“Mate?”
“Yes. Mate. You belong to me, CeeCee, now and forever.”
With a growl of rage, I drew on my shaman powers and whispered, “Sepulcrum ibidem solus novum. Vem Hum. Domum rotundam!”
A small black cloud formed over Jake.
“Don’t even think about,” Jake warned.
“I belong to myself. Not you. Not the Coletti Empire.”
“It’s a done deal. Nothing you say or do can change that fact, buttercup.”
“Wanna bet? Miraculin. Vivtorie construxit!” I smiled as a downpour of rain hit Jake.
Jake teleported around the butte, but the rainstorm kept up with him.
Poof! I suddenly had two hundred and eighty pounds of wet male wrapped around me. “Turn it off.”
The rain pounded us. “No.”
“Enough children,” Zarek barked.
“Oi-oi-oi-oi solus novum!” The cloud vanished.
Jake released me. “You gotta teach me that.”
“Not a chance.” I met Zarek’s censorious stare. “Are you having our medical examiner take the bodies?”
“No, Shrek will do the autopsies. His team is coming to collect the body parts,” Zarek answered.
General Jones comm-link chimed. He tapped it and read the message. “Take your mate back to the ship. Her father has awakened.”
“Yes, sir.” Jake clamped me to his chest and teleported.
Chapter Seven
Thirty seconds later, we appeared in sick bay. “Get your hands off me,” I snapped.
Jake pushed me away. “Yes, ma’am.”
Shrek’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Where’s my father?”
Shrek handed me a chocolate bar. “Please follow me.”
“There’s not enough chocolate in the galaxy to get me to accept this lying jackass.” I threw the bar at Jake.
Jake grabbed it out of mid-air and tore off the wrapping. “Your loss. This is the good stuff.”
I gave him the one-fingered salute and hurried after Shrek.
“Your father is still very weak. Do not upset him,” Shrek warned.
“You have my word I won’t tell him about the murders or Elder Benally’s death until he’s stronger.”
“Elder Tsosie knows you two are mated. Please act appropriately.”
“What?” I squawked. “Who told him?”
“Zarek.” Shrek walked into a private room.
Jake dropped an arm over my shoulders. “Smile, buttercup.”
I bared my teeth at him.
“CeeCee?” My father’s voice was a harsh whisper.
Shrugging off Jake’s arm, I hurried over to his bed and forced a smile. His face was pale and gaunt. “I thought I had lost you.”
“And I you.”
“Hey, I was wearing my magic vest. Nothing penetrates it.”
Jake gave me a smacking kiss. “My girl’s hard to kill.”
“You have accepted Jake Jones as your mate.” Relief filled my father’s face.
I took a deep breath and lied, “Yeah. He’s one of kind.”
“Good. Good. You need a strong man at your side. Did you kill the Chupacabra?”
Jake beamed proudly. “CeeCee fried his ass.”
“The murders have stopped?” My father had assumed his Council Elder demeanor.
“Ah. Well.”
Shrek jumped in. “Jake and CeeCee can bring you up-to-date after you have rested.” He tapped his bracelet and my father fell asleep. “You can tell him tomorrow.”
“Does my father know he was given Zarek’s blood?” I couldn’t keep the hostility out of my voice.
“He does,” Shrek replied.
“Was my father told he’ll become a Coletti hybrid?” I knew I was being a bitch, but my entire life had been turned upside down and soon I would be sporting a nifty pair of fangs too.
Shrek’s calm yellow eyes studied me. “Everything was explained to him.”
“When you’re facing death, it’s an easy decision to make,” Jake interjected.
“My father is very proud of his heritage and he would never give it up.”
“Your dad has lost nothing. He’s still a Navajo shaman but now he’s harder to kill and his lifespan is a lot longer.” The expression on Jake’s face was pure steel. “I thought you’d be happy to have the old guy around longer.”
“I am. A lot has happened in the last twenty-eight hours and I need time to process it all.” My stomach rumbled hungrily.
“Your mate will feel better after she’s eaten and rested,” Shrek said.
Until I figured a way out of this mess, I was stuck with the jackass. “Does that food processor make tamales?”
“It does.” Jake smiled in relief and held out his elbow.
I wrapped my hand around it. “Good, I’m starving.”
Jake escorted me down the hallway. “After we eat, you need to show me some of your shaman tricks.”
“You first need to understand the Navajo people and their connection with the land.”
“I was born and raised in Arizona. My family formed a close relationship with the Apaches when our base was destroyed by the Tai-Kok.” Jake let out a very realistic coyote howl.
I stared at him in amazement. “Is that your Coletti battle cry?”
“No, it’s an Apache war cry. The animal sounds are a way to communicate what actions you want the other warriors to take. Did you know there are no rules for an Apache warrior when it comes to fighting? If you’re his enemy, he will kill you.”
“I did. Who taught you those sounds?”
“Mangas, a Chiricahua Apache. He’s a fierce, scalp-taking master of death.”
“Scalp-taking?”
An evil smile curved Jake’s mouth. “Mangas collected Tai-Kok scalps. The monsters feared him.”
“I can see why. Any Tai-Kok stupid enough to come on our land were incinerated or eviscerated.”
Jake led me into the mess hall. “Tamales, rice and beans?”
“Yep.” One look at the food replicator built into the wall and I automatically knew how to use it. “Can I order my own food?”
“Sure, go ahead.” Jake stepped back.
I typed in my request. Some light blinked and presto. My tamales, rice and beans appeared. I picked up the plate. “Wow! It even smells yummy.”
“It’s a hell of a lot better than warrior rations, believe me.” Jake punched his order in and sixty seconds later a hamburger and fries materialized.
I snagged a fry and cautiously tasted it. Hmmm. “Not bad. Does it make ketchup too?”
Jake tapped the keypad and a small bowl of ketchup slid out of the machine. He dipped a fry in it and held it out to me.
I opened my mouth and he popped it in. “Can’t tell the difference.”
“Coletti of all ages like our food. Their favorites are Mexican food and chocolate.”
“Maybe we’re converting them, not the
