Beyond My Stars

Freedom

             When we got to City-Central, the brothers dropped me off at the Complex and took Tuli to get registered as their guest. It was bittersweet to be back at the Complex. A lot had happened over those two days, and I wasn’t sure how to explain everything to Maddie and Beth. The moment I walked in the door I was overwhelmed with questions. They interrogated me for a solid two hours before I was able to head to my room and climb into bed. I looked down at my wrist and debated calling the brothers to make sure everything went okay with Tuli, but if there was an issue I was sure they would tell me. I changed into a comfortable t-shirt and panties before slipping under the covers. Everything that had happened seemed to overload me. I let out a few deep breaths to remain in control of my thoughts, forcing the to avoid going back to Cuirass. My head hurt, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

            Soon my eyes were closed, and I was just about asleep when I heard Koryn and Kit’s voice coming from my bracelet.

            “Goodnight.”

            “We’ll see you tomorrow, luvana.”

            I let out a please smile before I let myself drift off to sleep.

            “Good morning, monet. How was…your…is that?” Jag stammered out.

            I was heading to work, and like usual Jag met me at the gate. Mostly she walked with me to and from Donvo’s stall. The other Kajians usually acted right when I was with him, and I was starting to get the feeling that Donvo was secretly a badass, but he won’t tell me anything.

            I rolled my eyes at her. “Just say it, Jag.”

            “You’ve been marked. Twice?! Wait…did the Lieutenants claim you?” She stared at my neck like it was about to sprout another head.

            “They did.” I said as I held my head high as the whispers floated around me in the crowded market. “Is it that noticeable?”

            Jag scoffed at my sarcasm. “No other human has been marked, you’re the first, Milady. This is not going to sit well with the High Command.”

            I sighed. “What could they possibly do? Cut it off me?”

            “Actually, yes.” Jag said looking over at me with fear in her eyes.

            Feeling bad, I gently touched her arm. “It’ll be okay, I promise. I’m just one little human, they don’t care about me.”

            Jag nodded. “I hope you’re right, Milady.”

            I saw Donvo and waved, watching as the pipe nearly dropped out of his mouth. “I’ll see you later, Jag. Don’t get into any trouble without me now.”

            She nodded and headed off to begin her normal route.

            With a smile, I went over and hopped up on the counter next to Donvo. “Good morning, old man.”

            He huffed. “Now you got all marked up you think you can be late?”

            “I’m not late, your just cranky.” I rolled my eyes teasingly. “So, did anything awesome happen while I was gone?”

            He shrugged. “Nope. It was peaceful, and horribly boring without you.”

            “Aw, you’re so sweet, Donvo.” I said, leaning over to touch his cheek lightly.

            He took a long deep drag off his pipe, letting the smoke slip from his lips. “And you’re still a trouble maker.”

            The day was almost over, and I was having a good time with Donvo and the other Kaji celebrating Eloré. It was amazing seeing all the new couples, the female flashing their marks to their friends and males congratulating each other. Everything was exciting, and it made me happy to see so many new couples. Donvo only asked about my marks once, I’m sure he knew they were from the brothers, but he didn’t pry further.

            It was getting late when suddenly there was an arm wrapped around my waist. I looked down and instantly recognized the tattooed hand. “Good evening, Koryn.”

            His husky voice chuckled into my ear. “Boring, I was stuck inside at a desk all day filling out paperwork. How about you and the old man?”

            “I hate your young folk.” Donvo hissed as he walked by us.

             I giggled, turning around to wrap my arms around his neck. “Have you seen Kit today?”

            He nodded. “He’s out in the north side of the city.”

            “How was Tuli when you left her?” I watched him shrug.

            “Fine, excited as hell. She asked to see you, I told her that I would relay the massage to you.”

            Before I could say anything, Koryn’s radio clicked on asking for him. He looked at me and made a sorry face, I mouthed go to him, and he turned to leave. But then stopped to plant a quick kiss to my lips. When he was gone Donvo snorted.

            “It’s so sweet it’s sickening.” He said as he started to pack up the merchandise.

            I began helping him, and it wasn’t long for someone to muster up the courage to become confrontational.

            “Hey! Human!”

            I sighed. “And here we go.”

            “Turn around, I want to talk with you right now!”

            Donvo shook his head at me, but there was nowhere for me to go. I slowly turned around and let out a deep breath. I saw three angry Kaji in front of me, two female and one male. They looked like they were going to rip me apart where I stood.

