Predator

Chapter 43

As soon as the entire Royal Family and the Wielders arrived at the lake, Alex made sure they were greeted with a nice surprise. She almost felt like she had to make up for the fiasco of the planned dinner since she destroyed the dining room and ruined the family get-together.

There were blankets lying around a campfire and baskets full of food and drink everywhere. She had conjured up tiki torches that were placed randomly around the lake’s edge and the fire reflected off the shimmering surface of the water.

For most of the people present, this was the first time they had been allowed to come to this place. It was well known throughout the entire populace of the planet that no one was to invade her private sanctuary whether she was present or not. For a creature like the Phoenix, any peace she could find was well preserved and safe guarded.

Alex stood back and watched as her family spread out to take in the wonder she had created here. It was breath taking and none of them had said a single word for several minutes. “I kind of had other things on my mind earlier and I didn’t get a chance to tell you that the changes you made here are beautiful.” Riddick draped his arm across her shoulders as he looked out over the water. “Only you could take perfection and make it better.”

“Thank you.” She whispered and pointed at the others with a smile on her face. “Look at them. They haven’t said anything since we got here.”

“Alex, they are amazed by this place and aside from me, Kyra, and Ronon you never brought any of them here before. I think they are more in awe of the fact that they are seeing it for the first time than the actual beauty of the place. Let them take it in for a moment.”

He took her hand in his and led her over to one of the blankets were they both sat waiting for the others. Alex glanced up at the stars for a moment and sighed heavily. “It is so beautiful here at night. The sky is so clear you could see forever.”

“You feeling the need to go for a midnight flight?” He leaned against her shoulder and gave her a nudge.

“No.” She breathed out and looked into his eyes. “I have my home right there.” She ran her fingertips lightly around his lids. “I see home reflected back at me every time you look at me.” He was just about to lean in to kiss her when Dorian walked up and she turned to look up at him. “Hey baby, how are you doing?”

“Mom, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you, Dorian. Feel free to come here whenever you wish.”

Riddick’s brow furrowed in concern as he looked at his wife’s profile and asked. “Baby, are you sure?”

“I’m positive. I want to share this with all of you from now on.” She patted the blanket beside her as she looked up at her son. “Come on and join us, darlin’.” He took his place next to his mother and she took his hand in hers. “I want to apologize to you for all the crap you’ve had to deal with since the day you were born.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mom. It has been an adventure and a delight to be the son of the both of you. I couldn’t ask for better parents.” She hugged him close with one arm while she kept a hold of Riddick’s hand with the other. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, Baby.” She pulled back with a watery smile and wiped a couple of tears from her cheeks. “Excuse me, everyone!” Her assorted family turned to look at their loved one and was delighted to find a beaming smile on her face. “Why don’t we all sit down to eat and then we can go for a swim afterwards?”

“I thought you were supposed to wait an hour after you eat before you go swimming?”

“Ares, you are such a fucking moron.” Duncan said as he took a seat on one of the blankets. “There isn’t a single human among us except for Kyra so I think it is safe to say that none of us will have a problem with eating and swimming.”

“No need to get all bitchy about it, Highlander.” Ares said as he settled down on a blanket across from Duncan. “I was just asking a question but as usual you have to get your panties in a bunch whenever I say anything.”

“I get bitchy because for a God you say some of the most stupid things I’ve ever heard. No, actually all of the things you say are stupid.” Duncan grumbled back at him. “Oh and I don’t wear panties, you asshole.”

“Okay.” Alex said sternly but trying to suppress her laughter. “I think it is safe to say that we all go commando here and do not need to get into an argument over underwear.” She took a glass of wine that Riddick offered her and a plate of broiled fish and vegetables. “Do you think it is possible for us to enjoy our rare evening together without the two of you constantly sniping at each other?”

“Wait a second here, Baby.” Ares took a bite out of a turkey leg and waved it at her when he responded to her question with his mouth full. “I seem to recall a certain someone here trashing the dining room earlier and it wasn’t the Scotsman or me. So don’t point that gorgeous finger over here.”

“You got me there.” She picked at the food on her plate in a distracted manner with a blush of embarrassment on her face that shone in the firelight. “I was pissed so I cannot be held accountable for my actions.” She glanced up at her second mate with a smirk on her face. “I happen to have a child growing within me that amplifies my emotions to the infinite degree so I guess you better be careful not to irritate my daughter or you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of our wrath.”

“I think you made your point, Baby.” Riddick chuckled and kissed her temple. “I don’t see any reason for you to scare the shit out of the masses.”

