Knacayn: A Terraneu Novel (Book Seven) (2 page)

“I will be back after the meeting.” Since Steph had already opened the
door to get out, Kenzie just slid over to take the driver’s seat. She put the
vehicle into gear. “Do everything I wouldn’t do!” She called out and waved as
she hit the gas. Since she was something of a prude in Steph’s eyes, it was a
common joke for her to tell Steph as her friend left for dates.

She swore she heard, “I will” as she raced away but wasn’t sure. She was
feeling lighthearted and happy for Steph. Maybe if she looked at it from all
the angles there was a way for her and Knacayn to be together during his short
time on Earth.

Knacayn stood outside of the council dome waiting for Kenzie Kincaid to
arrive for their weekly meeting. His family had thought he was crazy when he
had requested to represent Terraneu. Nobody wanted to attend these meetings.
The Earth communities they were trying to help were making ridiculous demands
and had the most comical complaints. The only reason he was able to make it
through them was the fact he was so drawn to Kenzie.

His brother had been captured by the Government faction of Earth
survivors and Kenzie was part of the delegation they had turned to for help. It
was actually Steve Howard who had arranged it all. His daughter was now mated
to his identical twin, Knadyn. However, it was Kenzie who had swayed the final
vote. She was strong willed, stubborn, loyal and yet sensitive, affectionate
and funny. When he had grabbed her hand to move her toward the wall at one of
their first encounters he had been shocked at how frail she felt. When she had
struggled to get him to release his hold, he had reevaluated his opinion. Frail
on the outside but wrapped in a steely stubbornness. When she had bumped her
hip into him to let him know she wasn’t amused by his attempts at controlling
her, he knew. This was the woman for him. Over the last three months, you would
think he would have figured out how to reach her. With so much going on, time
seemed to have slipped through his fingers. Now he was halfway through his stay
on Earth and their encounters hadn’t gone beyond a few lunch dates. Not to
mention when he tried to talk
about
personal issues, she changed the subject back to community ones. He worried
either she didn’t want to talk about herself because she didn’t want him to get
to know her or she feared opening up to anyone, not just him. He was rooting
for the latter because at least he could work
with
her fear.

“Who are you waiting for?” Knacayn jumped when he heard his
brother-in-law’s voice.

“Kenzie. Steve and I are waiting for her to start the meeting.” He wasn’t
surprised when Marcael burst out laughing.

“Ahh yes, Kenzie Kincaid. The tireless liaison of the Rebels. That is one
hardened female...” When he went to defend her, his brother-in-law held up his
hand. “Do not bite my head off. I was giving her a compliment.
Besides,
I would never speak harshly of another
male’s choice for a mate.”

“What do you mean? I have not chosen…” his voice trailed off when Marcael
raised an eyebrow at him.

“Your feelings for the Earth female are obvious.” Slapping his shoulder,
Marcael continued, “When are you going to ask her to come to Terraneu and not
stay on Earth?”

“I am taking things slowly with Kenzie.” Knacayn protested and then
laughed at the expression he was getting from Marcael. With his stark white
hair and contrasting black eyebrows, the shocked look came off as menacing. He
knew his brother-in-law well, so wasn’t intimidated. He knew his friend was
thousands of years older and much more lethal than a normal
male,
but he was harmless when it came to
family.

“We both know you want that female.” Marcael insisted. “If you do not
make your move soon, it will be too late.”

“Are you talking about Kenzie?” Knacayn gritted his teeth. How had his
sister snuck up on them? He turned his gaze away for a moment as the pair
greeted each other. For most couples of Terraneu a passionate kiss and a
lengthy embrace were the norm. His sister and her mate were no
exceptions
. When they were finished, Brennae
continued. “I think Kenzie is perfect for you Knacayn. Would you like me to
speak with her? Fill her head with all your good qualities?” She was teasing
him,
but he was used to it. They
were siblings and he had grown up being teased by his
brother, sister, aunts, uncles and cousins
. Remarks like hers usually
rolled off his back like water off a duck, as the locals would say. It was only
because he was so insecure about Kenzie he took the bait.

