Dad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 3) Read online

  “C…” Marta shook her head as she realized what Sugar meant. “No, we don’t do those either. Our process is not as hard on those involved. We gently remove babies from the womb and restore the mother to full health within a day. We nurture the babies in Lyran gestational units and allow them to wake and interact when they are ready.”

  “So no labor for the mother at all?” Sugar asked.

  “Just a few hours of unconsciousness while we make repairs to your body. Many Lyran females avoid those repairs by having their fetuses moved to an incubation unit early in the gestation. Since you did not do this, we will restore you to your former vitality as best we can.”

  Sugar chuckled and looked down at her bulging middle. Would she have given up carrying them inside her to protect the way she looked? No, of course not. She loved being pregnant. But she smelled a rat in Marta’s explanation—or rather, a cat—a big black one who cleverly got his way most of the time.

  “Why am I just now learning about Lyran gestational units and what you consider normal?”

  “You are as intelligent as Gina of Rodu reports. My brother begged me not to tell you of our birthing process,” Marta confessed with a grin. “Axel said he wanted his children to grow inside their mother and bond with her in the Earth way. My brother is far more nurturing than he wishes others to know.”

  “So my badass Bad Panther has been in Dad Panther mode for months, and I have no one to tell. Life is so unfair sometimes,” Sugar joked, sliding off the table. “How much longer do you think I have to go before we move the kiddos and get this going?”

  “A few weeks—no more than a month.”

  The children will be ready to move in ten days, six hours, five minutes, and thirty-four seconds.

  Sugar laughed. “The artifact says they’ll be ready in about eleven days.”

  “Do you trust your blade’s projections?” Marta asked, making a note on her recording device.

  Estimate based on current known factors. Gestation cycle completing ahead of original estimation. New beings show many signs of being impatient to be born.

  “I trust my sentient blade one hundred percent,” Sugar said with a smile. “If anything changes, the blade will tell me.”

  Lake bounced the palm-sized ball Axel had given him off the wall of the training room then flipped across the floor twice to catch it. Since he felt a driving need to improve his reaction time, he continued to send it careening and practicing fancy moves to catch it.

  At least he was working up a decent sweat. Most activities within the palace didn’t bring it on. Lake landed again and stood there breathing hard with the ball safely in his palm. Turning at a sound, he jerked straight when he saw who it was.

  How long had she been watching him? And why hadn’t his blade said something? Usually, it wouldn’t shut up, especially about her. It had been suspiciously quiet lately.

  He bounced the ball hard one more time, caught it, and then walked across the floor. “Everything okay in the Lyran Queendom today?”

  “How could I possibly formulate a reasonable response to such a broad question? This is the first time I’ve left the lab in over a week.”

  Lake’s mouth twisted at her super-geeky answer. He answered her with Lyran formality. “Let’s rephrase my greeting. How do you fair today, Gina of Rodu?”

  “I do not do well, Lake Allen Wright, Savior of Rodu,” Gina answered.

  Lake stopped squeezing the ball and stared at her troubled expression. And not just because she’d used his newly bestowed title. “What’s wrong, Gina? You look stressed.”

  Gina dropped her gaze to the floor. “I cannot focus on my work.”

  “Of course. Your work. I should have known that’s what this was about,” Lake said, bouncing the ball hard and catching it as it dropped from the ceiling.

  Still irritated, he ignored her pleading look and sent the ball bouncing even higher.

  Gina snatched it from the air before he could reach out to do so. Next thing he knew, she was slapping the ball into his palm.

  “I cannot focus on what I need to do because I keep thinking about you. You seemed upset when you left the lab the other day. I do not wish our exchanges to always upset you, but you seem determined to contribute to our miscommunication. I admit your immature concerns and limited perspective on life annoy me. Women are not women just because they have breasts. Not all females have breasts. There are whole species in the universe where a being’s gender is not physically obvious.”

  Lake grunted. “And how would a mere Earthling like me know that? I just found out about Lyrans a few months ago. I’m still working on believing Lyrans exist.”

  Gina blinked—then frowned. “Is it not reasonable of me to assume that you would be curious enough about all alien existence to learn about the various species in touch with Earth?”

  Lake rolled the ball in his palm. “Honestly? It never crossed my mind. I’ve learned enough about Lyrans to get by. I prefer to deal with the present and learn as I go.”

  When she said nothing, Lake laughed. “What’s the matter, Goddess? Cat got your tongue?” He smiled at the stunned look on Gina’s face. “I know it was a terrible pun, but I couldn’t resist.”

  “I’m intentionally ignoring your poor attempt at humor so I won’t take some physical action I will regret later. What rendered me speechless was hearing about your lack of desire to learn.”

  Lake chuckled at her physical threat, but the blade might let her do it. He let the ball rest in his palm. “I don’t see any reason to waste time storing up knowledge that I may or may not need. Does living in the present instead of the past or future mean I’m not smart enough for you?”

  Gina crossed her arms. “No. What I’m implying is that you do not care about anyone but yourself. You have not bothered to learn all you can about my species, and yet you seek entertainment like a bored child. What do you care about enough to study, Lake Allen Wright? I seek a common ground on which I can speak to you without you belittling my every breath.”