“Whatever you say, my love.” She grinned at Ares and ran her eyes across everyone sitting around her before she returned to her meal. She ate her fish slowly while she observed her family engage in idle conversation. It was a refreshing break to see them all joke around and laugh amongst themselves while they ate and drank the refreshments she provided them.

A few moments later, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her and her fork clattered to her plate. Her hand went to her throat and her eyes widened when she was overwhelmed by the unknown ailments that assaulted her body. Her mates sensed her distress the moment she felt it and looked at her in concern.

“Baby, are you okay?” Riddick whispered in her ear and started to make a grab for her until she batted his arm away before she rose to her feet and ran into the trees surrounding the lake. “Alex?”

He shot to his feet and followed her tracks into the woods. He thought he lost her trail for a moment until he heard the sound of her retching up her insides and rushed forward another 30 feet where we found her on her hands and knees throwing up in the grass. “Alex!” He moved to her side and kneeled down next to her. “Baby, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Hold…my…hair.” She gasped out before another wave hit her and she began to dry heave since she already emptied the contents of her stomach. “I…don’t…know what’s wrong…with me. I’ve…never been…sick in my whole…life.” She focused her disturbed mind past the nausea and dizziness that plagued her and came upon a realization that she needed confirmed by the only person with knowledge in this area. “TYR!”

He heard her strangled scream call to him from the woods and ran with everything he had in him to get to his mate. She was still on all fours heaving when Tyr found her. “Alex!” He knelt on the other side of her and ran his hand over her sweaty forehead. “What is it, Baby?”

“That’s what I…want…to know.” She dragged in huge gasps of air while tears streamed down her face and tried to compose herself enough to speak. “What…the…hell…is wrong…with…me?”

“Are you nauseous?”

“Yes!”

“Are you dizzy?”

“YES!”

“Are you throwing up?”

She looked down at her dinner that her body rejected and gagged before she turned her watery eyes back to her husband. “I WOULD SAY THAT IS FUCKING OBVIOUS, WOULDN’T YOU?”

He beamed a brilliant smile and shook his head at her fear of human illness. “You have morning sickness.”

One brow furrowed and the other arched when she looked at him confused. “It is fucking night time and what the hell is morning sickness anyways?”

“It is a stage some women go through during the earlier stages of pregnancy. It is called morning sickness because usually it occurs in the morning hours but with some women it can happen during any time of the day.” He smiled at her lovingly and gently brushed a few strands of her hair from her sweaty brow. “Don’t worry, my love, it is a perfectly natural occurrence among pregnant females.”

“Not for me it isn’t!” Her body began to shake from the exertion of her violent illness and she slowly sat back on her haunches. “I don’t get sick. I’ve never been sick.” She started to ramble her words quickly in her distress and her two men smiled at their great leader humbled by a human condition. “Oh yeah, I’ve died thousands of times but I’ve NEVER been sick.”

“Alex, baby, it is going to be okay. Morning sickness only lasts through the early stages of pregnancy. In humans who bear their young for nine months, it lasts through the first 3 to 4 months. Nietzchean females give birth in a little over 7 months so it lasts for 2 to 3 months but since you are carrying a Furyan child that gestates for 4 months this should only last about a month.” She glared at him when he had the audacity to smile. Tyr looked up at Riddick, rose to his feet, and patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck, my friend. You are going to need it.”

“Not so fast my friend.” Riddick grabbed his arm when he started to walk back to the lake. “We will all be spending our allotted time with her while she is going through this so I think you better spread that luck around to the rest of you too.”

“You’re right.” Tyr sighed and thought heavily on sharing this experience with his mate. “This is definitely going to be an interesting time for all of us. It appears that her nausea has passed so I suggest you take her to the water and get her cleaned up. It will refresh her.”

“Thanks, Tyr.” He said to the retreating Nietzchean who waved his hand in response and disappeared through the foliage. He turned to his despondent wife and carefully removed her dirty clothing. When she was bare, he threw the soiled dress to the grass and lifted her gently in his arms. “Come on, baby. Let’s go take that swim and get you cooled off, okay?”

She nodded her head against his chest as he carried her through the trees and back to the lakeside. When he cleared the woods, everyone had finished eating and was either engrossed in conversation or swimming. Riddick walked past the campfire and the people sitting there quieted when they saw how fragile she looked in his arms. He waded out into the water still wearing his shorts until it was at waist level and lowered her body to float on the surface held aloft by his hands under her back and legs.