“
No,
we were not talking about
Kenzie.” In his mind, he spoke telepathically to Marcael, “
See what you have started!”
Then out loud, he continued to his
sister, “I do not need you to speak with her. Even if I did want to move
forward with her, which I am not saying I do. I am just not sure this is the
right moment…” He trailed off. He had argued perhaps a bit too heatedly.

“You protest too much!” His sister laughed and her mate drew her closer.

“
You did protest too much.”
Marcael’s
laughing voice filled his mind. “
You should have stopped while you were
ahead.”

Knacayn felt a throbbing behind his right eye and knew he was going to
have a raging headache soon. “I do not need assistance in my romantic life.” He
kept it short and to the point. That is how he should have answered to begin
with.

“Ohh Knacayn.” His sister sighed heavily, “The women of Earth are
different. Maybe you should ask mother for advice. She was from here after all,
and might have words of wisdom on how to get Kenzie to come to Terraneu.”

“What should I have for Knacayn?” All eyes swung to the small female now
joining the group. The blond haired female was followed by a much taller, dark-haired
male.

“Mother. Father.” His sister gave their parents a quick hug and then
turned to him. Despite shaking his head desperately against it, his sister
continued. “Knacayn is not sure how to go about romancing an Earth woman.”

Slapping a smile on his face he turned to his mother. “That is not
exactly true mother. I am waiting for the right moment to present itself. If it
comes to the point I feel I need advice, I will happily ask for yours.”

His mother just looked at him for a moment. In his mind, he heard a
laughing voice,
“Nice save Knacayn.”
He ignored his brother-in-law and kept smiling.

“We don’t have much time left on Earth Knacayn. If you don’t make a move
now it will be time to return to Terraneu. Kenzie may desire another male
before you are able to make a return trip.” His mother was eyeing him much too
intently and to make matters worse she had hit on points he himself had been
worried about.

“Who said anything about Kenzie…” he started to protest, but his father
spoke louder.

“My love, if Knacayn feels it is not the right time, it is his decision
to make. If he has need of your advice he has said he will seek it.” In his
head,
his father stated,
“You might want to hurry to your meeting. Once your mother gets an idea
into her head she will not let it go.”

Deciding his father’s advice was sound, he rushed to say, “I need to
check with Steve on a small matter. I will see you all later. Mother. Father.”
He gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek and bowed to his father. Without
waiting for further comments, he stepped into the dome they were standing
before. So much for waiting for Kenzie to arrive.

Parking on the side of the council dome Kenzie hopped out of the driver’s
seat and smoothed her hands on her pants. She always got nervous butterflies in
her stomach on meeting days. She spared a small frown at not seeing Knacayn
waiting for her outside, as he habitually did. Shielding her eyes with one
hand, she took in the position of the sun. She wasn’t running late. She figured
he must be inside with Steve. Opening the door, a smile on her face Kenzie
walked in.

“Good Morning.” The smiled died upon entering the meeting room. Not only
were Knacayn and Steve Howard present but there were a few males from the Rebel
community along with a few males from the Government camp. With a
start,
she realized Weston stood among the
group in front of the council table. She had dated him recently and she knew in
other circumstances she may have ended up in a
long-term
relationship with him. Other circumstances being Knacayn and her growing
feelings for him. Weston had some traits she cared about. He was confident and
intelligent. Drat Knacayn for being confident, intelligent, loyal, caring and
funny too. Trying to get her mind off Knacayn, she listed more about Weston she
liked. He usually had a
positive
attitude, which added to her surprise at seeing him here. When their eyes met,
he gave a small grimace and ran his hand through his patchy blond hair. The
action brought her eyes to the blooming black eye he sported. That explained
why his normally happy demeanor was sour.

T
he two groups
being here could
only mean one thing. There had been an altercation between the males and this
meeting was to determine their punishment. It had happened multiple times
before. So much for an uneventful meeting. Stiffening her spine, she strode to
her designated seat and waited to hear what had happened.

