The deep rumble beneath her ear had her forcing her eyes open to find glowing, pine-green eyes staring down at her. She saw his lips move, felt the vibration of it in his chest, but she couldn't understand what he was saying.
"What?" she whispered back finding that one word a struggle, then cringed at the massive frown that filled her vision.
Nikhil couldn't believe what he was hearing. The little female in his arms was speaking Zaludian, and stranger yet, she didn't seem to understand Kaliszian.
"Do you understand me now?" he asked switching to Zaludian.
"Yes." Mac couldn't describe how it felt to know he understood her.
"What have you got there, Nikhil?" Onp asked.
Mac's eyes followed where the glowing green ones went, then cowered in his arms when she discovered several large beings staring down at her intently.
"Move on,! You are frightening her."
"Her?" The other warrior leaned in for a closer look and Mac began to tremble. "Are you sure that's female?"
"Move on or I will make sure all your training will be done solely with me for the next week." That threat had both males quickly moving on.
"Do not fear, Little One," Nikhil found himself pulling her close, cooing in her ear. "I vow you are safe." He pulled back slightly and found her staring up at him intently. "What is your name, Little One?"
Mac found herself lost in those glowing eyes, and for a moment, it was like she'd come home. "Mackenzie, Mackenzie Wharton," she whispered weakly, and then exhaustion took over and she passed out.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"What is that you are bringing me, Nikhil?" Healer Luol teased the massive warrior storming into his medical unit.
"A female. Harmed by the Zaludians."
"A female!" Luol lost his teasing demeanor and quickly move to a bed. "Lay her down here. Carefully!” The last word was unnecessary as Luol watched the lumbering warrior lay the female down as if she were the most fragile thing in the universe.
"Let’s see what we are dealing with here." Opening the cape that had been wrapped securely around her, Luol sucked in a harsh breath at what he found. "Goddess!"
Blindly reaching for his hand-held scanner, he began running the machine as he visually took in the damage done to this small female. While her face was heavily bruised, Luol knew those wounds would be easily repaired. It was the rest of her that had him concerned.
He had never seen a body so thin. While her face was swollen and bruised from the beating she had taken, the rest of her body was the opposite. He could count every rib, and the way her skin was pulled tightly over her hip bones... He’d never seen anything like it.
"How long was she held?" Luol demanded.
"I don't know."
"Where is she from?"
"I don't know."
"Well, what in the name of the Goddess do you know, Warrior Kozar?" Luol demanded in frustration. He'd never encountered a female like this before.
"I know her name is Mackenzie Wharton, and that she is not Kaliszian."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because her eyes are a beautiful, golden brown, but they do not glow."
"Really?" Luol picked up a piece of her dirty, matted hair. "Then explain to me how she can wear this!"
Nikhil's eyes widened, and he reached back grabbing the braid that held his two most important Suja beads; one meant for his Ashe, and if the Goddess blessed him, the other for his True Mate. His True Mate bead was gone.
"I take it you didn't know."
"No," came Nikhil's hoarse whisper. "Help her, Luol." His green eyes begged.
"I will do all I can for your True Mate, Nikhil, but I have never treated one like her before. We can only pray to the Goddess that the deep repair unit can help her."
Luol pressed the button activating the machine, and as the domed cover closed, Luol was astonished to see Nikhil drop to his knees and begin to pray.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
As the Supreme Commander of Kaliszian Defenses, General Treyvon Rayner was a seasoned warrior. He had been in hundreds of battles, had seen and been the deliverer of more than his share of death. But as he stood on the narrow ledge outside the mine, looking at the carnage in the crevasse below, revulsion filled him.
"General." The call of his second in command and longtime friend, Gryf, had Treyvon turning to face him.
"What is it, Commander?"
"We discovered another pocket of survivors."
"Jerboaians?"
"No. I... I have never encountered a species like them before. They are similar to us only much smaller, but not as small as Jerboaians. Their eyes do not glow, and their hair covers all their head like the Tornians but in different colors. They also have hair on their faces like the Ganglians, and some even have it on their bodies."