“He’s your best friend.”
Titus pulled her close and kissed the top of her forehead. “Zargonnii females will never allow him to Holiday. The other warriors are concerned. Cy is virile and still young. The warriors with human females worry for their safety. He damaged one of our own females. What might he do to a human female?”
“Where can he go?”
“Anywhere the vessel takes him. He’s a warrior. He will be missed, by some.”
Titus hung his head.
He will be missed by one.
The thought misted Zabbie’s eyes. Zabbie watched as Cy’s mother caressed his hand. She was crooning to him. Titus’s warriors had ceased their growling and grumbling, Cy’s mother was unable to Holiday again after her only child was born. Without a male Zargonnii seed to keep her in her prime, she had grown too old to Holiday with and the danger passed. The idea saddened Zabbie, the female should have lived to be five hundred, Titus said. When Finn swung the machine he had hovering over the female away she sat up. Her movements cautious she cried out when her feet touched the floor and she was able to stand. Her first steps were hesitant, yet confident. She smiled when she hugged her son. She spoke to Finn.
“Thank you.”
Zabbie didn’t need to translate. She could tell by Finn’s grin he was happy. He glanced at Zabbie.
“Ask her to let the females know if there is ever an injury they can’t heal, they are to come to me. Don’t let anyone suffer in silence. The warriors will have to suck it up.”
Zabbie repeated what he said. The female smiled, nodded and after a touch to her son’s face, she left. She didn’t need an escort and all understood Cy was not to go near the line. Titus kissed Zabbie’s forehead.
“Go home,” he said.
Zabbie looked from Titus to Cy and nodded.
Chapter 12
Cy was angry. He glared at Titus. Titus glared back.
“You’re sending your best friend away from the only home I’ve known,” his words were bitter.
“You, my best friend, stole my mate. You would have stolen my chance for a child. You would have stolen my chance for love. I see your hurt. Do you see mine?”
“I was angry with my mother and hurt. I understand why the females won’t allow me to Holiday with them. I don’t blame Zabbie,” Cy said. “But there is one who I will never forgive. It’s all because of her. You may not be lying there with a cold dead body for me to avenge, but I have become dead to you. My heart is frozen.”
“Cy, Bertha is dead. We both know there is no hope of her survival. You are not dead to me; you need something, or someone. Go, find yourself. Get rid of your anger, it’s misplaced. You understand what happened to your mother. Females are not evil. Kill a few Tonans or Gorganos. You wanted to war, you need to stop warring within yourself first.”
Cy entered the vessel, alone. No other wanted to go. Titus was his only friend. As the door closed Cy called out.
“Tell Zabbie, I’m sorry.”
Titus already knew Cy was sorry. He wished him well. Too many years of anger didn’t dissipate overnight. Cy had a few demons to deal with. Until he realized his anger came from within, he would be dangerous. The rock in Titus’s chest hurt almost as much as when he thought he’d lost Zabbie. Maybe in time the wounds would heal.
“Find peace, brother,” Titus whispered as the vessel took off into the sky.
With a heavy heart, Titus made his way home. The moment he entered his dwelling, Zabbie pressed her body to him and stroked his back. His mate rarely shed tears, but each one that dropped he knew was for him. He buried her face into his chest. He crooned the loss of a loved one.
* * * *
“Zabbie you need to get your emotions under control.”
She glared at Finn. “Ya think? This isn’t any picnic for me, either.”
She was in his office sitting on a high table. Titus was soothing ruffled feathers as he and his warriors dodged furniture and other flying objects in the main hall. Zabbie could hear the warriors snarling, and not only on the console, which made her angrier. In the office a few instruments were jiggling up a storm.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Zabbie complained. “I’m surfing a wave of emotion. And I don’t know how to surf.” She growled.
“I was worried this would happen when you conceived,” Finn said.
There was a huge boom and then utter silence. “What?” Zabbie stared at him, eyes wide.
“It never ceases to amaze me that human females need to be told they’re pregnant.”
