aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire) (28 page)

“Some
Hunters are experts in healing, or in explosives, or in mechanical machines.
Clan
Saidir
are fierce fighters and that’s why we’re
chosen to go into battle first. Today, you will meet
Ardal
.
He is clan
Rioge
. He is the leader.”

“Is
he scary?”
Tarrin’s
voice held awe.

Catal
smiled. He remembered the first time he’d met
Ardal
.
They had just rescued him from a military secret base in northern Canada. Even
surrounded by a group of armed Hunters,
Ardal
had
faced them down. He was a leader beyond compare.

“No.
Ardal
is a friend and a true Hunter. He accepted me
into his unit even though I threatened him and his mate.”

“Why
would you do that?”
Tarrin
moved closer to Catal.

Catal
put his arm on his shoulder. “When I was left on Earth I was only ten years old
and my training was incomplete.
Ardal
understood this
and has helped us finish our teachings. He has great honor.”

“Why
did he come to Earth?”
Tarrin
leaned against Catal.

“He
and his unit were sent here to be executed. They were the last Hunters in the
universe. When they took over the ship that was transporting them to their
death, it crashed on Earth.”

“You
mean they were to be killed?”
Tarrin’s
voice shook.
“Did they do something wrong?”

“There
was a civil war on Cygnus and the
Kaladin
, who all
Hunters obeyed, were defeated by the Holman. The Holman didn’t trust us to
follow their directives, so they ordered all Hunters killed.
Ardal
and his unit were the personal guards for the High
Council. Their last mission was to hide the council and that’s why they arrived
back on Cygnus after the others had been executed.”

“That’s
not right.”

“A
lot of things aren’t just, that’s why there are Hunters. We right the wrongs.”
Catal squeezed
Tarrin
closer.

“Like
you did with those men who kidnapped Gates and me?”

“Exactly.”

Tarrin
was silent for a few minutes and then he spoke. “How long have you and the
others been on Earth?”

“I
have been here thirty years.” Catal looked down at
Tarrin
.
“
Ardal
and his unit have been here for ten months. I
have learned much since I joined them, including that the legends about Hunters
and their mates is true.”

Tarrin
looked up at his father. He gazed at him with a steady calm. “You didn’t
believe Mom was your mate.”

“I
knew that she was the only woman I had ever desired, but I didn’t trust the
legends.” Catal felt a surge of pride. His son understood quickly. “Because of
the modifications that were done to make us superior warriors we develop a
strong bond with only one woman. She is our pair bond. If we mate, it is an
attachment that lasts for life. There will never be anyone else for me but your
mother.”

Catal
suppressed the pain that shot through him at the thought of the years he’d
spent apart from Selena.
Tarrin
was too young to
understand the intensity of the pair bond. Because he was half human he might
never experience it fully. That would be a loss.
Tarrin
might not have the pain of separation, but he would never experience the
pleasure and oneness with a pair bond.

“What
happened to the mates of the other Hunters? Were they left on Cygnus?”

“We
were forbidden to mate.”

Catal’s
voice was matter of fact. He knew that the
Kaladin
had denied them a great joy, but it was his own fault that he had lost Selena.
If he’d been honest about who he was from the beginning, she would have trusted
him.

Just
then a sound from the road caught his attention. He focused and saw a dark van
approaching the house. The others were here. He stood and reached a hand down
for
Tarrin
.

“
Ardal
is here.”

The
two walked down from the hill to the house below.

Selena
met them at the door. “They’re in the kitchen.”

Catal
pulled her close and kissed her. “Let’s go.”

Ardal
was standing at the kitchen counter. His arms were crossed across his chest and
he looked formidable. Catal glanced at
Tarrin
to see
how he was holding up. He was looking at the leader with wide eyes. Catal could
understand why. Clan
Rioge
were larger than clan
Saidir
, but
Ardal
was an
honorable leader. A man to be respected.

He
held Selena close to his chest with one arm and his other hand was on
Tarrin’s
shoulder. He stopped in front of
Ardal
. “This is my mate Selena, and our son,
Tarrin
.”

Ardal
nodded at Selena. “I am
Ardal
of the clan
Rioge
and last leader of the Hunters. I am honored to meet
you.” He then crouched down in front of
Tarrin
. “I
hope we can be friends. We are brothers, so there is no need to fear me.”

There
was silence for a few seconds and then
Tarrin
smiled.
“You can talk in my head too.”

Ardal
grinned. “All Hunters can speak to each other this way. Just focus and connect
with me.”

Tarrin
frowned and his eyes narrowed. A couple of seconds later
Ardal
laughed and stood. He touched
Tarrin’s
shoulder and
glanced at Catal.

“You
father is an excellent warrior. He will do most of your training. After that, I
will gladly help you learn.”
Ardal
shook his head.
“You are truly a miracle. One that no Hunter ever expected.”

At
that moment,
Ardal’s
mate Fiona, came in with
Niail
and
Kimi
. She was still as
beautiful as Catal remembered. Her face glowed and her smile was welcoming.
Niail
and
Kimi
stood back as
Fiona rushed into
Ardal’s
arms.

“This
is my mate and wife Fiona.”
Ardal
introduced her to
Selena and
Tarrin
. “She’s been anxious to meet you.”

