With a nod, Treyvon spun on his heel and left the cave.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"What do you think, Jen?" Craig asked quietly.
Jen carefully stepped out from where she'd been hiding since they'd heard the unmistakable sounds of battle. She hadn't been able to see who had come in, but she had been able to hear them.
"I don't think there is much we can do, but what the General says. He seems to be the one in charge here."
"But..."
"We can't stay here, Craig. You know what Mac and I discovered outside this mine. We'll never survive such harsh conditions, and besides that, we can't just abandon Mac."
"What about you? What if they discover you're female too?"
"We'll deal with that if or when it happens. Right now we need to get to Mac." The sounds of someone coming closer had the men turning as Jen ducked down so as not to be seen, but she could still peek out between the bodies.
"Humans," the male seemed to sneer. "I am Warrior Parlan. General Rayner has put me in charge of making sure you get to the transport. These," he lifted his arm before tossing what he held on the floor, "are coverings. Put them on." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at them.
Slowly Craig moved forward, keeping an eye on Parlan as he picked up the coverings, then stepped back to hand them out. What they discovered was the 'covering' was actually a cape with a large hood. It would be perfect for disguising Jen.
"Hurry up!" Parlan ordered angrily. "Everyone is waiting!"
Jen pulled the heavy cape on as quickly as she could. It was obviously made for a Kaliszian, as its sleeves hung a good distance past her fingertips and there was, at least, an extra foot of it pooling on the floor. But it had a hood and she quickly raised it, letting it fall forward covering her face. Lifting as much of the excess length as she could, she nodded to Craig that she was ready.
Craig and Paul flanked Jen as they followed Parlan through the tunnels, each gripping one of her elbows helping her keep up even though she knew the fast pace was hard on them too. They finally slowed as they passed through the mine's entrance and into a rapidly darkening landscape.
"Parlan!"
"Yes, Commander." Parlan turned to Gryf who was standing a few feet away.
"Get them on the transport! There's a ground storm coming in!" he ordered then turned to speak with another warrior.
"Yes, Commander!" Parlan turned back and began shoving them along. "Move!"
Jen sat as far back in her seat on the transport as she could, with Paul and Craig's thin shoulders doing their best to block others from seeing her. Looking across the room, she saw several Jerboaians huddled together against the opposite wall. She wasn't sure if they were the same ones that had arrived with them because large patches of their fur were missing. When Kaliszian warriors began to file in, she pulled her hood down even lower, hoping to go unnoticed.
"Is everyone accounted for, Commander?" Treyvon demanded.
"Yes, General," the Commander answered.
"Then get us out of here."
"Yes, General."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"How is she, Luol?" Nikhil asked, still on his knees beside his True Mate.
"Better than I expected. The good news is that the repair unit was able to scan her and diagnose what she needs to recover."
"So what is not good?"
"What's not good is that she is severely underweight. While her overall health seems good, her body has been severely stressed and depleted of some very vital nutrients. It will take time for the unit to replace what she has lost."
"What about her other injuries?"
"Don't worry, Nikhil. The deep repair unit will easily fix those. How long did the Zaludians have her?"
"I do not know."
"Are there more like her?"
"I do not know that either. I left as soon as I discovered her."
"It probably saved her life. She wouldn't have survived much more abuse."
"Abuse? She was abused? By who? The Zaludians can't..."
"No, Nikhil! Not that kind of abuse! I'm sorry that my words caused you to believe your True Mate had been sexually abused. The deep repair unit found no evidence of that."
"Then what did you mean?" Nikhil sucked in a harsh breath trying to calm his pounding heart.
"I meant she would not have survived another beating. Her small body had reached its limit in being able to repair itself."
"She is small, isn't she?"
"Yes."
"She's... She is full grown, isn't she, Luol?" Nikhil’s stomach sank at the thought that he might have found his True Mate while she was still young. He had heard tales of Suja beads doing this, and while he would willingly wait for her to come of age for claiming, he knew it would be torture.
"All my findings show that for her species, she is fully grown," Luol reassured him.
"Thank the Goddess."
"That doesn't mean you can immediately claim her, Nikhil. You will need to handle her with great care. For not only is she a great deal smaller than our females, but her body has been stressed beyond any I have ever seen. If she survives..."
"If? What do you mean if?!!" Nikhil rose to his full height, his anger easily heard.
"Warrior Kozar..." Both men froze when the female between them suddenly cried out.
"What's wrong?" Nikhil desperately looked to Luol. "Is she in pain?"
Luol checked the read out of the machine and shook his head. "No, I don't believe so. It seems your True Mate is reacting to your anger, Warrior Kozar."
"What?"
"It is well documented that over time True Mates will pick up on the other’s emotions. It is part of the bond, but I have never heard of it happening so soon or being so strong, but that also may not be what we are witnessing."
"Why not? Do you think I'm not worthy enough to deserve a True Mate?!!"
"No, Nikhil, I don't think that at all," Luol quickly reassured him. "I know you are more than worthy of a True Mate. All I was trying to say was that we know nothing about her and her kind. Her reactions might not mean what we think."
