"I see."
"General?"
Treyvon turned, frowning at the question in his Warrior's voice. "What is it, Gulzar?"
"What guidelines am I to follow regarding what Jen is allowed to use?"
"Jen?" Treyvon frowned heavily at Gulzar’s casual shortening of Jennifer’s name.
"It is what she asked me to call her, General. When she offered me her friendship."
"She what?" Treyvon couldn't hide his shock or his anger.
"Not in the Kaliszian way, General." Gulzar quickly assured him. "I admit I thought the same thing at first, but Jen quickly corrected me."
"She did?"
"Yes, General. So the guidelines, General? What is available for her to use?"
"She will have access to whatever the allotment is for the Warriors that are allowing her to cook for them."
"Yes, General, of course. But I was referring to the items that are usually discarded. Is she allowed to use them as she sees fit?"
"What items are you talking about, Gulzar?" Treyvon questioned.
"I… well… Today she informed me that if I removed the bones from the meat I was preparing, that it would cook faster and she could then roast the bones and make stock."
"Stock? What is stock?"
"She says it is a flavorful liquid you add to other foods to make them taste better."
"What other things does she add?"
"Vegetables, General."
"When is she going to make this 'stock'?"
"She said she'd start on it tomorrow."
Treyvon was silent for several moments. As far as he knew, no Warrior had yet offered his food stores to her. Until one did, there would be no way for Jennifer to prove her claim that she could improve the taste of their food.
"She may use what she needs from my allotment of the stores."
"I… yes, General. I will inform her of that."
"No. She does not need to know whose it is. Just how much is available for her to make this stock." With one last look around the dry room, he returned to the kitchen.
"Yes, General." Shutting the door, Gulzar turned, wondering if he should say more.
"What else is on your mind, Warrior Gulzar?"
"I… I overheard the females talking. Jen and Ashe Mackenzie."
"Overheard?" He raised an eyebrow at Gulzar.
"I was in the cool room getting the meat for Last Meal," Gulzar quickly informed the General, not wanting him to think he would do something as dishonorable as spying on females.
"And?"
"And I heard Ashe Mackenzie talking about how Jen's injury caused her pain."
"Pain…" The word slipped quietly past Treyvon's lips.
"Yes. I mean. I know she was injured and that it must have been painful at the time, but to learn that she still suffers. Is there nothing the deep repair unit can do to ease it?" Gulzar's gaze seemed to plead with Treyvon's. "She is such a small female…"
Treyvon found he had to swallow hard before he could speak, dashing Gulzar's hopes. "There is little the unit can do for her now except manage the pain and repair the external signs of damage as the injuries heal."
"Which is something she does not want," Gulzar informed him.
"She doesn't?" That surprised Treyvon. "Why?"
"It seems she held her Dasho is such high regard that she does not wish to draw the attentions of another."
"I see." Treyvon's voice remained unchanged, but inside his gut clenched at Gulzar's words. Not that he wanted to attract Jennifer. He'd long ago given up believing he might have a female of his own. His connection to Aadi saw to that. His only interest in the female was in what she could do for his Warriors. "You will see that she has what she needs tomorrow."
"Of course, General," Gulzar immediately responded.
Treyvon turned to leave when something in Gulzar's voice stopped him. "You seem to be… anticipating your new duty, Warrior Gulzar. Is trying to be the first in your bloodline to achieve Elite status no longer important to you?"
"No, General! I mean, yes, General! Becoming an Elite Warrior is very important to me!" Gulzar stiffened at the inference, but his honor wouldn't let him tell his General an untruth. "But I do look forward to… training with her."
"Training? You consider assisting her training?"
"I… I am learning a skill I did not previously know," Gulzar stuttered then asked. "Is that not training, General?"
"Skill." Treyvon gave him a considering look. He had not considered cooking to be a skill, but perhaps he was wrong if it was what Jennifer did on her planet. "And what do you expect to do with this new skill, Warrior Gulzar?"
