Dad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 3)

by Donna McDonald

  And when she woke and found out what had happened to her? No, Sugar decided, she couldn’t think about that yet. She’d focus on other things instead.

  Bottom line? The woman would live. But Lake? Lake might not live—the crazy idiot.

  Why hadn’t he been covered in his blade’s energy field in the elevator shaft? Why hadn’t he jumped to the emergency ladder instead of hanging onto that cable?

  Over and over Sugar pondered questions she couldn’t answer. Her mind was trying to figure out what was going through Lake’s brain that was so damn important he’d done almost nothing smart to save himself.

  “Why wasn’t Lake’s blade more careful? If I’d been there, he wouldn’t have gotten so hurt. I could have helped him avoid his injuries. He’s got so much to learn about self-preservation.”

  Rodu shrugged. “You’re not his mother and Lake is not the first blade host to forget to watch his own back. And no… that wasn’t a bad pun. I was trying to explain in words you’ll hear and take in.”

  Surprising herself, Sugar chuckled at the unintentional dark humor. “I must really be messed up to laugh at such a terrible joke.”

  Rodu grunted. “I’ve lived with my blade for more than a thousand years longer than you’ve lived with yours. I’ve made mistakes, some just as damaging to my body as Lake’s. I’ve lived to regret things I’ve done just as you are doing now. Here’s what remains constant no matter what else happens—the planet keeps turning, the Lyrans keep watching humankind, and I keep wondering how this came to be. And I can tell you that none of your concerns matter to the man who loves you and the children who need you. All they can see is that you are choosing to ignore them.”

  “You’re right,” Sugar said, nodding. “I know you’re right. I’m just…”

  “… a good person who wants to do good. This is why it was the primary Protector Blade who called to you, Dr. Sugar Jennings. I knew you were a leader from the first moment I met you. My blade knew it too. It stopped telling me what to do and looked to you for guidance.”

  Sugar grunted. “Some leader—I can’t even figure out where the hell I am.”

  “You will. One day you may even understand Nyomi’s insistence on withholding the information from you.”

  Sugar sighed and stood. “I’m not sure about understanding Nyomi, but I’m better. Now that my pity party’s officially over, I suppose I need to find Axel and let him know I’m okay.”

  “Excellent plan. I’ll sit here until Marta comes to do her check. Then we’ll have a current update on their conditions. I’ll join you and Axel later.”

  “Thanks, Rodu.”

  “Don’t thank me. Go see my grandchildren. They miss their mother. I’m Egyptian. I know these things.”

  “Being Egyptian doesn’t…” Sugar stopped and laughed. He was trying so hard. “Living with Lyrans all these years has warped your sense of humor. I’m going to find you a book of jokes or something. Maybe a scroll. That's more your speed.”

  Rodu grinned. “I love scrolls. Like me, they’re still around a millennia after their creation. You are correct that I have a lot in common with things made of papyrus.”

  “Of course, you do.” Sugar bent to kiss Rodu’s cheek. “Thank you for the pep talk. I know that’s usually my job.”

  “We all have our moments… and you’re welcome. We are part of two families you and I. We each have a normal one—and then we have them,” Rodu said as he pointed to the cylinders. “Together, we four will figure all this out. I look forward to meeting the Creator Blade.”

  Sugar nodded and patted Rodu’s shoulder before heading off to find her mate.

  12

  Sugar couldn’t find Axel anywhere, and no one she spoke with had seen him. In the end, she walked a big circle and ended up back in medical—just a different area of it. Two guards were posted at the entrance. They smiled and bowed their heads to her as she walked inside without stopping.

  In the softly lit room, Axel was bent over the special incubation chamber Gina had built for the twins. She heard him speaking softly in Lyran. With her love of Earth history, she’d once dreamed that her then imaginary children might become bi-lingual. She just hadn’t imagined one of their languages would be alien. But then again—it would not be strange to them. Lyran would be their native tongue if they lived out their lives in Nyomi’s queendom.

