Predator

Chapter 62



‘I am so tired, Phoenix. I do not believe that I will survive this heartache.’



‘Unfortunately, we will both survive this loss, Alexandra. Our beloved Ian made sure of that. We will continue to live because of his sacrifice and, I have to admit, the thought makes me ill. For the first time in my long life, I finally agree with your desire to end our existence.’



‘I apologize, Phoenix. It has been so long that I have forgotten that Ian was your companion first. I failed to take your feelings into consideration. This must be very hard for you too.’



‘Alexandra, I believe your emotions are filtering into my consciousness since we merged. This loss…his loss is more…than I can bear. I hurt…deep down…everywhere. Give me something tangible to fight…but this emptiness within…I don’t know how…to handle…this pain.’



‘I don’t know either, bright one. He has been the only constant in both of our lives. I loved him so much and yet…I am so angry with him for doing this. It was my life…I was the one that was supposed to pass you on to Dawn. He took the decision from me and cost us our love.’



‘He has indeed angered me as well. My darling Ian will have a lot to answer for when I see him next. I do not like…this feeling inside of me. It is like a hole within my being…a terrible pain that will not erase.’



‘I am experiencing the same emptiness within my heart and soul. I feel like my life will be forever diminished without his presence in it. He…is…gone…because…of…his love for…us.’



‘Alexandra, what can…I do…to stop this…agony?’



‘Phoenix, I am…overcome…as well. All I can tell you is that we will both have to try to deal with it. It…will…take a…very long…time but hopefully…someday…it will lessen. I cannot…do…this…now.’



‘Alexandra? Please don’t leave me alone! I don’t know…what to…do. Alexandra?’



‘We…are…not…alone. We…both…have…a mate…within…one man. He…will…save us.’



~*~



Riddick could feel his mate’s pain while she slept. It crept into his subconscious mind, dug deep into his soul, and pulled him awake. He could feel his animal claw at his insides in a desperate attempt to release itself from its confinement. He held her close to his body while he slept but the urgency of his animal forcing its way to the surface made him clutch his chest. At first he did not understand why his beast fought so vehemently for his freedom but, on closer inspection of his mate’s mind, he detected 2 thought patterns within her.



‘The Phoenix is in pain too.’ He thought sadly. Understanding struck him instantly and he now knew why his animal wanted out. ‘His mate is in agony and he wants to be with her.’



Riddick held his wife for hours as she tossed fitfully in her sleep. At some point later on, Alex snapped awake, crawled to the foot of the bed and sat in a meditative state. She had been completely unaware of her surroundings since the moment she woke.



He could hear the conversation between his mate and her sentient avatar. He could feel their combined pain but, worst of all, his animal could feel the Phoenix’s inability to cope with it.



‘She is unaccustomed to emotions.’ He could sense the cosmic entity’s plight when confronted with the unknown. Alexandra’s humanity was bleeding into her essence and the Phoenix was struggling with her newfound feelings. He could feel Alex’s consciousness slip further away and immediately knew she was drowning in her grief.



When she awoke from this trance, he was positive it would not be his mate that he would be dealing with but the Phoenix. ‘How can I help her…especially now when she is dealing with Ian’s loss?’



‘Mine…’ Came a growl from deep within his mind.



‘What the fuck?’ Riddick was shocked when he heard his animal’s first attempt at vocal communication. He did not think the beast had any higher brain function other than his drive to fulfill his primal needs, wants, and sense of survival.



‘Mine!’



‘He wants to deal with Phoenix. I can’t believe this shit.’ He could feel his animal fight against his hold on him just as Alex closed off her mind completely. She relinquished control of her body to the unwilling Phoenix and his beast felt compelled to comfort his mate. ‘No…I need to take…care of…my…woman.’ He struggled against his raging beast and reached out to his wife’s mind. ‘Alex…baby…’



He did not receive a response from the woman he loved but felt the raw agony of the Phoenix force that inhabited her. ‘MINE!’ Riddick clenched his eyes from the pain of missing Alexandra but understood his animal’s need to care for the Phoenix. He reluctantly let go of his infamous control and gave the beast his freedom.



