Nikhil (Kaliszian Book 1) (26 page)

"Yes, the repair unit took care of those and any others you had on your body. It also replenished all the nutrients that you were deficient in. The only thing I found unusual was that your system was not as deficient as Mackenzie's had been even though you were held the same amount of time." He looked to Craig hoping for an answer, but all he found was Craig staring hard at Mackenzie.

"Mackenzie, would you know why?" Luol asked quietly.

"No," she said softly before pulling her gaze away from Craig to repeat more strongly, "No, Luol, I don't know why that is. Maybe I was just deficient to begin with or maybe it was because of the beating I took."

"Beating?!!" Craig jumped off the bed then grabbed her upper arms giving her a hard shake. "What beating?!! Are you telling me that fucking Kaliszian
beat
you?!!"

Before Mac could recover from Craig's sudden move, Luol grabbed him by the throat and threw him across the room.

"Luol!" Mac grabbed his arm, stopping him from going after Craig. "Stop!"

"You are the True Mate of a Kaliszian," Luol growled. "No one attacks you!"

Mac couldn't believe how hard Luol's voice had become or how brightly his eyes were glowing. She'd never seen him act like this. He'd always been so caring and gentle with her, and that's when she realized that while he claimed to be Kalbaughian, he was still a Kaliszian warrior.

"He wasn't attacking me, Luol," she said trying to calm him.

"Look at your arms, Mackenzie," Luol spit out.

She did and was surprised to see that bruises were already forming there. "Craig didn't mean to," she said defending Craig. "He was just surprised. I never told them that the Zaludians had beaten me. He thought I meant Nikhil."

"What?" Luol finally looked at her. When the human male had jumped off the bed of the repair unit, he had reverted to his language, and Luol hadn't been able to understand what he was saying.

"He thought Nikhil had harmed me. He was just reacting."

"Nikhil would never harm you."

"I know this. Craig doesn't. It's going to take time for all of us to adjust and accept these changes, Luol."

"I see." Luol's gaze returned to Craig, who was slowly getting up, his eyes never leaving Luol. "Then I apologize to you, Mackenzie, for not keeping you from harm. It seems my time as a Healer has dulled my reflexes."

"They didn't seem dull to me," Mac told him putting a careful hand on the still bulging bicep of his arm. "I didn't realize that you were more than a Healer, Luol, that you were also an Elite Warrior."

"It has been many years since I have been an Elite, but yes, I am still a Warrior. I would never be allowed to treat them if I was not."

"Mac, what's going on?" Craig asked, holding his right arm as he watched Luol warily.

"In Zaludian, Craig," Mac said glaring at him, and after a moment he repeated the question. "Luol was defending me."

"From who?" Craig asked.

"From you! He thought you were harming me," she looked at the darkening bruises, "and I guess he was right."

"Shit, Mac! I never meant to hurt you! You know that!"

"I wouldn't have thought so but here's the proof, and if Nikhil sees it, he'll do a whole lot worse to you than what Luol did." She saw Craig pale and swallow hard then looked to Luol. "You can make these disappear, can't you?"

"I could but Nikhil needs to be informed," Luol said still watching Craig.

"No, he doesn't. It was an accident, and it’s never going to happen again. Is it, Craig?" she asked giving Craig a hard look.

"No... of course it’s not! I never intended..."

Mac ignored the rest of what Craig was saying and turned her gaze back to Luol and switched to Kaliszian. "Please, Luol. Nikhil doesn't need to know about this. We already have so much to get through, so much to understand about one another. You know he will never be able to understand or accept this." She lifted a bruised arm. "He'll kill Craig."

"As he should," Luol told her, his eyes having not yet lost that hard glow.

"Which isn't going to help in getting my people to trust you. We've survived the Ganglians. We've survived the Zaludians. Are you telling me that after surviving all that, the Kaliszians are going to be the ones that finally kill us? All because we don't understand your rules? Because we tried to defend one another? Was Blag right? Do you only care about Kaliszians?"

Luol jerked back as if she had struck him with the full strength of an Elite warrior. "No! That is not what I'm saying. Mackenzie, you know it isn't."

