Artemis stared at the absolutely massive skull mounted on the wall before her. The sharp-toothed jaw had been made to be wide open in a mighty roar to all who dared to approach it, the pristine white bone shining dully in the harsh bright lights.

She couldn't believe her eyes. To actually be able to touch one with her own hands, instead of looking through a glass case or from behind velvet ropes, it was a childhood fantasy brought to life. It was the coolest thing she had ever seen, and it had been right under her nose for weeks!

"You actually hunted and killed a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Holy shit!" Artemis could only stand there trying not to bounce up and down like a giddy school girl.

A bored rumble came from behind her, "Sei'i, I killed that one when I was three-hundred and twenty-three cycles. It was a fierce beast. Fought well. That skull was my prized possession until I killed a kiande amedha Queen." He glanced up from his tinkering with a metallic object, a funny shaped tool in his hand that glowed red on the tip.

It resembled a laser, at least she thought.

"But how? Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years!"

Rhage resumed his work with a rumbling purr, pleased she was so interested in his trophies.

"The Yautja collected the DNA from a wide number of these 'dinosaurs' before they went extinct and seeded a planet, Orumack, with living specimens we captured. This is the training grounds for some of our Unblooded. The very same planet Zen'tukte wanted for his own."

She gasped, running her fingers down the sharp teeth on the skull. This nugget of information was a lot to take in, but she felt utter awe. Impressed was more like it. Impressed that Rhage could kill such things.

"I feel like a kid in the Smithsonian all over again! Dinosaurs were a huge part of my childhood. I'd beg my dad to take me almost every weekend so I could see the skeletons and fossils. I had all kinds of books and old recordings of television programs on them."

"If I knew you would be this impressed then I would've shown you much sooner my collection." He purred, pausing in his work to watch her inspect every inch of the giant skull.

Artemis scoffed, "I'm just surprised you never told me you've killed a god damn dinosaur before. These things were the gods of my planet before that asteroid wiped 'em all out. Heck, the Permian Extinction dealt a pretty tough blow to the dinosaurs more so than the actual asteroid...but still, this is wicked cool." She beamed, turning to meet his gaze.

He watched her excitedly go on and on about dinosaurs. Her enthusiasm was boundless. He seemed to enjoy listening to her.

"Will we ever visit this dinosaur planet? I've always wanted to see a dinosaur!" She sidled up to his side and laid her cheek against his arm while caressing her swell.

They were in a work room of his that he hardly used, one she didn't know about until today. It was rectangular with a round conversation-pit in the center full of furs of various alien creatures he had hunted over the years. Along the back wall were giant skulls of things she couldn't comprehend, the familiar one taking her interest immediately upon entering. Off to the left was a large metal table where objects and devices were neatly stored on shelving above it. The right wall was blank with only a floor to ceiling blank screen that reminded her of a projection screen.

Rhage was working on a little object he had been toying with since the previous day. It had been a week since she had awakened in the medical lab. Everything had seemingly become quiet again.

It was nice to be home and safe.

"In due time, mate." The Elder Yautja chuckled.

"Babe, that's so cool! Like, a freaking T-Rex!"

He purred at her endless compliments. It was a natural reaction at his chosen life-mate admiring his trophies. For this moment, he felt like a Young Blood once more in the quest to woo a female in the hopes of mating with her. He had shown many females his growing collection and ended up siring countless pups as a reward.

Such was the Yautja way.

Hunt.

Fight.

Mate.

Repeat.

"Sucks I can only imagine how difficult that must've been." She leaned into him more as she watched him work, his hands delicately carving symbols into a little dagger.

"You can. Lie in the furs while I locate the file."

"You recorded it?"

He nodded, setting his laser engraving thingy down to press buttons on his wrist gauntlet. "Yautja record all of our hunts." A few beeps sounded as a paused video showed up on the giant projection screen, now resembling a t.v.

She looked in astonishment and waddled her way to crawl down into the pit. She snuggled beneath a pile of warm exotic furs and lied down to watch. Once she was settled in, he let it play and got back to work.