  “Teasing you about your work is not belittling you.”

  Gina shook her head. “I disagree. I dislike it and my reaction is my own whether or not you accept it.”

  Lake tossed the ball from hand to hand as he thought about her question. What did he care about? The answer was not exactly flattering because he cared about next to nothing. He wasn’t even curious about the origin of the blade inside him. Things happened to people, and they learned how to deal with them. The blade told him all he needed to know about Lyrans to get by.

  Gina lifted a hand. “I cannot relate to such a person. My every utterance seems to offend you when I wish the opposite to be true.”

  Lake lifted the ball and held it between one finger and his thumb as he met Gina’s gaze. He ran the other hand across it and made it disappear. He chuckled when Gina drew in a startled breath. “What you saw me do just now is called a magic trick. The truth about what I did to create the optical illusion that fooled your eyes is boring but necessary. I think most knowledge is like that to me—boring but necessary. I’m not sure I will ever change my viewpoint of that, but I’m not directionless.”

  Gina watched the ball fall from one of Lake’s palms to the other. How had he moved it without her seeing him do so? “What I do must be boring times a hundred to you then.”

  Lake shrugged. “Your work is boring to me, but you’re not. Every time I finally get to where I think we have no point of connection at all, I turn around and there you are. The blade doesn’t even warn me you’re here anymore. It expects you. However, I don’t take your presence that much for granted yet. I still get flustered when you show up. The attraction between us makes me nervous.”

  Equally embarrassed and delighted by his confession, Gina reached out and plucked the ball from Lake’s palm. “I cannot relate to a person who does not accept my intelligence. Everything I study is with an end purpose in mind. I seek knowledge to accomplish a goal. Not all goals are exciting. Most ar
e not, in fact, but someone has to keep our air transports updated and flying.”

  She tucked her long dark hair behind one ear. “I started the Pleiadian translator work after you and Sugar left the lab the other day because I couldn’t hold off my curiosity. It will take more than a month to get the basic language base built. It is a waste of resources next to my other work.”

  “Wow,” Lake said, surprised that Gina had set her projects aside for one of Sugar’s.

  “I, too, was startled by the initial time required to code in the language. However, I was more surprised that the device didn’t immediately tell me the goal was impossible. I’m using the largest translator I own. I now wonder if it will fail before it completes the task.”

  Lake grinned. “Then what would you do?”

  “Build a bigger translator and try again,” Gina said.

  “Of course, you would,” Lake said with a grin. “I like that about you—that dedication you have to finish what you start. I aspire to be more like that myself.”

  “I find no flaws in your personality. I merely question your work ethic. Mine is highly developed. In the last hundred years, no one has bothered finding out how I spend my time. They know I am improving their lives.”

  Lake scrubbed a hand through his hair. He kept forgetting Gina was chronologically older—as in two centuries older. “I need more out of life than work to be happy. My parents worked all the time, and I barely saw them. I vowed never to have that kind of existence.”

  Gina thought about his revelation. It was a reasonable response. “When you profess to want more than work, are you speaking of sex and relationships? Or other entertainment?”

  Lake cleared his throat. “I’m speaking of dating, spending time together, and yeah… I guess sex is always high on my priority list. I’m a guy.”

  “Would our communication improve if we spent non-work time together?” Gina asked.

  “Maybe,” Lake said with a grin. “Will you offer me sex again soon?”

  “Not immediately,” Gina said, pushing on Lake’s chest when he laughed. Why was she here? Why was she bothering with this… this… laughing male?

  Lake leaned forward and lightly touched his lips to Gina’s. “I’d love to have a real date with you. I will do my very best not to make fun of technology, Lyrans, your work, your family…”

  Gina put her fingers over his lips. “The list is too long, and I do not have that kind of time. At the risk of ruining our new accord, I must return to my work to finish some tasks before our time together.”

  Lake gripped her wrist and pulled her flush against him. He looked down into her surprised eyes and smiled. “It’s okay. Although I don’t understand half of what you say, I like the geek in you.”

  Gina nodded. “That is obvious. You’re experiencing an erection.”

  “No, that’s because you were pushing on me earlier. Then you put your fingers over my lips. Lyrans are very sensual. Do you know that I’ve turned down twenty social engagements because I only feel this way when you touch me.”

  “Twenty?” Gina burst out.

  Lake chuckled at her true passion escaping before sweeping his lips across hers. His body short-circuited when Gina opened her mouth and kissed him back. His tongue dipped inside for a taste, and then he pushed her away. The woman was damned addictive.

  “So when is our date?” he asked roughly.

  Gina stared into his lust-clouded eyes. She could have spent the afternoon staring into that passionate gaze. Maybe if they didn’t talk. “Is tonight convenient for you?”

  Lake put his forehead on Gina’s. He didn’t know whether he was laughing over her breathless answer or his reaction to it. Whatever the case, he couldn’t wait for their social engagement to begin.

  4

  Exhausted from twenty-three hours of traveling home, Reva wandered into her small house and parked her one suitcase against the wall in the foyer. She’d deal with unpacking tomorrow. Right now, she just wanted to get settled in and feel normal.