~*~



His eyes snapped to his woman that was seated before him. The bright spectrum of color that usually surrounded her body had darkened with her pain. He could feel his mate’s suffering and it drew a barely audible whine from his throat. He crawled up behind her and drew in her scent. ‘Hurt…’



He situated his legs on either side of her and pressed his body against her back. He could feel her slight frame begin to shudder and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She tensed at his touch and soon after began to shake more violently. He wrapped his arms around her upper chest and held her close to his body.



“I am lost, love.” She whispered brokenly as she grasped his forearms. “I…don’t know what…to do.” Tears of bright light streamed from the black abyss of her eyes and dripped down on to his skin. “He…is…gone and…it hurts.”



When he felt the liquid on his flesh, he pulled her back to the center of the bed and straddled her waist. His brow furrowed when she looked up into his face and he saw her bright tears. He ran a fingertip down the wet trail and cocked his head to the side when he rubbed the shiny substance between his fingers. He glanced back at her with curiosity on his face.



“Alexandra has abandoned me…to this misery…and I have never…experienced…the like of it before.”



He listened to the choked words as they escaped her throat. He did not understand the meaning of them but he knew she was in pain. He pushed her down on the mattress, held her in place with a hand on her chest and glanced over her trembling body.



He could see no signs of physical injury as he inspected her flesh so he looked back up at her face. He tried to stop the sad light that was dripping from her eyes by lapping them up with his tongue but they would not cease.



“I have…never…felt such…desolation before. He was…my center. What am I…going to do…without him?”



He took her face between his large hands and brought his forehead down to hers. He gazed deep into her eyes as his mouth tried to form one of the few words he associated with his woman. “Mine.” His eyes darted back and forth between hers waiting to see a sign of her understanding. “Mine!” He growled again when she gave him no response.



“I know, baby.” She slid her arms around his neck and pulled his body flush to hers. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and sobbed uncontrollably. “I…am…yours. You are…the…one.” She took a deep shuddering breath as she continued to cry her broken words to him. “I was…meant…for you. It is…just that…I don’t…know how…to handle this…pain. She…left me…alone…”



He rolled them on to their sides and pulled her closer to his body. He needed to protect his mate. She was hurt badly and it drove him beyond the brink of possessiveness. He would die to keep his woman safe.



He wrapped his arms around her back and draped a leg over her hip to encase her in his warmth. She was shaking so badly he felt compelled to draw her tighter into his embrace in an effort to calm her. His driving purpose was to keep her from further harm.



It seemed like hours had passed before her sobs turned to whimpers and longer still for the whimpering to die down to an occasional sniffle. He stroked her hair and her back as he purred in her ear.



The vibration passed from his chest to hers and along with the soft sound in her ear, he finally felt her relax in his arms and begin to drift into sleep. “Mine.” He whispered softly before he continued to purr.



“Yours…” She gasped with her last breath before she slipped into the darkness.



~*~



Riddick held his mate for hours as she slept. He could still sense her pain and did not lessen his grip on her body. He would pass on his strength to her in any way possible to ensure his mate’s well being. He nuzzled her hair with his nose and drew in her scent. He wanted to take her so badly but felt that would not be the right thing to do.



Despite the sadness that permeated her scent, he could still identify the animal within his mate that called out to him. He knew she needed comfort right now but his body betrayed him when she snuggled into his chest. He could feel the blood rush to his groin and his erection pressed against her pubic bone.



“Ian…”



He tensed when he heard his mate whisper another name in her sleep. He began to growl deep in his throat until he saw the glowing liquid flow from her closed eyes again. He knew she had not woken and was grieving for the man she lost in the battle. His possessiveness reared its way through to the surface. He knew his keeper shared her with other men but that was something he would never allow to happen if he was in control.



A sound startled him from the other room and he situated her sleeping body beneath his. It took a moment for him to recognize the cry of his cub. She needed her mother for sustenance but his mate did not wake when their cub began to cry.



He glanced at the doorway to his cub’s room. He could go retrieve the girl and bring her to his mate but he did not want to leave his woman unprotected. His desire to remain at his mate’s side warred with his need to take care of his cub.