  Feeling her presence at last, the man who called himself her mate stopped and turned to face her. Sugar watched Axel straighten to his nearly seven-foot height. He was so gorgeous with that long mane of dark hair and those fierce eyes the color of the greenest jungle.

  As she’d done so many times in the last year or so, Sugar put a hand over the metal between her breasts and whispered a silent thank you to the being who’d brought this incredible male into her life. She got no response to her show of gratitude today. The artifact wasn’t talking to her at the moment. It hadn’t spoken since they’d returned from saving the Creator Blade.

  “Well? Does your firstborn still live?” Axel asked, one corner of his mouth lifting when she frowned.

  “Stop giving me grief over the boy. Lake’s not my child. He’s a friend.”

  “He’s your fellow Protector blade.”

  Sugar shrugged. “That too.”

  Axel smirked. “You’re not the only one worried. I found Gina weeping in her lab. She denied it was because of the boy, but I think she is fooling herself.”

  Sugar blinked in shock. “I can’t imagine Gina shedding tears at all. She’s so logical.”

  Axel grunted. “She is overly emotional at the moment because she fights with her human side not to feel at all. I told her to give in gracefully because she would lose the battle. When a hybrid loves a human, apparently their human side has to be indulged.”

  Sugar chuckled at his admission and ran a hand through her hair. “Gina threatened to strand us in Arizona if we didn’t do what she thought was right. She thought I killed the woman when I stabbed her with the Creator Blade.”

  Axel lifted one eyebrow. “She hasn’t witnessed you and the blade fighting together. Your ruthlessness would not have been such a shock.”

  “I haven’t cried yet, but I’m feeling a lot of remorse.”

  Axel nodded but did not offer sympathy. “Gina’s crying was inevitable from the first moment she talked to that boy. When I asked pertinent questions about her feelings for him, she refused to talk to me. So I did what any brother would do and went to my other sister for help. Marta said I should give Gina space. Do you agree?”

  “Yes. That was wise advice,” Sugar said, peering down at her children. Her eyes filled with happy tears as she spread her hand across the protective glass covering. “I watched their birth with absolutely no trauma. That was amazing and yet nothing compares to seeing them for real. The twins are beautiful, Axel. Thank you for giving me such beautiful children.”

  Axel moved closer and ran a hand over Sugar’s hair. He could feel her fragility. His father had warned him about it, but the reality was more alarming than he’d expected. “Of course, our children turned out to be beautiful. How could they not? We are their parents.”

  “I heard you telling your mother you approved of them… and I heard Gina fussing at you for saying such a thing. You couldn’t see, but inside I was laughing at your family’s shock.”

  Axel shrugged. “Why does that statement bother everyone so much? I do approve of them. Don’t you?”

  Sugar laughed at his arrogance and scrubbed moisture from both eyes. “Yes, of course, I approve of them. What were you telling the children in Lyran just now? I heard you talking when I came inside.”

  “Just a few things I wanted them to know. Lyran infants start thinking the moment they’re out of the womb. Despite the human DNA they inherited, we created two mostly Lyran offspring. Mother says the girl’s energy is a lot like mine.”

  “God help us then,” Sugar teased and forced herself to smile. She was still not feeling normal yet. “You bette
r not be telling the children about all the adventures you had before I met you. Your Bad Panther past is our secret until they’re a couple hundred years old.”

  “A woman who hosts a sentient blade is worried about my past?”

  Sugar snorted. “My past didn’t involve collecting women’s panties as souvenirs.”

  Axel chuckled at his mate’s rare show of jealousy. “You well know I had no real life before you, Sugar Jennings. Other than my mother and siblings, I didn’t even like females all that much. Now I have a mate I adore who has made me a father. You’re the only female who ever tamed my beast.”

  Sugar sniffed and buried her face in Axel’s chest. “You’re not fooling anyone, Axel of Rodu. Just because you’re a Dad Panther now doesn’t mean you’re still not my same old Bad Panther underneath. You know I’m mostly okay with that.”

