Chapter 17

AXTON'S POV...

After searching around, my team members, Zen and Ro, and I headed back to the storage to join the others.

We reached the door to the storage and I knocked quietly, wanting them to know that I was the one.

I heard footsteps walking toward the door from inside the storage, but the moment the footstep reached the door, I and my two team members were suddenly surrounded by a group of prisoners who were disgruntled with my Fifth Squad.

Hugo, the burly man with bear genes led the group. He marched forward in anger, his face distorted as he sneered bitterly at me.

"You think you're smart Mr. Captain?! I demand to know who you're hiding inside that storage room!" His voice demanded in a hostile tone, his eyes flashing with hateful intent.

I believe he was still vengeful about his Fallen brother whom I had killed, but that doesn't give him the right to act however he wanted.

His brother was a Fallen, period. I didn't need any other reason to kill him.

My men were beside me, alert and ready to fight.

"You're quiet, hmph," He scoffed, looking beside him at his fellow prisoners, then he sharply turned his eyes to me, a taunting look crossing them as he stared at me.

"Come on, Captain, don't be sneaky, I saw you going into the longue with a mysterious short person. I am sure you're harboring a Fallen. You're trying to shelter him under your wings! Bring him out now!" Hugo roared.

"You better watch your mouth, Winnie the Pooh, or I'll break a jar of honey on your fucking head," Zen warned dangerously.

"Fucking bastard!" Hugo lunged at Zen but I was quick to draw Zen back before Hugo could reach him, shaking my head at him.

"Hugo, I don't know what you're talking about; I do not have any Fallen with me; you know better that I only interact with the Fallen when I'm about to kill them," I said calmly as I stood between Hugo and Zen.

It seemed like my answer was about to cause more conflict because Hugo looked supercharged.

Hugo glared at me, "Liar!" The veins in his neck were popping out, and his eyes were threatening to switch colors.

"Kill the Fallen!" One of the prisoners shouted, not wanting to back down.

In the next moment, Hugo jumped off his feet and attacked me.

I was anticipating his attack, so my dodging was quick, and seeing that I dodged his attack fueled his anger.

As he tried to attack me again, the prisoners targeted my men and launched another attack on them.

And just like that, a fight ensued in front of the storage room door.

While I was occupied with fighting off the ever-angry Hugo, one of the prisoners seized the opportunity and ran toward the door of the storage room, kicking it open at speed.

My mind immediately thought of Kaida. I could only hope that Thane protected her well.

He did. I caught a glimpse of him hiding Kaida in one of the cabinets before he quickly joined me and my men in fighting off the prisoners.

However, even as he joined in the fight, the prisoners still had the advantage in numbers over us.

Looking over to my right and into the storage room, I suddenly noticed a frenzied prisoner gradually approaching the cabinet where Kaida was hiding, and immediately kicked Hugo against the knee, causing his burly figure to fall unceremoniously to the ground.

I quickly tried to run into the storage and stop the frenzied prisoner from opening the Cabinet but Hugo dived my leg, almost tripping me.

But, before I turned and stumped my feet hard on Hugo's back, I saw Zarek arrive with his sixth squad at the moment and speedily ran over and kicked away the prisoner who was approaching the cabinet.

I managed to get Hugo off me for a while and urgently looked toward Zarek and noticed that his eyes were red and his nails had grown sharper.

I knew what those meant; they indicated that Zarek had started to beastify.

He needed to snap out of it before it was too late.

"Zarek!" I shouted his name, hoping to snap him out of the claws of those stubborn beast genes.

But it seemed as if the noise in the background was too loud, and I couldn't let him hear his name as I called. I tried again, this time, louder than the first.

"Zarek! Snap out of, Zarek, I know you're in there!" I pushed a prisoner out of the way and tried to reach Zarek.

This kind of uncontrolled beastification was dangerous and dreaded as it could lead to a fall.

However, Zarek seemed not to hear me still because his beast form continued to take over his body; his claws got sharper, his eyes a more intense red, and his growls were getting deeper.

He threw off the prisoner who was about to open the Cabinet and started to attack the prisoners who were fighting us with lethal force.

'This wasn't good,' I thought in my head as I tried my best to keep my eyes on him whilst fighting off other prisoners who were still attacking me.

"Axton! Behind you!" Thane shouted to me and I immediately turned back and saw a prisoner lifting a chair and aiming for my head.

I quickly grabbed the prisoner I was fighting and dragged him closer, switching places with him as the other prisoner ended up smashing the chair on his fellow prisoner's head, knocking him out clean.

The prisoner saw this and got angrier. He dived at me with a sharp knife, but I caught his hand, twisting the joints of his elbow in the opposite direction. The cracking sound of bone displacement was heard.

"Argh!!!" He screamed and fell to the floor.

I ignored him and quickly turned to see how Zarek was doing, and my eyes widened in shock as I saw him looking all savage and ready to kill.

Zarek grabbed one prisoner by the throat, lifted his feet off the ground, and was about to snap his neck.

But just then, the cabinet door opened, and Kaida stepped out, her eyes locked on Zarek as she spoke. "Zarek, stop it! Calm down!"