His child continued to wail in the next room and was soon joined by the boy. He frowned as he thought over his current dilemma and decided on the only course of action left to him. He knelt next to his slumbering mate, scooped her up in his arms, and got off of the bed. He carried her gently into the adjoining room and stopped next to the boy’s crib.



He leaned forward, drew in the boy’s scent, and stood up straight. This child had his mate’s scent on his flesh but not in his body. He was not her cub and he wasn’t Riddick’s either. He scowled at the wailing boy before he walked away and went to his cub’s crib.



He stared down at his little one in amazement. He still could not believe that he had a cub with his mate. He remembered seeing through the eyes of the man yesterday after he was reined in during the battle. He had seen his cub encased in a bright light and when it faded she had grown to adulthood.



She was so beautiful…just like her mother. She had power and an animal that matched his mate’s. He was not sure why she was a child again but it made him proud to know how strong his cub was.



His attention snapped back to his child when her high-pitched scream filled his ears. She was reaching out her tiny arms for her mother. Riddick looked down at his sleeping mate and wondered how he was going to get them back to the bed. He hefted his woman over his shoulder, reached down and carefully picked up his crying child.



He held her up in front of his face and she quieted down. She stared at him with big eyes filled with darkness and surprised him when she placed a tiny hand on his face. He cradled his child in one arm, held his mate securely on his shoulder with a hand across her backside, and walked back out to the bedroom.



He ignored the other crying child completely.



He placed his child between 2 pillows on the bed before he pulled his mate off his shoulder and laid her down in the center. He picked up his cub and sat beside the sprawled out form of his woman. He had seen her feed his child before but she was asleep and appeared to be so exhausted from her grief that she would not wake.



He held his cub close to her nipple until she latched on. He watched his daughter tug on her mother’s breast and release it from her mouth in frustration. Alexandra was lying flat on her back and Dawn could not draw on her breast with enough force to pull her milk to the surface.



Riddick cradled his distraught child in his right arm and glanced down at his mate. He had fed from her breasts before like his cub and knew he could suck the milk from her body in this position. He wrapped his left hand around her breast and squeezed it roughly before he lowered his mouth to take her nipple between his lips.



~*~



‘Phoenix…’



‘Alexandra? You’re back.’



‘I am. I am sorry that I left you alone.’



‘I didn’t know how to handle the emotions without you. I…was…lost…without…your guidance.’



‘I apologize, Phoenix. I just couldn’t…’



‘I know, Alexandra. I can’t either. It…hurts…too…much.’



‘I am here now. I will help you but we have to wake up now.’



‘Why? If I am to wallow in misery, I would rather do it within than to disturb our mate.’



‘Our mate is the reason we must wake. Richard released his animal to comfort you and he is trying so hard to make us feel better. Richard and his animal are not one like you and I. Only one of them can be in control of his body and his beast is in the driver’s seat.’



‘I know. He is being so very gentle with us. He can sense our pain. He thought that we were injured and searched our flesh for damage. When he couldn’t find anything, he just wrapped his body around us to protect us from anymore harm.’



‘I know he is probably having a hard time reining in his need to take us. Richard can barely restrain himself from making love to us whenever he sees us. It has to be harder for his animal.’



‘I felt his desire for us earlier but he tamped it down for some reason.’



‘Phoenix, you called out Ian’s name while we slept and it hurt his feelings. He is trying to be there for us. He is fighting his inherent drive to mate us. I think he is doing a wonderful job at trying to care for us in our time of need.’



‘I did not realize I called out Ian’s name in my sleep, Alexandra. I did not mean to hurt him.’



‘I know you didn’t. It is a mistake I could have made just as easily. Ian is in the forefront of our thoughts and the reason for our heartache. It is just that Richard has the ability and willingness to share us with our other men but his animal does not.’



‘I love that about him.’



‘Actually I do too but it does present a problem when it comes to the others. Do you feel that?’



‘Yessss. I think he has given in to his baser instincts.’



‘I’m not so sure. We need to wake up.’



~*~



She woke to the warmth of his mouth enveloping her nipple and his hand squeezing her flesh. A moan escaped her lips from the delicious suction he applied to her breast. Her eyes slowly opened when he released her hardened tip from his lips with a pop. When she glanced over at him, she was completely surprised by what he was doing.