With a sigh, Knacayn started the meeting, “Thank you Steve and Kenzie.”
His voice sounded husky and thick to her ears. “These males are here because
they were having a small…verbal disagreement and it turned into a physical
altercation. The latter is a punishable offense and we are here to determine
what
disciplinary
measures to take.”

“We didn’t start it…they did.’

“It is their fault. We were minding our own business.”

The accusations started flying around the room. Kenzie knew the males
from the Rebel camp. She had grown up with most of them in fact. She knew them
to be even-tempered and usually very reasonable, especially Weston. He would
have gone out of his way to avoid a confrontation. They had talked
about
it extensively at the Rebel camp and
their men knew there was too much at stake. Putting the two groups together
seemed to have brought out the worst in everyone.

“We will only hear one side at a time.”
Knacayn’s
voice boomed over the group. “You may speak.” He pointed to Weston.

“We were working on the dome assigned to us by one of your men. The
Government males walked past us and made some derogatory remarks…which we
ignored. When they couldn’t get a rise out of us, that male,” he pointed at a
male named Bradley, “started a fight with me. I only fought back to defend
myself. When his friends joined in the fight, my friends did as well.” Kenzie
wanted to believe him, but he avoided her eyes and that told her something was
off.

Then it was time for the Government groups side. The male that spoke for
them was the male named Bradley.
Kenzie didn’t
know a lot about him, therefore, listened to his side of the story with an open
mind.
According to Bradley, his group had been walking past the Rebel
males. In his accounting, however, it was the Rebel males who had made the
derogatory remark and they had ignored it and continued on. It was the Rebel
males who had attacked them when their backs were turned.

When both sides were finished giving their accounting, Knacayn informed
them they were to wait outside the door until a decision was made. Once the
last male had cleared the doorway, he turned and sighed. “Do either of you have
an idea on which side is telling the truth?”

Kenzie waited for Steve Howard, the Government liaison to speak and when
he just shrugged, she jumped in. “I think in a situation like this, both sides
are going to tell falsehoods and somewhere in the middle is the truth. The
males from the Rebel community know better
then
to provoke the Government males. That doesn’t mean they
wouldn’t
do it. They just know they
shouldn’t
. That being said, I don’t think either side is telling
the whole story and both of them are at fault.”

Knacayn looked to Steve and he nodded. “I would have to agree with
Kenzie. I know Bradley has a trigger temper. He could easily jump to fighting
over the smallest thing.”

“What punishment would you recommend?” Knacayn asked both her and Steve.

“I would say reduced rations for two days and increased work duties for a
week. They are going to need direct
supervision
to avoid more fighting.” Kenzie offered her input. The males had been given
additional rations to work in the new community so reduced rations would be a
hit to their
stomachs
and strength. The
additional
supervision
might not ensure
the fighting between those two groups stopped. With a
sigh,
Kenzie knew that only left about twenty other working groups
to worry about.

“That sounds good to me.” Steve agreed.

“It is agreed then.
Steve,
can you
please bring them back in.” Knacayn waited for Steve to walk across the room
then turned to
whisper
, “Are we still
going for a picnic in the meadow after the meeting? I have arranged the food
items for you and water for me…if you still want to go.”

“That sounds like
fun,
” Kenzie
whispered back then straightened up when Steve opened the door. She smiled at
Knacayn then put her full attention on the males coming into the room.

When they were all in front of him, Knacayn announced, “All six of you
will be given reduced rations and additional, supervised work duties for
instigating and participating in a physical altercation. The duration of your
punishment is to last one week, the reduced rations two days.”

Weston looked to her, “We didn’t do anything wrong Kenzie. You know us.”

Kenzie held up her hand, her eyes locking with Westons angrily shining
blue ones, “Take your punishment and learn something from it.”

“Yeah. Weston.” Bradley spat angrily, “Listen to your
liaison
. She isn’t going to defend you
when her head has been turned by
pretty
boy there. You think you can compete with him?” He laughed, a grating sound, at
his own words.