Zabbie smiled then frowned. “I’m not going to be out of control for nine months, am I?”
“Let’s hope not.”
Titus entered the room, he looked tired. “For now everything in the building has stopped being enchanted.”
“Your mate is surprised she’s pregnant,” Finn said, he sounded a little annoyed.
“What?” Titus said.
Finn sighed. “You too?”
“I’ve been doing double duty since Cy left,” Titus said. He went to Zabbie and placed his hand against her belly and smiled. “Finally, a child I can hold.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Thank you.”
“We’re going to have to prepare for this little one,” Finn said.
“What do you mean?” Zabbie asked.
“We have no clue what powers you will pass on to the child. She’s going to be very strong, no doubt. You’re going to have to teach her how to control her actions. In the beginning, it will be hard and in her teens.”
“She’ll be a perfect angel,” Titus said.
“Spoken like a true father,” Zabbie said.
Outside, thunder crashed and the pattering of rain began. Zabbie slipped off the table and into Titus’s arms.
“Maybe, if you wear me out, I’ll be too tired to harass your warriors.” Zabbie winked at him.
Titus looked at Finn who shrugged. He slapped Titus on the back. “Save us, oh great leader.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Chapter 13
A small mewling cry rent the air. Zabbie gasped and lay back against a mountain of pillows. She looked tired and overly drawn. The baby was big even by Earth standards and Finn mentioned it was a good thing she was tall with wide hips. Finn was checking the babe over and seemed overly quiet. With concern, Titus unwrapped his daughter and stared in amazement.
“This is impossible.”
Titus was shaking as he gazed at his son.
Finn looked as astounded.
“I’m at a loss, Titus. Human females can only give birth to female offspring.”
Both males looked at Zabbie. She seemed unconcerned.
“I’m human,” she said. “But the Gorgano did something to me. I was altered in a few ways, we’ve all seen that. The Tonan was determined to get me pregnant. He even offered a piece of his shield. From what I’ve learned that’s next to impossible. This was a Tonan male cycle for must. Maybe I was physically altered to make sure I had a male.”
“There is no doubt this child is mine,” Titus said. “The resemblance beside the obvious is uncanny.”
Zabbie smiled a small smile. “Yes, he’s all yours, Titus. Are you annoyed he’s male?”
“Annoyed? I’m ecstatic. I have a child. My child, our child.”
Titus gazed into his son’s shining green eyes, his mother’s eyes. His long flowing hair was ebony, like his mother’s but undeniably Zargonnii. His body was bald except for a white thatch of fur covering four horizontal stripes across his forearms, another Zargonnii trait. The babe yawned and stretched, and grew. Before Titus’s eyes the baby grew larger to resemble a male child ready to be handed over to his father.
“Finn?”
“I can see.”
“Do you think this means if a human female comes into contact with the Gorgano she can conceive male offspring?” Titus asked.
“All of the other humans have given birth to females.”
“Excuse me, he’s a bo
y all right.” Zabbie reached for her son and held the babe under his arms letting his feet dangle. “He has the right equipment and Titus, you know I didn’t cheat on you.”
Titus opened and closed his mouth a few times in surprise. “Well, of course you didn’t cheat on me,” he spluttered.
“No, he is definitely half Zargonnii,” Finn said. “It’s strange though. When the female babes are born their fathers get bigger and stronger, giving the males the edge needed to take care of her. Titus, you’re the biggest male warrior I know, but you haven’t changed.”
Titus took his son from Zabbie. “No, I didn’t, my son did. He is bigger than any babe his age. He has the edge. It’s fitting.”
“I wonder how much of an edge,” Finn mumbled and Titus heard a twinge of worry.
“Your son needs a name,” Zabbie said.
Titus grinned. “You want me to name him?”
“If a female Zargonnii had given you a son you’d be naming him, right?”
Titus cuddled him closer. “My father was named Zell. He was a powerful warrior and he loved me. He loved Cy, too.”
