rock. “Thank you, Kyra.”

“I am the one who owes you my life, Alex. The least I can do is give you a little insight into our guy and…you are welcome.”

The women drifted off into a light peaceful slumber in the sun with the cool mist washing over their skin. An hour later, Ronon swam up to the rock beneath the water and quietly broke the surface. He held on to the edge of the rock and gazed lovingly at the two beauties before him. His eyes widened in surprise when his mother’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

“You have to be a lot more quiet than that to sneak up on me, Ronon.” Kyra sat up and shrieked as she crossed her arms over her breasts. “Young lady, will you please try to relax and stop that screaming. Nudity is perfectly natural and you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Ronon took hold of Kyra’s wrists and smiled seductively. “I told you that you are beautiful and shouldn’t hide that fact from the world.” He held her gaze as he gently pulled her arms from her chest and held her hands on the stone. Kyra looked at Ronon as if mesmerized while he ran his eyes down her body. “Absolutely beautiful.”

Alex watched the magic form between her son and her new charge while she thought back to the memory of hearing those same words come from Riddick’s mouth when he looked at her that way. “Why don’t the two of you get a room or go for a swim because I’m getting overworked with all the chemistry floating around here.”

Ronon slid Kyra off the stone and into his waiting arms while Alex laid back down in the sun. She heard them laugh and swim off into the distance as she started to drift off once again. Her senses picked up someone near her on the stone and she kept her eyes closed as she chastised her son. “Ronon, I told you that you’d have to do better than that to sneak up on me.” The person standing above her moved down to straddle her waist and her eyes snapped open to find Riddick pinning her to the stone with his body.

“Hey beautiful.” He stared into her wide eyes and held her arms down beside her head. “I think it’s about time we talked.”

~*~