Dad Panther (Alien Guardians of Earth Book 3)

by Donna McDonald

  “Is this truly Mother’s fault?” Gina asked.

  Axel shrugged. “Many planets have had to develop extreme protocols to avoid total planetary destruction in case its occupants tried to destroy it. Earth has not reached that point of technological development yet, but they are not far off from it either. It is understandable that those created to serve the Earth would be shocked to know there was such a contingency in place.”

  “So we have to let them all go and do nothing?”

  Axel lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you create a way for us to track them discreetly?”

  Gina sniffed and nodded. “The amulets that scramble their natural frequencies are now set to make them vibrate like Lyrans. It should not be hard to track four Lyrans running around together on Earth. Those who seek the beings inside their bodies will register the four of them as aliens, but no one will know they carry sentient blades.”

  “You are as brilliant as you are beautiful,” Axel said, bending to kiss his sister’s temple. “I think you should follow Mother’s advice like I am doing.”

  “What advice is that?”

  Axel turned them both and started walking them toward the elevator lift. “We have to give them space to figure this out on their own. The four of them are too powerful to keep constrained. We have to believe they will find a reasoning that will allow them to see us as helpful again.”

  “Humans are passionate creatures, not logical ones. How long will it take for that kind of logic to occur to them?”

  Shrugging, Axel frowned as they entered the lift. “An undetermined amount of time if we are speaking of the human female I mated. I’m also sure waiting for their return will require an amount of patience neither you nor I have had to develop before. As Lake Allen Wright, Savior of Rodu would say—adulting is very hard.”

  Gina chuckled and blew out a breath. “Adulting? Yes, he would say that. How long will it take for me to stopping weeping and mourning my loss of him?”

  Axel looked at his sister. “Same answer as before,” he said sadly.

  Nodding at the truth resonating in her brother’s reply, Gina turned to the wall of the lift and leaned her head against it to let her tears fall once more.

  “Is this the place?” Sugar asked.

  Rodu pulled the remote Sugar gave him from Reva’s package and opened the doors to the large building. He couldn’t fly the craft inside, but with the landing gear down, he could roll it inside.

  They trekked down the exit ramp in a group. Rodu pushed buttons on his wrist control and the airship covered itself in a reflective glass that made it disappear.

  Reva watched it all in stunned shock. “Hank would be over the moon to know he was right about aliens all along.”

  Sugar snorted. “Yeah—same with my dad. He’d be so shocked to know I…” She let her statement drift off as she sighed. “Let’s go check out the place. According to what I read, they built the main house and cabins as a vacation rental business. There are twenty available cabins. Even with the three of us, that still leaves you several to rent if you want to rent cabins for a living.”

  Reva bit her lip as she looked around. “I’m supposed to be retired, but I don’t know how any of this new life will work out for me.”

  Sugar laughed. “Neither do we. You don’t mind if we stick around and help you figure it out, do you?”

  “No, I don’t mind. I don’t want to be alone. It seems like what the artifact would have wanted. She said her friends were coming and that they would take care of her.”

  “Good,” Sugar said, feeling guilty about what she’d yet to share with Reva. “You can check out the main house while we pick out cabins. Sound good?”

  “Sure,” Reva said, taking the keys Sugar held out to her. “I hope there aren’t many mirrors in the house. I still freak when I see my reflection.”

  “No need,” Rodu said. “You will age normally now and one day soon recognize yourself again. Enjoy this second youth if you can. This is a rare gift of fate.”

  Reva looked at Rodu. “Sugar said you’d been regenerated before.”

  Rodu nodded. “Yes. Many times—too many times.”

  “How old are you supposed to be?” Reva asked.

  Rodu shook his head. “I have lost count of the years, but the last regeneration was my last. It will not happen again to you or me. Now I will grow old and die like a normal human. I feel blessed to know this about myself.”