"But you have heard of the bond being this strong before?"
"Yes, but as I said only with True Mates." He gave Nikhil a considering look. "Let’s test it. Are you calm right now?"
Nikhil frowned. "Yes."
They both looked to Mackenzie and saw she was resting comfortably.
"Good. Then I order you to leave this female and never return."
"What?!!" Nikhil roared out, and as he did Mackenzie began to thrash violently in the repair unit, crying out.
"Calm, Warrior Kozar, or your True Mate will harm herself."
"But..."
"That was the test, Nikhil. To see if you could have bonded so quickly. I never expected such a violent reaction from her. I'm sorry... and I congratulate you, Warrior Kozar. You have found your True Mate."
"But..." He fingered the bead that remained in his braids, the one that he must offer and she must accept.
"Give it time, Nikhil. You are a worthy male, a noble warrior. She will need time to adjust, time to get to know you, but I have no doubt you will win her over. I have never heard of a True Mate not accepting her mate's Ashe bead. Congratulations again, Nikhil. The Goddess has blessed you with a True Mate."
"I..." Nikhil paled slightly. The greatest gift the Goddess could give a male was to have a True Mate. He felt his world shift.
"She is going to need a great deal of understanding and care," Luol warned.
"I can give her that."
"I hope you can, Warrior Nikhil. Because if you can't, I fear more will be lost than just your True Mate."
Chapter Two
Mac knew she was dreaming, but she couldn’t bring herself to care as she watched her life play out. She was just too tired. It was all there, right from her first memory of her mom smiling down at her giving her kisses. Of her being handed to a man that was smiling just as broadly, her dad. Love and safety surro
unded her.
Then it was gone.
Mac was six, and grief ravaged her mother's face. Her mother’s eyes were red-rimmed from tears, with deep, dark pits of anguish filling them. She didn't acknowledge the confused little girl tugging on her arm her eyes remaining fixed on the casket being lowered into the ground.
They had told her that Daddy was in that box, but they wouldn't let her see him, and she didn't understand why. She didn't understand why he was going away, didn't understand why they couldn't go with him, and her mother wouldn't tell her. All her mom would do was cry.
Then Mac was crying, watching her mother walk away without a word, without a kiss, without a single look back. Mac tried to run after her, screaming for her, telling her she'd be a good girl, that she wouldn't cry anymore if her mom would just stay. But, two hands gripped her shoulders, keeping her in place. Then those hands lifted her up into strong arms and carried her away.
Her grandpa, her father's dad, had come for her after her father's death and taken her home with him when her mother had been unable to care for her. He'd taken her to the place he had raised her dad. A place she had only visited before on summer breaks.
Her mother never returned.
Mac knew it had been hard on her grandpa, raising a girl. He was still grieving over the loss of his only son, but he did the best he could. He taught her about what he knew and loved, his mountain. She loved that mountain. Loved knowing she was walking where her dad had once walked. It made her feel close to him as if he hadn't willingly abandoned her, not like her mother had.
Her father had been a firefighter, part of a search and rescue team that specialized in swift water rescue. He'd gone into a flooded river when he saw a child being swept away. The child had lived; he hadn't.
She knew she should be proud of him, knew she should hold no animosity for the child or his parents, but she did. She didn't want her father to be a hero; she wanted him to hug her and tuck her into her little bed at night. But he never would because of those people.
It had taken her years to get over it, to finally forgive not just the strangers that had destroyed her family, but her father for putting others before her. The one person she'd never been able to forgive was her mother. Her dad hadn't chosen to leave her; her mother had. It was something Mac knew she would never do. She would never abandon someone she loved.
The mountain had become her refuge. She had found peace there and a sense of belonging that she'd never found anywhere else. It's one of the reasons she'd gone to college and studied forestry. She wanted to be able to care for the mountain her grandpa so loved, making sure the impact from her grandpa's guide business didn’t adversely affect the plants and wildlife.
Her grandpa had been a large, somewhat gruff man. At least that’s the way others saw him, some were even afraid of him. Not Mac, because she'd seen his heart. He was a kind and gentle man with those he loved and what he protected. He only ever used his size and power against those who threatened that.
His last request was to be cremated, and for his ashes to be released from the highest point on his mountain. Mac had scaled that shear rock wall alone and done as her grandpa had requested. Then she'd sat there and watched the wind carry him away so he would forever be a part of his mountain.
She watched as time seemed to fast forward and saw how she always seemed to be alone. Even when she was in a relationship, even when the people, mostly men, she was guiding surrounded her. Maybe that's why she'd stayed with the group she'd led up the mountain because there was a woman with them. A woman that didn't want to be there. She was obviously out of her element and uncomfortable being in the great outdoors, at least until she started to cook.
Mac had been camping, hiking, and living in the outdoors most of her life. She was used to making meals from nothing, from using what she could find in the forest. But she had never had one of her meals taste as amazing as the one Jen had produced that night.