She closed her eyes as he moved her through the water and concentrated on cleansing her troubled mind. It was very disconcerting to suffer human illness and she felt uneasy and dirty. Alex focused her thoughts inward and felt the consciousness of her child. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped when her mind touched her daughter’s. “Beautiful.” She whispered before she pushed out of Riddick’s light grasp and submerged under the water.

Riddick watched her energy signature below the surface swimming and twisting around in a dance under the water. He smiled when he felt her joy rise from within and could feel the reason for her change in moods. “Hi Dawn. I see you finally decided to have a talk with your mother.” He whispered with a tear in his eye.

She broke the surface and hovered above the water with her hands on her abdomen smiling for all to see. “She is beautiful, Richard.” She allowed herself to give in to gravity and dropped into his outstretched arms. “She is absolutely beautiful.”

“She’s just like her mother.” He kissed her tenderly on her lips and he leaned his forehead against hers. “I will be with you every step of the way through this pregnancy. You won’t have to deal with the unknown alone, okay?” She nodded. “As a matter of fact, the others know they will have to help you when you are theirs for the week. So we will all help you.”

“Okay.” She smiled and spoke in a whisper. “Take me to the stone by the waterfall. I want to lay down and relax for a while.”

“Whatever you say, Princess.”

~*~

Alex and Riddick were resting peacefully under the pounding spray of the waterfall when they heard Kyra scream out. They propped themselves up on their elbows to watch Ronon lift her up on his shoulders and flip her back into the air to somersault into the water.

“They are getting close, aren’t they?” Riddick grumbled to his mate.

“Is that a problem, Richard? Do you think Ronon is unworthy of Kyra?”

“I don’t even know him, Alex.” He snapped at her and released a deep breath when she arched her eyebrow at him. “All I know about him is that you mated with his father and kept it a secret because the boy has the power to rip the Phoenix from your body.”

“I made him what he is.” She lightly took his chin in her fingers and turned his head to face her. “You cannot hold Ronon responsible for something that I gave him and you mustn’t resent him if he fulfills his destiny.”

“How could I not resent the person who kills my mate?”

“He would not be killing me. He would just be sending me home and passing my place in the universe on to its heir.”

“Wait a minute. You said if he fulfills his destiny.” He pointed at her with a smile on his face. “Are you thinking about sticking around?”

“Richard, it isn’t a question of me wanting to stay anymore. I love you. You have made my life complete and I never want to be without you.” She leaned forward and kissed him with all the passion she possessed until they separated breathless. “It is a matter of if I can stay now. Our daughter is meant to be the vessel of the Phoenix force and there is nothing I can do about that now. It is her power and it must be passed on.”

“Do I sense that you are trying to find a way to make that happen but still be able to stay?” He looked at her like a drowning child that was desperately trying to find a lifeline to grab on to for safety and ensure his survival. “Is it possible that the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix, which is capable of doing anything that she can imagine; might find a way to stay with the family that loves her?”

She looked at him with a thin smile and shook her head. “I suppose she can try.” He quickly pulled her into his arms and embraced her like a second skin. “I’m not guaranteeing anything, Richard, but for you I would change the universe.”

“Thank you, baby.” He whispered into her ear and kissed the top of her head repeatedly. “I love you so much, Alex.”

“I love you too, Richard.”

~* ~

While the two rulers of the known universe discussed their future away from the others, Brandon’s eyes were glued to Kyra’s every movement. He watched the way her body molded to Ronon’s, the way his hands glided over her soft skin, and the way both of their eyes lit up when they looked at each other as they played in the water. He felt slighted that she was paying so much attention to this newcomer after he had spent days at her bedside taking care of her every need. He glanced over to the rock ledges that the waterfall tumbled over and came up with a plan to get her attention.

Jesse was swimming just off-shore from where Brandon was standing when he followed the godling’s gaze to the young woman who had just become a permanent resident of the palace. He knew his ‘brother’ was a schemer like his father. It was in his nature as the heir of the God of War. Brandon was way too immersed in what Kyra was doing in the water with Rhade’s son and Jesse knew from experience that it couldn’t bode well for the lovely young woman.

He stood still, observing her while she played in the water nearby. She had captivating green eyes, long curly auburn hair that begged to have someone’s fingers run through it, and smooth creamy skin that made your hands itch to caress it. He had heard from his father that she was a long-time friend of Riddick’s that he considered a sister and that Kyra was a skilled warrior in her own right.

His blood fired in his veins when he scented her in the air and couldn’t help the low growl that escaped his lips when she jumped into Ronon’s arms. Brandon, turning his head up to look at the rocky cliffs that the waterfall sprang from, drew Jesse’s attention there as well. The young God looked back at the couple for a split second before he teleported to the top of the falls. ‘That son of a bitch.’