Riddick was holding Dawn in his right arm and dribbling the milk he had just drawn from her breast into her mouth. He purred at his daughter as she slowly drank down the drops he rained down on to her tongue. When she had finished the mouthful he gave her, he turned back to his mate and froze when he saw her tear-filled eyes.



“What are you doing, love?” Alex asked softly and cupped the side of his face in her palm. His eyes went to her nipple as he slowly but firmly squeezed her breast in his hand. She saw the milk bead on the tip, watched him lower his head to suck it into his mouth, and turn to feed it to his daughter. “You are milking me to feed Dawn.” She said in awe.



He glanced back up at her with inquisitive eyes and a creased brow. He was worried that he upset his mate with his actions and the look of shock on her face did nothing to alleviate his concerns. He watched her with a guarded expression as she propped herself up on some pillows and met his gaze.



She glanced down at Dawn and indicated her breast with a tilt of her head. “Bring her here, baby.” He scooted up beside her and shifted Dawn to his other arm. “Go ahead, love. Put her mouth there.” She placed her right arm behind her head and let him place his daughter against her breast. Dawn opened up her mouth and greedily sucked in her nipple. “There she goes. She is definitely your daughter.”



He held his child against his mate’s bosom and watched her feed. The look on his face held an endearing fascination and Alex smiled at his child-like wonder. She ran her left hand over his shaved scalp and he began to purr from her tender ministrations. “You are a very dear man.” She whispered as her eyes filled with tears of love. “I love you so much.”



He nuzzled into her touch and his purr turned to a quiet growl. “Mine.” His hand ran over the fiery Phoenix emblem on her chest and then softly traced over the back of Dawn’s dark head. “Mine.”



“Yes, baby.” She nodded her head. “We are both yours.”



He narrowed his gaze on the glistening tears that rolled down her face and ran a fingertip over her cheek. “Hurt.”



“Yes…I am.” She nodded again and her voice hitched with a sob. “I hurt here.” She grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart. “I lost someone who was very dear to me.” His face was unreadable and his eyes were focused on their hands on her chest. “Do you understand what I am saying or is all of this lost on you?”



“Man…” Riddick growled as his jealousy rose within him. He was angry that his woman was hurting from the loss of the man. She belonged to him and no one else would touch her or hurt her ever again. “Mine.”



“I know I’m yours, baby.” Alexandra said simply as she glanced down at Dawn while she nursed.



“Mine!” He growled loudly when his mate seemed to be dismissing him. Her eyes snapped to his and widened when she saw the fury in his gaze. His head turned towards the nursery briefly before he handed Dawn over to Alex and jumped off the bed. He stood facing the doorway with his chest heaving and fists clenched at his sides.



“Alex…” Tyr walked in rocking the crying Tamerlane in his arms. His attention was focused on his son and he did not realize the immediate danger he was in. “I know you have been through a horrible ordeal but our boy is hungry and I was…” His voice trailed off when he heard the low growl and looked up to see a very feral Furyan before him. “Riddick…”



“Tyr! You need to get out of here now!” Alexandra sat up, clutching her daughter to her chest, and peered out from behind her mate. ‘Athena! I am sending Dawn to you!’ She teleported her child to the Goddess and moved to kneel on the bed behind Riddick. “Richard, it is okay. It’s Tyr. You know he would not hurt me.”



“Alexandra, what the hell is going on with him?” Tyr asked with a creased brow. His tone was sharp and Riddick bared his teeth at him. “Why is he acting like an animal?”



“Tyr, please be quiet and back out of here.” She reached out a hand to grab Riddick’s arm and his head snapped towards her for a second. It was long enough to see that his cub was missing. He pushed his mate back down on the bed and held her in place for a moment to indicate that he wanted her to stay still. “Richard, stop it! I will not stay.” She slapped at his hand trying to get him to let her up.



“Let her go, Riddick!” Tyr yelled at his friend. “Why are you doing this to her?”