  Reva stared as Rodu walked calmly on ahead. She looked over at Sugar. “I feel like I’ve missed something important. Isn’t Rodu married to the alien queen? And that guy I saw hovering over you looks just like him. Are they brothers?”

  Sugar laughed. “Father and son. Regeneration works wonders.”

  Reva huffed. “I’m numb with shock.”

  Smiling, Sugar turned to walk. “You’re fine. Rodu, Lake, and I have had several shocks ourselves lately. A lot happened after we saved you, but we’re all okay now. We’re back on Earth and nearly back to normal. Except for having to wear the amulet. You seriously need to keep it on your body all the time, even when you sleep. If it gets uncomfortable to wear, sew a pocket inside your clothing to hold it.”

  Reva chuckled. “When I went to Cambodia, I did that. I sewed pockets inside all my shirts to carry my passport.”

  “Smart travel precaution. Uh… your current Lyran clothing is probably not going to fit Earth fashions.”

  Reva shrugged. “The Lyran Cat Doctor brought what I’m wearing to me. What she gave me fits but all those straight caftans will probably look strange here.”

  “We’ll get you some new clothes as soon as we can,” Sugar promised. They stopped at the house. “I will go find a cabin to park myself. Welcome home, Reva. I hope you don’t mind that you’ve got us staying with you like company for a while.”

  Reva shook her head and headed into the house as Sugar walked away. She could tell they were keeping things from her—like what had happened to the artifact she’d hid. Hopefully, she’d learn the truth in time. But in time for what, she wasn’t sure. She just felt something coming. Her instincts seemed to be working overtime.

  One week later…

  “Is this dress too youthful?” Reva asked. She kept holding it up until Dr. Sugar Jennings, one of her rescuers, lifted her head to look at her.

  “You’re back to about thirty-six now—so no. It looks great.”

  Blinking at the reminder she’d changed, Reva glanced in the mirror again. “In reality, I’m nearly sixty—I just look thirty-something. The mirror can lie to my eyes, but my brain will always know the truth. I’ve forgotten nothing.”

  “Damn. If that’s how regeneration works, Rodu probably feels ancient all the time. That explains so much about his stoic attitude.”

  Reva was curious about all of them. They’d treated her like family since she woke up with them surrounding her medical bed. She’d felt an instant connection to the three of them. Not one shred of those feelings made any sense to her, but they hadn’t changed in a week.

  Hank—god bless the man she’d married—would have been shocked at her just going along with everything Dr. Sugar Jennings suggested she do. But the three of them made her feel safe. So had the aliens they’d left, which also confused her.

  Reva lifted one eyebrow. “How old is Rodu? He wouldn’t tell me, but I think he’s the most unusual man I’ve ever met. It’s like he’s from a whole different time.”

  Sugar laughed. “Let’s talk about all our ages in the future—after you’re no longer shocked at seeing your younger face in the mirror.”

  “How much of our reality are you hiding from me, Dr. Jennings?”

  “Oh, quite a lot,” Sugar admitted with a chuckle, handing Reva another dress. “Here. Try this one. The color would look very nice on you. I can tell from what you’re choosing that you favor dresses over shorts or pants.”

  Reva took the pretty dress from Sugar’s hands. “Will we also talk about what happened to the artifact you said I
saved?”

  Sugar nodded soberly at the question. “Yes. We will. We’ll talk about that much sooner than we will about Rodu’s real age. I want you to know the truth of us… and you deserve to know. But let’s get settled in before we add to your shocks. Finding out aliens exist is enough to get used to for now.”

  “That fact doesn’t shock me. My husband always believed in them, and I always believed Hank was on to something. So aliens—I’m good knowing they exist—as long as they’re friendly,” Reva said with conviction.

  Sugar’s mouth quirked at Reva’s declaration. The woman was getting friendlier with every passing day. “The Lyrans call themselves Guardians of Earth.”

  “And are they?” Reva asked.