“Just a minute…” Kenzie
began,
but
Weston jumped to her defense.

“It would take more than a pretty face to turn Kenzie’s eye. You don’t
know what you are talking about.”

“Don’t I?” Bradley drawled. “The way all of our females have been fawning
over them? You think your esteemed Kenzie is above all of that. If you don’t
believe me…look at her.” He pointed a finger at her, and Kenzie knew she was
blushing at his accusations. Yes, she had been seeing Knacayn after their
meetings, but her feelings for him had never impacted a decision she made for
her people.

“That is enough Bradley.” Steve Howard stepped toward the males he was
responsible for. “You would do well to take Kenzie’s advice—”

“I don’t answer to that traitor. She has turned her back on the good
males of Earth to cavort with one of…them.” His angry eyes flashed to Knacayn.
“I’ll spend my week of ‘punishment’ at the government camp if you don’t mind.”
Finished saying what he wanted to say, Bradley turned to Weston, “You would do
well to keep an eye on your liaison and her boyfriend.” The group of government
males left the room with Steve Howard following close behind.

“Now listen here—” Kenzie heard him yelling at his males then the door
shut behind him.

Kenzie was stunned. She didn’t know the males of either community felt
that much anger toward the males of Terraneu. When she looked
at
Weston, he was a bright red color. “What he
said wasn’t true.”

“Are you dating him?” Weston pointed at Knacayn.

“No.” She denied, “We have met after
meetings,
but we are not dating per se.” She made the mistake of looking at Knacayn’s
face, and he was now equally red.

“I know we haven’t gone out
recently,
but I thought it was because we were both busy with working here.” Weston
looked at her angrily, “Are we still dating or is what that male said true? Are
you dating him?”

“I already stated that Knacayn and I aren’t dating. However, what I do in
my personal time, and who I spend that time with,
is
my business. Just because we went on a few dates didn’t make us
dating
either.” Kenzie drew in a ragged
breath. “We are supposed to be working at building this community together.
There are no outsiders.” Kenzie knew this was a bit weak, everyone on Earth
considered the people from Terraneu as outsiders. She knew on the other side of
the smiles and gratitude they showed was resentment and anger. She didn’t know
it was this much anger.

“Don’t be naïve Kenzie.” Weston snapped and moved toward the door. “I
will wait outside so we can talk.”

“I’m not being naive!” Kenzie stood up and moved to go around the table.
She was brought up short with Knacayn’s hand on her arm. She hated to have to
admit it but Weston deserved the truth. “I can’t talk after the meeting. I
already have plans. We can talk later back at camp.”

“Let me guess who your plans are with.” Weston’s eyes were on her arm.

Kenzie blushed even hotter. “Let it go for now
Weston.
” She added when he appeared to want to argue, “I will find
you when I get back and we can talk then.”

Weston nodded
angrily
and stormed
from the dome with his friends. She could feel the judgment in their glances
and it was a feeling she wasn’t used to. She had worked hard to earn their
respect and she could feel it fading away.

Looking up at Knacayn she noted that his usual sparkling purple eyes were
a lighter color and more soulful. “It would seem there are still a lot of
issues to work around. Let us go on our picnic and get away from all of this
for a few hours.”

Kenzie wanted to go after Weston and argue that her dealings with Knacayn
weren’t anyone else’s business. Everything she did as the liaison was being
studied and monitored by the Rebel males. That she would form a personal bond
with a male from Terraneu would seem like a slap in the face to them. Any
relationship with him could impact her ability to serve her community. It
wasn’t like she was leaving for Terraneu in three months. She planned to stay
here and work as she always had. Why couldn’t she form a friendship, or more,
with Knacayn if she wanted to? The answer was simple, the males of her
community wouldn’t accept it.

Before she could argue out of the picnic and take the Jeep to find Steph,
Knacayn was pulling her along. With her hand in his, the warmth
of
his body driving away her anger she suddenly
felt very tired. Would things ever smooth out or was there going to be nothing
but fighting for the rest of her life?