Dad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 3)

by Donna McDonald

  The girl looked at her and mewled in concern.

  “He’s fine. Your mother’s fine. All relationships have challenges. They are as devoted to each other as it’s possible for two beings to be. Your mother is just a better person on the inside than your father is. That’s why she’s purr-fect for his beast.” Nyomi smiled when her granddaughter finally leaned against her and purred. “Now that’s much better. No sense staying upset.”

  The guards followed as they walked to the regeneration room with the cubs in their arms.

  Reva Hunter was glowing green and smiling. Axel stopped by Sugar’s cylinder and nodded to her.

  She returned the motion. “Greetings, Axel of Rodu, Future Lyran Leader of the Alien Guardians of Earth.”

  “Greetings,” Axel said. “My mate…”

  “… fights a great deal of poison. Those that attacked us knew Sugar would require five times as much as the others to be stopped. And they almost didn’t stop her. She came to rescue me as soon as she woke.”

  Axel looked down at Sugar in the cylinder. He spread his hands protectively over the glass separating them. “I am grateful she lives. This is always my reaction.”

  “She would have lived under any conditions. I designed her blade to be that way. She wasn’t patient enough to wait and escape later. Her activity led to the poison spreading throughout her system. The blade had constrained it up to that point.”

  “You designed her blade?” Axel asked in surprise.

  “I have always been the Creator. Now Reva Hunter and I are becoming one. Symbiosis is thirty-two percent completed.”

  Axel nodded and gave in to fate as gracefully as he could. “Welcome to the Lyran palace, Creator. You will be as safe in Queen Nyomi’s queendom as we can make you be.”

  “I know. That’s why I asked Rodu the Destroyer to return us here. He was the only one of us not keen on coming back. Sugar’s need for medical attention finally influenced his change of heart.”

  Axel turned and saw his mother and Gina carrying the children into the room. He turned back to Reva the Creator. “Where is my father?”

  “He and Lake are being examined by your other healers. Marta of Rodu wanted to make sure no poison lingered in them. I have no concerns for my host except that Reva Hunter will need recovery time from the symbiosis soon. Our joining is less impactful because of the regeneration your Lyran healer performed. It saved me much time not having to repair her cellular structure myself.”

  Nyomi came over and set her granddaughter on the glass case. The cub padded up to the top until she could look down at her mother inside. She mewled in protest at the separation but lay down quietly to stare. Gina put the boy on the cylinder and he took up guard by his sister.

  “Now that all is well here, I will see how Father and Lake are doing,” Gina said before leaving.

  Reva the Creator tilted her head. “Protector Sugar bore you children, but she never said a word, nor did the others. What a blessing these two will be to the world.”

  Nodding, Axel glanced down at the cylinder. “Yes. Sugar served the blade when I met her. We fought side-by-side several times. To have her as my mate, I chose to serve her—this was my promise. I regret that I violated the trust she had in me by keeping Lyran secrets, but at the time I made that decision, I sincerely believed it was for the best. I did not realize then that nothing could stay hidden from your kind.”

  Reva the Creator bowed her head. “Your wisdom has increased because of this situation, which is always a good thing. I propose to you, Axel of Rodu, that secrets are the ultimate weapon of those who seek to keep power for themselves instead of using all knowledge for the greater good. Among our attackers were two Lyran males. You will find them in the cargo hold of Gina of Rodu’s airship along with the few humans Protector Sugar did not kill. There are betrayers among your people who were working with the power-seeking humans. Traitors abound everywhere.”

  “We know of them but have not found them all,” Axel said with a nod. “Some Lyrans nearly killed my father a few months ago.”

  “The Earth has entered the times that were foretold would come again to this planet. The blades are here to help find a balance that will allow human life to continue its natural evolution. It would not do well for the Lyrans to try to prevent their work.”

  Nyomi ran a warning hand over her suddenly bristling granddaughter who was already too smart for them to restrain. “I know not of what dark times you speak. Lyrans are observers only. All involvement is done as a last resort.”