It hurt Titus that Cy couldn’t be there to share in the birth of his son. He had no clue where his warrior went. There was a rumor he’d gone mercenary rogue. Titus hoped Cy could fight off some of his anger.
“Zell is a fine name,” Zabbie said. “Zell of the Zargonnii warriors. I wonder if he’ll have the ability to incinerate things. His eyes aren’t red. He has no fur really.”
“The human female babes have no fur. They do have the long hair but each has a thatch of their mother’s hair coloring as well.”
“Titus?”
All turned when Tane entered the room. They were in the main hall in Finn’s office. No one was certain what to expect when the baby was born so all warriors were on high alert, they also wanted to glimpse the baby. It was rare for fathers to allow warriors too close to their daughters. They were held up in the window in the safety of a warrior’s home for the males to see.
“Yikes,” Zabbie squealed. “Don’t any of your warriors know how to knock?”
She was half naked and yanked a sheet over her. Zell made the strangest noise. Two small green laser beams shot from his eyes to zap Tane in the shoulder sending him back a pace.
“Youch, that wasn’t pleasant,” Tane howled.
Titus chuckled. “Well, I guess we have our answer.” He handed the baby to his mother.
Finn went to check on Tane. “You’ll be fine. Looks like Zell has his father’s protective streak. That’s some weapon. So soon, too. Normally our males don’t have the ability to blaze their eyes until they can control them.”
“Holy fuck, I’ll go warn the others; I mean, tell the others you have a son,” Tane said and left grumbling.
“You make a good point, Finn. Our little warriors have the ability when they can control it. In time, let’s hope we find Zell has this ability because he already knows what he’s doing,” Titus said.
“Well, little warrior, what surprises do you have in store for us?” Zabbie said.
Zell yawned and fell asleep. Finn left at a nod from Titus. He tucked the blankets around Zabbie and lifted her. His son was no threat, at least not at this moment, and Titus was feeling overprotective and a bit testy. Titus would teach him to be a good warrior. He came from a good blood line. He wanted his family home.
“Maybe you should wait,” Zabbie said as Titus strode from the structure. “I’m exhausted and can feel myself falling asleep. We know there are still bangor out there. I’m not questioning your strength, but you’ve got your hands full.”
“We’ll be fine. There are about eight warriors following us, all keeping a respectful distance.” He sensed every warrior who followed. His senses were keener and perhaps Zell had given him a new gift after all.
Titus rocked the lives he held protected in his embrace and crooned to them, a quiet calming sound meant to soothe. He smiled when he realized more crooning was coming from behind him. Some of the warriors had sons of their own and knew the tone well.
A tiny sound reached his ears and Titus looked at his son, his eyes were wide. A slight turn of the babe’s head and Titus stopped, startled. The bangor was standing one second, poised to strike, the next its eyes were zapped by two green laser shots, and it fell to its knees then belly. Zell yawned, snuggled against his mother’s breasts and was soon sleeping.
Titus, eyes still wide stepped over the dead bangor, two small holes were smoking from the back of its head. Titus continued to walk home. He had two thoughts. His son was strong enough to kill with a look and he hadn’t hit Tane the same way. Little Zell had control. As he walked, he heard the exclamations from behind him as the warriors dispersed. All had come to the same conclusion, especially Tane.
Once home, Titus settled Zabbie onto their bed. He sat with Zell in his arms. The babe had strong male features. There was an oval patch on his belly resembling Titus’s. It meant his son could expand into warrior mode one day.
On his little hands were black fingernails. Titus rubbed his thumb across the tips of Zell’s fingers. Black razors formed and retreated. His lips were blue but not as dark as Titus’s. A careful examination of his mouth and Titus frowned when he noted his son’s teeth had spaces but were flat. Titus ran his finger over the dull teeth, so much like his mothers. He was surprised when the teeth expanded and grew sharp.
“Poor Zabbie.” His son was awake and watching him. “Little warrior, if I were you I’d show restraint around your mother’s boobs.”
