Karac: Kaldar Warriors #1 (9 page)

“Minor bruising, concussion, and a cracked rib but otherwise he will be fine.”

“A cracked rib!?  That is not fine!  I have to call the ambulance.”  I struggled to get my body free to reach for Nathan’s phone in his pocket. 

“The injuries aren’t life threatening.”  The man behind me rumbled. 

“He has a concussion.  That alone is serious.  He shouldn’t be asleep or unconscious.”  The warrior still did not release me.  Time for desperate measures. 

I never took a self-defense course, but I watched a lot of movies.  Not that I knew if this was going to work, but one had to try.  Time to SING.  Since my arms were free, I jabbed my elbow into his solar plexus as best I could reach, (which earned me a grunt), slammed my foot into his instep, (which had him hunch over and loosened his grip), turned slightly and rammed the heel of my hand into his nose, (which snapped his head back) and kneed him hard in the groin (which effectively had him hunched over, groaning, and holding his family jewels). 
S-I-N-G.  I always wanted to try that.
  Smiling to myself, I didn’t give the guy a second thought as I whipped around and rushed to Nathan’s side.  I could hear the mutterings around me from the warriors. 

“
Criza
, that had to hurt.”

“Did you see that?”

“Oh, he’s going to be pissed.” 

I focused my attention on Nathan, who was still unconscious.  I laid him flat on his back.  Since the warrior medic said he didn’t have any spinal injuries, I figured I could move him.  I tried shaking his shoulders gently then more insistently. 

“Nathan? Nathan you have to wake up.  I need to know if I should call 911.”  I leaned over him and pulled up his eyelids.  Still nothing.  I bowed my head, trying to think how to help him and get me out of this situation.  Suddenly, I was airborne once again as an arm wrapped around my middle and yanked me back to my feet against a hard chest.  This time though, he did allow my feet to touch. 

“You’re trying my patience, little one,” He rasped into my ear.  I could still hear the tinge of pain he probably felt, but I so did not have any sympathy for him. 

“Oh, darn.  And here I was hoping that I already tipped the scales to maniacal rage.”  All the response I got was another growl. 
Issues much?
  “Look, all I want is to wake Nathan up to see for myself that he’s, well, not fine, but going to be ok.  Then you can tell me what the hell you want.”

“I came for my mate.”  The voice rumbled behind me.  I froze. 
His mate?  SHIT!
  In all of this I had yet to put two and two together.  The seven in front of me were Kaldarhns.  The man behind me, who I really didn’t focus on while going on the offense, sounded like that Karac guy on TV.  Slowly, and surprisingly enough he let me, I turned around inside the circle of his arms.  Even in the semi-darkness, standing this close, I could make out his features. 
Yep, looked like my luck had run out.
 

Standing not six inches from me, with his arms firmly enclosing me, stood Karac.  His gaze caught mine and I couldn’t look away.  It was like something snapped into place inside me.  I don’t know what it was, but it started to freak me out.  I felt connected to him, in ways totally un-normal.  Humans didn’t have those connections, did they?  For someone who took a good six months to be comfortable with someone, those feelings were NOT normal.  I wrenched my eyes away and looked down, taking deep breaths.  I felt him move closer, my body tensed, but I only felt a light touch of his lips on the top of my head. 

“Let me go,” I pleaded softly so only he could hear me.

“Never,” was the whispered response above me.  I had a feeling he was talking about more than our current situation. 

“Just,” I sighed, before continuing.  “Just help me get Nathan inside and comfortable, then we can talk.”  I wouldn’t meet his eyes, I was afraid of getting sucked in again.  A good stretch of silence passed before he answered me. 

“Fine.”  I felt him look up before he spoke.  “You, and You, pick him up and we’ll all go inside.”  He looked at me before continuing.  “Is there anyone else here we should know about?”

“No, it was just Nathan and me.”  I felt him tense but he didn’t say anything.  He released me from his arms but one of his hands trailed down my arm and captured my hand.  He linked our fingers before tugging me gently to follow the four warriors in front with Nathan, and three that followed us from behind.  I tugged on my hand, not wanting to be in contact with him, but he wasn’t having any of it.