Artemis watched as he hunted and fought the beast. Each move was precise and effective. It was a beautiful dance and seeing it from his eyes was truly mind boggling. Her man was an efficient killing machine. As the T-Rex roared, a deep rumbling vibration, much different than in old dinosaur movies, Rhage leapt from a rock ledge and dealt the killing blow with a spear through the neck.

She was enthralled and thoroughly impressed. Right as she was about to ask to see another of his hunts, another video started to play. This time he hunted what looked to be a Spinosaurus. The large fin going down its back was the tell-tale of what subspecies it was.

Once again, Rhage was perched high in a tree. High above the creature. He flicked through various spectrums as he watched it. After a few moments, he seemed to have enough of waiting and struck.

He leapt from the tree and used that same spear to inflict wounds and fight the mighty beast. It managed to land a swipe across his chest with its deadly claws but Rhage didn't react and changed tactics. He went from full affront attacks to slashing and stabbing in various vulnerable parts of the Spinosaurus, his combi-stick, as she remembered him calling hers, buried into the soft fleshy parts of its body or used to make it bleed profusely in areas. This style was a hack and slash method where he avoided each wicked swipe of massive claws and bites, was pretty effective. Pretty soon the creature was falling to the ground dead, prompting her mate to roar in victory.

Artemis had never seen such skill. She secretly wanted to jump him and screw his brains out but she knew he was much too busy. With an inner groan she rolled over to watch him work on the little dagger. His muscles in his thick arms rippled as he etched away on his project, his entire focus on it. While watching him she came up with a bit of a crazy idea.

He was obviously a very experienced hunter, and would see her plan very easily, but at least she could try. Orion having grown bigger definitely wouldn't help her sneaking up, either.

She still found herself slowly crawling up the steps of the pit and tip-toeing around to his back so he wouldn't see her approach. Her breathing was kept as quiet as possible, despite her excitement with this game. Slowly but surely she crept closer and closer while he remained engrossed in his work.

Was this how he felt when he would hunt creatures bigger than himself? To feel the adrenaline rush through his veins and feel the excitement of a challenge? This small feeling of power that wound itself like a tight coil through one's body?

Artemis would never know, but in this moment, she felt her own excitement at sneaking up on an apex predator. A being born to hunt and kill and maim.

He set his tool down and inspected his work as she was a mere inches away.

Now was the time to scare her prey. She lifted her arms and made her hands resemble spread claws and hunched over before springing right in his peripheral with a "RAWRRR!". Being literally incapable of making such a scary sound, she still tried as she had seen in monster movies. She tried to resemble one of them and hissed like a cat.

Rhage turned to her with a smirk on his face, his mandibles pulled to the side in amusement. "Are you trying to sneak upon me, mate? I should warn you that two can play at this game." He purred, his lime-green eyes full of mirth.

"Yep. I will one day be able to scare you." She placed her hands on her hips and smirked in return.

He turned in his seat to fully face her, "You have scared me once, actually. Perhaps I can be the one to scare you."

"What? Like...a game of hide and seek?"

Rhage cocked his head to the side with a chitter. "What is that?"

She thought of a good explanation that would make sense to him. "It's a game kids play on Earth. A...hunting game. One player has to count down from ten to zero with his eyes closed while the other player or players hides. The one who counts down to zero is the hunter and has to find the hidden players. When the hunter finds the hidden players, he wins."

He clicked in rapt interest as she watched him take what she said in.

"What is the reward for when the hunter wins?"

"There isn't one. They just play again, but with a new person finding the other players."

Rhage was about to say something when a beeping came from his gauntlet. He snarled in annoyance and checked the message that came up on the screen while Artemis watched him type away. A few moments later he was rising to his feet and stowing away his equipment along with the dagger.

Rubbing her hand up his rough scaled arm, Artemis asked what was wrong.

"Dhare wishes to meet with me and he wants you there. He would not tell me why." He grumbled, tossing his locs about as he shook his head.