  Reva the Creator turned to the Lyran queen. “When it was discovered that humans were genetically malleable, many visitors to this planet made alternative creatures. However, a forced genetic shift of any sort does not allow for the natural evolution of the beast within. Humans are not mere humans. They have never been. Reptilian humans look human but act with the prompting of their caveman brains. Other humans look like the beasts used to create them. Civilization requires they constantly fight with their beasts. With so many genetic disparities, what manner of human do you think the Earth might help survive?”

  Nyomi bowed her head in acknowledgment. “You woke to stop us from interfering in the process of natural selection when that decision gets made.”

  Reva the Creator shook her head. “Negative, Queen Nyomi. I made the blades to keep the balance while the Earth chooses for itself. I do not know the outcome any more than you do. This planet is a living entity just as you and I are. The Earth deserves the right to save the people it wants to save. Some of those saved people will have genetics forced on them by other worlds. I am guilty of this myself.”

  Nyomi nodded. She understood now. Peace was delicate. The future of Earth did not belong to Lyrans. “You are welcome here, Creator. I honor the purpose of the blades.”

  “We honor the purpose of the Lyrans too. Trust, though, will have to be re-earned with some of us.”

  Silence reigned for a while after that statement.

  Reva the Creator walked to the cylinder and looked at the two cubs lying on top of it while their father watched over them. “It astounds me that Protector Sugar left you all to guard my host and me. Only one out of every three billion humans would have made such a decision. I hope I prove worthy of her sacrifice.”

  Axel met her gaze and nodded. “You brought her back to me, Creator. She would not have returned on her own. As far as I’m concerned, you can consider any debt repaid.”

  Nyomi motioned to the guard. “See that Reva Hunter gets safely to her room and has what she needs. Post guards to watch over her. Her sleep may be long.”

  “As you wish, My Queen,” the guard said bowing low.

  Axel watched the fourth blade leave before turning to his mother. “What now?”

  Nyomi sighed. “Now we work with them. It is like I told you in the beginning, Axel. We must remain allies of the blades or risk fighting against them as enemies one day. Their original Creator is now among us. The more we learn from her about their purpose—the better prepared we will be for any others that might have been created.”

  “Do you think there are more blades?”

  Nyomi lifted a shoulder. “I think a noble idea rarely gets executed alone.”

  Axel bowed his head to the wisest woman he knew.

  21

  Gina missed catching Lake in medical. Her father had hugged and kissed her cheek. She’d left hoping Lake was doing similarly well. She wandered to his quarters but didn’t find Lake there either. She searched the training room, Sugar’s room, the library, and even the airship bay.

  Not wanting to involve the royal guards in her search, Gina gave up and headed back to her lab. She walked inside to find Lake sitting in a chair she kept for guests. “I looked everywhere for you, Lake Allen Wright, Savior of Rodu. It never occurred to me that you’d come here.”

  Lake grinned at her confession. “It’s the one place I knew you’d show up eventually, Gina of Rodu.”

  Shrugging at his logic, Gina no
dded before responding. “My new niece and nephew changed into their beasts today. They showed up here in the lab. Now I realize they were trying to tell me you all had returned. Why they chose me to help them is still a mystery.”

  “Bet Dad Panther wasn’t too happy with the kids getting their beast forms on so soon.”

  Gina lifted a shoulder. “It upset Axel that they escaped their caretakers, but I could tell he wasn’t outraged. Few Lyrans inherit the ability to shift at all. Only one of Queen Nyomi’s children can do it. The children shifted to go search for their mother. You have to admire their determination.”

  “Sugar’s a pretty determined person herself. Sounds like she created a couple of mini-mes.”

  “Mini-mes?”

  Lake laughed. He had zero Lyran references to offer. He would have to get better at explaining himself. “Mini-Sugars—I was trying to point out they’re like their mother.”