Zell made a cooing sound. Titus mimicked the noise, startling the baby. He waved small fists and kicked his legs. There had been a single second Titus was disappointed he didn’t have the daughter he wanted. There was another moment when he was worried his son wouldn’t be able to take care of himself when he grew older. Time would tell how big he would get, but Titus was no longer worried. The second the warriors had seen the dead bangor, they left. A few laughing about how Titus didn’t need protection, the bangors did.
“I’m going to teach you to be the best leader the Zargonnii have ever seen, my son.”
“You might want to let me feed him first,” Zabbie said and rose to an elbow.
“Remember,” Titus whispered to Zell. “Don’t bite the boobs. They’re yours on loan only.”
Damned if the little warrior didn’t smile at him.
* * * *
Titus and Finn walked around the battered shuttle. It lay resting by a large pond. Very little scum covered the top of the water and the warriors were in no danger.
“It’s one of ours.” Titus placed his foot on the vessel and gave it a small shove. Most of the identifying sign was gone, but Titus could guess what vessel it was. His heart fell. Titus had programmed this shuttle himself on a fateful night in space hoping to save a life. Instead the life was lost.
“The homing device must have brought it here through a water portal. I doubt Arax or even the shark people would send it through. They battle their own war, they aren’t interested in ours,” Finn said. “It’s so battered it must have moved inch by inch before sensing a portal to bring it home and complete its mission.”
“This is the vessel Bertha was in. Do you suppose the scum ate her?” Titus asked. The idea appalled him.
Finn put his hand on Titus’s shoulder. “By the looks of the vessel Bertha is long dead, I’m guessing before reaching our planet. I’ve walked by here many times, as have you. The shuttle has only recently resurfaced. If there was anything left of Bertha it wouldn’t have been much.”
“This, her, it’s killing me. I love Zabbie and our son so much, but this one thing keeps me from complete happiness. The one time I failed.”
“Titus, Arax knows Bethany and me, maybe we could go…”
“No, I won’t risk it.”
“Bertha’s whereabouts affects the others. Bethany doesn’t say much, but she feels she lost one because she took on the responsibility of the other women. We know exactly where
Bertha ended up now. It won’t take much to travel to the dark warriors and search for a portal into the water world. We need to exchange information with the dark warriors. They need to know cold will kill the Gorgano.”
“But your daughter needs you both.”
“My brother and his mate will watch her. She will be safe.”
“I don’t know.”
“We all need to know.”
“Alright, but get in and get out.”
Finn grinned and slapped him on the back. “That’s funny, that’s what Bethany says when she’s tired.”
“Too much information.”
Both warriors laughed.
Chapter 14
Titus was relieved to see Finn stroll into his home. He and Bethany had been gone less than a week, but it was a tense week. The dark warriors were able to send word they made it to their planet fine. It was Arax’s water world that bothered Titus. There was zero communication from that world within a world. The shark warriors and water warriors were at war last he heard. Titus strode to Finn and clasped his arms.
“Damn, it’s good to see you home safe.”
“It was an interesting trip,” Finn said. “The dark warriors are cultivating a machine to make snow. Bethany told them it was possible. It appears they had them on Earth. They want it enhanced. The machine will catapult huge ice balls as well; their Angano fly. I thought the Gorgano were bad but their distant cousins are creepy as hell. Since Bethany can connect with the creatures, the dark warriors know where they are and in what realm. That will be some war. The Castians are gearing up as well. Wish I could go.”
“We need you here, Finn.”
“As for Arax, things are heating up with the shark warriors. But no worries, I’m certain he can handle them…and Bertha is just fine.”
Titus couldn’t breathe for a moment. He blinked and gazed into Finn’s smiling face.
“Bertha is alive in an alternate universe? She’s with Arax?” Titus was amazed and relieved.
“She is. She’s been given a second chance,” Finn said. He placed his hand on Titus’s shoulder. “You would be amazed at the transformation.”
To Catch A Warrior [Unearthly World Book 5] Page 14
