Chapter 18

KAIDA'S POV...

I was hiding in the cabinet quietly, my heart pumping rapidly in fear as I listened to the sounds of fighting outside.

My nerves grated as Zarek's beastly roars filled my ears, making me scared and worried at the same time, and Axton's shouts to Zarek as he tried to call him back to consciousness made my palms sweaty as my worry sky-rocketed.

The situation seemed like it was getting out of hand as the second went by, and I was worried, extremely worried about the situation.

I looked around the dark cabinet and bit my lips as I anxiously thought of what to do, my pulse was racing, and my heart was thumping against my ribcage as I heard Zarek's growls getting more beastly.

He needed to be stopped; if not, he would end up becoming a Fallen, and Zarek was such a nice guy to just let him turn into Fallen; I don't know why, but I felt guilty already for his condition as if I was supposed to help him in some way.

I don't know where I got the courage, but I suddenly decided that I wasn't going to keep waiting any longer. And I wasn't about to start second-guessing because if I did, I might end up losing this sudden courage. I needed to try and help Zarek.

I took a deep breath into my lungs and placed my hand on the door, opened the cabinet door and stepped out.

The scene was chaotic but I managed to dodge the frenzied prisoners and walked on to my destination.

I made sure I was standing in front of Zarek, facing him, I shouted, "Zarek, Stop it! Calm down!"

My voice rang all around the longue, and surprisingly, Zarek seemed to pause in his actions for a moment, but he still did not release the prisoner; he still held the prisoner in his strong grip, the veins in his hands popping as he squeezed the guy's neck.

Zarek slowly turned his face to look at me. That's when I noticed how red his eyes had turned and how swollen his body had become.

The swelling process of his body was quite scary; his sharp fangs were shooting out, causing his lips to look bigger. His eyes were turning red and his claws were elongated and sharp.

Everyone around stopped when they heard my voice, and they stepped back, their fighting halted.

Hugo looked toward me and let out a bored hiss. "What now?" He asked and peered his eyes at me, squinting his eyes as if he wasn't sure of what he was looking at and was trying to figure me out.

"I never expected the person the Captain was hiding to be a death-wisher," He remarked snidely, trying to walk toward me.

But Axton suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of me, blocking him and stopping me from trying to reach Zarek.

"Don't get any closer, Kaida, he doesn't recognize you at the moment," Axton told me, breathing heavily from the fight.

"He needs help," I said quietly so only he could hear.

But Axton refused to let me get closer to Zarek, he shook his head and stared directly into my eyes. "Your safety comes first, Kaida. Understand that." He slowly spoke to me, making me understand the severity of his words.

I looked away from him and nodded.

By the side, I saw Thane looking around for something. He quickly went into the storage room and carried out his bag, searching for a suppressant he could inject into Zarek to tame his beastification.

But as Axton kept blocking me from meeting Zarek, my eyes wandered on their own above his shoulder, locking with Zarek's eyes, and suddenly, I felt a strange sensation filling my body. It was a strange humming of weird and strange gentle impulses, moving me to do something. I didn't know what, but I felt like I needed to do something.

Zarek's eyes were so scary, and I knew I should be afraid of him; any normal person would be afraid of him, but I wasn't. This strange sensation I felt deep in my body seemed to make me not fear him. I held his gaze, trying to calm him down with my intense, yet, soft gaze.

The next moment, a soft breeze stirred around me, blowing my headscarf loose again, but I did not seem to care this time, all my focus was on Zarek.

Guided by that strange feeling, I pushed past Axton and walked straight to Zarek.

I knew Axton was staring at me in confusion and fear, but I did not look back, I focused on Zarek, and when I reached him, I slowly raised my hand, not wanting to scare him, and then I gently touched his forearm, "It's okay, Zarek, you did great, you're strong, you can come back now." My voice was soothing as I spoke to him calmly.

Under everyone's gaze, Zarek released the prisoner he was strongly gripping. His eyes slowly lost their redness, the beastly features gradually receded, and he finally closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground as if he were asleep.

Silence...

A profound silence fell over the whole scene; it was as if the world paused and everyone was under a spell, my spell...

I slowly looked up from the unconscious Zarek, puzzled by the whole incident.

'What is happening?' I questioned myself as I struggled to make sense of everything that had happened within this short period.

I looked toward Axton, only to see Hugo pointing at me, a look of disbelief was visible all over his facial features as he shouted.

"Unbelievable! The Captain has been hiding a purifier!" Hugo shouted, drawing the attention of every prisoner nearby.

He looked at me from hair to toe, his face confused, "And it's not just any Purifier, he's been hiding a female purifier!" Hugo glared at Axton.