The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and before she knew it she was already bathed and dressed for bed.
"When your brother comes, I'll leave to give you two some time to talk in private."
"Okay."
At this moment Nona spoke up for the first time since she woke up. "Your brother and someone else are coming this way."
Lyria looked confused. "Koda, Ryker is almost here but there's someone else with him. Can you meet him outside just in case?"
Koda nods and walks away.
Koda runs several yards away from the entrance and spots Ryker's familiar Jaguar and another running beside him that he didn't recognize.
Ryker runs up to Koda and transforms back.
How is she doing today? Sorry I couldn't see you this morning to ask, I had parol near the valley entrance today."
"She's up and energetic. If you have any advice to keep her from doing anything so she can finish healing I'm all ears otherwise she'll continue to do her light work."
"Sadly I don't even think dad can stop her let alone me."
"Who's that with you if you don't mind me asking?" Prince Koda asks while pointing at the second Jaguar.
"I'm surprised you don't recognize the general." Ryker teased Prince Koda.
"Sorry sir. Normally it's just Ryker that shows up so I was a little on edge."
The general morphs back into his man form.
"It's fine. I'm glad to see someone capable looking after my daughter."
"Sorry for the rudeness but will she really be left to live in the temple with none of her family to protect her?"
This seems to anger the two Jaguars.
"No matter what we try to say mother, she will not change her mind." Ryker spits out.
"Even I have done my best to convince her to let Lyria stay till she's an adult, but nothing is working."
"What if I took her with me."
"What? How dare you try to take advantage of my sister's weak state and claim her? She's still a pup." Ryker accused the Prince.
"It is because she's still a pup that all I want is to protect her. And yes, when she's an adult, become her mate. I promise that I will only protect her and never force myself on her. When it's time to close the entrance let me take her with me?" Koda spoke every word with honesty.
Lex spoke before Ryker could get any angrier.
"Let me speak with my daughter first and I will let you know something afterwards. Ryker you stay here and let me speak to her alone first." Koda and Ryker nod their heads in understanding.
Ryker leads Lex to the entrance of the hideout.
"Is this really where she's staying?" Lex questioned Ryker in disbelief.
"There are stairs leading down to the cave. The hole in the tree makes for perfect camouflage. Still can't believe our kitten found this by herself through one of her little adventures." Ryker could still vividly remember when he followed his sister into the tree and everything they had done to improve the area to live in.
Lex has to bend over to climb into the tree and squeeze himself into the narrow walkway down the stairs.
Once he was in, he was a little surprised to see a comfortable well furnace living space.
Lyria saw her father enter instead of Ryker and stood from sitting on the bed.
"Daddy!" Lyria's eyes started to water at the sight of her father.
"Lyria." They walk to each other meeting in the middle and embracing each other.
"I missed you so much daddy." Letting the waterworks begin. Being able to touch her father after such a long time made her emotional.
"My sweet pup. Let me look at you." He backed away and inspected her face and body to see how her wounds were healing.
"You've lost some weight. Is the prince not feeding you right?"
"I lost a lot more than this and in two days I got most of it back. So he does a really good job of taking care of me. He even got onto me for staying up to try to finish a project. Hehehe.." She laughed at the memory.
"At least he doesn't completely spoil you. I thought for sure you'd have him under your control by now."
"He'd never let that happen."
"Why is that?"
"Because he says my health comes first and he will do what he needs to to make sure I don't stress my body and heal like I'm supposed to."
"How do you feel about Prince Koda?"
"What do you mean?" Why was her father bringing up the Prince?
Lex takes a deep breath and goes to sit at the nearest table. Lyria follows and sits with her father.
"We can't convince your mother to let you back into the family. She's very jealous of you and so refuses to let you back in. I fear there will be no one to protect you till you become an adult. Prince Koda has offered to be your protector till you come of age. But I wanted to see how you felt about him before I gave him an answer."
"Thank you for asking for my opinion. We also just had this talk today. I did tell him I would consider him a possible future mate. I wanted more time to think about it first."
"So, you like him enough to keep him around as a protector?"
"Yes. He takes care of me and treats me with respect. He puts my health above all else. Yes, he's a very good protector."
"Okay, that's all I need to know. I feel better knowing there's someone who will take care of you." Although deep in Lex's heart he was already feeling the pain of loss for his daughter.