Predator

Chapter 51

‘The nerve of that man! I cannot believe he had the audacity to bring her to me like this!’ Ian grumbled to himself as he carried his sleeping mate into the bathing room. He mentally removed his clothing before he started down the stairs into the water. ‘The beast within him would come out in a full blown rage if any of us brought her to him reeking of sex.’

Alex snuggled into his chest as he submerged them into the warm scented water. Her hands snaked around his neck and she sighed, as his warmth combined with the water’s to soothe her sore body. “Mmm.” She nuzzled her face into his bearded cheek and squirmed in his lap.

Ian suppressed a groan when her ass wiggled around against his growing erection. He grabbed a sponge and gently washed her back while she was burrowed into his chest. His eyes clenched at the sensual caress her breasts brushed across his flesh. Her nipples had turned to hard tips as she drug them across his chest hair. He could detect her arousal through Riddick’s over-powering scent and his desire flooded through his veins.

“My love…” He turned his head and finally released his held groan into her hair. “Please wake up.” He whispered with some difficulty.

“Mmm.” She turned and kissed him lightly on his parted lips. “Ian, my love, I have missed you so very badly.”

“I missed you too, my lady.” When he stilled her exploring hands, her eyes opened and gazed longingly into his. “Alex, please…I want you so much my entire body aches for you but…”

“What is it, baby?”

“Your loving mate and father of your unborn decided to ravage your body and deliver you here smelling like he marinated you in his scent!” His outburst made her reel from his jealousy and he had to steady her on his lap before she slipped off. “I’m sorry, beloved. I didn’t mean to yell or project.”

“Its okay, Ian. I didn’t realize Richard could be so wicked and inconsiderate of your feelings.” She stroked the side of his face gently as she eased off of his lap. “I will bathe immediately.” She said nervously in the face of his anger.

“Wait!” He grabbed her arms and stood pulling her flush to his body. Her eyes widened at the intensity in his amber eyes as they ran over every feature of her face. She knew how driving Ian’s need could be and she averted her eyes in submission. “I will wash your flesh myself. I need to touch you.”

“As you wish, my Lord.”

He sat back down on the stairs and drew her down across his legs. As she floated on top of the water supported by his knees, he ran the sponge across her breasts and watched her eyes flicker with energy. He moved down to the slight swell in her belly and lovingly ran the soft material across the home of her daughter. “You are so beautiful, Alexandra. I know this little one will be a reflection of you.”

“Thank you, Ian, but I hope she has some of her father in her as well.” She sighed from the sweet caress on her skin until his attention quickly moved south. Her eyes rolled back into her lids when the he gently traced the sponge between her folds. “By the Gods, Ian you can be as wicked as Richard when you want to be.”

“I can be, my love.” His warm laugh washed over her like the scented water. “And I want to be now.” He growled sensuously next to her ear and sent a shiver through her body. He threw the sponge aside and swept her up in his arms. “I think we are done here.” She was pliant and appeared boneless in his grasp as he carried her to their bed.

He knelt on the edge and carefully deposited her in the center. He sat beside her and ran his eyes the length of her nude form. Her eyes were closed from his seduction and did not register the look of determination and resignation that crossed his features when his gaze settled on her slightly rounded stomach.

She immediately felt the tumultuous emotions that coursed through him and her eyes snapped open. “Ian, what is it?” She asked in concern. He did not respond and appeared to be in a daze as he stared at the swell of her flesh that housed her daughter. She sat up and cupped his cheek in her palm as she spoke a little more firmly. “Ian!” His eyes cleared and met hers. “What is it, baby?”

“Its nothing, my love.” He quickly erected his mental shields to prevent her from prying and to stop his projecting. He shook his head and flashed her the same boyish grin that always made her heart melt. “I’m fine. I am just overwhelmed by your motherly glow.”

“Motherly glow?” She arched an eyebrow in question.

“I remember during our time on Earth, I once heard someone tell a young mother that she glowed with motherly beauty and an inner light.” He dug his fingers into her hair at her temples and gazed into her flickering eyes. “You are absolutely radiant.” He kissed her parted lips as he settled over her.