"Then help me." She held out her bruised arms to him.

"Fine, but if it happens again, Nikhil will be informed." He waited for her to nod.

"If it happens again," Mac's hard gaze shot to Craig, "Nikhil can have him after I'm done with him."

Luol looked at her in shock then began to laugh. "I believe Nikhil would be truly upset then because you wouldn't leave anything for him."

"That's right."

"Mac?" Craig asked in Zaludian. "What's going on?"

"Luol has agreed to treat my bruises so my Mate won't see them and kill you," she told him bluntly.

"What?" Craig paled.

"If Nikhil saw this and knew you'd done them, he'd kill you." She let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "You may not like this, Craig, but Nikhil is my True Mate and the only male I want, and nothing is ever going to change that. I know you were always trying to get something going between us even before the Ganglians took us. I told you no then, and I'm telling you no now. I'll always be grateful for you helping to protect me, but that's all I'll ever feel for you; gratitude and friendship. If you can't accept that, then stay away from me." She looked to Luol. "Where do you need me?"

Luol just stared at her for a moment then smiled. Oh yes, the Goddess had chosen the perfect mate for Nikhil. She was going to be just what the massive warrior needed.

"Let’s go into my office and I'll treat you with the handheld unit." He looked to Craig. "Then I'll treat that break in your arm."

"You broke Craig's arm?" Mac's gaze flew to him and for the first time noticing just how gingerly Craig was holding his arm.

"He landed badly," Luol said with a dismissive shrug.

"You need to treat him first, Luol."

"No. You are first, Mackenzie. His injury was caused because of his lack of control. He waits. Otherwise, I notify Nikhil," Luol threatened.

"Alright. Fine," Mac said testily moving toward his office.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

After that, the rest of the afternoon was relatively quiet. She'd given Craig the remainder of her food packet, much to Luol's displeasure, once his arm was repaired. Craig then insisted on being the next to use the educator. Mac knew Luol thought it was because Craig was trying to make up for what had happened, but she knew it was because Craig was something of a control freak. He would never be able to stand that Paul and Eric would understand something that he didn't.

Craig had become their unspoken leader after he'd been the one the Ganglians had forced the educator on. There was no other reason for it, but no one had challenged him about it either. Not that there was much 'leadership' needed in the mine. The Zaludians were in charge, but now that they were free, it seemed he was trying to assume control.

Mac sat with him just as she had with Paul and Eric, but once he was under, she let go of his hand. Another Nekeok had arrived along with Tyler which surprised her. She'd thought either Paul or Eric would have come back, and she said as much.

"They felt that since they had both used the educator, that someone else should be treated so it would be fair to everyone," Tyler told her.

And there in lay the difference between Craig, Paul and Eric. Paul and Eric thought of how others would feel. Craig not so much.

"Where's Craig?" Eric asked.

"Using the educator," she told him and they exchanged a knowing look. "So are you ready to feel better?"

"Definitely. Where do you want me?" he asked looking to Luol.

"On the bed," Luol told him and explained to him, as he had Craig, what was about to happen. But this time, he informed the male that he could 'knock him out' as Mackenzie had said.

"Mac?" Tyler looked at her. "What do you think?"

"I think you won't feel as claustrophobic when the cover closes if you let Luol give you something."

Luol could see that the male called Tyler seriously considered what Mackenzie had said before slowly nodding his head. "Knock me out, Doc," he said, then lay back on the bed.

"Doc?" Luol looked to Mackenzie for clarification as the cover on the deep-repair unit closed and began to treat Tyler.

"It's an Earth term for Healer," she told him.

"I see." As he continued to watch her, she raised a questioning eyebrow. "You never left the side of the other males once the educator was on."

"No."

"Is there something about this Craig that I should know about?"

"No. It's fine, Luol. Honestly." At his confused look, she corrected. "My vow."

"You need to let Nikhil know if Craig gives you problems, Mackenzie. It is his duty and honor to protect you."

"Honor?"

"Of course. To have a True Mate is the greatest honor the Goddess can give a male. It shows she finds him worthy."