What could Dhare need her there for?

"I guess we'll have to postpone our fun until later." Artemis teased, "I was always the best at hide and seek. Unmatched to all my fellow classmates at recess."

Her large mate chittered in anticipation for the later game. "I will have you know, mate, that I am an expert when it comes to hunting your kind. You will sorely lose."

She smirked as he led the way out of the room, "We shall see about that, babe."

A rolling purr emanated from his chest as he attached his cape to his shoulder pauldrons. Cocking his head to the side, his clouded blue and red tipped locs fell with the motion, he smirked.

"We shall see. I accept the challenge mate. Even as heavy you are with pup, I will find you."

• • •

"You want to what?"

Dhare straightened his back confidently, his thick arms crossing his chest. "I wish to relinquish my position on the Council and take up the role as Arbitrator."

Artemis sat in Rhage's lap stroking his long locs while Dhare stood on the opposite side of the wide metal desk. They were in Rhage's office where even more skulls were mounted to the back wall and the room occupied by a massive angular metal desk that had projected screens to the side of it. Various trinkets decorated a shelving unit to their right while a large window let in warm air and sunshine from outside to the left.

Dhare stood before them wearing nothing but a yellow loincloth, his locs left to fall freely with the usual beads and jewelry. His golden yellow eyes were slightly narrowed as he conversed with his sire and leader.

"What is the reasoning behind this decision? You have proven very adept at keeping the peace between the people." Rhage countered, his eyes full of questions.

"Is everything okay, Dhare?" Artemis chimed in.

She leaned forward slightly and watched him stand there staring down his sire. His golden eyes were slightly narrowed, full of determination.

"Everything is fine." Dhare chuffed, "I wish to return to expanding my trophy collection. Politics is proving to be rather stale."

The Elder Yautja tapped his claws upon the table as he mulled it over. There would be much change if Dhare were to leave his side as Second and the need to find another who could fill the role he was designated. Much searching would be in order to replace his pup. Such a change was surprising as he assumed Dhare was content.

"Pup..." He sighed, "One day, when I am too old, I wish for you to take over. That is why I asked you to be by my side at the table. It is why I wished to hone those innate qualities you have that would make you a great leader of the clan."

Both Artemis and Dhare were shocked. Dhare's eyes widened and his tense posture relaxed, his head cocking to the side.

He had never guess that he was the one, out of all Rhage's spawn, that would be chosen for succession when the time came. Instead of fighting to the death, like other clans, they had a hereditary system. It should've been obvious but he had dismissed the idea numerous times due to his disagreements with his sire as a pup. Many times they had clashed in their differing opinions.

Dhare wanted peace while his sire was once quick to aggression and violent measures before diplomacy. Since then, his sire has mellowed out with the years. They had come a long way in their relationship.

It was unheard of Yautja males having a close relationship with their pups, much less working beside them. Males impregnated a female and went on his way. He never worried about the pup unless it was finding out whether they passed their chiva. The females both raised and cared for the pup until their chiva while the pup passed on to mate with other females to extend his bloodline.

Now, his sire was breaking more norms by wanting Dhare to be his heir. Another thing unheard of.

"I am honored, sire."

Rhage nodded, "I admit I favor you above my other pups. Your request is granted, however. Do know that you are my choice for when the time comes."

The younger Yautja's shoulders relaxed and he nodded. "Thank you. Your offer will be kept in consideration." He nodded once more.

"Now," Rhage sat back pulling Artemis against his chest. "Why did you want Artemis here?"

"Yeah, why?" She chimed in, stroking his knuckles as he caressed her swell. The two were a perfect pairing and it make Dhare's chest twinge in jealousy, a still unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling.

Dhare brought up his arm and clicked a few commands on his gauntlet. The large screen on the wall turned on and a recording started to play. It looked to be of one Dhare had recorded.

Artemis and Rhage watched, even when he came upon a dying human female and gave her medical treatment.