            “Are you going to buy anything or are you just going to stand there?” I asked as I crossed my arms.

            One female with green eyes sneered at me. “Look, at her neck. Is that a fake mark? What the hell is wrong with you human’s?”

            I just stood there, then acted shocked. “Oh wait, are you asking a question or was that a statement?”

            Donvo snorted as he hid his face, the three other Kaji scoffed. The male with orange eyes hissed with his anger as he took a step forward.

            “How dare you treat us like this, we have treated all you humans right from the beginning. At least show us some respect.” His hatred filled his eyes, but I didn’t care.

            I rolled my eyes at him. “If your people haven’t abducted mine, us humans wouldn’t even be refugees here. So, back off.”

            Take that mark off your neck, it’s revolting.” The green eyed Kaji said as she pointed to my neck.

            “Yeah, I don’t think that’s how it works. Last time I checked, it was permanent.” I sighed, this was going nowhere, and fighting with bigots was starting to make me tired.

            The other female had orange eyes too, she put a hand to her heart like she was feeling faint. “There’s no way. It has to be a fake. Kajians and humans can’t…”

            “Can’t what?” I raised an eyebrow. “f**k? Yeah, that’s not true.”

            The male Kaji shook his head. “Shut your mouth, cornala.”

            I ran a hand through my hair as I let out an audible sigh. “Why do I keep getting called a w***e? So, back to the subject at hand. What did you come over here and bother me for?”

            The female with orange eyes came over to be face-to-face with me. “Take it off. You don’t belong with our kind.”

            I never faltered, compared to Keldon, these Kaji were like fluffy bunnies. “f**k off.”

            It was easy to know what was coming, and I let her. Her hand crossed my face, while everyone else gasped or stared in confusion. I felt blood drip down my chin from my busted lip that the lady opened again. When she realized what she had done, the lady stepped back.

            “Are you proud of yourself now?” I asked as I let the blood go, not bothering to wipe it away.

                She swallowed hard. “You did this to yourself, human. You should have just listened to us.”

            I took a step close to her. “And what? Cut my neck apart to please you? Again, f**k off.”

            “Maybe we should go. I don’t think she is faking it.” The female with green eyes said as she backed away.

            The male looked off to his right and also took a step back, but my sole focus was on the orange eyed Kaji directly in front of me. “She’s right, Kreno. Let’s just go.”

            “Don’t be afraid of this little human. They are weak, compared to Kaji, we are the superior race.” She said as she stared into my eyes.

            The male shook his head. “But Kreno, if she really is claimed, then her Maité will be a Kaji. Think about it, what if he’s stronger than all of us?”

            I smiled. “They. Not he. They.”

            Kreno’s nose curled. “You…have more than one Mate? You’re even more disgusting than I envisioned.”

            “I get it, having mind blowing s*x with two partners is not everyone’s cup of tea. But, you could at least mind your own damn business while the rest of us have happy s*x lives.” I said with a smirk. “So, your free to leave at any point. I have to get back to work.”

            I turned back to Donvo and let my face falter. Don’t get me wrong, the lady didn’t bother me. What bothered me was that there were Kajians out there that would harm a human for being with a Kaji, something so small and trivial. It made me see a slight shade into what others across time had to deal with. They should have never been made to feel this way, nothing about this was right. Everything about this bigotry was wrong.

            “Don’t you turn your back on me!” Kreno yelled as she went for me again.

            This time, she wasn’t able to touch me. A large tattooed hand caught her arm, pulling her backwards away from me. When I turned back around I could see both Kit and Koryn standing between me and the others.

            “Lieutenants…what are you doing here?” Kreno stammered out as she was released.

            Koryn glared at the woman. “Are you questioning us?”

            Kit sighed. “From what I understand the tree of you are going around, harassing all the humans lately. We’ve been waiting to catch you three in the act. Since, our lovely girl is always out in the open, we figured it wouldn’t take you three long to get here.”

            The male Kaji shook his head. “It wasn’t me, it was all them. I swear!”

            “Your girl? You mean…” Kreno looked back and forth.

            Koryn huffed. “The human you’ve been harassing is our Maité. Those marks on her throat that you three wanted her to cut off, belong to us. We heard everything you said, even have it on record. Milady, will you take out the device in your back pocket?”

            My eyes narrowed. “Did you really?”

            “Koryn’s a pretty good pickpocket.” Kit said with a smile.