“Tyr, please don’t interfere…” Alex gasped out as she struggled with her mate. He grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her off the bed. She fell to the floor at his feet and he kept her in place with a hand wrapped in her hair. He turned his attention back to the intruder now that his mate was safely behind him. “Tyr, you need to leave. He is not in control of himself right now and he thinks he is protecting me. You are a threat and he will treat you like one.”



“I will not allow him to mistreat you like this!” He bellowed and Riddick answered with a snarl. “Especially now, Alexandra!”



“Tyr, I don’t need you to protect me. I think that position has already been filled.” She grabbed at Riddick’s hand that was buried in her hair and tried to get him to loosen his grip. She felt herself being dragged across the floor and realized that her Furyan mate was advancing on Tyr…and Tamerlane. “Richard, no…”



‘Athena, prepare yourself for Tamerlane! I am sending him along too!’



‘My Lady, is everything all right? Are we under attack again?’



‘No. It is just a dispute amongst my mates. Be ready for my son!’



Alexandra raised a hand towards her Nietzchean mate and Riddick misunderstood it as her reaching out to another man. “MINE!” He growled loudly and the child began to cry. His silver eyes snapped to the boy and he hesitated long enough for Alex to teleport the child to his protector. With the boy no longer in the way, Riddick wasted no time rushing the threat to his mate.



He released his hold on Alexandra and she fell forward on the floor. When she rose up on her forearms, she watched as her 2 Alpha males engaged in a bloody war. The ironic thing was that they were both trying to protect her. “Richard, stop it!” She rose up to her feet and tried to get between them but Riddick pushed her back behind him once again. “Damn it!”



Her eyes widened in horror as he began to get the upper hand on Tyr and knew she had to do something. In his current frame of mind, Riddick would kill her mate and nothing Tyr did would prevent his death. He was completely outmatched now that Riddick had embraced his Phoenix-enhanced Furyan side.



Alex was at a whole new level of strength now that she had been restored to full power and she feared she might accidentally hurt one of them if she got physically involved. There was only one option left open to her.



‘Phoenix, we have to reach Richard and get him back in control!’



‘Alexandra, I don’t know if we can. His animal has a firm grasp on his freedom now and he will not go back willingly. He doesn’t like to fight for his release. He wants access to us and his life here just as much as Richard does.’



‘What if we help them merge together like we are? They will both be free and have what they desire.’



‘I am not so sure Richard likes his animal side as much as you like me. It might be a difficult process for Richard to endure.’



‘It probably will but we will help him just like he helped us. We need to do this now or Tyr is a dead man.’



‘Richard! Can you hear me, baby?’



‘Alex…is that you?’



‘It’s me, love. Richard, I need you to concentrate on my voice and come to me.’



‘Why? What is wrong? Has he hurt you?’ He asked her in near hysterics.



‘No. He hasn’t hurt me and he never will.’



‘But…’



‘He is trying to kill Tyr as we speak.’



‘Why is Tyr in there? You know damn well my animal will not share you with anyone! He doesn’t want any of them near you! I could feel it clawing at my brain and beneath my skin every time you were with the others!’



‘I think we might have a problem then.’



‘Why?’



‘He is not going to allow you to cage him any longer. He wants to be free and the only way I can make that happen is to merge your personalities.’



‘Alex…’



‘I have to do it, Richard. You deserve to be whole. Your psyche was fractured from all of the shit you went through in your life. He is a part of you and you will never be complete without him.’



‘Baby, you don’t know what you’re doing.’ He sounded panicked and remorseful at the same time. ‘Please stay out of my head. Don’t do this…’



‘I love you, Richard, and I want my mate back. I told you I love both of you and I meant it but you will not be able to keep him caged any longer. He won’t allow it and I can’t afford for him to show up at inappropriate times. I am sorry, love.’



‘Alex…no…’



She closed off her mental communication with him, took a deep breath, and delved into his mind. She went through every memory trying to get a better understanding of what was done to him in his past. Tears flowed from her eyes as she viewed every injustice that was visited upon him that made him what he was today.



He had the memory of the Lord Marshall and the dumpster he was discarded in as useless trash. He had moments of pain that was inflicted upon him by foster parents. His training in the military and Special Forces. The missions he was sent on flitted before her mind’s eye. She watched as he killed his entire unit for the slaughter of innocent civilians on a simple training exercise. The people were just target practice for his team and Riddick couldn’t stomach his orders.



