Post-Apocalypse: Mated To Alphas Of Orion-Chapter 97: Kacir’s Eye
(Amaia)
The smell of chemicals is heavy inside the infirmary. We see Rahria first, she is sitting on the bed drinking juice with a straw. A white hospital gown she has put on.
Seeing us, she sadly smiles and waves.
"Hey! How are you?" I ask, standing at the end of her bed.
"My throat hurts but I am not that bad. TJ has given me this herbal juice which he says helps with vampiric aura attack." She shows us the glass which contains the liquid the colour of beetroot.
"Don’t worry, next time we will get him." Alnitak stands beside me while Mintaka leans against the wall.
"Kacir is not awake yet," she says with a sigh, the bond between them must be causing her heart to rip open with the pain she must be experiencing.
"Kacir is strong, if anyone can pull through this, it’s him," Mintaka says, keeping his hands tucked in his pants pockets.
"I know, but he attacked him like he held some personal grudge with Kacir," she commented, and my heart sank.
How to get out of this situation where I felt responsible for Rigel’s actions and yet he himself seems to be a victim.
"He has been doing that since he got here. First Amaia, then he tried to go up against me and now you guys." Alnitak clenched his hands by his sides while others nodded in agreement.
Feeling suffocated I spoke and began to move.
"I am going to check up on Kacir."
"I will come along." Mintaka unpeeled himself from the wall and followed me
"I will stay with Rahria for the time being," Alnitak called out so she wouldn’t be alone.
We move towards the area with the curtains and see Healer TJ mixing some chemicals together.
"He is in that room." He points towards the opposite door. It’s painted white with the word Emergency written in bold red letters.
Gulping, I quietly moved forward with Mintaka. He holds the doorknob and gently twists it so it makes the least sound.
Walking on cat feet, we enter Kacir’s room and close the door behind us. Ample light from the window floods the room. My eyes waver towards his unconscious figure, and I let out a hefty sigh, seeing him half covered in a white sheet. He lies still, his chest slowly rising and falling under the sheet.
Walking closer to him, I observe his hair has been pushed away from his face, and for the very first time, I witness his whole face.
A slow gasp leaves me as I cover my mouth with my right hand. He doesn’t have a right eye; the skin has been sewn shut.
Mintaka’s scent floods my senses, not only that, but a calming assurance comes with it.
"His eye?" I question in a trembling voice, turning my head to watch my mate. Mintaka sighs beside me, the unmasked pain in his eyes I witness.
"We were attacked a year ago and Rahria was alone at her place. She was attacked, and Kacir, being her mate, sensed her fear and went to rescue her. He was critically injured and lost his eye in the battle with the monster."
I knew this story, Kacir had told me about it but he skipped the part where he lost his right eye in the process.
His actions make sense now. He likes to keep his head low so his hair will cover that part of his face where his eye is missing. He sleeps turned away from me and always keeps his hair open.
That must have devastated him and this is exactly why he struggles with Rahria. That guilt and pity she must feel, he feels it too through the bond they share.
That’s why he said, he doesn’t need her pity, he only ever needed her love.
My chest tightens at all these truths and I reach out with my hand to touch his arm and just squeeze it ever so gently.
"Wake up, Kacir...I never knew he suffered so much and yet he has been nothing but kind to me. When no one was by my side, he helped me and never doubted me for a second," I lament, holding back my tears.
"I know. He has such a caring soul, I don’t even deserve to be his friend." The guilt oversaturates the bond between us. I observe that the more time I spend with my mates, the more I can understand their feelings and emotions through this one-way bond.
Reaching forward I brush Kacir’s hair back and cover his eye. He doesn’t want anyone to see him like that, and it should remain like that even when he is unconscious.
"He forgave you, Mintaka. It’s time you forgive yourself," I tell him calmly, turning around to face him.
"I can never."
He is still watching his unconscious friend and clutches the pendant in his hand, tightening his finger around the crystal.
"A gift?" I ask and he simply nods.
"Yeah! You could say that." His tone tells me there is more to this pendant. A tenderness like I hardly witness from Mintaka has clouded his eyes.
Before I can ask him anything else, Kacir stirs and our attention turns towards him. A flicker of hope ignites in my heart that he might be waking up.
His hands move and then slowly he opens his left eye and watches us.
Our faces split into smiles of relief seeing him conscious.
"Kacir! You are awake." I clutch his hand while Mintaka rushes out to get Healer TJ.
Slowly he smiles and nods at me but doesn’t speak.
"How are you feeling?"
He raises his right hand and gives me a thumbs-up.
TJ and Mintaka return, storming inside the room with relieved smiles. TJ is holding a glass with the same coloured liquid I had seen Rahria drinking.
"Give him some time. Go now. You can visit him tomorrow because he won’t be able to speak for a while."
We nod in understanding.
"We will come tomorrow. Rest." I wave at him and he gives me a small smile.
"Take care, man," Mintaka mumbles quietly.
We exit the room and rush to give the good news to Alnitak and Rahria.