Gulzar felt the heat streaking across his cheeks as he met his General's gaze and forced himself to answer. "If I can learn something that will make the food more nutritious and filling, then I would teach it to my mother and sisters, General. They will then be able to become self-reliant and not have to depend on me or any another male to make their lives easier."
Treyvon gave him a long, considering look. "That is a truly honorable thing to do, Gulzar. A Warrior, especially an Elite Warrior, must always consider how his actions can be used to help others."
"I… thank you, General."
"You don't need to thank me for giving you truth, Warrior Gulzar. You will make a worthy Elite Warrior when your time comes."
"Thank you, General!" Gulzar's arm immediately crossed his chest, pride flowing through him at his General's words and he bowed.
"Rest well, Warrior Gulzar." Treyvon again turned to leave making it to the door before another thought came to him. "Where did Chef Jennifer go when she left here?"
"Go?" Gulzar frowned. "I do not know for certain, but she left with Ashe Mackenzie, so that leads me to believe she went to her and Warrior Nikhil's quarters."
Nodding, Treyvon left, his mind on what Gulzar had said. Any being that could make the food stores they received from the Tornians more filling and nutritious would be a valuable person in their Empire. One that would hold an important position in their society. Jennifer might be that person if she was able to deliver what she had promised.
He was surprised to find himself at the entrance of Nikhil's quarters. He hadn't meant to come here, hadn't intended to satisfy this need to check on Jennifer. If there were a problem, he would have been notified.
"General."
Treyvon turned to see Nikhil walking toward him. "Warrior Nikhil."
"Is there something you needed, General?" Nikhil looked from the closed door of his quarters to his commander.
"I was informed that Chef Jennifer was with your Ashe," Treyvon told him. "I wish to speak with her."
"I have just gotten off duty, General, and was not aware she was here." Nikhil pressed his palm against the access panel outside his quarters, and the door silently opened.
"Nikhil! You're home!"
Treyvon watched as Nikhil's Ashe came running into the room, the warm and loving smile easily seen on her face before it disappeared from view as she jumped into her Warrior's arms.
"Mackenzie...”
In that softly whispered word, Treyvon heard Nikhil's absolute love and devotion to the female he was holding and found himself envious.
"Mackenzie, General Rayner is here to speak with Jennifer."
"General Rayner?" Mac gave her husband a quizzical look before pulling back to glance over his shoulder. "Oh, General, I'm sorry." She wiggled in Nikhil's arms for him to set her down, which he reluctantly did. "I didn't see you."
"Because your attention was centered on your True Mate." Treyvon saw her stiffen and realized she believed he was being critical. "Which is where it should be. I did not mean to interrupt your time with Nikhil, Ashe Mackenzie. I just wish to speak to Chef Jennifer."
"Jen?" Mac gave him a confused look. "She's not here."
"Warrior Gulzar said you left the kitchen together," Treyvon told her.
"We did, but Jen said she was tired, so she headed back to her quarters."
&nb
sp; "I see. Then I will let her rest." Giving Mackenzie a slight bow, he turned and left the room.
Chapter Seven
Treyvon's footsteps echoed down the dimly lit corridor that led toward Jennifer's assigned quarters. When they had first arrived, they'd only opened the rooms they thought they would need. That changed as more and more survivors were found. So on the far end, they’d opened an old multi-being resting area.
Treyvon had ordered Gryf to find different quarters for Jennifer when Luol told her that he was going to release her from Medical. One with a private cleansing room. But he hadn’t realized how far it was from Nikhil’s quarters… or from his. He should have considered the possibility and ordered Gryf to make sure it was in the Officers’ area.
He also hadn't considered how stressful and tiring this day must have been for Jennifer. He already knew she was a strong female. She had to be to survive what she had. But no one, male or female, could withstand every blow the universes could hit you with. Not alone.