What was happening was a surprise to Rhage. A low rumbling in his chest as his eyes picked apart what was happening. It didn't pass his keen eyes how Dhare reacted to the female. Perhaps his son had a similar kink for humans and hadn't realized it.

Even when he placed the female into a primitive sleeping pod and put her ship on auto pilot, he still saw the spike in his heart rate and hormones. His pup's body was aflame because of the female. It clicked as to why he wanted to become an Arbitrator again.

At least one of the reasons, anyways.

"Dhare..." Artemis was the first to speak. Her dark ocean eyes were soft as she noticed his eyes glued to the woman's in the video. "You want to find her...don't you?"

The far away stare was all she needed to know the answer.

"Pup, find the human and bring her here. You know that by letting her go that she is a liability. Bring her here or eliminate her—"

"Rhage! She probably won't even remember! She was clearly out of it!" His life mate hopped to her feet and hissed.

He growled, "Whether she remembers or not, she is a liability, mate. The existence of our species getting out has dangers you are unaware of."

"She's innocent! What did she do to deserve such a thing?"

"She knows. She is a witness."

"That's a stupid reason!" She pointed at Dhare, making the younger Yautja sigh. "Look at him! It's clear he liked her!"

"I did no—"

"Pspspsps!" Her lips made a buzzing noise to shut Dhare up. "Shush!"

Dhare chuffed in response, folding his beefy arms across his chest. He was no pup to order around.

The Elder Yautja tried to calm her and explain that this was how it had to be, but the human was not listening. His little flower huffed and marched towards Dhare. He bristled and joined in purring with his sire to placate her anger, just like they naturally would with an angry female.

A little finger pointed his way, "You kill her and I'll make you regret it, mister!"

He scoffed, his mandibles tightening in annoyance.

"You are pyode. You cannot kill Yautja."

Her anger flared more and she narrowed her eyes to near slits. Both Yautja could smell the wild fluctuation of her hormones, neither wanting it to escalate further. It was a simple order that Hunters would follow without question. There could be no witnesses.

Artemis stormed her way to the door and turned on her heel, emotions warring on her face.

"You know more than anyone, Rhage, that I know exactly what "dAnGeRs" there are. Don't bullshit me!" And she was gone in a quick waddle.

Her last word heard was to someone in the hall, "Get the fuck out of my way!"

The closing of the sliding door was their cue to relax, wondering what the hell just happened. Rhage slumped in his chair and reached for the bottle of cn'tlip he kept near his desk. He poured himself a glass and offered one to Dhare who happily accepted.

They drank in silence until Dhare spoke, his golden yellow eyes far away again.

"I will find her and retrieve her; if she still lives that is." He downed the rest of his brew in one gulp.

Rhage grunted, "If she lies on her death bed then await her natural end."

His pup rose to his feet with a solemn nod and returned the glass to Rhage before turning to leave.

"Pup."

Dhare turned, his eyes asking the question. His locs flew around his head at the sudden motion.

"My one condition on my acceptance of your change in role is that you accompany me on the Queen hunt. We will need the extra hands. If we are to prepare the hunting grounds appropriately, then we will need all the experienced hunters we have. After that, you are free of your bonds to the position of Councilman." He poured another glass of brew and dismissed Dhare with a wave of his hand.

Once Rhage was alone, he pondered over how to fix the new problem between Artemis and he.

She was nearing the end of her pregnancy. It was only natural her emotions would fluctuate wildly. To experience it, however, was a new thing.

Female Yautja kept to themselves, especially when pregnant, so he wasn't fully used to handling this. This was new territory. New skills he would have to acquire to keep his human mate calm and happy. He also learned that he should've addressed Dhare in Yautja rather than English.

Once more he felt like a Young Blood when it came to her.

He loved her, but she had quite the wild streak occasionally. She was like him; calm, cool, and collected.

It was why they worked so well together. At least, he thought. There was much more to their relationship, but he liked their similarities and how they were good for each other. They brought new experiences and lessons for each other to learn.