  “Sure, you’re okay with it today, but what about tomorrow? I hope what I’ve become is what you require in a mate for a happy life. I don’t think I will get more domesticated than this,” Axel joked as he pulled her into his arms.

  Sugar laughed against his chest and shook her head. “Domestication is a process. One day at a time, Cat Man. One day at a time.”

  Axel let the pleasure of her loving embrace chase away as many of his concerns as he could. “Marta says the babies can stay two more weeks in the incubation chamber before they must come out. They’re almost ready to be fully in the world, but I think we will have to build a children’s bed big enough for both of them. They won’t turn loose of each other.”

  Sugar chuckled as she pulled away. She put one hand on the chamber again and used the other to keep Axel close. “Do you actually think we’ll be ready to deal with this in two weeks?”

  Axel turned her face to his. “Our children will be fine. They will be the most spoiled royals the palace has ever seen. Caesar will be jealous. He’s been the favorite for over a century.” He bent and kissed her lips gently. “You’re not speaking of the children we made though, are you?”

  To be understood was a blessing Sugar had never had with a male before this one. It was the greatest irony that Axel drove her crazy too. Sugar’s lip quivered as she shook her head. “Lake lost all his real family because of his sentient blade. He’s far too young to lose his life for it too. If I had just gone down into that cavern with him, he might not have gotten hurt. Rodu didn’t need my help that much.”

  Axel nodded gravely and cupped her cheek in his hand. He was not good with human tears, but his father had warned him about Sugar’s regrets. “My sister, Marta of Rodu, is the most brilliant healer on any planet and swears Lake will recover completely. She said the damage was far less extensive than it appeared to be. Marta was able to mend his tissues enough to cover the bone again long before she put him into the regeneration cylinder.”

  Sugar closed her eyes and stepped into Axel’s arms to be held. “She told me that too. And I believe her—I do. Guess I’m just stressed and tired. Today was a tough day.”

  “I must disagree. Today is a wonderful day. Unlike her comrades, my mate is not in a regeneration cylinder. Selfish as it may be, I prefer the woman I mated to be walking around and fretting over the others. You may continue to do so but do not keep wishing to share their fate. I assure you my father does not. No warrior would. You must remember that is what you are.”

  Sugar groaned as she leaned her forehead against Axel’s chest. “You really are Rodu’s son, aren’t you? You’re the perfect blend of arrogant and annoyingly wise.”

  “I’m glad you think so,” Axel whispered, scooping her up in his arms. Sugar started to protest but then relaxed without another complaint. He hated her this way. Why had he ever thought he wanted subservience? Sugar was acting like a completely different woman.

  “Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Axel.”

  “You’re welcome. Let’s go get some rest. We’ve got a busy couple of weeks ahead of us. As well as monitoring your fellow blade carriers, we have to choose a caregiver for the children that my mother will approve of. This will not be easy because at the moment there is no one the queen approves of or trusts. We also have to cleverly figure out who your mystery woman is since you’ve brought another blade host to the palace for us to help turn into a warrior.”

  “Sorry for all the trouble. Turns out saving the world isn’t as easy as Golden Girl makes it look,” Sugar mumbled into his shoulder.

  Axel laughed at her reference to the blade she carried. Golden Girl was what they called the blade when it was in control.

  He nodded as he walked by the guards who grinned and nodded when they saw Sugar in his arms. Sugar didn’t even lift her head to acknowledge them.

  If his mate continued to exist in this strangely subdued mood, it would be a very long two weeks.

  13

  One week later in the regeneration room…

  Marta stared at her sister over her patient’s head. “He did not require two weeks. It is time to wake him. Are you ready?”

  Gina frowned. “No. I still don’t understand why you thought I’d want to be here.”

  Marta lifted an eyebrow, which sent her whiskers twitching. “And I don’t understand why you’re lying to yourself since it is so very plain how you feel about this male. How are you able to work? Your mental health is obviously in decline because of your conflicted feelings. You are acting like Father. He takes months to shake off a tiresome human attitude like yours.”

