CHAPTER 39 #2
Gauge dropped to one knee, lifting his face. It would have to be the queen who initiated the kiss. He couldn’t force himself to do it, seeing it as a betrayal to his mate.
Amanda cupped both sides of his face, then lowered her lips to his, immediately slipping her tongue inside his mouth. He felt only disgust as she nudged his tongue aside, then a brief sharp pain.
Gauge fisted his hands at his side, fighting not to push Amanda away from him.
He couldn’t feel anything happening physically but sensed when another presence entered his body.
The energy of it rushed through his veins, up his neck and into his brain.
A few seconds later, the queen released him and backed away.
“It is finished,” she said. “Stand, Gauge, allow us to show you a small example of what we can do for you now.”
Gauge took a deep breath, then slowly pushed to his feet, immediately returning to Lena’s side. At her worried look, he said, “I’m okay.”
“What did you want to show me?” he said to the queen, slipping his arm around Lena’s back and pulling her closer to him.
“In the vision I shared with you, you learned it was us, Laramé and I, who created the Laizahlian people. You inherited your bloodlust from Laramé, and you inherited your ability to manipulate the elements from me. But we are also both shifters, my sister and I. We decided at the time that your species would be powerful enough without adding the ability to shift.”
“This is true,” Gauge said. “I don’t know of any Laizahlian capable of shifting forms.”
“It was true,” the queen said, smiling. “Human DNA is easy to manipulate. Laizahlian DNA is not. But you accidentally opened a door with your developing shaprata. All my sister had to do was insert manipulated genes into the shaprata and let nature take its course. Djinn DNA would be introduced to you both once you consummated the mating.”
“It happened while our ship was caught in the rogue wormhole, didn’t it?” Gauge asked.
“Yes, but it was not a rogue wormhole. It was a carefully orchestrated event that worked almost perfectly.”
“Almost?”
“She did not foresee that you would have me there to help guide you and Zephralena. Laramé cannot track my movements, and I cannot track hers.”
“What did she expect would happen when Lena and I mated?”
“I’m not entirely sure where you and Zephralena are concerned, but it’s not hard to guess with the human females recently mated to ancient Laizahlian Hunters.”
“Which is?”
“Laramé is extremely powerful, but she is also quite insane. My sister’s best chance of taking your people down, which would theoretically give her access to me, was to do so from within.
By creating human hybrids, by placing a piece of herself inside them, she believes she’ll be able to take full control over them, or she will once the dormant Djinn genes are activated. She means to use them against you.”
“It is what the council fears too,” Gauge said. “It’s why they are moving all human hybrids to Earth.”
“It is wise to be cautious when dealing with my sister. But I believe Laramé made a mistake. She underestimated human will. All my sister’s careful planning, her manipulations from afar, has only worked to make these human females more powerful.
They will fight her, and with their Laizahlian mates by their side, I believe they will win. ”
“What happens if your sister does take control of our females?” Gauge asked.
“Let me show you why I believe it can’t happen. Close your eyes, Gauge. Open your mind to my advisors and let them show you what you can expect.”
When Gauge glanced at Neyvarre, the Hunter shrugged, shaking his head, obviously as puzzled as Gauge about what would happen.
Closing his eyes, Gauge searched his mind for some sign of the Umi.
He found them, plural, because there was more than one coming through as a warmth inside his mind.
He sensed no threat. On the contrary, they were exceedingly grateful he’d been willing to open himself to them.
He felt only great joy that they would once again be able to feel through him.
“What did you want to show me?” he asked.
“Watch, Hunter,” they said, then opened a connection in his brain.
“Laramé is a shapeshifter, but not in the same way as our queen. Laramé can manipulate her body into any shape she wants. She can even perfectly mimic another person. But she is limited in that her body must still retain a somewhat human shape. She can add wings to her body, or talons to her hands and feet, but she cannot shift into a real raptor, though she can use glamour to confuse others into believing she is one.”
“How does this affect me?”
“While you were trapped in the wormhole, Laramé arranged to have a piece of herself placed inside you. It is the first time she has ever tried something like this with a male. Abriel, our queen, suspected this was the case, but she couldn’t be sure until we entered your body.”
“What does this mean? Will I become a danger to Lena or my people?” Gauge asked.
“If you had mated a human hybrid, things might not have turned out so well for you, but Laramé cannot control adult serpents. It’s why they can see through Djinn glamour. We believe your mate’s DNA will protect you as well, but there are other benefits to consider.”
“Which are?”