"Shouldn't that be my choice? If I find Nikhil worthy I don't care what anyone else thinks, not even a Goddess." She saw she had shocked Luol. "Humans don't have True Mate beads that we can rely on, Luol. It would be nice if we did." She lifted Nikhil's bead to look at it. "It would make it so much easier, but then again maybe not."

"What do you mean?" Luol frowned at her.

"I mean, and please don't take offense at this, but you say Maysa is your True Mate, even though she doesn't wear your True Mate bead."

"She is," Luol told her angrily.

"But do others believe that?" she questioned. "That she is your True Mate? That she would never remove your Ashe bead?"

Luol opened his mouth then snapped it shut because he knew some males had tried to lure his Maysa away when he was gone. "Are you saying this doesn't happen on your Earth?"

"Oh it does, but we don't have this 'sign from the Goddess' that we've met our Soul Mate. Our True Mate. We have to take it on faith and trust and believe. If I wasn't wearing this," she jiggled the bead she was still holding at him, "would any of you honestly believe I was Nikhil's True Mate? Would Nikhil? He might have offered me his Ashe bead, but what if his True Mate bead suddenly ended up on someone else... What would he do? What would
you
do?"

Luol gave her a lost look.

"Exactly. You rely on this when maybe you should just trust and rely on what you feel instead."

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Luol sat in his office later that night, after Nikhil had come to collect Mackenzie, and let himself truly think about what she had said. Their society revolved around their beads. Their past, present, and future were displayed there for all to see, including their worth and value to society. He'd never questioned it before, but now he did. All because of one small human female. If his True Mate bead ever transferred to another, he knew his heart would shatter, knew his Maysa's would shatter too. Would he stay with his Ashe and the life they had created together or would he abandon her for another?

Without a thought, he reached out and entered the code that would connect him to his Maysa.

"Yes?" a soft voice answered.

Her beautiful face, that had creases on one cheek from where she'd been sleeping appeared on his screen and Luol suddenly realized just how late it was on Crurn.

"Luol? Is that you?" Eyes that a moment ago had been blurry with sleep sharpened and filled with fear. "Luol! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No! No, Maysa. I'm sorry I called so late. I didn't realize what time it was there."

"That doesn't matter. What is wrong, my love? You are well?"

"I am fine. I just missed seeing your beautiful face." His words had the fear fading from her eyes. Fear she rarely revealed to him.

"We just spoke yesterday," she told him settling deeper into their bed.

"Yesterday was a lifetime ago," he murmured.

Maysa stilled. "There is something wrong. Tell me."

"Not wrong, I just find myself questioning things I never have before."

"What kind of things?" she asked.

"Our beads," he finally admitted.

"Our beads?" She sat straight up in bed. "Why would you question our beads? They are a gift from the Goddess."

"Are they?" he asked.

"Luol, what's brought this on?"

"I've been treating a human female."

"The one Nikhil's True Mate bead transferred to?" she asked. "The one I sent coverings for?"

"Yes. They do not have Suja beads in their world."

"They don't? Then how do they know who is who in their society? Who their True Mate is?"

"Mackenzie says they have to take it on faith and trust, that there is no outward sign."

"Mackenzie..."

"She has requested that I not use the title," he told his Ashe.

"What? Why would she do that?"

"She had requested it before she had used the educator. I do not know if she understands the significance for us and I have not informed her differently. Nikhil will do that when he finally offers her his Ashe bead."

"He hasn't done that yet?" Maysa couldn't hide her shock.

"No. Mackenzie has had much to deal with since her rescue. I believe Nikhil is waiting until she has recovered more fully."

"That's male thinking. A female would want him to offer his bead."

"A Kaliszian female would. She is a human female."

"She sounds intriguing."

"You would like her, Maysa. She is very intelligent and questions many of the things we just accept."

"Like our Suja beads." Maysa finally began to understand what had Luol questioning their beads. Her Dasho had a very inquisitive mind.

"Yes."

"What did she question?"

"That we only believe we've found our True Mate if our bead transfers to them."

"I see." Sadness filled Maysa's eyes knowing he was referring to how neither of their True Mate beads had transferred to the other, not even after all these years. "She doesn't realize how blessed she is."