  Gina crossed her arms and glared. “Any other insults you want to toss my way?”

  “They are not insults. They are truths to help you. This male is merely a patient to me. He is more to you. That’s why you’re here. Everyone connected to our family knows this about the two of you. I wish you’d admit it.”

  “Why didn’t you call Sugar to be here? She cares for him. I do not see her standing here.”

  Marta shook her head. “Sugar is emotionally depressed, which is a debilitating condition in humans. It takes all her energy to keep up a positive front for Axel and Mother. The children must come out of incubation in the next few days so I’ll get to her needs soon enough. You’re my first concern. Getting Lake up and walking around might fix both of you if I get lucky.”

  “That is wishful thinking.” When Marta shrugged off her negativity, Gina dropped her gaze and put her hands on the cylinder. “I apologize, Marta. I did not mean to add to your healing burden by exhibiting a negative attitude. I want Lake restored to health.”

  “Of course, you do. My sister is a good person and her caring about a particular male is not a burden,” Marta stated as she pressed ambient controls on the side of the cylinder. “However, my sister’s stubbornness about that same male is an annoyance. Step back and let it open now. The air inside is oxygen rich. His body needs to normalize as quickly as possible.”

  The cylinder lid divided into parts which all slid down simultaneously into compartments all around it. A naked, completely healed, but still unconscious Lake lay unmoving inside.

  Gina went to a nearby cabinet and brought back a small drying cloth, which she draped over his lap. She glared at her snickering sister. “Before you interrogate me for my actions… I do not care that you see him as he was born. I do this because I know that blatant nudity makes Lake uncomfortable.”

  Marta chuckled at Gina’s defense. “Why do you bother showing consideration for a male you insist you don’t care about?”

  “Must you issue that challenge to me every two minutes? My feelings for this male are a private matter to me. Can you not simply let things be as they are?”

  Marta smiled as she looked down and saw a pair of blue eyes staring up at Gina in admiration and relief. She reached out and gently turned Lake’s face to force him to look at her.

  “Hello there, Lake Allen Wright, Savior of Rodu. Are you recovered?”

  Lake moaned as he shifted in the cylinder and then he tried to laugh. “Not enough to enjoy two beautiful women fighting over me. Bloody hell, life is so unfai
r sometimes.”

  “See? He is fine,” Gina scolded, lifting a hand to her sister. When Lake caught her wrist in his grip, Gina looked downward and glared. “Release your hold on me or Marta will need to repair you again.”

  “Will you calm down? I wanted to say thanks for the towel. I enjoy knowing you care. Don’t hide how you feel—not from me,” Lake whispered.

  Then his eyes rolled up and his grip fell away.

  Marta sighed. “He is recovering as a normal human would. I have concluded that the being inside him hibernates. Notice that the metal in his chest is missing now?”

  Gina looked down in surprise. She put her hand on Lake’s bare chest where the blade once wrapped around him. The skin was unmarred. “It’s so strange that it’s gone.”

  “I think the thing has to retract and hide somewhere for regeneration to take place. The same thing happens with Father. I just never knew the reason until we learned the truth about the sentient blades. Mother always said it was something I would figure out in time. My trust in our parents was always so complete that I never questioned it happening after the first time I witnessed it.”

  Gina nodded as she stared down at Lake. “You are better off than I am then. I do not understand any of this still. Why do I bother with this male, Marta? I don’t understand him at all.”

  Marta laughed. “Why does any woman bother with any male? They are useful in bed.”

  Gina closed her eyes and shook her head. “That is not why I bother with Lake though I’m sure he knows how to be useful there.”

  “How can you know without letting him prove it? I recall it was you who counseled me through my first few social engagements. Has it been so long that you now require counseling yourself?”

  Huffing at her sister’s teasing, Gina shook her head. “It would not be a mere social engagement with Lake. He will not respect my boundaries. The being he carries inside him only complicates the matter because it keeps advising Lake about me. I’m too invested in this male creature. I would stop feeling this way if I could.”