Finally reaching her door, he knocked and waited and waited and waited. Lifting his hand again, he knocked harder. Still no response. Why wasn’t she answering? Mackenzie had said Jennifer was here. Had she become ill? Was she hurt?
Moving his hand to the control panel of her door, he entered a code that only he knew; an override code. Her door silently opened, and he stepped into Jennifer’s quarters.
Her empty quarters.
His surprised gaze scanned the room. There wasn’t one stick of furniture present in the small room.
Except for a bed that had a small lump in the center.
Moving closer, he saw that it was Jennifer. Her arms were wrapped around her waist, the cape they had given her the only protection she had from the cold temperature of the room.
Why hadn’t she turned the heat up?
Did she not know how?
Crouching down beside her, he carefully lifted the edge of the hood that covered her face and felt his breath catch at the beauty revealed by the softly glowing power crystals. The skin on the uninjured side of her face glowed like the inside of a nacre shell and appeared as soft as the pelt of the mustela. He hadn't noticed how long or thick her lashes were before, or how they were darker than her hair. But he did now, as they rested on her pale cheeks.
"Jennifer," he whispered, not wanting to startle her. Instead of waking, she grumbled in her sleep, pulling her cape tighter around her.
Something inside Treyvon snapped as he watched her. She was obviously exhausted. She was defenseless. But instead of asking for help, instead of asking him for help, she lay here in a cold room. Did her desire for the male that had been taken from her run so deep that she would intentionally try to join him? He would not allow that.
Scooping her up tightly in his arms, Treyvon braced for a fight, knowing her instincts had to have been honed during her captivity. He wasn't disappointed when she stiffened, but then something strange happened. She gently sighed, then rubbed her cheek along his bicep before curling in closer to him and relaxing back into sleep.
Treyvon tried to calm his suddenly pounding heart, not wanting it to awaken her. When had anyone ever trusted him like this?
Him.
Treyvon.
Not General Rayner.
Not the tarnished relation of the Emperor.
Just him.
Certainly, no Kaliszian female he had shared his credits with. They all left as soon as they collected those credits, seemingly worried that the taint he carried from his ancestor might somehow transfer to them. But that didn't seem to be true with Jennifer. She welcomed his presence, even if it was only in her sleep, and he relished it.
Striding out of the cold room, he moved toward his. He couldn't help but notice how light she was. While he was a strong Warrior, one in his prime, he knew that even the weakest of Kaliszian males, Warrior or not, could carry Jennifer. She was that thin. Even through the coverings and thick cape, he could feel her bones.
How could she still be this thin? He knew all the other humans had put on weight since their arrival including Nikhil's Mackenzie. He had seen the reports himself. He would never have allowed the males to settle on Kalbaugh if they had been in this condition.
He needed Luol to scan her again to find out why.
• • • • • •
Jen wrapped her arms around her waist trying to find some warmth in her thin winter coat. She remembered when she'd talked her mom into getting it for her. It had been during her first year of culinary school. She'd wanted it more for its style and designer name than its warmth and practicality. She knew she could convince her mother to get it for her. Now she wished her mother had held her ground and gotten her the 'practical' coat.
It had always been like that between Jen and her mom because they were so much alike. They had the same likes and dislikes in clothes, books, and movies. They could talk about anything to each other. It hadn't been that way with her sister, Kimmy. Oh, her mother had loved Kimmy, but she just didn't understand her and had a hard time connecting with her.
Jen remembered how horrified her mother had been when Dad had promised Kimmy she could have a dog for her birthday. Mom had been able to hold it off for a few years, but finally, Kimmy had gotten her dog. And what a dog it had been. Warrior had been massive. He disrupted the entire household; tearing up the lawn, chewing her father's expensive shoes, and he'd even done that cliché thing of pulling the turkey off the counter where it had been cooling one Thanksgiving.