“Will I still be pleasing to your eyes when this child continues to grow within me?” She asked him with a hitched voice. He pulled back and looked at her, slightly stunned by the question. “You won’t find me repulsive when my body is swollen with this child?”

“Alexandra, that is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.” He gently wiped the tears that had strayed down her cheeks and smiled at her saddened expression. “You are the most beautiful woman in existence and nothing will ever change that. In fact, I think you will be absolutely adorable waddling around here towards the end of your pregnancy and yet still retain the power to move mountains.” He laughed and held off her hands as she swatted at him. “You will always be beautiful to me and I will always want you.”

Her eyes lit up just before he smothered her in a kiss. He pulled back and stared into her desire-filled eyes. “Alexandra, I need to tell you something and I don’t want you to get upset.” Concern instantly crossed her features and she began to open her mouth until he placed a finger over her lips. “Let me finish. I have noticed since you arrived here that your child is growing faster than we originally thought.”

“What are you talking about? Furyan children gestate for 4 months.” She began to get agitated and he held her arms down at her sides. “I was told it would be 4 months!”

“That is true of Furyan children, my Lady, but then you are not Furyan, are you?” Her brow creased and her mouth fell open in silent shock. “Riddick is indeed one hundred percent Furyan but you are still and always be a cosmic being. I think by the end of our week, you will be halfway through the gestation period.”

“But th-that m-means…” She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “She’ll be born in about three weeks.”

“That sounds about right, my love.” Her body began to shudder beneath him and tears flowed freely from her eyes. “Alexandra, why does this upset you? I thought the end of the morning sickness and human maladies would please you.”

“Ian…” She sobbed as he lay down beside her and pulled her into his body. “Does this mean she will age faster too?”

“It stands to reason that she will.”

“No.” She shook her head back and forth against his chest and began to cry hysterically. “I was supposed to have more time. It isn’t fair to Richard or Dawn.”

“You’re talking about the prophecy.” He did not need a reply. He just held her close with his hand cupping the back of her neck and the other rubbing her upper back. “Alexandra, calm down. I promise you everything will be alright.”

“How can you promise that?” She rose up slightly and stared into his eyes with complete despair in hers. “My time has been cut short with my family. I won’t get to watch my daughter grow up like I thought I would. She will reach adulthood within months and I won’t be able to prepare her for her future!”

“You will have your time with your family and be able to watch your daughter grow.” He took her face gently between his palms and kissed her tenderly on her quivering lips. “You will have plenty of time to prepare your child for her future.” His eyes stared deep into her black eyes and she could feel the reassurance of his words. “I promise you this. Do you believe me?”

“I believe you.” She whispered as he bent down and kissed her again. “I leave myself in your capable hands, my love. Please make this pain go away.” She implored him with a desperate need to be taken care of and to have the hurt erased from her heart by her first love.

Ian knew what his wife needed now and he knew what he had to do later. For the time being, he would give her the comfort and love she required. He steeled himself against her tears and kissed his way down her body. When he reached her breasts, he eagerly devoured one and suckled her nipple until she was writhing. She clutched his head to her when he moved his mouth to assault her neglected nipple and moaned loudly.

All he could hear was her heart pounding in her chest. All he could see was her skin glistening in the moonlight. All he could smell was her arousal. All he could feel was his love and devotion to his lifetime companion. All he wanted was her and all he wished for was her happiness.

He parted her legs with his knee and felt her wrap them around his waist. She opened herself for his penetration and he drove his straining length into her waiting pussy. His eyes met hers. His eyes crackled with his white energy and hers with her red as he drove relentlessly into her body. Their like power emerged and combined like the longtime lovers that they were as their bodies coupled in a frantic mating.

Tears of joy rolled down Ian’s face as he lost himself in her with wild abandon. Her body was the sanctuary he sought to calm his troubled soul. He could live through her forever. Ian was brought back to himself when Alex’s cries of ecstasy reached his ears. He felt her pussy convulse around his cock and they both screamed out their release together.