He was accused of the murders of the very people he tried to save and later avenged. He was hunted and captured several times throughout his life but he always escaped. During one of his incarcerations, a branch of the Government that he used to work for sent a team of scientists to run tests on him.



They were fascinated by Riddick and wanted to determine what made him the perfect killer. The tests that were performed on him were painful and invasive. The scientists were instructed to find the gene within him that gave him the extraordinary abilities he had and synthesize it. The wanted an army of the perfect weapon and stopped at nothing to achieve it.



He was poked and prodded for months. They cut into him and drew tissue samples. While they performed their tests, they ran experiments on his body to determine his endurance level to every sort of pain imaginable. He was burned. He was shot. He was electrocuted. They broke his bones to record how much time it took him to heal.



The torture went on for months. He never gave them the satisfaction of screaming out the agony he was feeling. The sick bastards would have loved that and Riddick was too ornery to give it to them. He endured every torment without saying a word but it took its toll. He buried his mind in an effort to spare himself the pain and the beast was born to deal with his tormentors.



She watched his animal plan his escape by simulating his death. He lowered his life signs until they were undetectable, escaped his bonds while the physicians worked to revive him, and killed them all with his bare hands. He fought through the soldiers that guarded the lab he had been imprisoned in for over a year. He killed every one of them before he escaped the complex and gained his freedom.



She had found what she was looking for and was about to begin the integration process when something caught her attention. It was a memory buried in his past that didn’t show signs of aging. It was a recent memory that her mate had stored in the blackest part of his mind. Alex peered into that thought and found it had occurred during his time with her. When she inspected it further, her heart clenched in agony and a spike of anger coursed through her entire being.



She observed the entire conversation between Riddick and Ian. She learned of their plan to sacrifice Ian to save her life and to keep it a secret from her so she wouldn’t interfere. They pulled the unwilling Ronon into it and played upon the boy’s love of his newfound mother to agree to it. She was beyond pissed but had to focus on the task at hand.



She looked through the eyes of his animal and saw him on the verge of killing her mate. He was insanely possessive of his mate and this man wore her scent. Just as he was about the exact his revenge, Alexandra took a tight rein on the beast’s mind and pulled him back.



Tyr fell from Riddick’s hands and looked up at the man he had called friend. He was frozen in place with his eyes clenched and his hands on his temples. He glanced over at his mate who was lying on the floor as well with one hand outstretched towards Riddick. Her eyes were burning with their dark fire and she appeared to be struggling within.



Inside Riddick’s mind, Alex pulled his Furyan back as she reached out and took the other half of his psyche in her hand. Both sides of her mate’s personality fought against her hold but in this realm no one was her superior. She glanced between the feral Riddick and her loving Richard for a moment before she forced them together.



It took a few minutes of the complete entity writhing in anger before the merge was complete and Riddick fell to his knees. Alex withdrew from his mind and dropped her head to the floor in exhaustion. She took several deep breaths to work up some energy and crawled to Tyr. He met her halfway.



“Alex, are you alright?” He gasped out in discomfort.



“I’m a lot better off than you. Roll on to your back, baby, and I’ll take care of those wounds.” She helped him settle on his back and inspected the damage he had incurred at Riddick’s hands. “He messed you up pretty good, love, but its nothing I can’t fix.”



He glanced over at his friend, who was still on his knees a couple of feet away, before he looked at his mate. “Alex, what the hell happened?” He asked her as she ran her healing touch over his flesh. “Why did he attack me? Why did he act like a Neanderthal and treat you like property?”



After she finished healing his injuries, Alex opened her mouth to answer but was abruptly cut off when she was forcefully pulled to her feet. “The answer to that is because she is mine.” She struggled against his arms that pinned hers to her sides and stilled when he growled menacingly in her ear. “You will stay still and stop fighting me. You belong to me and I will not tolerate your disobedience any longer.”



“Richard…what are you doing?” She whispered when she felt his control on her take a tight hold.



