Author's Note: Thought I'd try my hand at a fandom that I've never written for before but fell in love with over the last few years. Vengeance's story is the beginning of a New Species series that I'm working on, to find closure for all those New Species whose stories haven't been written yet. Happy reading!

Echo Hunter

CHAPTER 1

Forcing himself to get out of bed every day was a struggle. He had told Tiger that he wished he was dead but that didn't accurately describe the hell he lived in. Vengeance knew that Species females didn't want mates and enjoyed their freedom. He knew that the only way he could have a mate was to find himself a human female but the few he'd been allowed to meet were already claimed by others.

The soft twittering of birds on his porch let him know that the sun was rising for the day. Valiant, his neighbor, had sworn to protect all squirrels in his territory so Vengeance thought it would be fine for him to make friends with the squirrels around his home as well.

The critters knew the sound of a ziploc bag being opened and hurried to his window sill to watch him grab a handful of the dried nuts and fruit he kept for them. Slowly, the giant canine Species opened the sliding glass door that led to his back porch and lowered himself to a wooden bench, careful not to startle the small creatures with any fast movements. He placed some trail mix on the bench next to him and some on his thigh. A brownish-red squirrel was the one he'd been tending the longest. It skittered to the pile of nuts on the bench, sniffed them, and left them alone for the bigger stash it knew Vengeance kept in his clawed hand.

With a quick hop on his thigh, the squirrel jumped onto his forearm, scurried up his shoulder and down the other arm where Vengeance held the dried fruit that came in the trail mix. It shoved a few pieces of fruit into the pocket of its mouth, looked up at him, and then shoved a few more into its mouth before scurrying back up to Ven's shoulder.

"Hello, Fox. How is your fruit today?"

The tiny squirrel rubbed against Vengeance's neck and scurried down the other side, back to the edge of the porch. He watched it stand on its hind legs, chirp out a few noises, and then jump off the deck. Within minutes, a few more squirrels came onto the deck and grabbed their breakfast from Vengeance, though none were brave enough to climb over the giant canine like Fox had.

Vengeance knew that the other New Species worried about him being unstable. He worried about it himself but after his talk with Tiger, Ven knew he wasn't alone. He had friends here at Reservation and the others in the Wild Zone.

The squirrels were gone for the day so Vengeance turned back to his home and prepared for a run. He hadn't slept last night and the night before was full of nightmares. Hopefully, running would exhaust him enough that he could sleep without dreaming today.

A knock on his front door startled him. There was a nice light breeze that brought the scents from his porch through his open window. He knew this scent and relaxed.

Vengeance yanked the door open, hoping to surprise Tiger but the only person he surprised was Zandy. Tiger knew he had been standing behind the door.

"Hi Ven," came Zandy's sweet voice. He had met her back when she had just started working at Homeland in the mail department.

Vengeance nodded his head and turned to let Tiger and his mate walk through the door. After he and Tiger had fought over her, before Tiger had openly claimed Zandy, she had been reluctant to speak with him. But he soon learned that Zandy, like most of the other human females mated to Species, was extremely stubborn. She refused to let that stand between them and when Tiger had told his mate a little more of Vengeance's history, Zandy demanded that they become better acquainted.

"How was your travel?" Ven asked.

"It was good. Nothing extraordinary happened." Tiger referred to being shot down while he was mid-flight in a helicopter. His broken leg and ribs had healed since then.

Ven huffed. "That is good." He shut the door and turned around only to see two large, brightly colored boxes with bows being thrust in his face.

"What are these?"

"They're gifts."

"Gifts?" Anger colored his voice.

"No," Tiger placated. "Not a Gift Species."

Zandy paled. "Sorry, I mean they are presents."

So she wasn't trying to bring him a New Species that had spliced DNA from human and domesticated pets. "Presents?"