  She paused in front of the mirror in her hallway to see if she’d imagined the encounter with the Cambodian artifact, but she hadn’t. The hammered choker she’d worn on the flight out of Cambodia was now a delicate necklace of what appeared to be fifty thin gold chains. All traces of the original green color were gone. She ran her fingertips over the strands, and they vibrated under her touch.

  Checking her wrists, she inspected the wide cuff bracelets. They had morphed into a less rustic design. Now they were more elegant with rounded edges and clean contemporary lines. This was the third change she’d witnessed. She’d change clothes, and the thing she wore—whatever it was—would change its form as well.

  The strange Egyptian symbols were still visible, but they were minuscule now. There were also lights running under the surface of what seemed to be a translucent level. Those she’d unhappily discovered when the steward had turned out the lights on the plane to let passengers sleep. She’d spent her night hours hiding her wrists under the thin blanket they’d provided.

  Reva brought her wrists to eye level now and looked for the lights, but she couldn’t see them. She dropped her hands and sighed. At the very least, she’d officially stolen an ancient Cambodian artifact and smuggled it into the US with her. That meant she was now an international criminal.

  What in the world would she do if the police showed up? Tell them the thing around her throat and wrist was an alien masquerading as an ancient artifact? Tell them it had begged her for help?

  Shaking her head, Reva softly laughed at herself. Grief sure could do strange things to a person.

  In your modern world, an artifact is defined as something made by a human and of historical or cultural interest. A human did not make the sentient blades. Ergo, I am not an artifact. I concede that I am ancient by Earth standards.

  “If you’re not an artifact, what are you then?” Reva asked.

  I am the life source of the Creator Blade.

  Reva rolled her eyes at the explanation that wasn’t really an explanation even though she’d heard it offered several times already. Nothing the thing could say would ever explain to her how she’d bypassed metal detectors and airline security checkpoints. No one—not even customs—had asked her to take the metal off her physical body. Nothing metal had dinged when she was scanned either. It was like she was the only one who saw the stuff hitching a ride on her body as jewelry.

  Your conclusion is correct, Reva Hunter. I was invisible to all others. I created a force field to prevent them from seeing me.

  “You know something? I’m not very comfortable talking to my jewelry, especially when it keeps reading my mind,” Reva complained as she walked away from the mirror.

  What form would you prefer I take? I must stay close to your person to mask my vibrational frequency. Would you like me to become an article of clothing for you?

  “And now we’re back to living in one of Hank’s Sci-Fi movies,” Reva said, moving outside the house to her beloved back yard. It was small, but it was her sanctuary when life drove her crazy.

  She walked across the tidy green lawn to the tiny path she’d installed along her flowerbeds. It was only a thirty-yard walk around the whole of her fenced area, but she enjoyed it. The pristine, weed-free beds and lovely flowers made her feel grounded again.

  When she walked by her daylilies that needed thinning, a strange sound made her turn her head. It was close and sounded like a dog digging, but she didn’t see a dog.

  She stepped in between her flowers and used every inch of her five foot nine height to stretch up enough to see over the fence into her neighbor’s yard.

  Still no dog. But the digging sound continued.

  Reva turned to scan her green space and saw a gigantic dirt hole suddenly open up in the middle of it. Something shoved dirt high and outside the crater. A giant snake’s head finally popped out and looked at her with a man’s eyes. She tried to scream, but the sound never made it out of her mouth. Seeing a giant s
nake body emerge from the hole with human arms and legs robbed her of all common sense. What she was seeing was impossible, and her brain kept screaming that fact over and over.

  “Where issss the blade?” the snake man demanded.

  “I… I…” Reva stammered as she cringed when the man’s tongue slid out as he hissed at her.

  Reva. Do not give in to your fear. Extend your arms with palms out toward the attacker. This will help me take proper aim.

  “This is not a freaking superhero movie,” Reva yelled loudly. Shaking with fear as she watched the snake guy slowly advancing toward her with his awkward body. He kept looking her over. Trying to decide what her chances were of escaping him if she ran, she held out her hands and started praying.

  Hold your wrists higher.

  “Hey—I’m freaking trying here,” Reva stated loudly.

  She’d surprised herself with her angry outburst as well as the creature moving toward her.

  The bracelets buzzed against her wrists as if in warning, so Reva stopped trying to move away and extended her arms until her palms and wrists were aimed toward the snake guy.

  She swallowed and tried not to focus on the distorted face closing in on her. “Stay back. Don’t make me use my bracelets on you. What the…”

  Her hands felt electrified when a beam of green light shot from each of her wrists. A combined beam of energy hit the guy directly in the chest and sent him flying backward into the hole.

  Kneel, Reva. Put both hands on the ground. Keep your wrists flat and fully connected to the Earth.

  Reva instantly knelt and did as she was ordered. She saw nothing happen this time, but she felt it. Power left her wrists and flowed toward the hole in her yard. The ground shook lightly beneath her fingers. Then suddenly everything beneath her hands was still.

  Rise. You must flee this place. Those with ill intentions have tracked me here.

  “I can't just leave right after we got here. This is my home,” Reva protested.