  Sugar thought about how best to answer and ended up nodding. “They consider themselves to be guardians, but they don’t get directly involved unless they feel it’s necessary. The other blades and I are still trying to figure out what they think about humankind. When we left, we still weren’t clear on the matter.”

  As she tried on the new dress, which looked great, Reva told herself to be satisfied with Sugar’s promises. Inside her gut, something clawed to know the whole truth as soon as she could. She was curious by nature and it had been a tendency Hank had shared. This was different, though. This felt more important. This felt like she was being held back from the truth by the very people helping her.

  Reva looked at Sugar. “I’m not afraid to know whatever it is you intend to tell me. After finding a talking artifact that could turn into jewelry and watching it kill a snake man to save me, I will be hard to shock.”

  Nodding, Sugar held Reva Hunter’s straightforward gaze. The woman indeed did not act like someone in their thirties. She had far, far more confidence. And there was something about her—someone warm and nurturing. Reva had no problem admitting how much things mattered to her.

  “Everything you did was incredibly brave, Reva. Few humans would have talked to the artifact, much less did what it asked when it needed help. Most would have turned it over to the men who were looking for it and lived with their regrets. You’re special in a way I hope one day I can adequately explain to you.”

  Reva grinned. “How about explaining it today?”

  Sugar laughed at her anxiousness. “Let’s buy clothes and pick up some food. Learning to cook again is going to a challenge for me. I got spoiled living with the Lyrans. They took care of all that. I’ve nearly forgotten what it was like to live as a simple human.”

  Reva looked at her. “I got the impression the aliens didn’t want you to leave.”

  “They didn’t,” Sugar admitted. “But we had to go. You needed us and we needed to make sure you stayed safe. Soon we’ll tell you why.”

  Nodding numbly, Reva watched as Sugar took a bunch of clothing into the dressing room to try on. The men had chosen to make do with what they’d brought. Women shopped for therapy as much as for utility. That was a gospel truth.

  18

  Three weeks after their arrival at Reva’s new location…

  Bored beyond endurance, Reva went to the backdoor of the house and headed outside. She needed air and activity to chase the boredom away. Passing up several empty cabins, Reva kept walking until she came upon a clearing where Lake and Rodu were training.

  Last week the two men had fashioned pugil sticks from what appeared to be tiny trees. They’d run into the nearest town and purchased foam which they secured around each end.

  The mock-weapons seemed too large for males their size to manage, but they swung them with little effort. It sent her head shaking, but she kept telling herself to get used to her new reality.

  Admittedly, she enjoyed listening to the male camaraderie and hearing their masculine banter as they struck each other again and again. They practiced shirtless and she couldn’t help noticing that each of them had a gleaming metal band wrapped around his chest.

  She’d asked Sugar about the metal. The woman had sighed and promised to add the question to the long list of things Reva also wanted to know.

  Picking up her walking pace, Reva moved on by until she got to the edge of her camp. There was a creek flowing along the edge of her property. She found it a peaceful place to think and reflect.

  Strangely today, she felt like there was a decision she should be contemplating as she sat on her favorite flat rock and stared into the water. It soothed her mind to watch the stream rushing by. She trailed her fingers in the coolness and wondered what she was supposed to do next.

  “Talk to me, Hank. What in the world am I supposed to do with all the years your aliens gave back to me? I didn’t want them, you know. I was planning to join you soon. Yes, it’s fun looking young again but without you to share it? Well, it’s just not as amazing as it could be. I don’t know what to do with myself now. I guess I could open this place for business, but it seems like all that’s happened to me is for a way bigger reason. Am I crazy, Hank? I honestly can’t tell. I wish you were here to talk to.”

  Reva sighed because her life with Hank seemed like an eternity ago instead of ending just last year. She blew out a breath and let her mind drift back to wondering about the aliens again.

  Something about all this seemed strange to her—odder than even the talking artifact. An uneasiness was nudging her to understand things.