He rolled them over and settled her on his chest while they both tried to calm their breathing. “I love you, Alexandra, and I always will.”

“I love you too, Ian.” She gasped into his chest.

“I just want you to always remember that you are the love of my life.” The doors burst open to his suites and Alex turned to see who it was. Ian stared at her profile and thought sadly. ‘No matter what happens I will always be with you.’

“I have heard a horrible rumor that you have begun to lose your temper and attack your children.”

“Oh it is no rumor but it is a little off base. I did not attack my children. I taught some of them a hard earned lesson that was long overdue.” She snuggled up next to Ian and heard a growl from across the room when she rubbed her breasts sensuously against his side. “The only difference is I do not see Ares, Telemachus, or Richard in here whining about it like you are, Tyr.”

“You treated our son unfairly!” He said in a booming voice that made her arch her eyebrow in amusement. “He is a Nietzchean displaying for a female. He has every right to challenge Rhade’s son to prove he is the superior male.”

“That is all true and correct if he was displaying for Kyra but we both know he isn’t.” Alex rose from the bed and moved to walk circles around Tyr. He drew in her scent and growled deep in his chest. “You pushed our boy into this to prove your Pride is superior to Majoram.”

“I did no such…”

“Be silent!” She rushed to stand directly before him and glared up into his eyes. “Jesse has no interest in Kyra so don’t even suggest this is about him. This is about me!” Her eyes lost some of their fire and she ran her hands over his exposed pecs. “You and Telemachus are already my mates. There is no need to display for me because I already belong to the both of you. I will not have this war in my home amongst my men. Are we clear?”

He nodded his head as he looked in her glazed eyes. Her arousal was evident to his senses and she had all the mannerisms of a cat in heat. He knew pregnant females were prone to heightened sex drives. Her hands continued to explore his heated flesh and his desire for her broke violently to the surface. One of his hands grabbed her hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her head to the side. His other hand went to her back and held her to him as he bit the exposed flesh of shoulder.

“Tyr, you need to let go of her now.” Ian said as he placed a hand on the Nietzchean’s arm. Tyr growled at the intrusion until he was wrenched away from his horny mate. He glared at Ian, who had his arms draped over Alex’s hips and his hands placed gently on her abdomen. “She isn’t herself right now. This is my week with her and you need to leave.”

Tyr forced himself to calm his breathing and had some difficulty as he watched Alex rub her ass against Ian’s groin. “Why is she acting like an alley cat?”

“You know perfectly well that some women experience high sex drives when they are pregnant.”

“Not like that.” Tyr pointed at Alex, who stretched her arms over her head and held on to Ian’s shoulders. She writhed up and down his body drawing a loud groan from both men present. “What the hell is wrong with her?”

“Alexandra’s sex drive was extremely high before and this pregnancy is messing with her hormones more than we thought it would.” He grabbed her hips and stilled her from rubbing his erection with her bottom. “She is definitely feeling everything to an infinite degree.”

Tyr’s eyes narrowed on her abdomen and his eyes snapped to Ian’s. “She is further along than she should be.” He focused on her stomach and did the math in his head. “At this rate, she will give birth in…”

“I know…she will give birth in roughly three weeks.” Ian snapped in agitation as he tried to control Alex’s writhing body.

“Does Riddick know about this?”

“NO!” Ian yelled at the Nietzchean. “It is not our place to tell him either, Tyr. Let it be and leave. I am having a hard enough time controlling her now.” He spun Alex around and placed his hand on her forehead. “Go to sleep, my love.” Alex crumbled in Ian’s arms and he swept her up. “This will not keep her out for long and I need to get her to bed. Please go. I don’t need your Nietzchean pheromones getting her more riled up than she already is.”

“I will go but I think you need to make sure she tells Riddick as soon as possible.” Tyr watched Ian lay their mate in his bed and cover her up with a blanket. “Ian?”

“I’ll make sure, Tyr. Now please go.”

“As you wish.”