  “Yes. I understand now,” Gina said at last. “So what happened? The Creator told Axel you were attacked. I thought you would be safe there.”

  “The place you sent us was fine. It seemed like we were safe for a long while. Rodu and I were training. They got us with tranquilizer darts before we could call our blades. They took Sugar down first though. Whoever did this knew she was all but unstoppable. Two of the males were Lyrans. The betrayals from the inside continue.”

  “So I heard from the Creator Blade. We will hold them accountable for their betrayal. They have raised our consciousness again. I am sorry for the treachery of my people.”

  “I know you had nothing to do with the attack on us. I’m not that paranoid or anti-alien yet,” Lake said.

  Gina walked to stand in front of him. “If you accept that I wish only the best for you, may I greet you as I wish to greet you?”

  Lake laughed as he looked up at Gina. She was only a little taller than he was when he was seated. It amazed him someone so much smaller than him had bested him in a fight. “I want to say yes to your intriguing offer, but I’m a little afraid. I haven’t forgotten my Gina of Rodu ass-kicking.”

  Gina dropped her gaze. “I will not attempt to harm you this time. Can you promise me the same?”

  “Absolutely. I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. I would never harm you,” Lake answered with a chuckle.

  Gina stepped between Lake’s slightly spread legs and gently lowered herself onto one of his knees. She felt her courage increase when he put one arm around her to hold her in place.

  “I am glad you survived the attack,” she whispered.

  Lake nodded. “We can’t seem to stay ahead of the bad guys any place we go. Something big is going on, Gina. I don’t understand it. It has Sugar very worried.”

  Gina drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Twice now, I almost lost my chance to reveal myself to you. I would miss you if anything happened, Lake. I would miss you. When I had to repair your severely damaged body, I wished it were me dying instead of you.”

  After confessing, Gina leaned forward and hid her face in Lake’s shoulder. She felt him lift her legs and drape her more comfortably in his lap. His arms encircled her, and she felt peaceful for the first time in many weeks. It was strange how normal this seemed.

  “It’s okay now. You did a good job saving me. I heard you saved Reva Hunter too.”

  “It was a horrible day that luckily ended well. I wish to forget that time. Can we have our social engagement now? I do not trust our futures anymore.”

  Lake hugged her and closed his eyes. “Wanting you is like breathing. It’s just something I feel without questioning it anymore. Are you sure? I know you still think I’m a kid, and I guess I am next to you.”

  Gina shook her head as she lifted it and looked at him. She put a hand on his jaw and held his gaze. “I think you are an old soul in a young body who was chosen for something he wasn’t ready for. I have concluded you are doing the best you can to adapt to what happened. I have judged you too harshly. What I feel about the sentient being inside is another matter. I no longer detest it. Perhaps I have moved into toleration. At least it keeps you alive.”

  Lake chuckled as he turned his mouth into her palm and kissed it. “I’m sure we’ll all get along, eventually.”

  “Or we will become enemies,” Gina said sadly. “But until that time, I want us to have a more intimate relationship. Mother and Father are estranged. If that is possible, anything is. I don’t want to waste all my chances with you.”

  Lake made a face as he considered her words. “I don’t know what to feel about your revelation. Are we doing this for us, or to get even with everyone else for disappointing us?”

  “Have any of my words changed your desire for me?” Gina asked.

  Lake smiled as he shook his head.

  Gina reluctantly pulled herself from his lap and held out a hand. “Then logic is not important. Let us seize this moment before it passes.”

  Lake laughed at her formality but let her pull him from the chair. After holding her for so long, it was difficult to walk, but he was still willing to follow her anywhere.

  Gina led them to what he assumed were her quarters. They smelled female and like her. She dragged him to her bed and made him sit. Then she straddled his lap without a shred of caring what he thought of her for doing so.

  Only the quivering kiss she gave him showed any sign of nerves. He pushed her dark hair back and looked into her almost black eyes. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. That statement from a guy my age may not mean much…”

  Her finger pressing over his lips was confident and meant business. It made him harder for her than he already was. Her lips hot on his made him forget the need to babble.