We entered the living room and the warriors in front laid Nathan on the couch and backed up, looking toward Karac.  I walked past Karac but was pulled up short by Karac’s hand.  I turned slightly and looked down at our joined hands then up at him.

“I just want to check on him.  Make him comfortable.”  I waited for a second but it still didn’t look like he was going to release me.  I tried again.  “It’s the least you could do after you mauled him.”  He narrowed his eyes at me and I was suddenly pulled back into him as he wrapped his arms around my waist. 

“I don’t like you close to other males.”  Karac stated. 

“That one is unconscious.”  I pointed out with a nod in Nathan’s direction. 

“Which is the only reason I’m allowing you within arm’s reach of him.”  He released me and nodded, like he was giving me permission to go to Nathan. 
Boy did he have a lot to learn about me.
 
I didn’t take orders or ask permission from anybody
.  Leaving that discussion for another time, I turned and knelt down by Nathan.  They had laid him flat and he seemed to be breathing fine.  I pulled a pillow out and lifted his head with my other hand to gently set the pillow behind it.  A growl came from behind me.  I glanced back and found Karac hovering over me with fists clenched. 

“Relax, buddy.  I’m just putting a pillow behind his head.”  I turned back toward Nathan and gave him another shake, nothing.  I turned toward the medic warrior.  “You’re sure he is going to be ok?”  He looked toward Karac, who nodded, before turning back to me to answer my question. 

“No internal or external bleeding, his rib should heal in a few days if he rests, so yes, he should be fine.”  The warrior assured me. 

“You three, search the house, secure a bag for Ashley.”  Karac barked out and three warriors disappeared into different rooms.

“Wait, what?  What bag?”  I asked standing up and facing him.  This conversation required us to be on equal footing.  Well, as equal as possible.  The guy was huge.  He stood over me by at least six inches.  And let’s not forget that he was as wide as a door.

“You are coming with me.  With, or without, your personal belongings.  It is up to you.”

“Go with you?  No, no way am I going anywhere.”  I shook my head to emphasize my point. 

“You are my mate.  You go where I go.”  He stated the fact like it was well known. 

“How do you even know I’m your mate?  And the news said something about a 30-day courting period or something.  I’m not leaving.”

“You’re 30 days were forfeited when you failed to register in the database.”

“What?!  No one told us that!”  I yelled. 

“Would it have made a difference?”  He asked with a quizzical brow.  I chose not to answer.  Damn man had me pegged already.  He gave me a self-satisfied smirk before adding, “You come with me.”

“Don’t I get any say in this?”  I asked beginning to panic.  I looked around at the four other warriors.  They were standing off to the side, apparently trying to give us privacy, but I could tell they were more than prepared if I decided to run.  Not that I had anywhere to run.  Which brought me to my next question. 

“How did you find me?”  I asked looking back at Karac. 

“Process of elimination.  After searching your friends and family’s homes, we went with the next logical place.  Family of your family’s friends.”

“Damn,” I muttered.  T
he plan seemed solid six months ago
.  Suddenly the other three warriors appeared, and one had a bag over his shoulder.  That one leaned in to whisper something into Karac’s ear and whatever was said, seemed to please him.  He gave an arrogant smile and nodded to the warrior who then backed up. 

“Come, we leave at once.”  Karac held out his hand, expecting me to take it.  Was he serious?  Did he really think I was just going to follow along like some obedient puppy?  I looked at his hand, then back at him in disbelief. 

“You think it is going to be that easy?”  Looking at the warrior with my bag, I asked, “What did you say to him?”  Nodding at Karac.  The warrior ignores my question and his eyes remain steady on Karac.  Nothing pisses me off more than being purposefully ignored.  I marched over to him and got right in his face.  A difficult task seeing as he was a good deal taller than me. 

“What, did you, say?”  I gritted out.  His eyes widen slightly at my aggressive move and he took a step back.  I was about to follow him when, once again, I was caught around my middle and pulled back into a hard body.  Karac leaned down so his mouth was at my ear level.

“Do not, under any circumstances, approach an unmated male like that again.  Do you understand?” 
Wait, what?
  He was upset about me walking up to another warrior?  Not the fact that I was being hostile towards one?