Mac loved her mountain. Loved and understood every creature on it. It was her home, and she felt safe there. Until that day when a creature had appeared she'd never seen before, pointing a strange device at her, and had taken away everything.
She'd woken up in a cage like she was an animal, when the real animals were outside the cage. They were large, hair-covered creatures, like bears, but they walked on two legs, like humans. They spoke with hisses and clicks, like insects, and stunk like rotten eggs. What the fuck were they?!! And what were those things in the other cage?
They reminded her of small kangaroos, but they obviously weren't, not with the way they were chattering to one another and looking around the room. She wasn't sure what had them so worried but quickly discovered it when one of the large, smelly creatures wearing a white collar walked into the room. He'd unlocked the other creatures’ cage, and walking in swatted away any that got in his way. He grabbed one of them and dragged it out.
It was then that they all realized the other creature was female, and what was about to happen to her. It hadn't been long before her high-pitched squeals could be heard, and those left behind huddled together trying to comfort one another.
Mac had wondered how long it would be before they dragged her away, but then something unexpected happened. The men that she had led up the mountain, the ones she was supposed to be taking care of, pulled her deeper into their group placing her next to Jen.
That protection had continued even after the Ganglians had sold them to the Zaludians. They'd learned who the creatures were, and how to speak both their languages when the Ganglians had forced a device on Craig that they called an educator. They wanted them to be able to follow orders because they were now slaves, slaves to the Zaludians, and if they didn't do the work demanded of them, they would be killed.
If they became injured, they would be killed.
If they just didn't move fast enough, they would be killed.
Apparently, the Zaludians thought the Ganglians could obtain an unending supply of slave labor. Mac didn't know how long they'd been on the Ganglian ship. She normally judged time by the position of the sun. There was no sun on that ship. There was no sun in the caves, but it became readily apparent that she and Jen were not going to be able to do the work the Zaludians demanded.
Mac had inspected the cave they'd been led to, hoping to find a way out. Instead, in the deepest part of the cave she found a narrow opening, hidden behind a large rock. Working her way into it, she found it opened up into another smaller cave. Returning, she told them what she had found.
She and Jen had hidden there, remaining relatively safe, as one of the guys worked a double shift to cover for them. Mac had never felt more useless in her life as she watched the men come back shift after shift exhausted and with small injuries. She did what she could for them while Jen attempted to make the food they were given go farther.
That's how the Zaludians had discovered her. She'd been in the larger cave, treating a cut on one of the guys when a Zaludian suddenly appeared. He took one look at her and knew from the condition of her clothes that she was female. She could have made it back to the smaller cave, but that would have led the Zaludians to Jen, who had been badly injured. If they found her, the Zaludians would kill her. She'd told the guys not to fight, to let them take her. There was no reason for all of them to die for her.
She'd waited until they were away from the cave before she started to run. She wasn't going to let them rape her like the Ganglians had done to the Jerboaian females. She got away for a moment but ran straight into another Zaludian, and with one hit her world went black.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Nikhil stood as still and as silent as the mountain he was often compared to. His glowing, green eyes kept close watch on the deep-repair unit as it continued to work on his True Mate. How had this happened? What could he have ever done in his life for the Goddess to bless him with a True Mate? Especially such a small and fragile one.
He knew what others saw when they looked at him. A monstrously, l
arge male that they only wanted around when there was a threat. When the threat was gone, they wanted him gone too for they worried he would demand more than his share of their food stores because of his size. It had been that way since he was a very young male.
He'd been lucky. He knew that. While his father wasn't a Warrior, he had worked for Minister Descarga on the planet Dzhalil. Minister Descarga was one of the few ministers that shared the excess food stores he and his family didn't need with his people instead of selling them for extra credits. It made him very popular with the citizens he served.
When Nikhil started growing astoundingly large, Descarga had been one of the few that hadn't believed it was because he was receiving extra rations. He sat Nikhil down and told him he was this way because it was the will of the Goddess, that she must have something very important for him to do, and she needed his size to achieve it. It was only then that Descarga made sure Nikhil received what he needed to accomplish it; education, training, and yes, extra food rations. But Descarga made Nikhil understand that he expected Nikhil to make sure extras would go to others when Nikhil was in the position to receive more than he needed.
Nikhil had vowed that he would, and he worked hard to keep that promise. He was only twenty-one when he'd achieved Elite Warrior status, and then became the youngest Warrior to ever become a Squad Leader.
Thanks to his father's continued position with Minister Descarga, Nikhil didn't have to help supplement his family's food stores, as so many other Elite Warriors did. So to keep his vow to Minister Descarga, he began distributing his extra rations to individuals wherever he was stationed. If he couldn't do that, then he would distribute credits, so the citizens were able to purchase what they needed.
That couldn't be enough to be gifted with a True Mate, could it?
Seeing his True Mate twitch slightly as if she remembered something painful, he took a step closer and cursed the closed dome of the repair unit that kept him from reaching out to comfort her. Knowing she couldn't feel it, he still put his hand on the dome as close to hers as he could.
"She knows you are near." Luol walked up to stand beside him.