"Items that we would like to give to you in friendship," Zandy explained. He could smell the tears before they formed in her eyes. "Tradition is, you rip through the paper wrapping and open the box to find your present inside." She looked at him with cautious hope. His heart sank to a stomach. Perhaps it was best that he did live here in the Wild Zone. He was always injuring others. He just hurt Zandy's feelings and she was the sweetest female ever.

"Forgive me. I am learning-" he twisted his head to the side as he thought of the word that escaped him. "Ah yes, I am learning context."

Zandy chuckled, all signs of nervousness gone now. "That's great, Ven."

Vengeance knew that Zandy avoided using his full name when she could because it sounded unpleasant. She admitted that calling him a shortened version of his name would be appropriate between friends. He took to the idea right away.

The large canine accepted the presents and moved to a cushioned chair so he could open them on the coffee table. The first one was wrapped in a hideously bright pink paper with a green bow. His claws made easy work of the bow and the paper and once he saw the lid of the box, he carefully lifted it to reveal what was inside.

There were four small wooden houses inside this box. A large hand pulled one out and he twisted it around to look at.

"It's a squirrel house," Zandy said. "You can put them on the railings or on the back porch and sometimes squirrels or birds will move into them. You could even hang them from the trees if you'd like."

Vengeance felt warmth spread through his chest. "Thank you. I appreciate these squirrel houses and I know my friends will enjoy them as well." He looked up at movement and saw Zandy rub her rounded belly. He was happy for his friends that they conceived. Zandy gave her mate something very precious in that cub she carried. She gasped and her eyes looked up to her mate.

"That little guy kicking your guts again?"

Zandy scowled. "Yes. He's gonna be the best soccer player Reservation's ever seen." But then her eyes never lost that glow and she turned those green gems on him. "Ven, come closer. You should feel this."

Vengeance was stunned and looked at Tiger to see his reaction. Tiger jerked his head to the side and Vengeance sat near Zandy.

"Quick, give me your hand."

Such a strong, powerful hand should never shake so much but it did as it neared her tiny, fragile one. Zandy gently grasped it and turned his palm over her belly. A small nudge from her belly had him gasping and wide eyes turned once again to where the cub nestled in his mother's womb.

Tiger chuckled at his reaction. "That's exactly how I looked the first time I felt him kick."

"You honor your mate with this cub, Zandy." He removed his hand after feeling the cub kick a few more times, not sure his heart could take much more. "He is strong."

Tiger cleared his throat. "That's actually why we came over today, Ven." Tiger looked to his mate, saw her tender smile and then looked back at him again. "We talked it over and we'd like you to be his godfather."

Bright blue eyes looked between the mated pair in confusion. "What is godfather?"

Zandy squeezed her mate's hand. "We would like you to be the next important adult in his life after Tiger and I. To be a godfather means you will be a second father to him and teach him skills you have. It also means that if anything should happen to me and Tiger, that you will take care of him for us and raise him as your own."

Vengeance never thought his heart would be full again after losing his mate. It suddenly became very hard to breathe and tears filled his eyes but he was not ashamed to let his friends see it. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Ven quickly swallowed and tried again.

"You wish me to have the honor? After…You would trust me?" He didn't want to speak of their fight over Zandy and Tiger had told him that neither of them held it against him but he was slow to believe it. He had to believe their words now.

"Yes," Zandy said, sniffling back her own tears. "You are always gentle with me after that first time, Ven, and I know that you would never harm our son on purpose. I see the love you have inside."

Vengeance choked. He thought he could never experience happiness again, almost felt guilty at the thought of it, but he could not deny the joy of being part of a family unit again. To their surprise, Vengeance grabbed Tiger's hand and pulled his friend toward him. He wrapped his arms around Tiger's chest and squeezed. Tiger laughed and patted his shoulder.

"I know, Ven. It's a lot to take in."

"I will not let you down. I will be the best godfather ever," he swore to the other male.

"We know, Vengeance. We know."