“I want to know what he said.”  I had to say this over my shoulder because I was still firmly in his grasp. 

“He said your scent was the only one in your sleeping chambers.  The boy never slept in there.”  Again, I could hear the self-satisfied smirk coming off him in waves. 

“Boy?  What boy?”  I asked confused.

“The one who dared to touch you,” Karac growled with a nod toward Nathan on the couch. 

“Nathan’s my friend.  He was nice enough to let me stay with him when your edict forced me out of my home.”  I snapped.  I was suddenly turned and facing a very angry warrior.

“My edict, as you say, did nothing to force you out of anywhere.  That was your decision.  Yours alone.”  He growled at me. 

“Well, I wouldn’t have had to make that decision if your people would have just stayed away.”  I commented with snark. 

“My people look to your females to save our race.  Without them, we will be extinct in several hundred years.”  It took a second for that to sink in before I could respond. 

“Wait, what?  There wasn’t anything in the news about that.”

“Because it is not public knowledge.  This piece of information is only granted to the warriors of Kaldar and their mates.”

“So, does that make you a warrior?  Every time I saw you on TV you had on what looked like dress clothes.”  I looked him up and down.  “Nothing like you are wearing now.”  I couldn’t help my wandering eyes one more time.  The man was gorgeous.  I looked up and caught his lopsided grin.  Damn, it’s never fun being caught checking someone out.  Unless of course you both are in a relationship together.  Which doesn’t apply to this situation, at all. 

“Those are our formal garments.  Warriors dress as you see us now.”  He motioned down to his current attire. 

“Why’d you switch to find me?”  I was honestly curious. 

“We are still unsure of our reception in many places.  It is safer to be prepared.  I need my weapons to protect you and I cannot wear them with the formal garments.”

“So you are a warrior like the rest of them?”  I asked gesturing around to the other warriors still standing around us.  Karac nodded in response. 

“Karac, if I may?”  I turned my head to see the warrior with my pack looking at us.  Karac turned me around in the circle of his arms,
was he still holding me?  How did I not notice?
  So that we both could face the warrior who was addressing us. 

“Go ahead, Calzen.”  Karac said with a nod.  Calzen nodded and looked down at me.

“Karac is too modest but he is our greatest warrior.  He wouldn’t tell you himself, but he has led many battles, endured many wounds, and his concern for our people has always been a priority.  He is our honorable and fearless leader.  We are honored to protect you as his mate, as you should be honored to be his mate.”  All the warriors then brought their right fist to their hearts in a salute.  I was surprised, but also humbled, by the respect and loyalty the warriors were showing Karac.  It left me a little in awe of him.  Who was this man to gain the reverence of these fearsome warriors?

“Thank you,” Karac acknowledged each of them before continuing.  “We’ve lingered long enough.”  He looked down at me with questioning eyes.  “Will you come willingly?”  I looked around at all the warriors and wondered if there was actually a choice in there.  I sighed, resigned for now, and nodded.  “Good.”  He seemed to relax slightly at my nod.  Karac looked to the others, pointing at two of them and said, “Go back and retrieve the vehicles.  Then we leave.”  The two warriors nodded and strode from the room.  Needing some space, I tried to step away from Karac to be met with his hand around my bicep.  He regarded me questioningly. 

“I need to use the restroom before leaving.”  I said without looking at him.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him give a slight nod as he let go of my arm.  Without saying anything, I walked calmly to the stairs and went up to use the bathroom.  No way was I going to use the downstairs one with them feet away.  I closed the door behind me, locked it, and quickly did my business.  I ran the cold water and splashed my face. 
I’m really leaving with them?  Do I have any choice?
  I looked at myself in the mirror and thought how my life was never going to be the same again. 
Oh wait, that ship sailed six months ago.
  I sat on the lid of the toilet with my head in my hands.  I couldn’t think of any way out of this.  The government wasn’t going to help me.  My parents were out, what could they do?  Nathan was out, quite literally, downstairs.  I wondered if I should have called his parents to come check on him.  A knock at the door startled me out of my thoughts.  I looked up to the door but made no effort to open it.  If he really wanted in, he could break the door down.