“I’m
so happy not to be the only woman in this group of men.” Fiona sighed and then
pushed away from
Ardal
. “
Kimi
has me to her children
Wil
and
Peta
.
They’re adorable. Now there is
Tarrin
.”

She
hugged
Tarrin
. “I’m glad to see you’re safe.”

Tarrin
nodded. “My father and the other Hunters saved us.”

“I
hear you were very brave and were able to help in your rescue.” Fiona stood
away and looked at him. “Would you like to go and play with
Wil
and
Peta
for a little while?
Wil
told me they’ve got a new board game.”

Tarrin
nodded and let Fiona lead him away.
Niail
pulled out
a few of the kitchen chairs and motioned for the others to take a seat. Catal
let Selena sit and then stood behind her with one hand on her shoulder. He
sensed she was nervous meeting so many at once, so he sent her calm and peace.
In time, she would come to trust the others. All Hunters had vowed to protect
the mates of their brothers, so she had no reason to fear.

“You
have recovered
Niail
?” Catal knew that
Niail
had suffered head injuries recently.

“I
can connect again.”
Niail
smiled as he sat beside
Kimi
. “If
Kimi
and the children
had not rescued me, I would not be here.”

“I’d
say you saved us.”
Kimi
gave
Niail
a kiss. “You put your life on the line for the children and me.”

Fiona
came back into the kitchen and sat on the chair
Ardal
held out for her. She waited for
Ardal
to sit and
then took his hand in hers. Catal sensed that this meeting was more than an
interest to meet
Kimi
and Selena.

“I
haven’t been feeling well for the last couple of months.” Fiona’s voice was
low. “At first I thought that I was overtired with all the moving around we’d
been doing since the crash. Then I began to suspect it was something more
natural.”

Selena
cleared her throat. “Are you pregnant?”

“Yes.”
Fiona smiled. “It shouldn’t be possible.
Ardal
is not
from earth. He wasn’t even certain that the capability to have children hadn’t
been bred out of him. That’s why I was excited when I heard about
Tarrin
.”

“
Niail
looks human as do all the other Hunters.”
Kimi’s
voice held concern. “My grandfather thinks that they
might be related to the people who left earth with the Star People eons ago.”

“Your
grandfather may be right.”
Kimi
glanced over at
Ardal
who nodded. “When I found out I was pregnant the
doctor in me was concerned about how our two species could create a child. I
still have friends in the medical community, so I contacted one who agreed to
do a DNA test on
Ardal
.”

Catal
frowned. “I don’t understand what you were looking for.”

“We
know that animals of different species can have children together, but those
offspring are rarely able to have babies.”

“You
mean like a horse and donkey creating a mule?” Selena’s voice shook. “Are you
saying that
Tarrin
might be sterile?”

Fiona
reached over and clasped Selena’s hand. “That was my fear too, but I was wrong.
The DNA profile I had done on
Ardal
was a pleasant
surprise.”

“In
what way?”

Catal
had never given the mechanics of having children much thought. He hadn’t
believed that Hunters could mate, and children were not something that anyone
had on Cygnus. Until Selena had told him that
Tarrin
was his son, he wouldn’t have imagined it was possible. He could understand
Fiona’s concern when she found out she was pregnant.

“
Ardal’s
DNA is human.”

There
was complete silence for several seconds.
Niail
was
the first to speak. “How is that possible?”

“Either
the inhabitants of Cygnus are humans, or you were from Earth originally.” Fiona
shrugged. “I have no other explanation.”

“Grandfather
knew.”
Kimi’s
voice was a low whisper. “He’d said
that you were returning home.”

“There
is evidence of the genetic modifications though.” Fiona pursed her lips. “The
human genome has been mapped and there are long sequences of genes that are
non-coding, in other words they don’t produce proteins. In the past we called
them junk DNA, but now we know that these sequences help with enhancing other
genes, or regulating when a gene is switched on or off.”

Catal
frowned. “These are the areas where the modification have happened?”

“Yes.”
Fiona nodded. “You produce the same proteins as us, but you might make more of
a protein for muscle mass than a normal human does.”

“We
are the same, yet different.”
Ardal
crossed his arms.
“I suspect that each clan has different modifications. This would explain the
clan’s expertise in certain areas.”

“So
essentially I am the same as
Kimi
, but I have
modifications that make me stronger and a better shot.”
Niail’s
voice was hesitant.

Fiona
nodded. “That’s is what we believe. I would have to have a sample of your blood
to verify it.”

“What
about
Tarrin
?” Selena leaned forward. “How will he be
different?”

“He
would be like any other human baby. Half of his genes come from you and half
from Catal.”

“So
he gets his ability to mind connect from a gene that Catal has passed on.”
Selena raised an eyebrow. “So there is no means of knowing what our children
might inherit from their fathers.”

“If
Tarrin
is any indication, I’d say he has inherited a
lot from his father.”

Catal
was stunned by what he’d heard. He wasn’t a scientist, but Fiona had given him
a lot to think about.
Tarrin
was a Hunter, there was
no doubt. The difference was that he would have a choice of whether he wanted
to be a warrior or not. There was still one thing that bothered him.

“Why
were our ancestors taken by the
Kaladin
?” Catal
leaned close to the table.