“What I should have done a long time ago. Relax, baby.” He purred in her ear and felt her go limp in his arms. He swept her up and cradled her against his chest. “Now I want you to keep your mouth closed, listen to me, and don’t move.” His eyes narrowed on hers and he mentally felt her comply with his demands. “As of this moment, you belong solely to me.”



Her eyes widened when the reality of what he was saying sunk in. He was denying her other mates’ rights to her. He set it up perfectly so she couldn’t argue with him or run from the conversation. He used his power as her destined First mate to incapacitate her and, now that he made it a command, she could not refuse.



‘No. He is making me release them!’



‘Alexandra, we knew this might happen once we reintegrated his animal with his consciousness. His beast will not share us. We can only hope that the man will take pity on your lifelong mates.’



He smiled down into her face before he kissed her softly on her lips. “I have some things to discuss with the others, baby, so I need you to stay here.” He placed her down on their bed, kissed her forehead, and smiled. “You are mine and I am yours forever. Do you understand me?” She nodded her head. “That’s my girl. I’m not leaving you alone for a second so I’m calling the others here.”



~*~



Alex lay quietly in the bed with tears running from her eyes as her mates filed one by one into the bedroom. Riddick sat next to her, running his fingers through her hair and ignored the others until they were all present.



‘Richard…please don’t…do…this. I love…them.’



‘I know you do but you were meant for me. You don’t need them anymore.’



‘You can’t possibly be this cruel to them…to me…’



‘I’m not being as cruel as I could be.’



‘What…do you…mean?’



‘I’m giving them a choice to make.’



He kissed the top of her head and turned to regard her other mates. “Guys, I’m gonna make this quick because I don’t see a reason to drag it out. It will only be more uncomfortable for you and more painful for Alex.”



“Is something wrong with Alexandra?” Ares asked as he stepped forward and met the gaze of his crying mate. “I know she is going through a horrible ordeal because of Ian’s loss but why isn’t she moving?”



“She isn’t moving because I won’t let her. Ares, do me a favor and back up. It is for your own good.” The hard glint in Riddick’s eyes worried the War God and he took a step back to try to diffuse the situation. “Alex recently reconstituted my animal into my mind and we exist as one now.”



“That part of me I only ever released during a major fight until recently when he escaped and claimed Alex as his own too.” He glanced around at the apprehensive faces and turned to run his eyes over his mate’s prone body. “He doesn’t like to share her and I never did either. I only agreed because I love her so much and didn’t want to be without her.”



“There will be no more weeks allotted for the rest of you.” His head snapped to face them when he heard their collective arguments and he yelled out. “Shut up! Listen up, guys, because this is the way it is going to be from now on. She. Is. Mine.” He enunciated each word to get the point across. “She will stay with me from now on and I will only allow her to visit one of you when it suits me.”



“She will have full access to her children.” He glanced at Tyr for a second. “She will continue to act as Tamerlane’s mother.” He pulled her close to his side and rested his cheek against the side of her head. “She will get to be with you but only when I allow it. My first impulse was to force her to release all of you so consider yourselves lucky. I guess the only thing you need to ask yourselves is can you live with my rules.”



“If you can’t, then you can leave. You are free to do so without risk of forfeiting your lives. She cannot hold you to your oath any longer now that I have taken her and ordered her to obey. Think about it but do it somewhere else. I don’t like any male being this close to my woman. Get out.”



Her men glanced around at each other in utter shock. They could tell by the way he dismissed them that there would be no further discussion on the subject. A few of them met Alexandra’s tear-filled gaze and felt their hearts break. ‘Go.’ The word echoed in their minds. ‘There is nothing I can do to change this. You have a choice to make and I will not hold it against any of you if you decide to leave.’



Some of them nodded their heads sadly and some glared at Riddick before they all left the room.



“It is just you and I now, baby. They way it was supposed to be all along. Ian told me so.” He laid down next to her and drew her body into his. “You can go see him tomorrow…you and Ioan…and he will explain everything. I love you.” He kissed her deeply and she felt herself begin to melt in his embrace. “Go to sleep now, love. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” She followed his soft-spoken command and drifted off in the warmth of his embrace.



~*~