Ian watched the Nietzchean leave his chambers and looked back at his wife. She was covered in his scent and sleeping comfortably. He pulled back the cover and lay beside her pulling her into his body. She curled into his chest and he protectively wrapped his arms around the woman he loved for all eternity. For now, he couldn’t be happier.

~*~

Ronon was nursing his wounds from the sparring session with his mother in his chambers. He heard his door open and looked up when he sensed Kyra moving towards him. “That doesn’t look comfortable.” She said with a smile as she glanced at the bruises and red marks on his upper body.

“You could try not to be so glib about it.” He said as he rubbed some salve into his side. “I think you enjoyed Alex’s show of strength a little too much.”

“I do like a good show.” She flopped down on the bed next to him and took the jar from his hand. “Lie down and I’ll take care of it for you.” He was fresh from a bath and had a towel draped around his narrow waist. Kyra swallowed a deep breath as she watched him lie face down across the bed. She straddled his waist and settled down on his behind as she surveyed the expanse of beautiful golden skin of his back. “You have some nasty bruises here.”

“They will fade by tomorrow.” He whispered as she traced her fingers over the slight imperfections on his flesh. “My nanobots will take care of them.”

“She could have done worse, you know?” Her tone was mocking and he could hear the smile on her face. Kyra gathered some salve on her hand and set the jar aside. She rubbed her hands together to warm the ointment before she slid them over his skin. “Do you think that just because she is a supreme being that her feelings can’t be hurt?”

“No. I am just a selfish child that was so absorbed in his own insecurities that I callously dismissed hers.” He moaned at the exquisite feeling of her hands kneading his sore muscles and began to melt under her skillful ministrations. “I know I deserved worse treatment from her for my indiscretions and she went easy on me. We both have seen in the archives how Alex can be when she is angered.”

“She definitely has a flair for the dramatic when she is teaching people lessons.” Kyra leaned forward to work the tension from his shoulders and felt him shudder beneath her when her hair brushed across his skin. She smiled from the effect she was having on him and whispered seductively in his ear. “You were absolutely amazing to watch. The way you manifested your power into the swords was impressive to behold.”

“I’m a fast learner.” He groaned as he felt his body’s reaction to her nearness and he was quickly developing a hard erection. He gritted his teeth when she shifted her weight and pressed his hard shaft into the mattress. ‘My power is not the only thing that has grown recently.’ He growled out in desire. “Kyra, you need to stop.”

“Why? I am just trying to make you feel better.” She yelped when he suddenly rolled over, landing her on her back, and settled on top of her. “Ronon?” She glanced at his piercing eyes, over his heaving chest, until her eyes settled on his tented towel. “Oh I see.” She smirked.

His glazed eyes followed her hands’ movement to the hem of her shirt and a guttural growl erupted from his chest when she pulled it over her head. His gaze fixed on her beautiful breasts for several long seconds before they snapped up to her face. “Kyra…” He spoke with barely contained need and desire. “What are you doing to me?”

“I want to feel you touch me, Ronon.” She grabbed his hands, which were clutching the bed linens beside her shoulders, and placed them on her abdomen. “I want to feel your skin touching mine.”

“We cannot do this.” He hissed as he balanced on the edge of a razor. His eyes began to glow with his inner power. His hands began to shake and this thumbs seemed to trace her flesh of their own volition. “You know if we make love we will be mated.”

“Who says we have to make love right now?” She smiled seductively. “I want you to explore my body. The body of your soon to be mate wants your touch, Ronon. Are you going to deny me?”

“I could never deny you anything.” He said with a strained voice and clenched his eyes. “I am just afraid that I will lose control.”

“What do you mean?” She asked quietly.

“My need for you is already overwhelming, Kyra.” He shook his head in an effort to clear the drive to mate her that his Nietzchean genes had instilled in him. “I can already scent your arousal and it is driving me to claim you now. If we go too far, I don’t know if I will be able to stop.”

“Ronon.” She cupped his bearded cheek in her palm and his eyes found hers. “You are the first man I have entrusted with my body and heart. I know this will be difficult for you because of your drive to mate with your chosen female. But I also know that you will not betray my trust in you to wait to claim me when I have publicly chosen you.”