  Soon they were naked, and she ushered into heaven with a satisfied purr. He throbbed in momentary contentment and didn’t resist when she used her considerable strength to push him to his back.

  And then Gina started moving, and he developed a whole new opinion about her need to be precise.

  “Bloody hell, you’re more amazing than I imagined you’d be,” Lake managed to say as he pushed inside further and strained to be closer.

  What seemed like only moments later, Gina contorted and made a sound he’d never heard a woman make. He was so caught up in her reaction that he went still beneath her.

  “Lake,” she called in satisfaction.

  When her gaze dropped to his, he rose and took her mouth feverishly. He had her under him in a nanosecond and was driving her up again without sparing either of them.

  She called his name a second time and his body answered in thunderous applause. He kissed her over and over and over as she purred.

  Rodu sat in the observatory alone. He’d run the lookout guard off for an hour. He needed time to think—time to figure out how he would live here now that things had changed. Unfortunately, staring at a vista of white Antarctica nothingness wasn’t helping him as much as it usually did.

  He swiveled when he felt her behind him. “Last time you surprised me, I threw you across the room.”

  Nyomi nodded and crossed her arms. “The room is small, and the walls are flexible. I’d survive.” She looked around then back at her mate. “At least this time, I would have deserved your retaliation.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “What I’m trying to be is humble.”

  Rodu grunted and then laughed. “Do you even know what that word means?”

  “Yes. I didn’t say I liked it.”

  Rodu shook his head. “This is more than a dark mood. I will not be charmed, Nyomi.”

  Nyomi walked to his side and slid down until she knelt at his feet. “Then will you be a better being than I am and try to forgive me? I was wrong to withhold information from, Rodu. I was wrong not to tell you about the Lyran protocols.”

  “And do you think your regret makes the Lyrans having an annihilation plan okay?”

  Nyomi shook her head. “No. No, it does not make it okay. It just lifts a w
eight from my heart to tell you I understand now. When I saw how much I’d hurt you, the pain was worse than being stabbed by an enemy. To hurt you is like hurting myself.”

  “Nyomi…”

  “It’s okay, Rodu. I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. Given how you love to brood, I figure in maybe a few a hundred years you might see what I did differently.” She laid her head on Rodu’s knee. “I can handle you being angry, but I don’t think I can handle you being gone. My life is empty without you, Rodu. Every time something wonderful happens, I look around for you to share it with me.”

  Moisture gathered in her eyes when Rodu ran his hand over her head.

  “You exaggerate.”

  “No, I do not. Today your grandchildren turned into cubs and went to see their Aunt Gina. They were tugging on her and trying to get her to take them to Sugar. Axel was beside himself because they’d escaped a caretaker and two guards.”

  Rodu’s hand faltered on its next sweep and the action made her smile. His chuckle was music to her ears and made the moisture in her eyes hotter.

  “They’re not old enough to be shifting yet,” he said.

  “I don’t think they realize it. The boy was a black panther for sure. The girl was a spotted cub. I think she was trying to be a leopard. She hissed at me when she didn’t get her way with her father.”

  Nyomi lifted her head when Rodu snickered.

  “See? You missed all the fun by leaving. What good is having grandchildren if you aren’t here with me to enjoy watching them torture their parents?”

  “I see your point,” Rodu said. He cupped her face with a hand. “I meant everything I said to you before I left. I will never allow the Lyrans to destroy all of humanity. None of the blades will.”

  Nyomi nodded. “I know. Your Creator Blade shares your determination and your opinions of Lyran protocols. But I would like to tell you—and to have to hear me—that I will die myself before I allow a moment’s harm to come to you or anyone in our family. Beyond the humans we have brought into this world or collected as friends, I can make you or your blades no promises. I’ve seen far more evil in my many millenniums of life than you have. But I vow not to even discuss such an alternative without telling the four of you first.”