Yes, that dog had been a menace and Jen had treated him as such. She'd complained and whined about that dog, begging her parents to get rid of it. It was the only thing they’d ever denied her, and looking back she was glad because if they hadn't, she wouldn't have her sister.
Even if Kimmy was currently a brat, she was still Jen's sister, and Jen had promised she would always look out for her if something happened to their parents. It was an easy promise to give because she never thought she'd have to keep it. After all, she was the favorite one, the perfect one, the one that good things just 'happened' to, not bad ones.
Jen had to admit that her parents had made it easy for this stuff to just happen for her. They'd paid the tuition for the elite culinary school she'd insisted on going to. They agreed to pay extra for her to move off campus when she couldn't stand her roommate. They'd even given her the ultimate wedding when she'd found her dream man, even though they had wanted her to wait until after she graduated. She'd refused, telling her parents they would just live together instead.
That statement had gotten her what she wanted, just as she knew it would. They'd even agreed to give her the money she and Todd would need to travel for a year after she graduated making it possible for her to sample and learn more about other cuisines. She and Todd would then return home and open her restaurant; that her parents would help finance. Their only stipulation had been that they both had to work for the next few years in the trade to make sure it was what they wanted to do.
God! And she'd accused Kimmy of being the spoiled one. Tipping her head back, she sighed as she looked up at the lights shining out of her apartment window. She didn't want to go up there.
They’d just turned in their resignations at the upscale restaurant where they’d both been working. She worked in the kitchen as a sous chef while Todd worked out front as a Host, utilizing his good looks and charm. They’d been finalizing their travel plans, excited to get started on the next phase of their lives together when the call had come in. Her parents were dead. Todd had held her as she'd cried, had been at her side supporting her as they'd lowered those two caskets into the ground. He'd even held her hand when her parents’ attorney had read their will, and then gone on to explain what it meant.
Her parents, while appearing well to do, had actually been deeply in debt because of her. It seemed they had taken out a second mortgage on the house to pay for her tuition and then a third for her wedding.
They'd never said a word.
The only thing l
eft after paying off all the bills had been Kimmy's college fund. Something that was untouchable until Kimmy turned eighteen. Not that Jen would have used it. Their parents had paid for her education, and it was only fair that they did for Kimmy too.
Todd hadn't felt that way. Especially after he realized that Jen was now the legal guardian for her sixteen-year-old sister and that their travel plans were on hold.
Todd was a good guy, a great guy, but Jen had seen a different side of him over the last two years. He hadn't handled their sudden change in plans well. In fact, Todd hadn't handled it at all. He'd honestly thought Jen would just leave her sister behind and travel the world with him as they'd planned, by borrowing against Kimmy's college fund. It had been the first time Jen hadn't given in to Todd, hadn't put him first and made sure he was happy. The first of many, if you heard him tell it.
Hopefully, things would get better now that Kimmy was eighteen.
• • • • • •
Treyvon found himself conflicted, something he rarely was, as he looked from the female in his arms to his bed. Should he remove her cape or let her sleep in it? Would it wake her or make her more comfortable? He didn't know. Realizing he needed to make a decision, he impatiently pulled back the bed's covering and carefully laid her down.
That's when he realized something else. He had never undressed a female before except for Joining. How did a male go about it?
Letting his gaze run over Jennifer's sleeping form, he decided to start at her feet. Carefully he removed the boots they'd provided, then frowned at how small her feet were once the boots were removed. How was she wearing these boots? Reaching inside one, he discovered paper. She'd stuffed paper into the toes to make them fit. Dropping them on the floor, he flinched at the sound they made, and then thanked the Goddess when Jennifer continued to sleep.
The entire time he had carried her, she'd kept her arms wrapped around her waist. Now as he started to lift an arm, she tensed and mumbled in her sleep.
"Everything is fine, Jennifer," he whispered, hoping to reassure her. "You are safe. Everyone is safe. Rest."