He looked longingly in her eyes and nodded his head in agreement of his female’s words. His hands skimmed along the undersides of her breasts and his fingertips sought out her nipples. He lightly pinched and pulled at them until they hardened to pointed tips. After a quick glance to her face, which was thrown back from the sensation she felt, he lowered his head and ran his tongue over a tight nub.

Kyra’s hands flew to his head and crushed his mouth into her breast. Her breathing became erratic and her head rolled around on the bed as her excitement grew. Ronon’s heightened senses detected the scent of her heavy arousal and he bit down on her nipple as his right hand snaked under the waistband of her shorts.

Her back arched and thrust her nipple against his teeth when she felt his fingers skim over her delicate folds. It was a feeling she had never experienced before. In the past, she always had associated touch with pain and horror but with Ronon it was exquisite. He slipped his fingertip between her labia and felt her wet juices. He growled at her eager response to his touch and released her nipple from his teeth.

In the fog of sensation that clouded her mind, Kyra barely registered Ronon’s movement until she felt the chill of the night air touch the heated skin of her now completely nude form. Before she knew what was happening, the heat of Ronon’s breath blew over her exposed pussy.

She was hairless like his mother and her smooth skin allowed him to see the glistening juices of her desire drip from the body he cherished. His mouth went dry and his need to sate his thirst drove him forward. Kyra squealed when his tongue ran the length of her wet folds and a cry burst from her lips when it drove into her core. She tasted so sweet just like he knew she would and he continued to lap into her heavenly center.

“Oh my God, Ronon, I never knew it could be this way.” She gasped out as her head thrashed about on the pillow. He did not respond to her words. He did not want to separate from his prize and he intended to see rapture cross her face. He pulled back the little hood of flesh that covered her clit and flicked his tongue over it once. He heard a loud cry escape her lips as her hips bucked up from the electric touch. He had all the encouragement he needed.

He enveloped her clit between his lips and repeatedly tortured the little nub with quick flicks of his tongue. Kyra was writhing under his ministrations and he used one hand on her stomach to still her as he continued his assault on her body. He took her swollen clit between his teeth and relentlessly tickled it with the tip of his tongue. He heard her breathless gasps turn to cries when he inserted a finger into her hot channel and pumped it within her.

Kyra’s body moved with every push of his finger and jolted with every flick of his tongue. She felt a strange sensation build from the core of her being and spread throughout her body. Ronon curled his finger within her until every thrust brought it in contact with her g-spot and he felt her pussy begin to convulse around his wet digit. A rush of release swept through Kyra’s body and she wailed at the top of her lungs as she careened into sweet oblivion.

As she lay shuddering from her first orgasm, she felt Ronon voraciously lap up the sweet cream that escaped her body. She could sense his urgency to capture every trace of her cum in his mouth and cautiously touched his shoulder to get his attention. “Ronon?” His head snapped up and she froze at the animalistic glint in his eyes. In the blink of an eye, he ripped the towel from his hips and threw it aside.

Her eyes strayed down to get a good look at his massive length and wondered to herself if that could possibly fit inside of her. He was clearly larger than anyone she had been with before. She yelped in surprise when Ronon quickly moved up her body, pinned her hands above her head in one of his, and placed her legs over his shoulders.

“Ronon! No, we can’t yet!” He held his cock in his hand, rubbing it against her slick folds, and stared at her pussy that was open for his penetration. He drew in her scent and his eyes rolled back in his lids. When he glanced back at her, he was met with Kyra’s fear-filled gaze. It had a sobering effect and his eyes held a look of horror when he realized what he had almost done.

“Kyra, love…” He said shakily as he released his hold on her arms and lowered her legs. He sat back on his legs and hung his head in shame. “I am so sorry. I knew you weren’t ready yet but I underestimated my reaction to your…release. When I took in your scent, my mind registered your readiness for me and instinct took away my control. I’m so sorry.”