Jesse swam towards the rock-face passing his mother and Riddick on the way. “Hi Mom.” He continued on not waiting for a response and began to scale the rocks when he heard Brandon yell out from above.

“Hey Kyra!”

The couple turned in the water to face the source of the call when they spotted Brandon atop the falls. Alex and Riddick glanced up just in time to see Ares’ eldest child jump off the 75-foot cliff and make a perfect dive into the water. He swam under the surface of the water to emerge a short while later in front of Kyra and Ronon.

“What did you think?” He looked at her proudly.

“That was very impressive, Oh Mighty One.” She laughed and patted him on the shoulder not noticing how Ronon tensed beside her.

“That wasn’t shit!” They heard another yell and looked back to the falls to see Jesse stand at the precipice. “Watch this one!” He leaped into the air, did 3 aerial spins and one full flip before he hit the water in another near splash-less dive. He surfaced and swam over to the others smiling ear-to-ear. “Now that was a dive.”

Kyra was clapping when Jesse got there and shaking her head in amazement. “That was fucking beautiful. Are all of you guys this athletic?”

“I know I work out and train constantly with my father.” Jesse answered with a smile. “It is part of the Nietzchean standard to perfect the mind and body.”

“I can vouch for that.” Ronon added with a terse tone. “In my Pride, my father not only makes me work out with him but I have to spar with other Pride members everyday. As the son of the Alpha, I am held at a higher standard and cannot allow myself to be defeated.” Ronon smiled when he noticed the anger cross Jesse’s face. He knew there were no other Kodiak and his mother had destroyed the Nietzchean Empire so Jesse had no one but his father to work out with. “The trials can be very dangerous at times…for the others.”

“We’ll have to spar sometime, Ronon.” Kyra’s eyes sparkled when she talked to him and the other two males could sense her attention swiftly leaving them. “I would love to compare moves with you.”

He smiled devilishly and took her hand. “Anytime you desire, my Lady.” He brushed a kiss across her knuckles and all the while maintained eye contact with her.

“Maybe we can spar sometime, Ronon.” Jesse spoke up and broke the spell they had cast around themselves. “You can show me how well conditioned the Majoram Pride is and I’ll show you what it is to be Kodiak.”

“Anytime.” His eyes narrowed on Jesse and they glared at each other before he turned his attention back to the woman whose hand he still held. “If you two will excuse us, we are going for a snack and maybe the waterfall afterwards.”

~*~

“Oh shit.” Alex mumbled as she watched Ronon escort Kyra to shore while Brandon and Jesse glared a hole in his back.

“What is it?” Riddick asked as he sat up and looked in the direction Alex was staring.

“I do believe both of my Nietzchean sons are displaying for Kyra and it appears that Brandon is interested in her as well.”

“What the hell is displaying?”

“When a Nietzchean male is interested in a female he displays his more favorable attributes to the female in the hope that she will choose him.” Riddick looked at her confused and Alex sighed while she rubbed her eyes. “The male will exhibit his physical attributes, his mental skills, and strength and prowess in battle to prove himself worthy as a husband and father to the female. If there is more than one male displaying for her it could become…messy. Whichever male she chooses will mate with her and that is forever just like marrying me.”

“That’s fucking great.” Riddick shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “So we have 2 horny Nietzchean males strutting around here, that aren’t Tyr and Rhade, displaying for Kyra and the heir of the God of War vying for her attention as well. I need to talk to her and put a stop to this.”

“Don’t you dare!” She admonished him. “She is old enough to decide if this is something she wants and I think she’ll finally find some lasting happiness. I think this is adorable but I do need to make sure Tyr and Telemachus sit the boys down and tell them not to go too far. I don’t want my kids killing each other.”

“It could come to that?”

“If they are interested enough in the female, yes it could definitely go that far.”

“Who do you think is going to win?”

She smiled back at him and batted her eyelashes. “Oh I know Ronon is going to win her and there is no doubt in my mind.”

“Well I want to have a talk with him then.” He said with a stubborn tone in his voice.

“Why is that?”

“She is my little sister and my responsibility.” He crossed his muscled arms over his well-sculpted chest and sulked. “I want to know what his intentions are and to make myself real clear what will happen if he hurts her.” She started to open her mouth to object but he pulled her into a deep kiss to stifle the protest on her lips. “I won’t change my mind about this so don’t even try. Now let’s go to bed. I’ll talk with Ronon tomorrow when I hand you over to his father for a week.”

“Whatever you say, my love.” She returned his kiss and teleported them to their bedroom while they were still lip-locked.