  What could she say to Sugar to get the woman to finally unload the truth?

  Sugar stepped out of the shower and wiped her eyes with her towel. It was the only place she allowed herself to openly grieve for all she’d left behind at the Lyran palace.

  Axel knew where she was and hadn’t come after her. She would have had to kick his ass if he had, but her grief was about the babies too.

  She didn’t just miss Axel—she missed them all.

  She’d missed being the first to touch the babies.

  She’d missed being there to hold the precious beings for real that she’d carried inside her body for so long.

  She’d made the worst choice a mother could make in leaving and now she was about to make another one.

  Rubbing her flat stomach to ease the phantom ache there, Sugar walked over to her new clothing.

  The twins would be out of their incubation chamber by now. They’d be in the special bed Axel had said they would need because the babies didn’t want to be separated.

  How was she ever going to stop thinking about the family she left behind? She’d been looking forward to the four of them being a family. Now she was hoping the four blade hosts could become the same thing to each other.

  Saving the Earth was turning out to be much lonelier work than she’d counted on it being. And soon she would have to make good on her promises to Reva which would bring about a whole new set of ethical dilemmas.

  Sugar was tying her last shoe when a tranquilizer dart hit her. She pulled the needle-like delivery device from her neck and swiveled to face two tranquilizer guns still pointed in her direction.

  Shock set in instantly. One shooter was a cat man—a Lyran. His companion was something more. She searched inside her for what.

  Their faces wavered as she fought to focus on them.

  Human. Shifter. Animal unclear without testing.

  “About time you started talking to me again,” Sugar chastised, as she touched the center of her chest. But the customary pain of conversion never came.

  Two more darts hitting her neck at the same time had her falling to the floor.

  A loud commotion interrupted Reva’s daydreaming, but it was the quiet snick-snick-snick of several weapons that had her stomach tightening in alarm.

  She rose and tiptoed from her spot. She moved from tree to tree until she saw a group of men bending over Lake and Rodu lying on the ground.

  Her hand covered her mouth to keep from calling out. If they’d killed Rodu and Lake, what had they done to Sugar?

  Several in the group looked around. They appeared to be normal—well, as normal as men could look wearing all black and carrying guns.
The scene was very familiar except for a few aliens mixed in among them—aliens who looked like cats.

  “Oh, my god—Oh. My. God. What am I supposed to do now?”

  Reva…

  Reva looked around. Then déjà vu hit. It was the voice again, and it was in her head once more.

  “Athena, is that you?”

  Yes, and no—I am the Creator Blade.

  “I think the bad guys may have killed your friends. Some bad guys are Lyran cat people. I thought Lyrans were the good guys. I’m really confused right now.”

  The other blade hosts are not dead. They have been restrained with drugs to keep them unconscious. Those who have done this want the power they carry. Their blades will fight off the effects of the drugs, but it will take time. You must flee this place. They will search for you soon.

  “But I can’t just leave the others,” Reva declared in shock. “They didn’t leave me. They saved my life and took me to the cat people to be healed. I’m young now and I… I can’t leave. I need to do something. But I have no guns. I have no weapons. I…” Reva stopped talking when reality hit. “Athena, where are you?”

  I am within you. My fellow blades put me inside your body to save your life. It is a blessing that you do not remember.

  “Okay. Where exactly are you in me?” Reva asked, feeling the front of her body. Her hand suddenly pressed against metal under the fabric of her dress. She drew in a startled breath and knocked on it. A vibration shook her entire chest. “Is that you? So all us have metal bands?”

  What you feel is part of me. It is how I come forward in my host.

  “Host?”

  Yes. It was not your choice or mine, but it is our reality. I am within you.

  “I’m a host to you? Is this what Sugar was going to tell me? That you’ve been inside me since my abductors shot me?”

  Unknown. Protector Sugar is a unique blade host. Her unpredictable factor runs high.