"Mackenzie isn't feeling well," Nikhil told him tensely getting straight to the point. He hadn't liked that she wouldn't let him carry her to Luol. Hadn't liked how she kept her distance from him, making sure they didn't touch. He especially hadn't liked other warriors looking at her as they passed.
Luol was immediately across the room. "What is wrong, Mackenzie? Are you in pain?"
"No. My stomach's just a little upset."
"I see." Luol scanned her with his palm unit. "That's to be expected with the difference and quantity of food you are now receiving. I find no signs of illness."
"Squad Leader told me you needed to complete treating me this morning." She used the title she'd heard Nikhil addressed as.
"I... yes," Luol's gaze shot to Nikhil and saw the warrior stiffen at her use of his title.
"After that it’s the educator?" she continued.
"If you are up to it." Luol returned his attention to Mackenzie.
"I will be. So where? In there again?" She pointed to the room Nikhil had carried her out of the day before.
"Yes."
"Then let's get this show on the road." She started toward the room. "The sooner this is done, the sooner I can get back to where and with who I belong."
Luol just stared at her retreating back, shocked by her words. Didn't she understand that her place was now with Nikhil? Looking to the giant warrior, he saw that Nikhil was more than shocked, he was devastated, and Luol took a step toward him. "Nikhil...”
Nikhil just shook his head, his lips clamped tightly together, and followed his Mackenzie into the next room. Inside, he found her struggling to get onto the bed of the deep-repair unit that was set at the waist height of a Kaliszian. He immediately moved to lift her onto the bed, but she spun around, and her quiet words stopped him.
"Do not touch me," she hissed, then doing a deep knee bend gripped the bed frame and jumped, finally making it on the bed. Wiggling, she made sure her covering was pulled down as far as possible and swung her legs up onto the bed.
"I assume I need to be lying down?" she asked Luol, who had entered behind Nikhil.
"For the unit to close. Yes." Luol watched as she lay down, keeping her arms at her sides, her hands fisting the material of her covering as she stared directly up at the ceiling. What could possibly have happened between these two that had her acting this way? "Are you comfortable, Ashe Mackenzie? Warm enough?" His eyes went to her bare feet. It was still early and the floors of the base had to have been cold on her feet.
"I'm fine."
"It is surprising that your feet were not damaged by your time in the mine," Luol commented absently as he began pushing buttons on the control panel.
"That's because I was wearing boots."
"Boots?" Luol gave her a puzzled look.
"Foot coverings?" she finally turned her head to look at Luol. "Like you and N... like you are wearing." She barely stopped herself from using Nikhil's name.
"I don't remember you wearing any when you were brought in. Did you remove them for some reason, Nikhil?" Although Luol turned to Nikhil for answers, it was Mac who replied.
"No. The Zaludians removed them after they discovered me."
"Why would they do that?" Luol asked.
"So they could inspect me to see if I had any hidden orifices that would make me more valuable when they sold me as a Pleasure Worker." She ignored Luol's shocked expression, and looked back to the ceiling. "Can we just get this over with?"
After a moment, the curved cover of the repair unit began to slide up from her feet until she was fully enclosed in the tube. The bed began to hum, and a fine mist appeared.
"Just breathe normally, Ashe Mackenzie," Luol instructed. "This won't take long."
"Stop calling me that! My name is Mackenzie or Mac, if you want. I'm no one’s Ashe." With that said, she closed her eyes.
Nikhil could only stare at his Mackenzie in disbelief, the pain flooding his system nearly driving him to his knees. He'd been in hundreds of battles, thousands it seemed. He'd watched warriors die, some as close to him as brothers. He had been injured himself, and yet none of that had ever caused him this much pain.
He knew his reaction to her honest answer about kissing had hurt her, especially his reference to Pleasure Workers. Was it really that different in her world? He had wanted to talk to her about it, but she refused, and when she said she wasn't feeling well... His only concern had been getting her to Luol so he could fix what was harming her.
He hadn't realized that what was harming her was him.
Somewhere between rescuing her and that amazing kiss, he had forgotten she wasn't just his Ashe, wasn't just his True Mate. She was a female who had survived a horrible experience and had no knowledge of the world she found herself in.