Chapter 7

The news of Gavin's miraculous recovery spread like wildfire through the settlement. People whispered about it in the market, stared at him as he walked-without a limp-through the square, and wondered what kind of witchcraft his strange new mate possessed.

Caprice heard the news from Konner. She was furious. How dare that cripple get better? How dare that outsider make a fool of her?

She marched down to the edge of the settlement, where Karlie was sitting outside the hut, working on a new project.

Karlie had found a stand of thick bamboo near the stream. She was cutting it into sections, using a heated knife to seal the nodes and create waterproof containers. She was sanding the rim of one when a shadow fell over her.

"So, the rumors are true," Caprice sneered, her two cronies flanking her. "The cripple can walk. I suppose I should congratulate you on your... healing skills."

Gavin, who had been splitting bamboo nearby, stood up. He moved to stand between Caprice and Karlie, his posture rigid.

"What do you want, Caprice?" he asked, his voice cold.

"I want to know how you did it," she said, her eyes narrowing. "The healers said your leg was cursed. It was impossible to fix. So, either you're faking, or she's using some kind of dark art."

"She's using nothing but her own two hands and her brain," Gavin said. "Something you wouldn't understand."

Caprice laughed, a high, brittle sound. "Her brain? Look at her, playing with sticks. What kind of mate makes her man look like a fool by doing manual labor?"

She turned her attention to Karlie. "And you. You really think you've won? He's still a broken male, from a broken family. You're welcome to him."

Karlie stood up. She didn't move behind Gavin this time. She stepped up beside him, her expression calm.

"My mate is twice the man you'll ever deserve," she said. "And as for winning... I don't need to win anything. I just need to survive. Unlike you, who has to drug men to keep them around."

The color drained from Caprice's face. "You're lying!" she shrieked. "I never drugged him! That's slander!"

Gavin took a step forward, his voice dropping to a dangerous low. "It's not slander, Caprice. I smelled the rut-grass juice in my water that day. That sweet, sickly smell... I'll never forget it."

He continued, his words cutting like a knife. "You drugged me because you wanted me to lose control. You wanted me to attack someone, to create a scandal. That way, your little affair with Konner wouldn't look so bad, would it? You could say I was the monster, and you were the victim escaping."

Caprice's face went white. She looked around, realizing that a crowd had gathered. The other females in the settlement were watching, their eyes sharp and judgmental.

"You're crazy!" she cried, tears springing to her eyes. "I was scared! You were in a rut! I thought you were going to hurt me!"

"You thought I was going to hurt you," Gavin repeated, "so you drugged me to make me more violent? That makes no sense, Caprice. The only thing that makes sense is that you and Konner planned this from the beginning."

The crowd murmured. Caprice was losing them. She looked desperate, her eyes darting around for an escape.

Karlie took pity on her. Not much, but enough to end the spectacle. She picked up one of the finished bamboo canteens she had made. She filled it with filtered water from her own supply and walked over to a young female who was standing nearby, watching with wide eyes.

"Here," Karlie said, handing her the canteen. "Try this. It holds water without leaking, and it's light to carry."

The young female hesitated, looking nervously at the other females, but an older female, who had been watching Karlie's sanding technique with sharp, curious eyes, stepped forward and took it. She took a tentative sip. Her eyes widened. "It's good," the older female declared loudly, holding the canteen up. "The water is completely clean!"

Karlie smiled. "I can show you how to make them. And how to filter the stream water so it's safe to drink."

Most of the crowd remained wary, murmuring among themselves, unwilling to openly support the outsider just yet. They exchanged skeptical glances and slowly began to disperse. But the older female stayed, gripping the canteen like a prize. As the crowd thinned, Karlie overheard the older female muttering to a friend, "If Caprice is so innocent, they should make her touch the core stone in the square. See if the planet's energy burns her from the inside out for lying."

Karlie paused, her ears perking up. Unit 9, log that information. It was exactly the leverage she needed.

Caprice stood there, forgotten. She looked from Karlie, who was now answering the older female's hesitant questions, to Gavin, who was watching his mate with undisguised pride.

"You'll pay for this!" Caprice screamed, her voice cracking. "You and your little whore!"

She turned and ran, her cronies scrambling after her.

Gavin watched her go, feeling nothing but a vague sense of relief. The ghost of his past was finally fading.

He walked over to Karlie and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Karlie looked up from the bamboo she was cutting. "For what? Exposing her lie? That was going to happen eventually."

"For doing it with style," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. "And for making your first ally."

He nodded toward the older female, who was now holding the canteen like a precious artifact.

"Friends are more useful than enemies," Karlie said, winking at him. "And a lot less annoying."

Gavin chuckled. He looked at his mate, slowly carving out a place for herself among people who were beginning to see her value, and felt a warmth spread through his chest. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was part of something real.