When Vengeance felt like he wouldn't fall apart, he let go of Tiger and sat back down in his char. "I am too overcome to hug you Zandy. I think I would squish you if I tried."

Zandy chuckled and wiped at her eyes. "Thank you for thinking of me, Ven." She let out a light chuckle. "We'll let you know when this little guy comes out. Come to medical when it's time, alright? We'd like you to be there so he can meet you when he first comes. And from what I heard, you might need to keep Tiger occupied so he doesn't scare away the doctors."

Tiger scowled at that.

"I will be there."

Happiness permeated Vengeance's house and his heart in a way that he never thought could happen and it felt wonderful. They had all forgotten Ven's second present so he opened it up to see a ball of birdseed.

"You can hang it from trees and you can watch birds or squirrels eat the seeds. Valiant told me he likes to hang them when it snows to make sure his friends have food during the winter."

"I will store it until then. Summer is almost over, it will not be long now."

Zandy turned a full smile on him. "Just let us know when this one is running low. We can show you how to make your own if you would like."

"I would appreciate that."

Tiger stood and reached out for his mate's hand. Zandy's delicate one slid into his larger palm and they made their way to the door. "We'll let you know when your godson is ready to make his appearance, Ven. We have about four more weeks to go. In two weeks he'll be grown enough to show up at any time."

"I will be ready."

Zandy placed her free hand on his forearm. "I am so glad you were home, Vengeance. Thank you for everything."

Would this little human female never cease to surprise him? He was the one who should be grateful and he let her know.

"I don't have to worry about my son's future knowing that he will have you in it."

Tears filled his eyes and he gruffly nodded at her before shutting the door. He hoped he wouldn't cry every time he met with Zandy. Maybe it would be best to keep away from all pregnant females. Maybe their hormones were contagious.

He could hear Zandy teasing her mate when she asked him if they could move to the Wild Zone so he could wear a loincloth too. She also threw in a remark about how much easier it would be to get him naked with less clothes to rip off. Tiger growled and their jeep pulled away from his house.

His heart twinged a little at the thought of being mateless, but with a godson on the way, the pain was a lot less than the overwhelming grief that plagued him day after day. He would go for his run and enjoy the forest he called home while he thought about the different things he could teach his godson one day.

~ V & L ~

"Dump her near the wall so those monsters can be blamed for her death." Those were the last words she'd heard from the man who had claimed to love her before imprisoning and abusing her for the last year or so. It could have been longer, it sure felt like it had been. Life with Joseph Birmingham had been ideal the first few months that they had dated. He had been charming, sensual, and loved spoiling her with gifts, though she didn't really care for them. They had met at a party her friend had invited her to on some rich guy's yacht. It had turned out to be his.

It had turned out to be a mistake.

He had seduced her to his bed and then chained her there. Literally. It was smart of him to have done that because if he hadn't, she would have fought for her freedom. Fighting was a side of herself that she had tried to hide from him but she couldn't hide it after she'd been chained. After the first time she threatened him for tying her up, he had swiftly and thoroughly beaten her. Joseph was determined to beat the stubbornness from her and when he couldn't, he forced himself on her. When that did nothing, he opened her up to his colleagues and that had killed her fight faster than anything else he had done. To make matters worse, he drugged her before they came over so that she was so overcome with a pain that only being brutalized by them would quell.

One of Joseph's most vicious friends had pulverized her after using her and at that point, Joseph had given up all hope of her being useful anymore. He told his goons to dump her, that she would end up dying anyway. So it was here, on the cold forest floor that she lay, bruised, beaten, wishing death would come and take her. She never would have guessed that the devil and his angels dressed in designer suits and ties and if she survived this, she swore she would pay him back by sending him to hell herself.

A howl broke through the silence of the forest and Lani allowed herself a bit of humor. She wondered if any New Species lived in the forests of the west coast because at this point, she'd rather throw her lot in with them than humans ever again. It was with that last thought that she closed her eyes and welcomed death.