She moved up next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I forgive you. I didn’t mean to push you that far. I’m sorry for not taking your heritage a little more seriously.” She brushed a kiss across his cheek and whispered into his ear. “I still trust you, love, and you won’t have to wait for me much longer. I promise.” She gently pushed him down on to his back and smiled up at his curious gaze. “Close your eyes for me, Ronon.”

He obeyed her immediately and as his eyes closed a tear slipped down the side of his face. She placed her hands on his sculpted chest and lightly traced her fingers across his skin. His muscles clenched in his abs when she grazed them tenderly. She followed the V from his hips down until her fingers wrapped around the base of his shaft. His hand darted out and grabbed her wrist. “Kyra, what are you doing?”

She smiled lovingly at his inquisitive look and glanced down at the grip he had on her arm. “Ronon, I want you to let me go and lie back on the bed now.” She hardened her tone but kept the love in her eyes so he would not think she was angry with him. He hesitantly released her wrist and settled back on the bed. “That’s a good boy.”

She moved down the bed until her face was within inches from his rock hard manhood. He shuddered when he felt her exhale against his sensitive flesh. His body went completely rigid when the moist heat of her mouth engulfed his length. “Kyra! By the Progenitor, what are you doing?” He said with a hitch in his voice.

Instead of responding, she gently rubbed his stomach to calm him while her mouth and other hand stroked along his shaft. Ronon settled into the sensation her glorious mouth sent through his body and began to purr softly from the feeling. Her tongue swirled around the head every time her mouth slid up and pushed along the underside as she throated him.

Ronon’s purrs quickly turned to moans and growls as Kyra picked up the pace. Her hand and mouth worked in perfect unison to drive her beloved towards her goal. She applied a deeper suction as he began to fuck her mouth when he couldn’t keep his hips still. His breathing was shot and he drew deep gasps of air into his lungs in between each growl. When he felt her teeth graze his over-stimulated flesh, he arched his back and screamed his release.

Long jets of cum shot down her throat and Kyra swallowed every delicious drop. She ran her tongue over his cock and cleaned him up before she released him from her mouth. He pulled her up beside him and held her to his chest. “Thank you for that. I didn’t realize how on edge I’ve been dealing with my need for you.” He pulled back slightly and tipped up her chin to gaze in her eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She registered the surprise in his face at her heartfelt admission and smiled. “I really do. Those words never held any meaning to me in the way they are supposed to. I mean I love Riddick like a big brother but I never fell in love with a man romantically. I do love you, Ronon, but I need just a small amount of time to get used to love before I mate with the man of my dreams. Is that okay?”

“It is perfectly okay. Just don’t take too long because I need you for more than my next breath.” He kissed her deeply and tasted himself in her mouth. He groaned loudly and flashed her a devilish grin. “Most Nietzchean females do not perform oral sex on their male. Sex between Nietzcheans is for the female’s pleasure and the male’s propagation.”

“Yeah, well I am not Nietzchean and I give as good as I get. I have never felt such overwhelming sensation before.” Her eyes welled with tears and she smiled with a blush. “I never knew it could feel so wonderful. I didn’t think I would ever want someone to touch me like that again until I met you. You’ve broken through all of my defenses and healed my heart. You are the only man for me and I will give myself to you…soon.”

She burrowed into his chest and he wrapped his arms protectively around his soon to be mate. Ronon kissed her lightly on the top of her head and smiled when he heard her breath even out. He reached behind him, grabbed a blanket, and pulled it over their naked bodies. He rested his forehead against hers, smiled contentedly, and followed her into a peaceful sleep.

~*~

Riddick stood pacing outside of his son’s chambers uncertain of whether he wanted to knock. Ever since he overheard Dorian’s conversation with Alex during their training session, his curiosity had peaked and he thought he wanted answers. Now he wasn’t so sure. He thought he heard something that sparked hope within him that he could keep his mate by his side after the prophecy. The thought that he could be wrong, that the spark could be extinguished, made his heart constrict in his chest.

“Dad.” He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Dorian standing in his open door. “Do you plan on coming in or are you just going to pace out here all night?”