            I pulled out a green circular device and handed it to Koryn. “Sneaky, babe.”

            He slid the device in his coat pocket. “Under military command, with the laws instated to Kaja, I arrest you three on public nuisance, harassment of refugees, torture, and treason. You are to be held accountable for your actions, and your fates to be determined by the High Commander. Turn around and place your hands above your head.”

            “But, Lieutenant…” Kreno begged.

            Kit scoffed. “Groveling won’t work on us. We saw what you did to that human man, and what you were willing to make Milady do. It would have killed her. She cannot withstand the torture you intended on inflicting upon her, and whoever else became claimed by a Kaji.”

            “What you three fail to understand is that, the humans are here to stay. They will, and are, being integrated into our tribes and society. Two have already left for a Celle tribe, and have been taken in with open arms. Your hatred ways are a dying breed, and we intend to make sure of its extinction.” Kit said as he took out handcuffs that looked like extreme iron shackles that faintly glowed blood red.

            I watched as my guys took all three into custody. “You know, you two are sexy when you’re working.”

            Kit turned a light shade of red, and Koryn smirked and shook his head at me. The three Kaji threw fits the entire way out of the market, Jag passed by the brothers and nodded to them. She came over to me and smiled.

            “Thank the moons those three were finally caught. We’ve been trying to locate them for over five of your human weeks.” Jag said as she rubbed her neck.

            Hey, Jag? Who was the human that they tortured?” I asked as I continued to help Donvo put away the stuff.

            She sighed. “It was a human that went by the name of Jake. The three of them beat him until he was unconscious and then removed…his eyes.”

            I froze. That was extreme, hateful. “Did he live?”

            “Yes, but he…he killed himself three nights ago. The Lieutenants and higher up deemed it as the trio’s fault, made it the highest form of crime, treason.” Jag looked sad, and yet hopeful. Maybe because the three Kaji are going to get what they deserved as punishment.

            “That’s unfortunate. Jake was on the same plane as me when we were taken. He was hostile and combative towards the Kajian, and I always hoped he had resolved his issues. I never saw him again after we were taken to the meeting hall.” I looked down to the stall counter and remembered how he had fought against the Kaji, getting taken down by a taser in the process.

            Jag frowned a little. “I’m sorry. So far, he’s the only human that has died since your people’s arrival. We soldiers intent to keep it that way.”

            2nd Day of Eloré, Location Circle City, City-Center:

            “Hey, Milady? Can I ask you something?”

            It was the next morning and I was getting something to eat before meeting Jag and heading to work. I turned to look at Maddie and smiled. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

            Her small frame moved towards me, and I could see the hesitation in her eyes. “Do you think it’s true what the Kaji say about life partners? That all of us can have someone destined for us here, on Kaja?”

            I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I think there’s the possibility for it. What’s up? What have you been thinking about in that pretty head of yours, Maddie?”

            “About what you told us the other night when you got back. That connection you feel to your Kaji guys and how they make you feel. From the way you described it, I can’t help but wonder about it. What if I could have that? What if all the humans could be happy here with partners that were as if designed for us?” She asked, leaning against the counter.

            “It could be possible, but for that to work they would need to let us to be free to move about Circle City. The only way you can find out if your Maité’s is through touch, once the touch connection has been established, they your Kaji will be able to scent you out to confirm if your Maité bond is true. The next step is to be claimed and marked.” I pointed to my neck. “Happens through a bite, or nip on my case. So, without physical contact, there’s no way of knowing. Maité season makes the bond pull stronger, and makes scenting Maité’s out a thousand times easier, even without the contact connection. That’s over though, so, physical contact has to come first.”

            Maddie absorbed the information like a sponge, focusing on everything I explained to her that I learned. After a few moments, she nodded. “We have to talk to the Kaji in charge of us. They have to let us be free, if were really here to stay, then we need to feel like we belong. I’m not the only one who feels like this, Beth, and a few other of the women have already been talking about families and the future.”

            “I agree. I’ll hound the brothers about it today, see if we can get a meeting with the High Commander. Maddie, you understand that a human might not be able to carry the child of a Kajian, right? If you find your partner and are marked, it doesn’t mean that a future family is guaranteed.” I said with a reassuring smile, hoping she was understanding what I was saying.

            She nodded. “I get it, Milady. We all get it. Thank you for listening to us.”

            I smiled at her as I grabbed a piece of bread on the way out. “Now, how the hell do I get us our freedom?”