Riddick’s thoughts flashed back to a time not so long ago when he had said the same words to his mate. He threw his head back and laughed much to the confusion of his son. “Sorry, Dorian. Its just that I said the same thing to your mom recently.” He walked past his son into his rooms and heard Dorian shut the door behind them.

“Is there something that you need or that I can help you with?” He indicated the couch and his father flopped down wearily on it. “What is it, Dad?”

“Dorian, how can you explain this connection that you have to your sister?” Riddick asked as he rubbed a mild headache from his temples.

“I think that is the answer right there, Dad.” He grinned at his father’s bewildered look and continued. “Dawn is my sister.”

“Okay, that makes sense but how come she doesn’t contact her other brothers, me or her mother?”

“One answer covers all of that.” Dorian said and paused to see if his father would figure it out. The raised eyebrow he received as a reply was his answer. “She and I are both half Furyan and half Phoenix. The other guys are half Phoenix and either Nietzchean, Olympian, Immortal, or Phoenix. You are full-blooded Furyan and Mom is all Phoenix. Dawn and I are unique.”

“I know you are unique, son.” He cupped the back of Dorian’s head and gave him a small smile. “You have made me very proud. You talked her down when she transformed into the Dark Phoenix. The way you’ve bonded with your mother and helped her when she reverted to her safe mode was amazing. I honestly believe you were the only one who could have saved her during that whole ordeal. We all owe you for bringing her back to us.”

“Thank you, Dad, but if you hadn’t taught me all about her and the inner workings of her mind, I wouldn’t have been able to save her. You helped me bring her back.” He watched his father carefully as he reflected on his praise and saw him withdraw into himself. He nudged his father’s shoulder to get his attention. “Dad, tell me what’s really on your mind?”

“I heard you tell Alex that Dawn said there was a way to save her from the prophecy.” He took a deep breath and released it slowly to try to calm his nerves. It did not work. “She told you that Alex would reject her salvation if she was given the choice of accepting it. Do you know what that means?”

“I think it means that whatever it is, Mom isn’t going to like it. I get the distinct impression from Dawn that if we want to save her we cannot give her the option of refusing. We are going to have to do it without her knowledge or force it on her.”

“Do you have any idea what it is?”

“I do not but…”

“What?” Riddick asked as Dorian trailed off in thought. “What are you thinking?”

“I have read that prophecies cannot be taken literally at face value.” He leaned forward and picked up a flexi of related material. “They can usually be interpreted in a manner close to the wording but with an entirely different outcome.”

“So what do you think it could mean?”

“I’m not sure really but this is how it reads.” He scrolled down to the text on his mother’s prophecy. “A child will be birthed from the body of the Phoenix conceived with the one she was destined for. This female child born of the 2 most powerful entities in existence will be the heir of the Phoenix force and become the new Protector of Life. The daughter will inherit her birthright when the power is removed from the body that houses the Phoenix and passed on by another.” He dropped the flexi on the table and looked up at his father’s pensive face. “If you ask me, it is very vague.”

“It sounds pretty cut and dry to me.” Riddick said sadly. “The power needs to be torn out of her body and passed on just like she said.”

“I think you are missing one vital point here, Dad.” Dorian said with a hint of excitement as he grabbed the flexi again. “This is a prophecy that was written who knows how long ago. Maybe even as far back as Mom dates in history. Several things have changed since then.”

“Like what, Dorian?”

“Alex has changed the circumstances of this prophecy without even realizing it.” He read over the text again and glanced up at his father’s questioning gaze. “There is a good and bad point in this theory. Mom definitely does not have to die but there is no way in hell she will ever agree to it.”

“Will you quit being so fucking suspenseful and tell me how we save her?”

“It says that the power is removed from the body that houses the Phoenix and is passed on to Dawn by Ronon.”

“Yeah and…” Riddick said in frustration and waved his hands to hurry his son along.

“Mom is not the only body that houses the power of the Phoenix around here anymore. She changed this prophecy several millennia ago and unwittingly gave herself an out. She did it again in the past century.”

“Ian and Ioan.” Riddick whispered and settled back with his hand over his eyes. “Your sister was right, Dorian. She will never accept her salvation.”

~*~